I don't know about you,
but I like trying different kinds of food. From the Brazilian
steakhouses to sushi bars to Ethiopian eateries, I relish an
opportunity to try something different. My husband, on the other
hand, can be a bit more picky. For our anniversary one year, I
managed to convince him to take me to this cute little Greek
restaurant in one of the Atlanta suburbs. The food was so awesome
that I had a hard time choosing which recipes to share with you, but
here are the appetizer and dessert!
One thing I will say about
these recipes is that they take a long time to cook. However, when
you taste them, you'll see that they are worth the wait!
Dolmas
White
rice, 1 cup uncooked
Ground
beef, 5 ounces cooked
Grape
leaves, 16 ounces (about 1/3 of a jar), drained and rinsed
Potato,
1/3, sliced into rounds
Parsley,
¼ tsp, minced
Allspice,
1/8 tsp, ground
Black
pepper, 1/8 tsp, ground
Vegetable
Oil, 2 tsp
Tomato
sauce, 1/3 cup canned
Water,
2/3 cup, or as needed
Curry
powder, 1/8 tsp (optional)
Take
a large pot and cover the bottom with oil. Slice the potatoes and use
to cover the bottom of the pan.
Mix
the uncooked rice, ground beef, pepper, allspice, parsley and curry
powder in a medium bowl until blended. Now, take a cutting board and
lay the grape leaves out flat. You are going to place about a
tablespoon of the beef/rice mixture into the center of each leaf and
loosely wrap it, first from the sides and then from the bottom. Place
seam-side down on top of the potatoes. The dolmas should never touch
the bottom of the pot.
Now,
pour your water and tomato sauce over the dolmas. They should be
covered by at least one inch; if you need to adjust the amount of
water, that's fine. Bring to a boil and let them simmer covered for
45 minutes to an hour, or until the liquid is soaked up and the rice
is tender. Serves 4 to 6.
Baklava
Mixed
nuts, 1 pound chopped
Phyllo
dough, 1 16-ounce package (I've seen it in the refrigerated/frozen
section of the store)
Cinnamon,
1 tsp ground
Butter,
1 cup melted
White
sugar, 1 cup
Honey,
½ cup
Water,
1 cup
Lemon
zest, 1 tsp grated
Vanilla
extract, 1 tsp
Preheat
oven to 350. Loosely mix the cinnamon and nuts. Unroll the phyllo
dough and cut a whole stack in half so it fits the dish. To keep the
dough from drying out while you build the baklava, cover it with a
damp cloth.
Rub
butter over a 9”x13” baking dish and put two phyllo sheets in the
bottom. Brush with butter and sprinkle with about 2-3 tbsp of the nut
mixture. This is the first layer. Repeat until you've used
everything, ending with about 6 phyllo sheets. Cut layers into four
long rows and slice diagonally across it nine times. This will make
36 diamond-shaped pieces.
Bake
in the oven for 50 minutes. While everything is baking, mix the water
and sugar in a small pan and bring to a boil. Stir in the vanilla,
honey and lemon zest. Now, reduce heat and let simmer for about 20
minutes. When the baklava is finished baking, spoon this mixture
over it, let cool and serve. It should be golden and crisp when
finished.
Hopefully
you will have as much fun making these recipes as I had eating them!
Enjoy!
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