Sam N’ Ella
Behind Bars
The National Drinks of Greece!
Ouzo Anise-flavored liqueur. When water or ice is added to ouzo,
which is clear in color, it turns milky white; this is because the oils from
the anise are soluble in alcohol but not water. Drink ouzo straight, on the
rocks, or add some cold water.
Retsina Resinated white (or rosé) wine that has been made for at
least 2700 years.
Its unique flavor is said to have originated from the
practice of sealing wine vessels, particularly amphora, with Aleppo Pine resin
in ancient times. Before the invention of impermeable glass bottles, oxygen
caused many wines to spoil within the year. Pine resin helped keep air out,
while at the same time infusing the wine with resin aroma. In time the practice
of adding resin to the fermenting must have flavored the wine even more
strongly, and apparently kept it better preserved.
Be sure to read ...
"A Year of Sam n' Ella"
available from GrayInk Press in Dec. 2007
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A Greek Feast...OPA !
This Week's Show...
Greek cooking offers an incredibly rich and diverse array of
foods and beverages that represent thousands of years of
living, cooking, and eating. Each Greek meal is fresh and wonderful taking you on a mini trip to Greece with every bite and sip.
The time of day when the Greeks gather around a table to enjoy a meal,
or some appetizers (mezedes) with ouzo, is a time held in reverence by
all the inhabitants of this country. For the Greeks, sharing a
meal with friends, either at home, at a restaurant or a taverna, is a
deeply rooted social affair. The Greek word symposium, a word as
ancient as the country itself, if translated literally, means drinking
with company. The atmosphere in typically Greek restaurants and
tavernas is very relaxed, informal, and unpretentious.
Salad / Appetizer
Saganaki – Flaming Cheese
1 lb. Kasseri Cheese
2 tbsp. Butter, Melted
2 tbsp. Brandy
1/2 Lemon
Pita Bread Cut in
Wedges
Long Wand Lighter
- Heat oven to broil.
- Have serving tray ready with Pita Bread, lemon
and brandy.
- Cut cheese into cubes or rectangles ½-1” thick –
shape will depend on the cheese that you buy
- Arrange in a pie pan or shallow pan with sides suitable
for broiling and serving.
- Pour melted butter over cheese.
- Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until cheese is
bubbly and light brown.
- Put on serving tray and take to guests.
- Pour slightly warmed brandy over cheese and
ignite immediately, in front of guests.
- Squeeze lemon juice over cheese to extinguish
flame.
- Serve at once with pita bread or crusty French
bread slices.
Village Salad – Xoriatiki (Coriatiki)
Onion, Bite-Sized Chunks
Tomatoes, Bite-Sized Chunks
Green pepper, Bite-Sized Chunks
Cucumber, Bite-Sized Chunks
Kalamata olives
(pitted or not)
Feta cheese
Olive Oil / Red Wine Vinegar
Oregano
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Anchovies
(optional)
- Combine onion, tomatoes, green pepper and
cucumber.
- Mix olive oil, feta, olives, and remaining ingredients and pour
over vegetables.
- Top with additional feta cheese (for looks) and anchovies (Ella says no anchvies), if desired
Main Courses
Lamb Chops - Arnaki Sta Karvouna
Lamb chops (½- ¾”)
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Fresh oregano,
chopped
Garlic, minced
Salt / Black
Pepper
- Combine olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, and
garlic in a small bowl. Mix well.
- Add marinade to lamb chops in a larger dish/bowl. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
- Preheat grill or broiler
- Remove lamb chops from marinade and season with
salt and pepper.
- Place on hot grill or broiler and cook for about
3-6 minutes per side or until done.
Spanakopita - Feta and spinach pie wrapped in phyllo
2 (16-ounce) Package Frozen Chopped Spinach
Chopped Scallions
Minced Garlic
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
3-4 Eggs
Some chopped dill
A bunch of chopped parsley
Pepper and salt
20 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
2 sticks butter, melted
9x13 Pyrex Glass dish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bring water to a boil.
- Add spinach, cover, and boil until spinach is defrosted.
- Place spinach in a colander and drain until barely moist. Set aside.
- Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat.
- Add scallions and garlic and saute until soft.
- Add the spinach cook for a few minutes.
- Add dill, pepper, salt - contiue cooking for a few more minutes and then remove from heat.
- Add the feta, eggs(beaten) - Stir to combine thoroughly
- Place 1 phyllo
sheet in bottom of the buttered 9x13 dish. (Cover remaining dough to
with damp, wrung-out kitchen towel to keep from
drying out.) Lightly coat sheet with melted butter. Place the remaining
sheets, one at a time, coating each with melted butter, stacking one on
top of the
other.
- Spoon spinach mixture on top of the phyllo dough and spread evenly.
- Coat
the 10 remaining phyllo sheets, one at a time (as above, with melted
butter and stack one on top of the other - making sure to press the
phyllo down firmly.
- Score the top phyllo into serving shaped pieces (Squares or Triangles).
- Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until golden brown.
Dessert / Turkish Coffee
Baklava
1.5 Cups White Sugar, white granulated
1.5 Cups Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp Honey
2.5 Cups Water
Rind of 1 Lemon
2 Sticks of Cinnamon
10 Cloves
- Mix first 7 ingredients together in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Then set aside.
6 Cups Mixed Nuts Walnuts,Cashews,Macadamia,Almonds (any combo), chopped
1 tsp Ground Cloves
3 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Sugar
- Combine the above and set aside.
- Melt Butter in Sauce pan.
1 Pkg Filo Sheets (Fillo, Phyllo, Filo - all the same)
1 lb Butter, melted
9 x 13 Pyrex Baking Dish
Pastry Brush
- Preheat oven to
325 degrees
- Place 1 filo
sheet in bottom of the buttered 9x13 dish. (Cover remaining dough to
with damp, wrung-out kitchen towel to keep from
drying out.) Lightly coat sheet with melted butter. Place the remaining
sheets, one at a time, coating each with melted butter, stacking one on
top of the
other.
- After 5 sheets, place 1/3 of the nut mixture eveny over the phillo sheets.
- 4 More filo sheets and butter as above then add 2nd 1/3 of nut mixture.
- 4 More filo sheets and butter as above then add last 1/3 of nut mixture.
- Finish with 4 more filo sheets buttered individually as before.
- With a sharp knife, cut the Baklava diagonally to form diamond shaped pieces.
- Take 1/2 stick of melted (bubbly) butter and pour over before placing in oven.
- Bake the Baklava for 60-75 minutes or until golden
brown on top.
- Meanwhile strain syrup mixture to remove cloves and rinds.
- Spoon the strained syrup over the Baklava and allow to cool completely.
Turkish Coffee
To make a wonderfully rich cup of Turkish coffee, just follow these
steps. Remember, there is no specific recipe for a Turkish coffee
and there are numerous recipes that are tailored to the specific tastes
of the coffee drinker. However, feel free to experiment with this
recipe, as it is designed to introduce this sophisticated drink to your
tastes:
- Grind up some
gourmet coffee beans, with medium-roast coffee beans being the most
tasty option, until they are finer than espresso coffee grounds.
- Slowly add a
mixture of coffee grounds, sugar, and water into a small sauce pot. The
recommended ratio is to have 1 teaspoonful of coffee grounds and 1
teaspoonful of sugar for every 2 ounces of water.
- Once the
mixture is brought to a boil on the stovetop, watch for the froth to
rise. Be ready to serve it before it boils over.
- Repeat this process two more times.
- Serve in small
cups, with espresso cups or sake cups being comparable in size.
There are numerous
ways that you can prepare a cup of Turkish coffe to suit your
tastes. If you take your coffee plain and without sugar, you are
having your coffee sade. However, if you are adding a little bit
of sugar, then you are preparing your coffee az sekerli. Orta
sekerli refers to a cup of Turkish coffee with a medium amount of
sugar, comparable to one levelled teaspoon. A Turkish coffee with
a lot of sugar is known as cok sekerli.
Movies
Zorba The Greek:
This movie turned Anthony Quinn into a Greek forever. Based on the book by
Nikos Kazantzakis (which should be read by everyone who feels that life is
passing them by) it also stars Alan Bates whose character has inherited a
lignite mine somewhere in Crete and meets the free-spirited Alexis Zorba in a
cafeneon in Pireaus. Zorba convinces Bates to hire him to run his mine. Filmed
in black and white the movie documents a Greece that has almost completely
disappeared. With an inspiring soundtrack by Theodorakis (the best work he has
ever done) and the greatest performance of Anthony Quinn's career this is
another movie that must be seen.
Shirley Valentine: This movie inspired several thousand middle-aged housewives to leave
their boring husbands and run away to Greece in search of love in the
form of a Greek fisherman or waiter. Worth seeing especially if you are a
middle-aged housewife bored with your husband.
For The Love of Benji: I can hear the film critics howling but this was a
terrific film about a very smart dog that has had a micro-chip planted on him
by terrorists who escapes into 1970's Athens where he has numerous adventures
including making friends with one of the stray dogs in the agora. There are few
films in English which show Athens
as well as this one does.
The Guns of Navarone: As a big fan of the town of Pylos
where this movie supposedly takes place I have a warm spot in my heart for it.
It stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn plays himself playing
Zorba. The story is about a bunch of commandos in the Second World War who team
up with some Greek resistance to blow up these guns that have been sinking
allied ships, or something like that. I don't think the guns ever existed in
case you plan to go to Pylos (Navarino) to find them.
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