A Tzatziki to Remember.

If you know me in person, you know I love, love, love cookbooks. I have way too many, yet not enough. I have many favorites, but my all-time favorite go-to cookbook is The Gourmet Cookbook which came out about 3 or 4 years ago. {As an aside, I will confess here that I have been reading cookbooks since I was 5 years old....I am such a weirdo, I know.} The editors of Gourmet Magazine went through 60 years worth of material and compiled the best of the best recipes. It's super thick and I just love it. Literally everything I have made from it has been a hit. If you have this book, I'm going to bet you agree with me and if you don't have the book, well, you're in luck because I am going to share a recipe today on this here blog.

This is a simple, crowd-pleaser of a recipe: Tzatziki. You know this stuff, right? The Greek cucumber yogurt dip? Oh dear, this is good stuff. I first had it on a European backpacking trip during college (you know, the 14-countries-in-two-months-all-on-a-Eurail-pass-I-did-Rome-in-a-day-how-about-you-trip?). We ended up in the Greek islands and I just fell in love. With this sauce, of course. I think I ordered the gyros sandwiches everyday just so I could slurp up the tzatziki. I had never found quite the right recipe until I was given this cookbook. Now, I can whip up a batch, close my eyes and be there. (Let's face it, that's the only way I'm going to be experiencing Greece for awhile!). Now, close your eyes and be with me in Mykonos. {This makes a great light lunch, perhaps with some olives, a great snack for down by the pool, or a perfect summertime appetizer with a glass of rose wine.}

Tzatziki

(From The Gourmet Cookbook)

6 c. plain whole-milk Greek-style yogurt*

2 seedless cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil, preferably Greek

1 1/2 T. chopped fresh dill

1 T. finely chopped fresh mint

1T white wine vinegar

1 t. salt

1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

Pita chips, for serving

This is the easy part: combine all ingredients and refrigerate, covered, for at least 4 hours (to let the flavors develop). Serve with pita chips...homemade, if you're feeling especially motivated.

*Using Greek-style thick yogurt is key. If you can only get regular yogurt, you have to drain it in cheese-cloth for several hours before using it in this recipe. Be sure to throw away the whey.