Latest news with #FryDay
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Sesame-Crusted Feta
This is a basic b— 'recipe' that I did not innovate by any means, but I wanted to include it [in my cookbook 'Fry Day']. It's easy, it's delicious, it's user friendly and adaptable. If you're unable to find Greek feta, endeavor to use sheep's milk or sheep-and-goat-milk feta. Typically sesame-crusted feta is paired with honey, but I've included a few different sweet options as well as a savory variation if you're in the mood to riff: You can serve immediately with a drizzle of honey, jam, simple syrup or spoon sweets, or if you prefer something savory, with oregano, chile flakes and a little fresh olive oil. You can have these as an app, on top of salads or in a sandwich, or as dessert.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Turn your kitchen into a taverna with these local Greek cookbooks
Just over a decade ago, Sharon Brenner moved to Athens and became enamored with the flavors and fragrances of Greece, the allure of fried dough drizzled with honey, the communal joys of sharing meze in a taverna late into the evening. The immigration attorney and food writer, now based back in Los Angeles, has written three self-published cookbooks to help share and recreate some of her experiences there. 'I felt like this country gave me so much, I really fell in love with it,' she said. 'A way to give back through food was to educate people about the country and their cuisine and the history, because it's all so intertwined.' Brenner, who is not Greek by descent, moved to Athens in 2014 with a then-boyfriend. Though their yearslong relationship ended almost as soon as they'd arrived — with Brenner's belongings still on a boat being shipped over — she chose to stay, and her love affair with the city bloomed. She worked remotely for an American law firm by day, and dove into the burgeoning community of food blogs in her off-time. She spent evenings sharing raki with friends in tavernas. The avid home cook began chronicling her own recipes online, and scouring the Greek markets for seasonal and new-to-her ingredients. She photographed her dishes with her cell phone. A year later, she bought a digital camera. Eventually she realized these recipes and photos could be compiled into a zine-like cookbook not to detail the breadth of Greek cuisine, but to provide a snapshot of her time there and inspire others to experience it. 'This was before Athens was as trendy as it is now and I felt like no one goes to Athens, or if they did, they stopped for a day on their way to the islands,' she said. 'It's this incredible city with all this artistic momentum and I thought it deserved its due. Any person you see in that book is my friend, any street you see is a street that I would walk normally. It was really [made] to holistically introduce people to the city, to encourage them to give it their attention.' When she returned to the U.S. in 2017, she finished her first self-published cookbook. 'Athena' debuted in 2020, and in 2022 she released a second run due to its popularity. She followed it with a digital cookbook, 'A Pie Project,' wherein she shared recipes for spinach pie, phyllo dough and other specialties. Then came 'Fry Day' — her latest — a cookbook devoted to all things golden and crunchy from a dunk in hot oil, and the kinds of dishes she missed eating there. 'How can I give cultural context and dispel stereotypes?' she asked of her work. 'Another thing I feel really strongly about in Greece — and I'm sure people from all over the world feel this way — is that people maybe know one dish from a country, and then they go there and they want to eat that dish. In Greece in particular, I felt like people would go to Greece and want to eat tzatziki and gyros and all these things that my friends aren't really eating on a daily basis.' A dish like horta — boiled greens with olive oil and lemon — is ubiquitous in Greece but fairly unknown in the U.S. in comparison. Brenner's cookbooks include recipes for recognizable dishes such as dolmadakia (stuffed grape leaves) and soutzoukakia (meatballs in tomato sauce), but also Cretan pasta with farmers cheese, a simple dish of pantzaria (roasted beets with garlic) and the comforting revithia (chickpea stew). During her first foray into cookbook publishing, she launched an intimate Greek dinner series in promotion. Athena Dinners took off. Friends, friends of friends, and total strangers gathered in art galleries, her own home and various other L.A. spaces for ticketed meals cooked by Brenner. Some served collaborative dinners from Brenner and local chefs such as Chainsaw's Karla Subero Pittol. She paused the dinner series in late 2023, hoping to revive it. Now that she and her husband are displaced due to January's Altadena Fire, Brenner is unsure of where or when it could return. Perhaps, she said, it might reappear in its more collaborative form, with local chefs and in a new space. She's also considering reprising her in-person, hands-on pie classes, teaching others by demonstrating just the right thinness of fresh phyllo dough stretched between her fingers. Making spinach pie, she said, is both therapeutic and a practice she hopes to constantly improve upon for the rest of her life. 'Since the fires, I obviously have been doing it a lot less,' Brenner said, 'but now that we're somewhat more stable, I've been making pie again, and I really missed it.' Brenner can be found popping up with her signature chocolate chip cookies — and occasionally her spinach pie — most often at neighborhood wine and culinary shop Altadena Bev. Her next appearance is June 7, and all three of her cookbooks can be purchased online. Eating out this week? Sign up for Tasting Notes to get our restaurant experts' insights and off-the-cuff takes on where they're dining right now. With a golden crust and drizzle of honey, these planks of sesame-coated Greek feta offer the perfect balance of sweet and savory. Mozzarella sticks will always have a place in my heart, but Brenner's 'Fry Day' recipe for fried cheese is otherworldly. The feta isn't stringy and melty so much as soft and fluffy, its natural saltiness curbed by the earthiness of sesame. Drizzle with copious honey or, as Brenner points out in this recipe, lend it an even more savory edge with oregano, olive oil and chile the time: 45 minutes. Serves 2. I often keep a ready-made tin of stewed gigantes on hand for a snack, a small meal unto itself, or a salad topping. The plump white beans in an allium-laced tomato sauce manage to hit the spot in a way other legumes can't quite manage. But after making and tasting Brenner's recipe, I think I'll always keep her homemade variety stocked in my freezer instead. Her version — with instruction from the owner of her favorite taverna in Athens — involves plenty of whole carrots, onion, celery stalks and garlic, which pack the already nutrient-rich dish with even more vegetal the recipe. Cooking time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, plus overnight bean soak. Serves 8.
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Natasa Stankovic enjoys a day out with son Agastya, melt hearts with their cute car selfie
Natasha Stankovic, mother to Agastya with her ex-husband Hardik Pandya , recently gave fans a peek into their day out. She posted a cheerful selfie on Instagram showing her and Agastya sitting inside a car, capturing a sweet moment between mother and son. A Natural and Simple Look Dressed in a simple black ensemble with a fresh, makeup-free face, she let her hair fall naturally over her shoulders. Her 4-year-old son sported a blue t-shirt. Accompanying the photo, the actress captioned it, 'My day.' Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Start Here - 2025 Top Trend Local network access control Esseps Learn More Undo Marriage, Parenthood, and Separation Hardik and Natasa tied the knot on May 31, 2020, and became parents to their son Agastya on July 30, 2020. After four years of marriage, they publicly shared their decision to separate through a joint social media statement, assuring fans they will continue to co-parent Agastya together. The statement stated, 'After four years of being together, Hardik and I have respectfully chosen to split ways. We did our best and gave it our all, and we believe this is best for both of us. This was a difficult decision for us to make, given the joy, mutual respect, and companionship we shared as we developed as a family". Natasha's Career Highlights On the work front, Natasha has been part of several movies such as 'Satyagraha', 'Action Jackson', 'Fukrey Return', 'Daddy', 'FryDay', 'Zero', 'Jhootha Kahin Ka', 'The Body', among others.
Gulf News
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf News
Govinda reflects on fan slapping case and rejecting James Cameron's Avatar
Veteran Bollywood actor Govinda has opened up about the long-running legal battle stemming from an altercation on the set of his 2008 film Money Hai Toh Honey Hai. The actor, who was accused of slapping a fan, described the case as "lucky" for him and claimed he managed to get it dismissed after conducting a sting operation on his accuser. The 9-year legal battle The incident dates back to 2008 when a man named Santosh was allegedly slapped by Govinda while visiting the film's set. Santosh later filed a case against the actor, demanding financial compensation for the assault. The legal dispute stretched over nine years before it was resolved in 2017. Speaking about the case in an interview with Mukesh Khanna on his YouTube channel, Govinda shared his perspective: "The case turned out to be lucky for me. Someone was misbehaving, and I slapped him. The matter dragged on for years until a friend suggested I conduct a sting operation. I secretly recorded the accuser asking for Rs30-40 million to withdraw the case and submitted that evidence to the court." Govinda also claimed that his decision to intervene was based on reports that Santosh had misbehaved with female crew members. However, he expressed disappointment that those he had supported in the past did not stand by him. The matter was eventually settled in 2017 when the Supreme Court advised Govinda to issue an apology. Santosh later withdrew his demand for compensation. Govinda's career in recent years Once a reigning star in the 90s, Govinda saw a resurgence in the mid-2000s before his on-screen presence became sporadic. His last major roles were in FryDay (2018) and Rangeela Raja (2019). In addition to addressing the slapping case, the actor also made headlines for claiming he had turned down an offer to star in James Cameron's Avatar for a whopping sum. Sign up for the Daily Briefing Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox
