As Easter fast approaches I get excited at the prospect of having a houseful of friends and family that have been fasting for the last 30 hours that I can lovingly overfeed!
When my Grandmother came to America in 1914, all her recipes were stored in her head. As she settled in a small town in Maine, she had a tin knocker make a set of baking pans for her food. I was lucky enough to have these handed down and we fill them every Easter just as she did.
My sister and I cook non-stop for 2 days, then we start decorating the house. The olives need marinating, the eggs have to be dyed and polished, the cookies need to be baked and dusted with confectionary sugar, the lamb butterflied and bathed in wine and herbs. We are busier than santa’s workshop!
On Easter morning every year I get up very early, make myself a pot of good Darjeeling tea and precede to put the finishing touches on our feast. Outside my window there are always 3 black crows sitting in the trees watching Easter dinner unfold... I know who they are, they are all my dead relatives! I smile knowing how lucky I am, roll my sleeves up and get to work carrying on our family’s traditions.
| OUR MENU A Mezza Platter Baba ganoush, hummus, chick pea salad, marinated olives, spinach pie, tomatoes zatar dip, flat bread fresh from the oven, chunks of greek feta and drained yogurt Dinner Grilled Butterflied Marinated Leg of Lamb Broiled Asparagus Stuffed Tomatoes Leek Custards Potatoes Daphenoise Warm Pita Bread Desserts Baklava Mamul cookies Raspberry pie with my sister’s raspberries |
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Calliope's Spinach Phyllo Pie
1 box fresh phyllo
3 bags of spinach leaves 12 oz. each
1 bunch chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 pound feta cheese, crumbled
8 whole eggs
salt and pepper
1/2 pound of melted butter, let cool till warm
1/2 olive oil
Wash and dry spinach, remove large stems and roughly chop and put in to a very large bowl. Add scallions and chopped dill, and crumbled feta. In a separate bowl beat eggs well and pour into spinach mixture, I use my hands to combine. You must get the egg mixture well combined into the spinach mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.
Combine melted butter and olive oil, brush a 9 by 13 deep baking pan with the butter/olive oil mix with a pastry brush.
Remove phyllo from box and put a damp towel over it. Layer phyllo one layer at a time and brush well with butter/oil layer. You must brush the phyllo well, this is what gives you the nice crunchy layered texture. I plan on using the whole box of phyllo pastry, so use 10-12 layers on the bottom of your baking dish. Next add the spinach mixture, it looks like a lot but push it down evenly with your hands. Start putting the phyllo layers on like before. Make 10 or 12 slits in the top finished layer to let steam escape, I use scissors. I also push the phyllo down on the sides with a spoon to make it look prettier.
Bake pie on the middle rack in a 350°F oven for 3o to 35 minutes, till it becomes a beautiful golden color. Serve warm and refrigerate any leftovers.
Brenda’s Chickpea Salad
3 cans drained and rinsed chickpeas
1½ cup cubed tomatoes (3/4 inch)
1½ cup chopped red onions
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 dried currants
3/4 cup finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill(optional)
1 cup pitted kalamata olive
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and let sit in the refrigerator for and hour, this will make the flavors marry together. Serve as part of the mezza platter or serve as an appetizer on its own with flat bread.
Joseph’s Mamul Cookies
(A Walnut Filled Cookie)
1 pound of unsalted butter melted, and cooled to room temperature
6 cups of all purpose flour, (I use King Arthur)
1/2 sugar
lukewarm milk, about 1 cup
Filling:
2 cups ground walnuts (you can use almonds or pistachios as well)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon rose water or to taste (this really makes it special)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a mixer combine congealed melted butter and sugar, cream (beat) till it becomes very light and white in color, approx. 5-6 minutes at a high speed setting. On low speed start adding flour a cup at a time, if it is getting too stiff add some milk. Use all the flour and most of the cup of milk.
In a food processor pulse the nuts and sugar, they should be ground finely. Add the rose water and mix.
Place in the palm of your hand a walnut sized chunk of dough. Using your forefinger, press and expand a center hole by rotating and pressing against palm of your hand until shell is 1/4 inch thick and about 3 inches round. Place a tablespoon of filling into shell. Carefully close, forming a sphere.
Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes...bottoms will be light brown. Remove from oven and sift powered sugar over the cookies while they are still warm.
These cookies maybe kept for weeks in an airtight container if placed in a cool spot.
Brenda Athanus runs a small gourmet food shop in Belgrade Lakes, Maine with her sister Tanya called the Green Spot.
The Green Spot
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207.465.2921