BIG, FAT, GREEK DINNER at Jacek and Joanna's; March 26, 2006

appetizers:

Olives in Sesame Crust and Prunes with Bacon - prepared by Dena and Sam

Prunes with Walnuts - prepared by Dena and Sam

Tzatziki and Pita Bread- prepared by Joanna and Jacek

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Tzatziki is a traditional Greek dip. It is usually served with dolmades - grape leaves stuffed with rice and spices. Tzatziki also makes an attractive addition to vegetable platters. It can be served with soft bread or bread sticks.

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32 oz. plain yogurt
3 Persian cucumber
5-10 cloves of garlic
1 TBS. fresh mint, finely chopped
1 TBS. olive oil
1 TBS. balsamic vinegar


1. Wash and grate the cucumber.
2. Set the cucumber aside in a colander or strainer, to allow excess liquid to drain away.
3. Finely chop or press garlic.
4. Place yogurt into a bowl, add garlic, mint, oil, vinegar and cucumber.
5. Stir well.
6. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Kolokithokeftedes - prepared by Joanna and Jacek

Makes approximately 20 keftedes.
Serving suggestion: serve with yogurt

1 lb zucchini
1 cup grated cheese
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
4-6 Tablespoon bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for frying

1. Grate the zucchini and place in a colander. Using your hands squeeze out excess water.
2. Add the remaining ingredients except the olive oil, adding bread crumbs to make a thick batter.
3. Heat the olive oil.
4. Taking a heaping tablespoon at a time, drop batter into the hot oil. After 2-3 minutes turn and cook on the other side for an additional 2-3 minutes. They should be golden brown and crisp. Do not overcrowd frying pan. 5. Drain on paper towels.

Kolokithokeftedes served along with marinated olives and Greek feta cheese

Greek Veggie Towers - prepared by Joanna and Jacek

salad:

Greek Salad - prepared by Jonh nad Kyle

Kyle presents the salad

side dish:

Rice with Spinach - prepared by Gail

Cretan Pilafi (rice side dish) - prepared by Joanna and Jacek

(Source: Evdoxia Tamaresis, 7 October 2005; recipe provided by John S. Tamaresis)

3 cups rice such as Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice
1 can (64 oz.) chicken (or vegetarian) broth
Lemon juice (one-half to three-quarters wine glass)
Butter (one-half to three-quarters stick)

1. Pour the entire can of chicken broth into a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
2. Place the butter in a stainless steel pot and melt over medium heat. Pour the rice into the pot
and saute over high heat until it turns a light brown color.
3. Lower the heat and slowly add all of the broth. Raise heat to medium. Add the lemon juice.
Stir well.
4. Raise the heat to high until the liquid begins to boil. Lower to medium, cover, and stir
occasionally. Simmer until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid.

main dish:

Psari Plaki Sto Fourno (Greek fish baked with tomatoes) - prepared with Joanna and Jacek

Serves 8-10
Nicely served with Retsina wine.

4 lbs thick fillets white-fleshed fish (red snapper is a common choice)
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup + 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 large onion, thinly slicedwhole head of garlic, peeled and chopped
6 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cup dry white wine 2/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in to 1-1/2" pieces

Salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Sprinkle the fish with the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and allow to stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Meanwhile, pour 1 cup olive oil in to a large skillet and saute the onion and garlic over medium-low heat until soft. Add the tomatoes, wine, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Brush a large baking dish with the remaining 2 Tbs olive oil. Place the fish in the baking dish and surround with the potato pieces. Pour the sauce over the fish and potato pieces.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.Bake for 45-55 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Psari Plaki Sto Fourno served with side dishes

dessert:

Pears Poached in Spiced Red Wine - prepared by Catherine and George

Vanilla Custard Soy Ice Cream - prepared by Catherine and George

Puff Pastry Rafts - prepared by Catherine and George

BIG, FAT, GREEK DINNER at Jacek and Joanna's

Dessert

Catherine and George made pears poached in spiced red wine with puff pastry rafts and vanilla soy ice cream. The ice cream was an experiment and turned out very well.

Pears poached in spiced red wine
6 Bosc pears, stems intact
1 bottle Pinot Noir wine
3/4 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
6 black peppercorns
1 clove
1--3-inch strip of orange peel, zest only

Heat the red wine with the sugar over medium-high heat in a saucepan that will hold all the pears upright. Stir sugar to dissolve.

Core the pears from the bottom and peel them. If necessary, slice the bottoms so they will stand up fairly straight.

Add the spices to the red wine and let simmer for a few minutes. Then add the pears. Simmer until slightly tender, about 20 minutes, basting with the wine every 5 minutes or so.

Remove from the heat and let cool. Remove the pears to a clean dish, cover them, and let stand at room temperature if serving within a few hours, or refrigerate if desired.

Strain the spices from the red wine and simmer the wine briskly until reduced to a thin syrup. Let cool.

Serve the pears with ice cream and wine syrup poured over. If using puff pastry rafts, place the puff pastry next to the pear and place a scoop of ice cream on top of the puff pastry. Pour the wine syrup over all and let it puddle on the plate.


Vanilla Custard Soy Ice Cream
A delicious substitute for dairy ice cream for the lactose-intolerant

4 egg yolks
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
2 cups soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl. Heat the milk in a saucepan until steaming; do not scorch. Pour milk slowly into the egg mixture, whisking the whole time. Return the milk and egg mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until thickened (it will coat the back of a metal spoon). Stir in the vanilla. Pour into a bowl and cover the whole surface of the custard closely with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming. Refrigerate until well-chilled, at least 4 hours.

Prepare in your ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer's directions.


Puff pastry rafts

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

Let puff pastry thaw on the kitchen counter. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. When thawed, cut puff pastry sheet into thirds in one direction and then cut each strip into thirds again--making nine pieces. A pizza cutter is a useful tool for this.

Cut each of the nine squares into six strips. Weave the strips alternately over-and-under, 3 strips vertically and 3 horizontally, into latticed mats about 4 inches square.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 15 minutes until nicely browned. Cool on a wire rack and store in an air-tight container until used.

Entree: Marcella Hazan's Fricasseed Chicken with Jerusalem Artichokes

For the entree of our February 25 Piedmont dinner, Catherine and George made a recipe from Marcella Hazan's cookbook Marcella Cucina. Chicken is sauteed and simmered with thin-sliced Jerusalem artichokes (actually, the root of a special type of sunflower), garlic, parseley, capers, and white wine. The Jerusalem artichokes add a sweet and nutty flavor to the dish.

The chicken was served with polenta, a ragout of wild mushrooms in butter, white wine, and parseley, and fresh spinach sauteed with garlic and olive oil.