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CORRECTION: An article on Page B11 Wednesday incorrectly reported the recipe for baklava syrup. The recipe is: 4 cups sugar 1/2 cup honey (optional) 2 cups water 1 lemon slice 1 cinnamon stick While baklava is baking, boil water and sugar with a slice of lemon and a cinnamon stick to form a thin syrup. Stir in honey and cool. Spoon cool syrup over hot pastry. Source: “Hellenic Cuisine: A Collection of Greek Recipes”

Wednesday, October 31, 2001

Grecian goodies

Greek Orthodox Church-goers share recipes from behind the scenes of festival preparations

By Leanne Libby
Caller-Times

David Pellerin/Caller-Times

Greek pastries, which generally steal the show at the annual Greek Festival, have been coming out of the oven at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church since July. The final tally included 2,800 dozen twist cookies and 4,800 pieces of baklava.

Mealtime at Mount Olympus surely had all the staples of a Greek feast. There was Zeus and his gyro, Aphrodite and her baklava, Poseidon and his pita.
   Here on Earth, the 38th Annual Greek Festival starts Friday evening. While there's dancing and music and cultural education, the attraction of mythic proportions is, of course, the food.
   This year, there's a new Parthenon to house the party. After 37 years at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, the festival is trying the Bayfront Plaza Convention Center on for size. While it might not be as homey, festival organizers are hoping the additional space and rain-or-shine environment will keep the regulars and attract newcomers.
   Greek eats
   But back to the food. The bake-sale-turned-feeding-frenzy will have an insane number of pastries on hand as well as a full a la carte menu and the standard dinner plate sampler.

What: 38th Annual Greek Festival When: 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday; noon to 1 a.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday Where: Bayfront Plaza Convention Center Banquet Hall Cost: adults $2; seniors over 60 and children under 12 free More Info: 883-0950 or 883-9843

   Church members have been cooking since July in preparation for the more than 2,800 people expected to attend the festival. They've produced about 2,800 dozen twist cookies, 9,000 stuffed grape leaves and 4,800 pieces of baklava.
   Katherine Hrissikopoulos, who has helped organize the festival for 25 years, counts the cheese turnovers, skewered meats and powdered cookies among her favorite Greek foods. She doesn't cook them for herself very often, she said, but when she does, she appreciates modern conveniences such as packaged phyllo dough, or pastry sheets.
   "I remember Mother would make it and stretch it out on the dining room table," Hrissikopoulos, 64, said. "It took a day just for the phyllo. But then you could use it in a lot of ways: for the baklava, the cheese rolls, the meat pie and the spinach pie."
   Hrissikopoulos said the baklava, pastitsio (baked macaroni with meat filling) and cheese triangles are among the favorite foods at the festival.
   "The cookie twists also sell well because they are not as sweet," she said. "And they are great for teething babies."
   Make your own festival
   In the festival's early years, there were no plans to sell anything but sweets.

David Pellerin/Caller-Times

Koulouria, or 'twist,' cookies are a popular choice because they are sweet but not too sweet.

   "People started asking, 'Don't you have more foods?' so we started with the Dinner Plate," Hrissikopoulos said. This year's Dinner Plate includes souvlaki (grilled beef or chicken), Greek orzo, spanakopita (phyllo dough stuffed with spinach, cheese and herbs), dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with beef, rice and herbs), Greek salad and pita bread.
   Many of the recipes for the classic foods at the festival are based on ones in beloved cookbooks like, "Hellenic Cuisine: A Collection of Greek Recipes," which has been a staple in Hrissikopoulos' kitchen since the early 1960s.

David Pellerin/Caller-Times

Kourabiethes, butter tea cookies, are melt-in-your-mouth sweets whose recipe includes a pound of butter.

   "It's held up very well," she said. "It does have some stains, especially around the stuffed tomatoes recipe."
   While the book is now out of print, a similar cookbook, "Popular Greek Recipes" will be on sale at the festival.
   Food is an important part of Greek culture, Hrissikopoulos said.
   "Greeks like to eat," she said. "Especially olives, cheese and bread. I have an uncle who likes to eat bread, olives and tomatoes for breakfast."
   Pastitsio (Baked Macaroni with Meat Filling)
   1 pound macaroni
   1 medium white onion, chopped
   1/2 pound butter
   1 1/2 pound ground beef 1/2 16 oz. can tomato paste
   4 ounces grated parmesan, romano or mozzarella cheese (or combination of the three)
   1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
   1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
   First sauce:
   2 eggs
   1 cup milk
   Second sauce:
   2 cups warm milk
   4 eggs
   Cook macaroni in boiling salted water according to package directions and drain. On low medium heat, sauté chopped onion in at least two tablespoons butter. Add ground meat and stir until brown. Add tomato paste that has been thinned with a little water. Add salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Continue cooking until meat is done, about 10 minutes.
   Melt butter and pour half over drained macaroni, mixing carefully. Spread

David Pellerin/Caller-Times

Church members made several thousand melomakavonas for this weekend's festival.

half of macaroni on the bottom on a 9"-by-13" pan. Sprinkle half of the grated cheese on top. Spread meat sauce over macaroni and cover with remaining macaroni. Add remaining cheese, reserving a little for the topping (about 1/2 cup). Add first sauce and gently shake pan so sauce penetrates dish to the bottom.
   In a saucepan, place remaining melted butter and gradually add 3 tablespoons of flour, stirring constantly. Add milk and continue stirring. Slowly add beaten eggs and cook over a low flame until thickened, about 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Add milk and continue stirring. Slowly add beaten eggs and cook over low flame until thickened, stirring constantly. Spread over macaroni and bake at 325 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Cut in squares and serve.
   Yield: 10 to 12 servingsSource: "Hellenic Cuisine: A Collection of Greek Recipes"
   Tirotrigona (Cheese-filled Triangles)
   1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
   1/2 to 3/4 pound dry cottage cheese
   3 eggs
   1/2 pound phyllo(pastry sheets; available at grocery stores or Middle East Market & Deli, 5405 Everhart Road)
   1/2 pound butter, melted
   Blend feta and cottage cheese and mix thoroughly. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Cut pastry sheets into strips about 2 inches wide. Line them up on a cutting board and brush with melted butter. Place 1 teaspoon of the filling on one end of the pastry strip and fold corner over to make a triangle. Continue folding from side to side in the form of a triangle until it reaches desired size. Continue until all filling and pastry sheets have been used. Line the triangles on a buttered baking pan. Generously sprinkle butter on top and bake in a 300-325-degree oven, about 20-30 minutes or until the top starts to brown.
   Yield: about 30 trianglesSource: "Hellenic Cuisine: A Collection of Greek Recipes"
   Easy Baklava (Diamond Pastry Delights)
   Baklava:
   1 1/2 pounds butter
   2 pounds chopped walnuts
   2 teaspoons cinnamon
   1 teaspoon cloves
   2 pounds pastry sheets
   Syrup:
   1 pint honey
   1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
   2 pounds sugar
   juice of 1 lemon
   Combine walnuts and spices in large mixing bowl. Melt butter, removing salt until butter is clear. Brush bottom of 14"-by-20" pan with melted butter. Layer four pastry sheets, brushed with melted butter, on the bottom of the pan. Brush fourth layer with melted butter, sprinkle with nut mixture. Add another pastry sheet, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with nut mixture, repeating this process until all ingredients are used, ending with four top layers.
   Brush top with butter and cut into diamond shapes after drizzling with syrup (see note below). A clove bud may be placed in the center of each piece if desired. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden brown.
   Make syrup while pastry is baking.
   Boil syrup ingredients together. duce heat and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Use a spoon to slowly pour hot syrup over cooled baklava. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours before cutting.
   Yield: about 4 dozen piecesSource: "Hellenic Cuisine: A Collection of Greek Recipes"
   Kourabiethes (Butter Tea Cookies)
   1 pound sweet butter
   1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
   2 egg yolks
   6 cups cake flour
   1 teaspoon baking powder
   1 cup chopped almonds (browned)
   1 ounce whiskey (optional)
   Soften butter at room temperature until very soft. Put in electric mixer and beat well. Add sugar and beat until fluffy and light-colored. Add egg yolks and beat thoroughly. Sift flour and baking powder and mix into butter mixture. Add nuts if desired. Sprinkle dough lightly with whiskey and knead thoroughly. Roll out dough and cut into diamond or roll into balls. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle liberally with confectioners' sugar.
   Yield: 6 to 8 dozen, depending on sizeSource: "Hellenic Cuisine: A Collection of Greek Recipes".
  
  

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Contact Leanne Libby at 886-3615 or libbyl@caller.com

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