There must be something in the chillier air; friends are rapidly scheduling theme dinners, sometimes two in a week! Michael and I jumped into the wagon train with a Greek motif, and here are some recipes from that delicious evening (all taken from The Regional Cuisines of Greece, a delightful cook book produced by the recipe club of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church back in 1981). Additional dishes devoured with gusto included a chick pea salad, octopus salad, roasted butternut squash, yogurt sauce and, of course, spanikopita and baklava.
Spinach Balls – you’ll need: 3 pounds fresh spinach (thank you Inverbrook Farm for the field day picking perpetual spinach!); 3 eggs; 3 Tbs butter; 1 large onion, chopped; 1 cup kefalotiri cheese or Parmesan cheese; 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled; 1/2 cup mince dill; salt and pepper; 1 cup bread crumbs; hot oil for frying.
Wash and de-stem the spinach. Parboil for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain well, pressing the water out with the back of a spoon. Chop. Mix all ingredients together, except the bread crumbs and oil. Shape the mixture into 1/2-inch balls. Roll in bread crumbs and deep fry in hot oil and drain on paper towels. Serve warm. NOTES: 3 10-oz packages of frozen chopped spinach may be used, but it is not necessary to precook the frozen spinach. Thaw, drain well and proceed. Also, my mixture didn’t stick together very well, so I added some flour and the breadcrumbs until it did, then I got into the frying pan.
Stuffed Grape Leaves with Avgolemono Sauce – EXCELLENT!! – you’ll need: 1 12-oz jar grape leaves; 1 pound ground beef (we used lamb); 1 cup uncooked rice; 1 large onion, grated; 1 8-oz can tomato sauce; 3 eggs; salt and pepper; 2/3 cup crushed mint (chopped fresh leaves if available); 1/2 – 3/4 cup veggie or olive oil. For the sauce: liquid from the dolmades (grape leaves); 1 cup chicken broth; juice of 3 lemons; 3 eggs.
Rice the grape leaves in cold water. Mix the beef, rice, onion, tomato sauce, eggs, salt, pepper and mint. If necessary, add a little water – mixture shoudn’t be thick). To stuff the leaves, place 1 Tbs of the mixture in the center of the dull side of the leaf, and fold outer parts over filling. In a 3-quart casserole, put 1/2 to 3/4 cup veggie oil. Arrange Dolmades on bottom, folded side down, and keep piling them up until meat mixture is all used. Add enough water to cover the Dolmades (I covered with a broth). Cover and cook over medium heat until rice and leaves are tender, about 30 minutes – or cook in the oven at 300 degrees for about an hour. Immediately drain the liquid from the pot and into a saucepan. Keep Dolmades covered while you make the sauce.
Keep liquid simmering in a saucepan, add more salt if necessary. In a blender, beat 3 eggs thoroughly, slowly add the lemon juice and hot liquid, blending continuously as you do so. If there is more liquid than the blender will hold, empty half of the egg mixture into a saucepan. Continue beating remaining mixture in the blender, slowly adding the rest of the liquid. Mix all the sauce together in the saucepan, then pour it over the Dolmades. Cover with a lid until ready to serve.
Peta – you’ll need: 1 package dry yeast; 1 cup warm water; 1 Tbs sugar (or honey); 6 or so cups of flour; cornmeal; sesame seeds. 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle yeast over water and stir in. Add sugar, salt, and 3 cups flour. Beat until very smooth and shiny. Gradually add remaining flour. Knead until dough is elastic. Place in a greased bowl and turn to grease dough completely. Cover with a damp cloth, let rise in a warm place until double in bulk. Punch down and turn over in bowl. Cut off egg-size pieces and roll into rounds. Place on a greased cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Brush tops with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let rise another 1/2 to full hour. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
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