Once upon a time, in a very big city, there was a fast-food place that a young girl liked to eat at. There were only two in this very big city, and they were quite a distance from one another, but both were very tasty and enjoyed by the girl.

Like a creature of habit, the girl always bought the same thing. A grilled burger on a lightly toasted bun with grated cheddar cheese and Sauce. Oh, the Sauce. Happiness joined these two: the juicy burger and the yummy Sauce. And when the girl ate there, she joined in the happy union…and savored the moment.

Then one day the girl moved away.

Far, far away. Like when you discover it’s hard to visit as often as you’d like and your heart starts hurting.

The body can always move. The heart often remains.

The girl decided that life was going to be only as good as she could make it so she set out to make it tasty.

Tasty is important. Never forget that.

Burgers, even juicy ones, can be made. Lightly toasted buns, grated sharp cheddar cheese…all these things can be had. But the Sauce!

So…on a dark and foggy night the girl set out to reunite herself with the moment of Happiness between Juicy Burger and Sauce…..as they had come to be known.

Call it fate. Call it destiny. Call it desperation on a mission. Yummy Sauce was achieved and forevermore became known far and wide as LOVE SAUCE! (Can you hear the angels singing???)

Love Sauce…a hush falls over the room.

Love Sauce…the mouth begins to water.

Love Sauce…a smile escapes the lips.

Love Sauce…Reunited with the Juicy Burger!

And now, many years later after a long bout of soul-searching, the girl, almost as young as she was in the former days…only younger now because of the joy in her heart, decided to share this piece of Happiness with you.

You will accomplish this great feat with unexpected ease. You will pass it on to future generations. You will slather it on your burgers and pile high the mountain of grated cheddar cheese. You will become known far and wide for your great culinary skills. You will sing my praises…if you don’t happen to already. And you will shout with exclamations of joy when the Great Burger Day comes and you can once again make Love Sauce.

Let us get down to business now. Are you prepared to begin impacting the world with more love?

Assemble your supplies and start your engines.

You’ll need only a few things to make your great mark in the Book of Tantalizing Tastes:

1 cup of ketchup, a very good brand, if you please
3 tablespoons of Liquid Smoke
Bowl and spoon

Mix the two together until they are one. Lick spoon. You’re done.

You are now a Graduate of my Tantalizing Taste School for Masters.

What? Did you forget to send in the application for acceptance to this great school no-one-anywhere-has-ever-heard-about? Did you not enclose your check or money order? Are you suggesting you just got all this for free?

I guess I’ll let you slide this one time…if you make this deal with me. Use my Great and Wonderful recipe frequently and herein and forevermore refer to it as the great Love Sauce that it is and spread your fair share of love in this world. The Good Lord knows we sure need it!

A message from the Dean of Culinary Education (that’s me after all):
You may at any time adjust the measurements given. I just wanted to get you on a roll. More, less, whatever you want. You’re the Boss, I only pretend to be the Boss. I found out I don’t really like being the Boss. It’s too demanding and bossy. It really doesn’t pay that well either.

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Tags: burger topping, homemade condiment, Jan Nellis, sauce

Greek Flatbread Chicken with Rosemary-Lemon Potatoes

January 24, 2011 : Filed under Art of Homemaking, In the Kitchen, Main Dishes, Recipe Box, Relishes, Sauces, & Marinades, Side Dishes

2 Comments

If you visit Atlanta there’s a local dive you must not miss–Grecian Gyro located on Virginia Avenue by Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. It’s a hole-in-the-wall with little parking, but that doesn’t stop anyone. We all wait for parking before going in to wait for food! Funny thing is, you really don’t have to know the restaurant’s proper name. Just say, ‘Greek place by the airport’ and everyone knows exactly where you’re talking about.

Grecian Gyro is famous for authentic Greek gyros and souvlakis along with out-of-this-world potato wedges all covered in the most mouth-watering secret-recipe Greek sauce.

Last week while stranded at home during the snow / ice storm that hit the Atlanta area, my son and I decided to recreate as best we could a Grecian Gyro wrap. I’m Southern, Alabama-Southern, which means I know absolutely nothing about Greek cooking. Maybe this recipe should be called Hillbilly Flatbread Chicken now that I think about it! Whatever you want to call it–it’s good! The sauce, while not Grecian Gyro’s, is a good stand-in and perfect over rosemary-lemon potatoes.

Kellie’s Greek Chicken Flatbread
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
baby-bella mushrooms (any kind will be good)
one red bell pepper, sliced
one green bell pepper, sliced
one large sliced onion
3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped (more if you want it!)
Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning
one lemon
sea salt
fresh black pepper

Artisan Rosemary & Olive Oil Flatbread – wrap in foil and warm in oven. Love this bread!

Cook chicken in pan heated with olive oil and sprinkled with Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning. (My definition of sprinkle is close to coating so use your preference.) Once done, shred chicken and set aside. Saute garlic, onions, peppers, and mushrooms in olive oil, add in shredded chicken. Add salt, pepper, Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning to taste along with the juice of half the lemon. (Feel free to add more lemon juice!)

Greek Sauce
Sour cream, rosemary, Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning, sea salt, fresh ground pepper

Mix 1/2 cup of sour cream with 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary, a couple of shakes of Cavender’s All Purpose Greek seasoning and sea salt and pepper to taste. Adjust any or all of the seasonings to your taste.

To assemble flatbread, spoon chicken mixture into flatbread and drizzle with sauce.
Serves 6.

Rosemary-Lemon Potatoes
1 potato per person, diced. (I used leftover baked potatoes from the night before.)
1 lemon
dried rosemary
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
extra-virgin olive oil

Dice potatoes and cook in a pan with olive oil. Squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon (more if you like) along with plenty of rosemary. Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Brown potatoes. Serve warm with Greek Sauce.