Kalofagas Greek Christmas Dinner Recap

It seems that these Greek Supper Clubs keep getting better and better! I think it’s a combo of getting more comfortable in the kitchen space we’ve been using of late (Aphrodite Cooks Studio) and I am getting the hang of cooking for large parties – not entertaining at home. I do think that many restaurants have forgotten the “hospitality” part of hospitality industry.

If I could entertain/hold these Greek Supper Clubs at my home I would but thankfully, more than a dozen people in Toronto are interested in the dinners I hold. My goal is to show what Greek food is really supposed to taste, look and smell like. I also want my guests to feel like they are being entertained by good friends and each time I hold these Supper Clubs, new friends are made and old friendships are reinforced over dinner, the breaking of bread.

Below are some photos capturing the food and ambiance of the evening. I have no time to take photos but I was lucky to have Thurka Gunaratnam takes some photos throughout the evening. If you need someone to help you with a video/film project or you need some photography done – Thurka’s your gal!

 

My Supper Clubs begin with trio of appetizers, one being a Kreatopita or meat pie. Ground beef, lots of leeks, chillis, trahana, tomato paste all baked in homemade phyllo pastry.

The second appetizer is a dish I like call Oysters ala Greque…very festive and complimenting the season.

The third appetizer was Acropolis Organics olive oil poached mushrooms with herbs like thyme, bay and rosemary on crostini with a shaving of Graviera cheese.

At this point my guests sat down and it’s cold outside….definitely soup season. I peeled lots of artichokes to make this soup with leeks, potatoes, chicken stock and finished with a dollop of strained Greek yogurt and chopped chives.

The next course was one of my all-time favourites – cabbage rolls with Avgolemono sauce.

Drum roll please…..main course. In Greece it’s very traditional to serve pork for Christmas so I created this dish of butterflied and stuffed pork butt with spinach, roasted red peppers and Kefalotyri cheese. The pork was topped with sour cherry/vissino sauce and served on a bed of mashed potato and celery root.

I also served a Politiki salata of cabbage, red peppers, carrots, celery…all tossed in an apple cider vinaigrette.

Still hungry? I hope so…next up is dessert and I knew this would go over well…Ekmek Kataifi.

Christmas is the time for giving and I brought some more traditional Christmas fare…Melomakarona and Kourabiedes cookies served with Greek coffee and Babatzim Tsipouro (without anise).

I would like to thank Paula Costa for her tireless help and support, the servers Amanda and Thurka and our dishwasher Aaron. Many thanks to Vanessa of Aphrodite Cooks and Steve Kriaris of Kolonaki Group for pairing all the dishes with Greek wines.

An extra-special thank you to Acropolis Organics for supplying the olive oil and Mousto balsamic vinegar for this menu and many of the previous dinners. They help make these dinners economically feasible and definitley delicious.

My next Greek Supper Club is scheduled for Sunday, January 27 with a menu inspired by the cuisine of the Ancient Greeks. I am already in the planning stages for the menu and this dinner is expected to sell really well. Book your seats early!