Author Archives: cousins

Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

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Arguably the most famous of Greek dishes, no gathering of Greeks is complete without Spanakopita. This is one of those recipes that our mothers and aunts know how to make with their eyes closed. They don’t measure anything, and when you ask them how much of an ingredient to use they say things like “αρκετό” (enough) or “μπόλικο” (a lot). Not very helpful, right? Our Mom was starting to get a little annoyed with us while she made this Spanakopita because we kept stopping her to measure things. You will see her beautiful hands in a lot of these pictures. Those hands make a mean Spanakopita.  Continue reading →

Twitt

Fasolakia Yahni (Green Beans in Tomato Sauce)

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After the gluttony of Thanksgiving, does anyone else feel the need to ingest nothing but vegetables for the next couple of days?  If so, here is a recipe for you — but first you should understand something about Greek vegetables.  They are shall we say “cooked through”.  Never crisp or crunchy. When we were kids we might have described them as “mushy”, but now that we are all grown up and know better we use the term “velvety” instead.

Here’s how you make them…  Continue reading →

Twitt

Tiropitakia (Phyllo Cheese Triangles)

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Our first post may have been a bit obscure, but this one is about as classic as you can get. Throughout our childhood, watching the moms gathered around the table folding these little triangles was a sure sign that a party would be happening soon. They are the perfect appetizer, and the cheese filling can be modified to suit your taste.  Our Mom likes to add milder cheeses to the feta and use white pepper so there are no specks of color, but other people prefer a bolder flavor and add stronger cheeses (like kefalotiri) and herbs. We love that these can be frozen before baking so you can have them ready in advance, and bake them up at the last minute. They are best when served warm, but taste pretty great at room temperature, too.

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Twitt

Youvarlakia   

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Here it is…our first attempt at documenting our family recipes. Between work schedules, kids activities, and our Mom’s church volunteering, it took us awhile to  get this first post off the ground.  So, when we finally found the time and had to decide what to make it boiled down to two things: something that wouldn’t take all day, and something that our kids would eat.  If we were going to take the time to cook, document the recipe, and take pictures, we definitely didn’t want to have to make dinner that night!  This isn’t the prettiest or the most well-known Greek dish out there, but it is something that we ate all the time growing up.  A weeknight staple, if you will. It requires basic ingredients and doesn’t take long to come together.  Plus, our kids love these and call them ‘Golden Meatballs’.  What more can you ask for?  Continue reading →

Twitt