Category: BOOK

Pastitsio Recipe – Baked Pasta

The Ladies Philoptochos Society of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
in Grand Rapids Michigan host a wonderful luncheon and bake sale every year.

Greek Luncheon: Ladies Philoptochos Society of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Grand Rapids Michigan
One of their most popular entrees is pastitsio – baked pasta with meat sauce.

pastitsio recipe-baked pasta with meat sauce
This year they decided to follow Tina Afendoulis’ pastitsio recipe,
(she’s my Aunt and Godmother!) which is also in their cookbook.

Taste of Life Greek Food Cookbook
The Taste of Life Greek Food, Ladies Philoptochos Society of Holy
Trinity cookbook was published in 2004.

pastitsio recipe-baked pasta with meat sauce
Here’s my Nouna’s recipe.

Tina's recipe pastitsio-baked pasta with meat sauce
My Nouna Tina in the church’s professional kitchen. She’s so cute and
looking great at 83! Check out her 80th birthday party here.

pastitsio recipe-baked pasta with meat sauce
I ordered a half-pan of pastitsio, that I was lucky enough to get delivered!
(It helps to have cousins who happened to be making a trip to my side of
the state this weekend).

pastitsio recipe-baked pasta with meat sauce
That’s a big casserole but I just cut a portion of it to reheat and put
the rest back in the fridge for another time later in the week.
pastitsio recipe-baked pasta with meat sauce
There are a lot of recipes for pastitsio out there in cookbooks and online,
but this one IMHO, is the best. Enjoy.

 

Happy New Year 2014 – Lobster Alfredo

We usually have lobster for our New Year’s Eve dinner. This year we decided it might be nice to have Lobster Alfredo with linguine. It was delicious and easy to make. Here’s how…
Boil the lobster for 7 minutes, remove it from the water and let it cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove the lobster meat from its shells. Cut it into bite size chunks and set it aside.
Lobster

Now melt butter in a large skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Pour in the cream, add the salt and pepper and cheese. Remember that the cheese is salty, so don’t over salt. Continue to heat this until the sauce just begins to bubble. Meanwhile, cook the linguine and drain it well. Add the linguine to the skillet and stir for 1 minute, until the sauce begins to thicken.

Lobster Alfredo in pan

Add the lobster meat and toss gently. Serve immediately. Garnish with grated cheese and chopped parsley. We paired it with Freixenet, a sparkling wine similar to champagne, produced in Spain. A great way to bring in the New Year!

Lobster Alfredo plated

Happy New Year! Let’s raise our glasses to a healthy and happy 2014 filled with delicious recipes to prepare and share with our loved ones. Kali Xronia!

Lobster Alfredo
 
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Easy Lobster Alfredo
Author:
Recipe type: Pasta Seafood
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • Fresh lobster meat (two 2 lbs. live lobsters)
  • 8 oz. grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 qt. heavy cream
  • ¼ lb. sliced mushrooms
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 Box (16 oz) linguine
  • 3 oz. melted butter
Instructions
  1. Boil lobster for 7 minutes, remove from water and let cool.
  2. Remove lobster meat from shells.
  3. Cut into bite size chunks and set aside.
  4. Melt the butter in a large skillet.
  5. Add the mushrooms and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes or until lightly browned.
  6. Pour in the cream, add seasonings and cheese.
  7. Continue to heat until sauce just begins to bubble.
  8. Meanwhile, cook the linguine and drain it well.
  9. Add this to the skillet and stir for 1 minute, until the sauce begins to thicken.
  10. Add the lobster meat and toss gently.
  11. Serve immediately.
  12. Garnish with grated cheese and chopped parsley.
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Peach and Berry Crumble with Walnuts

Peach Crumble with ice cream

I bought some peaches that turned out to be not as sweet as I expected. Isn’t that disappointing? What to do with all that fruit? Here is a wonderful solution. Bake a fruit and nut crumble dessert. It’s easy and now all the fruit you purchased won’t go to waste. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream.

Peach and Berry Crumble

You can substitute the peaches and walnuts for plums and almonds if you’d like. Any fruit and nut combination will work.

Peach and Berry Crumble 2

Here’s the printable recipe for you. Enjoy!

Peach and Berry Crumble with Walnuts
 
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Kitoula's recipe for Peach and Berry Crumble with Walnuts adapted from Ina Garten's, Barefoot Contessa.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds peaches, cut in ½, pitted, and cut in 1-inch wedges
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • ½ pint frozen mixed berries
  • ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
  • ½ cup quick-cooking oats
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts, plus extra for sprinkling
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. For the fruit filling: In a large bowl, combine the sliced peaches, ⅓ cup of the granulated sugar, ¼ cup of the flour, and the orange juice.
  3. Toss well.
  4. Add the berries and toss lightly.
  5. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish.
  6. For the crumble topping: Place the remaining 1 cup of flour, the remaining ⅓ cup of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
  7. Pulse a few times to combine.
  8. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas.
  9. Pour the mixture into a bowl.
  10. Add the oats.
  11. Work it with your hands until it's in large crumbles.
  12. Add ½ cup of chopped walnuts.
  13. Mix well.
  14. Spread the topping evenly over the fruit, making sure the fruit is covered.
  15. Sprinkle with some extra walnuts and sugar.
  16. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and bubbly and the topping is golden brown.
  17. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Kreatopita – meat and leek pie

KreatopitaKreatopita – meat pie [or more correctly, Kreatoprasopita – meat and leek pie] is what my Mother made to celebrate the New Year. She would hide a coin in one of the corners of the crust for one of her 4 children. The child that chose the piece with the coin was said to have good luck in the coming New Year.  Kreatopita ingredients
Ingredients: ground beef [or lamb], leeks, eggs, butter and phyllo…oregano & basil
…salt, pepper, oregano and basil.

leeks and butter
Sauté the washed and finely cut leeks in butter. Melt butter for phyllo.

ground beefIn a separate pan, brown the ground meat. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and basil. Set aside to cool.

golden leeksSauté leeks until wilted and golden. Set aside to cool.

While leeks and meat are cooling, place 10 individually buttered phyllo pastry sheets on the bottom of a baking pan. Butter each one of the phyllo sheets with a pastry brush. Be gentle, but know that the phyllo is forgiving. Similar to papier-mâché or wallpaper. Have courage! Work fast. Don’t let it dry out.
Kontos phyllo comes in different thickness:
#4 = thin and pliable – ideal for panned pastries and small hors d’oeuvres
#5 = thin and crispy – for wrapped triangles or baklava
#7 = thicker but flexible – for large entrées or desserts
#10 = thickest – more rustic for country style pies and spanakopita

If you are very brave you can make phyllo from scratch. See Chef Diane Kochilas’ Greek Food TV – Classic Greek Phyllo Dough.

meat leek egg mixtureCombine cooled leeks and ground meat with eggs. Pour meat, leek and egg mixture into the phyllo.

phyllo layersTop with 10 individually buttered phyllo pastry sheets. Remember to score/cut the phyllo into desired pieces with a sharp knife before baking [because I forgot]. Bake at 350 degree F for 30 minutes.

Kreatopita

Maybe a bit too flaky and broken apart on top [because I didn’t score it] but still delicious!

5.0 from 1 reviews
Kreatopita - meat and leek pie
 
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Kreatopita / Kreatoprasopita Meat & Leek Pie with phyllo dough
Author:
Recipe type: Savory
Cuisine: Greek
Serves: 16
Ingredients
  • 4 cups of finely sliced leeks
  • ½ cup of butter of butter melted
  • ¼ butter for sauté
  • 1 lb. ground beef or lamb
  • 6 eggs
  • ½ lb. phyllo pastry sheets - approx 20 sheets per box
  • Dried oregano and basil
  • Salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Sauté the washed and finely cut leeks in butter until wilted and golden.
  2. Salt and pepper leeks.
  3. Set aside to cool.
  4. In a separate pan, brown the ground meat.
  5. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and basil.
  6. Set aside to cool.
  7. Combine leeks and ground meat with eggs.
  8. Mix well.
  9. Place 10 individually buttered pastry sheets on the bottom of a baking pan.
  10. Pour meat, leek and egg mixture into the phyllo.
  11. Top with 10 individually buttered pastry sheets.
  12. Score/cut the phyllo into desired pieces with a sharp knife before baking.
  13. Bake at 350 degree F for 30 minutes.
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