Truth in Repetition

After raving enthusiasm from my sister (yes, she was actually raving) about Saganaki*, I decided I would make it myself at home, to see if I liked it. I was hoping, a little bit, that I wouldn’t: it sounds delicious, something you might have as a last meal. Last, because it’s artery-clogging cheesiness is probably deadly.

So – most recipes suggest Kasseri as the cheese de choix. If that is unavailable, alternates would be Kashkaval, Manouri, Kefalograveria and Kefalotiri. See what Cheese-a-day will do for you? So on Friday I went to buy some Kasseri, at the Italian Star Deli on Victoria Avenue. Need I plug the great Ciabatta they have on the weekend? Didn’t think so. Anyway…Carlo recommended Kefalotiri, so we went with that. Made the dish, flaming alcohol and all – A. was thrilled, and we got it on film, just in case. Just in case we burned the house down which seemed like a reasonable possibility at the time.

It was pretty good, but A. didn’t like the lemon. And the cheese wasn’t as stringy as I had imagined.

Yesterday, M. and I went on a crazy trip to the east end. We hardly ever go there, so we stopped at a number of places that we see once in a blue moon: Michaels, Bath Goddess, Paderno, Bal Orient, etc. Since we were there we also went to the cheese shop, once again for cheese to try Saganaki again. M. had missed the whole kitchen-in-flames excitement, so I said we could do it again. Which we did. Film at eleven.

So in the store they had Kefalotiri, Kasseri and some packages labeled as “Saganaki”. I wondered what kind of cheese it was, so I went to the counter and said:

“I was looking for cheese for Saganaki, which is the name of a recipe, not a cheese. So what sort of cheese is this?”

“Generic cheese”.

“But…what kind? Is it goat’s milk, or sheep’s milk?”

“It’s cheese. Cheese cheese.”

Ah yes, that makes it all clear, doesn’t it? Cheese cheese. Silly me.

*saganaki[sah-gah-NAH-kee]A popular Greek appetizer in which 1/2-inch-thick slices of KASSERI CHEESE are fried in butter or olive oil. Saganaki is sprinkled with lemon juice (and sometimes fresh oregano) and served with PITA BREAD. Some Greek restaurants have a dramatic form of presentation: the cheese is first soaked in alcohol (such as BRANDY), then flambéed before being doused with lemon juice. Saganaki is generally served as an appetizer or first course.