Thursday, June 14, 2007
Holy Trinity! A Greek cookbook!
Larry Bly
Larry Bly has plenty on his plate these days. He's got two TV shows on Cox Cable Roanoke. Click ahead for details and showtimes.
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The fine folks over at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church have printed a cookbook, called "Our Ethnic Cuisine," filled with Greek delights galore -- more than 200 recipes in all. You can truly appreciate good Greek cooking once you've seen how labor-intensive some of our favorite dishes can be.
Many, like the popular moussaka, have instructions that run nearly a full page. Same with kourkoubinous, a dessert item. I was worn out just reading the amount of work involved to create such light, puffy, flaky, sweet morsels. Come to think of it, I've been called a puffy, flaky, sweet thing myself on occasion; or at least flaky and puffy.
I'm going to share a few of the recipes, but just a few. After all, they are trying to raise some money with the sale of these books, so we won't give too much away.
For those not adventurous enough to whip up a spanakopita (a spinach pie), you might consider letting them do all of the work by attending the annual Greek Festival Days over at the church. Parking gets a little tight, but it's worth the effort. I ate my way through the festival last year, sitting under the big tent with hundreds of other ravenous folks. They have musical entertainment for everyone and fun activities for the kids.
The Greek Festival will be this fall, Sept. 14, 15, and 16.
For more information on the cookbooks or the festival, go to roanokegreekfestival.com.
And now for a few of those recipes:
GREEK MEAT BALLS (there are actually four different recipes in the book)
5 slices white bread
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 T. chopped parsley
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 T. vinegar
1 T. olive oil
1 T. tomato paste
1 tsp. oregano
Pepper to taste
Remove crust from bread and crumble. Combine bread with all ingredients and mix by hand making sure to mix well. Shape into small balls and place on greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until meat is cooked, turning once.
AVGOLEMONO SOUP (chicken soup)
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup rice or 1 cup orzo
4 eggs, separated
Juice of 2 lemons (this is what makes Greek soup so special, so light and delicious!)
Bring stock to a boil. Stir in rice. Cook on low heat until rice or pasta is done, about 20 minutes. Remove soup from heat.
For the egg-lemon sauce: Beat egg whites until frothy. Add egg yolks and continue beating until blended. Gradually beat in lemon juice. Add hot broth slowly to egg sauce, beating constantly. Pour egg sauce into soup and stir well. Serve hot and sprinkle with black pepper if desired.
KOURABIEDAKIA WITH PECANS (Pecan Sand Tart Cookies)
1 lb butter, softened
4 T. confectioner's sugar
2 T. cold water
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped pecans
4 to 4.5 cup flour
Cream butter, gradually adding sugar; mix until well blended. Add the rest of ingredients and mix well. Shape into desired shape. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until done, but still light in color. Sift confectioners' sugar over cookies.
There are two desserts that the Greeks must surely have brought down from heaven: baklava and macaroons (amygdalota). If you've never tasted either homemade from scratch, you haven't lived. I'd give you the recipes, but believe me, it's best left to ambitious fund-raisers. Or put yourself up for adoption to a fine old Greek family.
I'll try to re-remind of you this when we get a bit closer to fall. Mostly I wanted you to know about the cookbook, assembled with love by the Ladies Philoptochos Society of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. I've just come up with a new slogan: Will work for baklava!
Bly for now!
