Medley of Thessalonikean Delights
If I were to ask you to list what Greek dishes I kept getting requests or searches on the blog for, Baklava would be included. Baklava may not necessarily have been spawned in Greece but it’s been certainly embraced by Greeks and it appears on menus, offered/made in most (if not all) Greek homes and […]
Melomakarona (μελομακάρονα)
Greeks like to have an array of sweets, cookies, appetizers out for offering to the revolving door guests during the Christmas holidays. I’ve already shown you Kourabiedes and now you get to see the other standard offering, Melomakarona. I’m sure you can read the ingredients list but here are the flavour tags for this simple […]
Baked Quince With Mavrodaphne & Pine Nuts
Quince are is season and they are found in Greece, Italy and throughout most of the Mediterranean basin. Quince or Cydonia Oblonga (Kydonia in Greek) grows on a small deciduous tree and it is related to the apple and pear. Quince has a high pectin content and it’s often used to make jams/marmalades. Quince have […]
Kunefe
This past summer while in Greece I also took a side trip to Istanbul (Constantinople). I had previously gone to Istanbul one other time in ’97. The first time I visited this magical city I had spent most of my time seeing the more touristy sites like Dolmabahce, Blue Mosque, Aghia Sophia, the Egyptian Spice […]
Margarites or Baklava Daisies
Aren’t mom’s the best? Just when I thought my mom showed me all the tricks in her book (brain) of kitchen techniques, she smacks-down this little ditty on the kitchen counter! I’ve seen these in assortment trays from Greek bakeries. I’ve eaten these at Greek festivals. I seen these offered by other cuisines (Middle-Eastern, Lebanese […]
Saragli (Σαραγλί)
There are many riffs on Baklava that one can make and Saragli are just one of them. The classic Baklava is made with stacks of buttered phyllo spiked with a mixture of nuts, cinnamon, sugar and cloves. For Christmas this year, we decided to make an array of Baklava/Syropiasta sweets. In the coming days, I […]
Lady Fingers (δάχτυλα-κυριών)
You’ve been asked before and you’ll be asked again…”is there anything better tasting than fried dough”? This delicious treat comes from the island of Cyprus. This predominantly Greek-speaking island lies in the easternmost corner of of the Mediterranean Sea (between Turkey and Lebanon) has a cuisine very similar to mainland Greece but it also possesses […]
Baklava (Μπακλαβάς)
Finally…a baklava recipe and some background and opinion on this dessert, popular all around the world. The origins of Baklava can be traced to Turkey (which is fine by me) and rather than focus on the differences between Greeks and Turks, I try and focus on the similarities between the two peoples. Relations between the […]
Kataifi (καταϊφι)
The sister dessert to Baklava has to be Kataifi. The more common and popular dessert is baklava but don’t let that keep you from trying out this dessert that’s easy to assemble, fabulous to look at and ever a delight to eat. Much like Baklava, Kataifi exists in the dessert repertoire of Greek, Turkish, Middle […]
Chocolate Baklava
Perhaps one of the best known and popular Greek desserts is Baklava. Greeks have made & enjoyed Baklava for ages and it’s popularity is further evidenced by versions of Baklava appearing in Turkish, Middle-Eastern and Persian cuisines. Baklava is essentially made of layers of phyllo sandwiching a nut and spice mixture in the middle. A […]
