(by 10 people)
My grandfather ("papou" in Greek) was born in Skordalou, Crete, Greece. He came to the USA in 1912. Many years later, he bought a restaurant in Berkeley, California called the "F & M Grill".
He ran it very successfully for many years, until he retired in 1948. The picture you see on the left is from his days as the chef there. But he never gave up his love of good food and the kitchen. People flocked to his home for good food, home made wine, and great conversation.
He died in 1973 at the age of, we think, 83. He tended to fib about his age.(smile)
This lens is proudly dedicated to Estelios Marinakis, my wonderful papou.
Papou Marinakis' Dolmades
Makes enough for the entire Greek army (more or less)
First, you have to say the special prayer to my papou. You hold your hands over the ingredients (which will be soon listed) and say "Papou Marinakis, you passed away and never gave anyone your recipe for dolmades. Please guide my hands that I may make a wonderful treat for my guests and family." He always comes through.
2 1 pound jars grape leaves
1 large (46 ounce or thereabouts)
can chicken broth
about 1/4 to 1/2 jar dried dill
some dried mint
some Greek oregano (use the other if you must)
a little (and I mean ligo,ligo) basil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 or 2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 pound ground lamb (can use ground beef, but lamb is better)
2 cups UNCOOKED long-grain white rice
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 eggs
Set aside first two ingredients. In large bowl, mix all other ingredients together.
Next, drain grape leaves. Place a leaf on large plate and cut off stem. Place some of mixture a little bit above the place where the stem was. Fold sides over and roll up. Place fold-side down in LARGE heavy pot (Dutch oven is great). Remember, rice EXPANDS when it cooks. DO NOT ROLL TIGHTLY.
Next, take a heavy plate, and place it on top of the uncooked dolmades. You are going to boil these in minute. If you do not use a heavy plate to weigh them down, they will unravel, and, well, trust me, you don't want to go there.
Next, in another large pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Pour OVER the plate, into the other pot where the dolmades are. Cover the dolmades pot and boil until rice is cooked. About 20 minutes or so.
Remove cooked dolmades to a platter or large plate, and serve. Can be served hot, cold, or room temperature. As kids, we ate them like popcorn, so Grandpa made LOTS of them.
Leftovers, if there are any, can be frozen. They heat well in a microwave, but add a little (ligo, ligo) water to whatever you reheat them in, and cover. That way, the rice is nice and tender.
ENJOY!!
If you are not a Greek-speaker, "ligo" is Greek for little.
Greek Food on CafePress
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God Invented Baklava Flag Women's T-Shirt
Shows two small Greek flags and reads, "If God had meant for me to be skinny, He wouldn't have invented baklava." Great for a laugh or two.
Women's T-Shirt
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Greek Cooking on the Internet
Sites about Greek cuisine
- Corfu for All - Greek Taverna Recipes
- Handful of recipes.
- Cretan Cooking
- Sample recipes from Maria and Nikos Psilakis book "Cretan Cooking."
- Traditional Greek Recipes
- Handful of recipes from Skopelos Island, North Sporades.
- Favorite Greek Recipes from the Island of Andros
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- Traditional Greek Recipes
- Regional specialty dishes offered by Mavrommatis winery.
- Recipes of the Island of Lesvos
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- GreekCuisine.com: Your Guide to Greek Food :: Recipes, Cookbooks, and Culinary information about Greece
- Lots of recipes here, from appetizers (Spankopita or "Baked Spinach with Three Cheeses") to Tsourekia (Sweet Easter Breads). Some recipes named only in English, some include the Greek name as well.
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- Greek Recipes collection, from appetizers to sweets, along with articles about Greek Food. Includes Ancient Greece and a section about Greek wines.
- An Introduction to Greek Food and Greek Cooking
- Centuries of culinary and cultural influences have gone into making modern-day Greek foods some of the healthiest and tastiest in the world. Learn about the ingredients, history, and achievements that have brought Greek cooking into the limelight.
Greek Cookbooks
The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking
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The Complete Book of Greek Cooking
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The Greek Vegetarian: More Than 100 Recipes Inspired by the Traditional Dishes and Flavors of Greece
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Greek Wine
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- Greek Wine | GreekWine.gr promotes greek wines in Greece and abroad.
- A web site about Greek wine, the regions it comes from and lots of other cool stuff.
- All About Greek Wine: Experience the Greek Wine Renaissance
- All About Greek Wine, a joint venture of sixteen of the most prestigious wineries of Greece, is dedicated to promoting top quality Greek wine in the North American market.
- A Guide to Greek Wine
- Matt Barrett's guide to Retsina and other great wines of Greece
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- A guide to the wines and winemakers of Greece with information about Greek wine history, wine regions, appellation laws and varieties.
Greek Cooking and Wine
The Food and Wine of Greece: More Than 300 Classic and Modern Dishes from the Mainland and Islands
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 07/05/2008)
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter (Hinges of History)
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Greek Pastries
Just when you think you can't eat another bite...
- Kadaifi (Greek Pastry With Nuts And Syrup) Recipe
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- Baklava Greek Pastry
- Baklava is a great Greek pastry made with honey, nuts and filo dough.
- Cooks.com - Recipes - Greek Pastries
- Links to recipes for a wide variety of Greek pastries and cookies.
Great Greek Pastries
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Greek Pastries and Desserts
Amazon Price: (as of 07/05/2008)
The Tess Mallos fillo pastry cookbook: And introducing Kataifi pastry
Amazon Price: (as of 07/05/2008)
Greek cooking: Cookery and pastry
Amazon Price: (as of 07/05/2008)
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The Guestbook
Where you can make a comment
This is the guestbook for you to tell me how great you think this lens is, or how terrible!
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Katrina
I love the story of your "papou" and this is a great lens! Thanks for sharing AmeriYank Posted May 25, 2007 |
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AmeriYank
Meatless avgolemono? Avgolemono means simply, "egg Posted October 10, 2006 |
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genglo
I love this lens! I'm married to a Greek vegetarian, so it's always a challenge to find great recipes. Any suggestions for a meatless avgolemono? Posted October 09, 2006 |
My Own Cafe Press Shop
Just a sampling of items and designs
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Hooded Sweatshirt
Price: 30.99
God Invented Baklava Flag Jr. Raglan
Design shows two small Flags of Greece. Reads, "If God had meant for me to be skinny, He wouldn't have invented baklava."
Jr. Raglan
Price: 24.99
