When our family finds something we enjoy, we can’t help but continue making it until time ends.
Here are more pictures and the recipe!
Now, on to the vine rolls!
Roger
Here’s a link to the original post as well.
… more Greek Snacks!
the food nobody makes
There is a beauty in learning how to cook and mastering those foods that are so special to you and those you care about.
The problem today is three-fold: first, very many people know very little about nutrition; secondly, basic meal preparation for a lot of folks comes out of a box or a can and ;lastly, they are stumped at where to go to learn. The folks on TV are entertaining, but they spend far too much time trying to be easy or different…. they don’t teach the basics of bread or cake making or what constitutes a well rounded dinner.
I even read in a current recipe book that one never uses any cake in a bread pudding! Funny, the old kitchens of the 1800’s to early 1900’s would throw in everything from bread to croissants and from cake to muffins! They really knew how to cook in those days… and they didn’t waste anything.
Here’s a tough question I asked a few people: how many minutes does it take to cook a 3 minute egg? It was surprising to find that a lot didn’t know how to begin to answer that question. I know it sounds a little mean … but it does show the state of affairs in many kitchens today.
I love my bread pudding with a wonderful brandy sauce!
The key to starting out is to start with the basics, master that and then move up. Children love to learn how to make desserts: cookies, pies and cakes. It’s great to see a child pull out their first set of Tollhouse (Chocolate Chip) Cookies… and dig in when they are still warm and gooey!
Teach someone to cook and you open a world to them that they never knew existed!
Roger Freberg
Greek Cheese Turnovers are Tiropites
Another culinary masterpiece from Greece is the seemingly simple cheese turnover called the ‘Tiropites’. Although something similar is made in other parts of the world, what makes it uniquely Greek is the use of Filo (Phyllo, Filo or Fillo) dough. To me Filo dough is one of Greece’s wonderful and unique cultural contributions to the culinary world. I have always enjoyed this very yummy appetizer.
My daughters on returning to Greece had a number of requests and this was one of them. Although it appeared that what they enjoyed in Athens was made with Pastry dough rather than Filo, I am sure it was very nice, although it sounded much more Turkish than Greek.
Here’s how I made it:
Mix in a bowl:
7 oz. Feta Cheese
1/2 cup cottage ( or Ricotta) cheese
3 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
sea salt ( although there is a lot of salt in the cheese, I tend to add a bit more)
garlic powder ( ah, who can blame me?)
ground black pepper ( it’s what they do over there)
2 eggs
Filo Dough
Take 3 or four sheets of Filo dough and slice in half length wise. ( some recipes call for using only one sheet… but this makes the turnover too fragile). I would suggest using a broad knife to turn the dough.
Brush the dough with olive oil – or butter- if you like that sort of thing 😉 …. place a spoonful of batter on a corner of the filo dough and fold over as if folding a flag. The first fold makes a triangle and this is done over and over until it is completely wrapped!
When completed, place on a greased cookie sheet, brush the top of the filo dough and sprinkle with a small amount of salt, pepper and garlic powder
Bake
Bake at around 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
enjoy!
Roger Freberg
PS. Feta Cheese can be rather strong and rugged for many tastes and mixing in another milder cheese gives this dish a broader appeal.
Madame Wu and the art of chinese cooking
Whenever Laura and I could save enough, we would make the journey to Madame Wu’s for a very special dinner. Considering dinner for us struggling students meant coming up with a weeks pay for dinner for two, we valued the times we were able to come and dine.
I have wanted a copy of Madame Wu’s cookbook for quite some time, but I have had a bit of a wait. Her cookbook I love was printed in 1973 ( the year after Laura and I were married) and her recipes are simple, yet wonderful. Her specialty at the time was Wu’s Beef, one of my many favorites. She speaks — as some of us sometimes do — that the culinary world is as important to a culture as art and science… and I agree.
“The first condition on learning how to eat is how to talk about it. Only in a society wherein people of culture and refinement inquire after a cook’s health, instead of talking about the weather, can the art of cuisine be developed. No food is really enjoyed unless it is keenly anticipated, discussed, eaten and then commented on….. as the poets of yore praised good Chinese food, so will you!”
I hope Laura doesn’t find the recipe for “Cashew Shrimp” or I’ll never get her out of the kitchen. In the meantime, I plan to prepare and enjoy every recipe in her lovely and simple book.
Roger
PS. Madame Wu has returned to Los Angeles near their farmer’s market under the name MADAME WU’S ASIAN BISTRO & SUSHI. It won’t take a week’s salary anymore as it is most affordable… and I hope to try it the next time we’re in town.
(323) 965-8150
ye best cooks have some pirate blood
Aye learned told long ago that many o’ th’ best chefs an’ cooks had a wee bit o’ seafarin’ hearty blood in them! Some might say that they be willin’ t’ throw the’r ethics t’ th’ wind an’ `steal` a recipe or two.
However, I be thinkin’ what be really goin’ on be th’ continual thirst fer ideas an’ a new perspective on on th’ horizon! Fresh sassy ideas an’ new ships are worthy plunder!
Me recipes be nay fer th’ fainthearted as they require a lot o’ work, many more ingredients an’ much more time t’ prepare than most swabbies be willin’ t’ spend. I be havin’ t’ say though th’ final result be ample reward fur th’ journey.
Recently one sea dog around these waters tried t’ steal me recipe fer Gingerbread cookies. However, aye recaptured me scuttled notes an’ I be now makin’ th’ requested cookies fer me lass Kristin in Iraq.
`Tis clear sailin’ fer me cookies now, matey.
argh
Roger