Easy Chicken Gyros

Delicious flavors for my marinade

So I am pretty much obsessed with cooking shows. You guys probably figured that out by now. Seriously though, I am. I've watched hours and hours of Food Network and The Cooking Channel but over the last few years the type of programming has really changed. Instead of COOKING shows with recipes and demonstrations and new techniques to learn, it's become a game show wasteland. Endless competition and elimination shows sprinkled with some travel shows about food destinations. Many of the good chef are no longer on the network and even the new hosts go right to a show where they travel around sampling barbeque, or burgers, or whatever the theme of the show is. It's super hard to keep my attention with shows like that when I am on a never ending quest to learn more and more about cooking and foods.

See! I actually DO use the Moulis I keep buying!

That, my friends, is where YouTube comes in! I can watch hours upon hours of uninterrupted (i.e. NO COMMERCIALS) shows from all my favorite chefs and stars. This evening I have some time to myself. The Chef is off playing guitar with some friends, and I am taking advantage of the peace and quiet to catch up on some writing, and watching cooking shows. So who are my favorites? I sometimes talk about my favorite chefs and hosts when I'm writing a post, many times I am inspired by something they cooked or included in a cookbook or maybe I just finished watching their show and it's fresh in my mind. I always always will watch Ina Garten. I don't think I have ever missed an episode of Barefoot Contessa and her cookbooks are among my favorites. Rachel Khoo is also a favorite. Her Little Paris Kitchen and Kitchen Notebook series are some of my very favorites and I watch the reruns quite a lot. The story of her teeny tiny apartment restaurant in Paris is so inspiring. I wish I could have gone there! Lidia Bastianich is another favorite. Her restaurant in Kansas City is not very far from here- I'm soooo going to make a trip there soon! 

One of my newest chef idols is Gesine Bullock Prado. Her show, Baked in Vermont, is like watching a story of my dream life. Sister of Sandra Bullock, and a former attorney, she is a self taught pastry chef who has a cooking school right in her home and shares her wonderful creations with everyone. Other favorite female chefs I like to watch are  Alexandra Guarnaschelli, and her Chopped co-star Amanda Freitag. Watching all these amazing and highly talented women in the kitchen is very inspiring to me, and really makes me want to create new recipes all the time. After all, isn't that why I spend so much time watching these chefs? Today's recipe is not something I "created" really, I'm sure many many people out there have prepared chicken gyros, but this version has me written all over it. 

This marinade is everything, guys. The chicken stays so juicy and sooooo flavorful. You can use this marinade for all kinds of meats and for all kinds of dishes. Leftover chicken is perfect in salad too. Don't skimp on that oregano though. Yes, it sounds like a lot of that amount of liquid but trust me on this. t's delicious. Always use dried oregano, like Lidia recommends, and crunch it up in your fingers to release the oils. I do not recommend fresh oregano for this- it can overwhelm and have a chemical taste. The Chef found a package of pitas at Walmart of all places and they were so soft and delicious! They weren't the pocket kind, they were the fold kind but man sakes I haven't had a pita this good in a long long time.

The recipe for the tzaziki sauce is provided courtesy of The Chef, whose cooking career was launched at a long-gone Greek restaurant in Des Moines called Papu's. He paid his early dues there in that kitchen and learned a lot about food, Greek food in particular. This is the same recipe for tzaziki that they made back in the day. It was my first time making it, and it was fabulous!

Chicken Gyros

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of one lemon

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed between fingers
2 cloves garlic, minced

red onion, thinly sliced 

tomato, thinly sliced
shredded lettuce

soft pita bread

tzatziki sauce (recipe follows)

Place chicken in large zip top plastic bag. Combine marinade ingredients in small bowl and whisk together. Pour over chicken, press out as much air as possible, and allow to marinade several hours or overnight.

Make the tzaziki sauce and refrigerate until serving time.

Preheat grill, or grill pan. Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off excess. Discard marinade. Cook the chicken until done, let rest for five minutes.

Slice the chicken into bite size slices. Serve in warmed pita bread with sliced onions and tomatoes,  shredded lettuce and top with tzaziki sauce.

Papu's Traditional Tzaziki Sauce

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup packed grated cucumber

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

pinch black pepper

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Peel the cucumbers. Cut into halves and scoop out the seeds. Grate, then blot with paper towels to remove most of the moisture.

Combine the cucumbers and sour cream with all the seasonings and herbs. Mix in the lemon juice right before serving.

I just wanted to talk for a few seconds about the grill pan. Mine is a Calphalon and it's indispensable in my kitchen. There are several really good ones on the market including cast iron grills and they last a lifetime. If you prefer to grill on an actual grill, by all means do, but for small items like this recipe, a grill pan can be your secret weapon.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."