MEXICAN SAGANAKI

GROWING UP IN CHICAGO, SAGANAKI WAS A SPECIAL TREAT WHEN WE WENT OUT FOR DINNER. PART OF THE EXCITEMENT OF THIS DISH WAS THE TABLESIDE FLAMBÉ. ALWAYS A CHANCE OF MAYHEM. SAW MANY A WAITRES FUCK THIS UP AND LIGHT THE CARPET OR THEMSELVES ON FIRE!

*TRADITIONALLY THIS DISH IS MADE WITH A SEMI-DENSE GREEK CHEESE SUCH AS KASSARI. IT IS MARINADED IN BRANDY OR OUZO, DUSTED IN FLOUR, FRIED IN CAST IRON, FLAMBÉED AND EXTINGUISHED WITH LEMON.

IN OUR EXPERIMENTS TO "MEXICANIZE" THIS DISH, WE RECREATED THIS PROCESS WITH 3 LOCAL CHEESE, ASIAGO, AGED CHEDDAR AND AGED COTILLA. IT WAS THE NAVARRO 6 MONTH AGED COTILLA THAT BEST REPLICATED THE GREEK KASSARI.

THE PROCESS WAS OTHERWISE THE SAME. IN PLACE OF THE LEMON WE USED LOCAL LIMES AND WE WERE EVEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO FIND A PERFECT MEXICAN BRANDY FOR THE MARINADE.

*ACCORDING TO EVERY GREEK I KNOW, THIS IS NOT A TRADITIONAL DISH IN GREECE. IT'S A CHICAGO THING!