Baked Rice Pudding
When I visit Greece, my travels always include eateries; some that I’ve bookmarked to check out and others that I have discovered along the way. Bakeries and pastry shops have some overlap, offering breads, baked phyllo pies (savory and sweet), yogurt, custards and rice pudding. A few shops also serve up baked rice pudding. Basically […]
New Orleans King Cake
Around last year, two friends and myself went to New Orleans to take in the food, revelry and history of the Crescent city. We spent one week having lots of fun in one the world’s foremost food cities. Before we embarked on our trip, we made a list of possible places to eat, another list […]
Kourkoubinia
I know it’s cliched but the simple things in life are often the most satisfying. In this instance, Kourkoubinia hit the spot. Kourkoubinia are little logs of rolled phyllo that get fried until golden then dunked in syrup. They are crunchy, they are sweet and my oh my…addictive! Think of these as sweet phyllo bites. […]
Frigania From Zakynthos
Three years ago, I visited the island of Zakynthos, located among the Ionian Islands, off the coast of Patras. My hotel was located in the island’s main town and specifically near Solomos (Dionysios) Square, named after the poet who wrote the Greek National Anthem’s lyrics. I ordered one of the island’s specialties, the “Frigania” from […]
Strawberry Shortcakes
I’ve gone head-first into the abundance of local strawberries. Last weekend I went to pick my own from a farm just north of Toronto and I knew I had to make strawberry shortcake(s). The recipe can be assembled as cake (use a round spring form pan, cut cake in half to make two cake rounds), […]
Galatopita, A Ruffled Milk Pie
Isn’t she pretty? I first saw this dessert being made by Vefa Alexiadou, the grand dame of Greek cookery (and friend). Vefa released Vefa’s Kitchen, this huge cookbook that’s a must for anyone who is serious about Greek cooking. Vefa came to the US a few years ago to promote the book and she made […]
Panna Cotta With Greek Yogurt and Mastiha
This past week, I was in New Jersey to cook a couple of Greek dinners, one was in Montclair and the other was in Little Falls. The dinner in Little Falls was hosted by a company called Pecinka-Ferri – they provide restaurant equipment and solutions and they had invited their clients (folks who design and […]
Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta With Apricot Preserve
The yogurt has just set, made another batch of this Greek style panna cotta – Greek style in that Greek yogurt is the twist to this easy Italian dessert. Panna cotta means cooked cream and the Greek yogurt gives in a light tangy flavour that I think all of you will enjoy. The other Greek […]
Easy Banana Ice Cream
Sometimes, simplicity triumphs – especially when the flavour is so damn good! Here, I’ve recreated an ice cream I had years ago at a parlour and I found myself craving it. It was a banana and marshmallow flavour and to this day, I’ve yet to see it reappear in ice cream shops. They call it […]