Christina Xenos

@xtinaxenos

Personal Chef + Cookbook Author 🍋 Seasonal Greek + Mediterranean recipes 📍Los Angeles Inspiration + Info:
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Saffron Seafood Rice // In our family it's traditional to eat seafood on Christmas Eve. Most of the time when I was growing up it was just simple shrimp sautéed in butter with spaghetti before we made the mad dash to church.⁠ ⁠ But this year I'm dreaming of this showstopper: Saffron Seafood Rice. The recipe combines a mix of your favorite seafood with aromatics like fennel and saffron — of course.⁠ ⁠ Customize it with whatever seafood you love: shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels, etc. ⁠ ⁠ This dish is super easy to make and cooks up fast with so much flavor. ⁠ ⁠ The recipe is going out tomorrow to all my meal planning subscribers on @Tastemade . Get it by following think in my profile. Get a trial month of my Olive club by using promo code: cook200⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #greekfood #greekrecipes #greekcooking #greekfoodblogger #ig _greece #thisisgreece #hellogreece #ilovegreece #christmastable #mediterraneancooking #mediterraneanrecipe #mediterraneandiet #christmaseve #christmasrecipe #personalchef #privatechef #greekcuisine #feastofsevenfishes #howtocook #greekfoodbloggers #eatrealfood #seafoodrecipe #saffron #safronrecipe #feedfeed
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1 year ago
Makaronada // When I was visiting my family last week, my Dad (who never cooks) said he wanted to make his mother's version of Makaronada. If you haven't had it before, Greece's version of red sauce comes with a twist. Greek's often use warming spices in savory dishes and this recipe calls for a dash of cinnamon. It's subtle and wonderful. Also and incredible gift to have my dad cook for me. You can get this family recipe when you subscribe to my meal planning club on @tastemade . Every week I send out 4 of my favorite recipes + a comprehensive grocery list to take all the logistics and work of weekly meals off your to-do list. You also get a few other goodies. Just follow the link in my profile to sign up. Use code cook200 for a trial month! #Makaronada #greekfood #greekcooking #greekrecipe #greekrecipes #greekdiet #mediterraneandiet #familymeal #eatrealfood #mediterraneanfood #mediterraneanrecipe #redsauce #pastalover #ilovecarbs #heresmyfood #eattheworld #pastalovers #feedfeed
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1 year ago
Smoked Souvlaki FTW! Who else is firing up their grills and smokers this weekend? I've been looking for a smoker solution for my patio space in Los Angeles and nothing would really fit. That's until I started using @asmokegrills_ !!re!!_039;s AS350 portable wood pellet grill and smoker. For this recipe, I used pork shoulder and marinated it in olive oil and red wine vinegar, using plenty of salt, pepper, and oregano. Then I used Asmoke's 100% Applewood Pellets to fuel the grill and smoked the kabobs at 250ºF until they were tender, smokey, and perfect. I made a platter out of it with some peppers, onions, fries, tzatziki, and pita for the ultimate build-your-own souvlaki experience. Such a perfect party spread. The grill's ASCA Technology, uses superheated steam to keep everything tasty and moist. I added a bit of the marinade to the lower tray for an extra burst of flavor. All you have to do is load in the pellets, plug in the grill and you're ready to cook! It's also easy to pack up and take camping, and easy to transport to my client's houses. What are you grilling/smoking this weekend? Let me know in the comments. • • • • • #greekchef #greekfood #greekbbq #greekdiet #souvlaki #ilovesouvlake #mediterrraneanfood #mediterraneandiet #kabob #asmoke #asmokegrills #pelletgrill #portablepelletgrill #portablegrill #grilling #barbecue #memorialday2022 #memorialdaybbq #memorialdayweekend #greekfoodblogger #personalchef #privatechef #backyardbbq #bbqtime #easyrecipe #summerfood
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1 year ago
Celebrating #OurOliveWorld with @garciadelacruzoliveyou and @melissasproduce . Love doing a deep dive into Garcia de la Cruz’s sustainable olive farming practices and oil production. We started with the Mediterranean Sunset Cocktail from @divinadolci a delicious blend of Ojai Pixie Tangerine juice, lime, simple syrup, prosecco and Garcia de la Cruz’s olive oil. And the amazing chef team at Melissa’s created a delicious menu featuring their produce and showcasing Garcia’s oils including this beautiful Ojai Pixie Tangerine Olive Oil Cake, Steak and Dutch Yellow Potato salad, Yellow Potato Salad with Garcia’s Premium Stuffed Olives, Black Eyed Pea + Chickpea Hummus with Garcia’s evoo, and a variety of grazing boards. Such an amazing day 🫒🫒🫒🥂☀️ #ouroliveworld #oliveoil #inmelissaskitchen
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15 days ago
Out of the kitchen and onto the red carpet! Oscars night @academymuseum was just magical made only better by the best parea 🥂💫🍾
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16 days ago
Kalo Mina! Happy October, Everyone 🎃🍂⁠ ⁠ Easing into this new month, reflecting back on one of my favorite memories from the last few weeks at @lalovesalexs . This year the event raised more than $1.3 million to fund pediatric cancer research for @alexslemonade 🍋🍋🍋⁠ ⁠ This is a cause close to my heart for many reasons, and it's always a joy to attend, support, and volunteer over the last decade. Not to mention all the amazing food, wine and cocktails from some of the best chefs in the country.⁠ ⁠ Hoping this new month and new season bings you as much joy, inspiration, and deliciousness ✨✨✨ ⁠ ⁠ #kalomina #lalovesalexs #alexslemonadestand ⁠ ⁠
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5 months ago
It's World Spanakopita Day! And I can't think of a better day to celebrate my favorite food than by sharing my favorite recipe for it 🍃 Save this recipe or find all my tips on MySweetGreek.com Spanakopita 2 lbs fresh or frozen spinach 3 bunches scallions (about 6 oz), chopped 3/4-lb (12 oz.) Feta cheese, (or up to 1 pound) 1-2 cups shredded Kefalotiri, or another shredded hard salty cheese like Pecorino Romano 1 cup fresh herbs (dill, mint and flat leaf parsley), chopped 2 eggs 1 1-lb box Phyllo dough 1 to 1-1/2 sticks butter or 1 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, for brushing phyllo 2 teaspoons black pepper Make the Filling: For Fresh spinach: In a large pan, wilt the spinach. Squeeze out excess water. Roughly chop. If using frozen spinach, defrost + squeeze out all excess moisture. Transfer spinach, scallions, herbs to a large bowl. Add the both the cheeses, black pepper, and eggs. Mix well. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Melt 1 stick of butter in a pan or in the microwave. If using olive oil, pour out at least 1 cup in a bowl (you may need up to another 1/2 cup). Make sure the box of phyllo is at room temperature. When you're ready to use it (not before or it will dry out), unwrap it so it is in one rectangular pile. Dip your pastry brush in the melted butter or olive oil and brush a 9" x 13" baking pan with it. Pick up one leaf of phyllo and lay it in the pan. Lightly brush phyllo with oil/butter. Repeat layering the phyllo buttering each individual leaf. Layer about half of the leaves in your package. Dampen a kitchen towel and lay it on top of the unused phyllo. This keeps them from drying out. Pour the filling on top of the phyllo leaves in the pan. Evenly distribute it across the pan. Start making your top crust by adding a leaf of phyllo, brushing it with butter/olive oil it and adding another on top. Repeat the process for the rest of the leaves. Make sure to butter/oil your top piece of phyllo. Score the pie with your knife. You should be able to divide the pie evenly into 12 square pieces. Bake pie until top is brown, and phyllo layers are visible (like in the photo) about 45 minutes, to an hour. #Spanakopita #worldspanakpitaday #spanakopitarecipe
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8 months ago
Want to take your dishes to the next level? Here’s one of my chef hacks: Always have incredible, high quality products on had to work with. Can’t express enough how much I love using @globalgardens amazing olive oils, fruit balsamic and other gourmet goodies! They’re one the secret ingredients / chef hacks I use to take my dishes to the next level. Posted this to let you all know that you can sign up for their club online. When you join their club you get select incredible oilve oils, balsamic fruit vinegars, and other gourmet food products, spice blends, snacks and more shipped to you anywhere in the US 4 times a year. #dayingthelife #personalchef #privatechef #personalcheflosangeles #privatecheflosangeles #chefhack #chefhacks
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8 months ago
What's your favorite summer food?⁠ ⁠ Love me a souvlaki pita with skewers just off the grill. So many memories of being in Greece for everything πανηγύρι to just a quick snack. Nothing says summer food more than this ☀️⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #souvlaki #souvlakipita #πανηγύρι #panigyri #greekfood #greekdiet #greekrecipe #greeksummer #streetfood #souvlakia #summerfood #greekfestival #greekchef #greeksouvlaki
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8 months ago
People inevitably always ask me what makes Greek food so good. And the secret is there's no real secret. It's just simplicity and high quality, fresh, seasonal ingredients — and maybe a squeeze or two of lemon 🍋 ⁠ Snapped these at Atlantikos, my favorite hidden seafood spot in Psyrri. One of the best places to get a taste of the islands in the big city 🇬🇷⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #greekfood #greekrecipes #ig _greece #thisisgreece #ilovegreece #iloveellada #ig _chania #ig _crete #greeksummer #cheflife #visit _greece #secretgreece #greeceinstagram #greekdiet #greekcuisine #traveltheworld #passionpassport #traveleurope #greekchef #personalchef #privatechef #travelwithme #hiddengreece #athensgreece
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8 months ago
Fully embracing stone fruit season with this Peach + Cherry summer salad with Halloumi croutons 🍒🍑🍃 ⁠ Peaches and cherries are at their peak right now, and pairing them with salty halloumi and peppery arugula makes for the perfect summer salad. ⁠ ⁠ There's no strict recipe here. I used 3 smaller peaches (you can definitely sub nectarines if you don't like the fuzz), about 1/2 cup of cherries (pitted and halved), and then a couple handfuls of arugula. ⁠ ⁠ For the halloumi croutons, I used about 8 ounces of halloumi, cut it into squares and seared it for a little over a minute on each side to get some color/texture.⁠ ⁠ Finished it all off with a drizzle of lovely @globalgardens olive oil pomegranate balsamic. You can use any other balsamic or expiriment with other fruit balsamics, petimezi, or saba — whatever you have in your pantry.⁠ ⁠ #summerfood #summersalad #sweetgreeksummer #halloumi
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8 months ago
🍅 Chicken Saganaki // Saucy Tomato Chicken with Feta 🍅 I love the iconic Greek dish Shrimp Saganaki, but don't always have shrimp on hand. So, I started making it with chicken. It's a recipe perfect for summer, super versatile and easy to make. Sometimes I add in a pinch of saffron when I'm making the tomato sauce or throw in a few olives at the end. I love using skin on chicken thighs for this because you start by rendering the fat out of the skin, which just amplifies the sauce. You can serve it on its own with some crusty bread, or some orzo pasta (my favorite), mashed potatoes, or roasted cauliflower. For more recipes Follow ➡️ @xtinaxenos 🍅 Chicken Saganaki: Saucy Tomato Chicken with Feta 🍅 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs 1 yellow onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, chopped 2 pounds cherry/grape tomatoes, halved 1/3 cup Feta cheese 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons black pepper 2 pinches saffron muddled with 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) Parsley Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Season chicken with 1 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Heat oil over medium high heat in at least a 3-5-quart oven-proof sauté pan or braised. Brown chicken for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate. Turn down heat to medium. Add onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt along with the saffron salt (optional). Cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until it is fragrant. Pour in tomatoes and cook for another 3 minutes, or until they start to release some of their moisture. Put the chicken back in the pan and submerge up to the skin. Crumble Feta over the top, cover and bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes. Remove and make sure chicken is cooked to at least 165ºF. Garnish with parsley and serve. #chickensaganaki #GreekCuisine #FoodiesOfInstagram #LowCarbRecipes #mediterraneanfood #greekdiet #summerrecipe #recipeinspo #whatsfordinner #heresmyfood #greekrecipes #HealthyEating #MediterraneanDiet #HomeCooking #InstaFood #SimpleButDelicious #SoulFood #personalchef #privatechef #thefeedfeed #personalcheflosangeles #easyrecipe #chickenrecipe #mealprep #summerdinner #greekfood
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8 months ago