Valentine’s Day is a day of celebrating with friends, family and loved ones. As the day nears, we all need a special treat to serve after a fabulous dinner. Or a wonderful dessert to come home to after an evening out. I enjoy making several of these desserts for my family and they can be made ahead so you can enjoy your celebration. So dig in, and have yourself a delightful sweet for your loved ones.
This recipe can be made ahead, and serves many! Organic strawberries is my choice but switch out with the berries of your choice.
Don’t skip the sauce , it adds so much more flavor to this dish.
It’s been cold outside, and this doesn’t happen that often here in Southern California. As the weather dips, I often take out my stuffed vegetable dishes and plan my family meals. This method of stuffing meats, vegetables and fruit is an old Greek tradition. We often serve them with a side of Greek yogurt or sour cream. These recipes can be made ahead, refrigerated and reheated in the oven. Sometimes, the flavors are more intense the next day.
But before shopping for the ingredients, I first venture outside to see what my garden has to offer. I try and plant peppers, eggplant, artichokes, and cabbage yearly in my boxes just for recipes such as these. My winter garden would include cabbage, beets, snap peas, fava beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts and many varieties of greens. Later in the year my spring garden includes artichokes, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, squash and green beans. The vegetables in this post can be found at your local farmer’s market or at your local grocery store.
I would like to encourage you to plant organic varieties for better health, and here are a few sources that can be found online. These are a few of my favorite seed companies below.
I first chose lamb-stuffed peppers because this is a requested dish from my family and is easy to prepare as well. We stuff peppers with everything and anything we have on hand. I tend to have a big bag of peppers in my refrigerator at all times. You can also use red, orange, or yellow varieties for this recipe. For a larger group I do stuffed the peppers whole, but you must give them a longer cooking time. This recipe makes it easier to get dinner on the table sooner. Peppers are so versatile they can be added to so many dishes including quiche, chili, stew, and soup. Here are a few additional pepper recipes you may enjoy: Greek Orzo Salad, Garden Tabbouleh, and Grilled Vegetable Chili.
Let’s move on to Eggplant Stuffed with Grains. What I love about this recipe is that 1/2 of an eggplant is a meal in itself. The grains provide a hearty dish for the entire family. Serve it along a green salad and your dinner is complete. I look for the longer shaped eggplants, but any eggplant will do. Eggplant should be added to your garden list to grow, it’s a heavy bearing plant, so you have fresh eggplant for the entire season. Eggplant is another staple in the Greek Diet. Here are a few more recipes to try; Eggplant Dip, Eggplant Phyllo Pie, and Eggplant Rounds.
One of my favorites dishes to order at an Italian restaurant is stuffed artichokes. You don’t see this dish in many places, but I happen upon one at a local Las Vegas hangout that was so memorable and delicious, I came home and created my own recipe. Try and find large artichokes with green strong leaves that are tightly closed. Artichokes are very common in the Greek diet, so I have included them in many of my recipes. Here are a few more dishes for your recipe box: Thyme Infused Artichokes with Pesto , Braised Lemon Chicken and Artichokes, and Arugula Salad with Fava Beans and Artichokes.
Now, on to comfort food for my entire family~my Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. This is one of my first blog post recipes, can you tell by the picture. I know I need to re-shoot it, but for now this picture shows our dinner plates, so it’s real. A very traditional meal Greeks often eat in the winter when their cabbage is ready to pick from their garden. I love to grow cabbage every season, because my winter garden is pest-free. If you stopped by to see me at the farmer’s market this is the recipe I served to you many times. Cabbage is also a great vegetable to add to your soups as I did here in my Cabbage Soup with Fresh Vegetable Stock.
Traveling up to Melissa’s Produce almost monthly to meet and have lunch with cookbook authors, is one of the most enjoyable times in my culinary career. I don’t think Robert who runs this program understands the impact it makes on us, as we continue on our path into the culinary world. We have learned so much information from the presenters such as cooking tricks, tips and proper techniques which has furthered our cooking skills as well. Many authors shared with us their struggles and success over the years in their business. And we have heard it all, from living a beautiful relaxing life in France to a enormously non-stop busy schedule of two authors in an apartment in NYC.
It is truly is a blessing to have Melissa’s Produce as a support in the industry. Their contribution to the culinary world is always leading the way with excellence and integrity.
Let’s meet Jamie Schler , cookbook author of her new book Orange Appeal.
These are a few of the dishes from her cookbook that we had during the luncheon at Melissa’s .
Morrocan Spiced Orange Slices in Orange Blossom Water
Savory Orange, Onion, and Olive Focaccia
Sweet and Sour Marmalade Oven Baked Chicken
Quinoa Salad with Orange, Pecans and Cranberries
During this month at Melissa’s we had the honor of meeting award winning author Jamie Schler. She introduced her new cookbook Orange Appeal. From her presentation we learned all about the varieties of oranges from her birthplace, Florida. She grew up among the orchards near Indian River, where she spent winters picking and devouring tangerines, mangos, avocados, tomatoes,watermelons and more. What a lucky girl! Her one jingle heard from her youth was:
“A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.”
Today I’m sharing a recipe from her cookbook that was so sweet, creamy and new to my taste buds. I loved the fresh topping made from blood oranges, (I used oranges from my tree) with a touch of vanilla. Um…..introducing her Orange Panna Cotta!
Panna Cotta is an Italian dessert, but add oranges and you have an exceptional dessert to serve at a dinner party or for your family.
Course
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Servings6people
Ingredients
2 1/2 cupsheavy or light cream, divided
2 teaspoonsunflavored powdered gelatin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cupfresh orange juice
1 teaspoonorange zest
2tablespoonswhiskey
1/2 teaspoonvanilla extract
1/4 teaspoonorange extract or orange blossom water
Orange Compote
2 mediumoranges
3teaspoonsgranulated brown sugar or honey
1/4 teaspoonvanilla extract
Instructions
Pour one cup pf the cream into a heavy-bottom saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin on top; gently tap the gelatin to push it under the liquid. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Place the saucepan on low heat and allow the cream to heat slowly, whisking gently for 4-5 minutes until the gelatin dissolves completely. Do not allow the cream to come to a boil.
Whisk the sugar, remaining cream, orange juice, and zest. Continue to cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is thoroughly warmed. Stir in the whiskey, vanilla and orange extract. Remove from the heat.
Divide evenly between 6 glasses or pudding bowls and cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight.
Orange Compote
Cut away the orange peel, white pith and outer membrane from the orange. Cut the fruit into small cubes about 2 cups.
Place the fruit, brown sugar, and vanilla in a saute pan and heat to a low simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
When ready to serve, spoon a heaping tablespoon of compote on top of each panna cotta. Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
TIPS!
When the recipe calls for a supremed orange the technique behind it is very important. First of all, taking the shortcut and just peeling the oranges and chopping them into small pieces won’t do. You have the tough membrane and part of the pith included. What you want to achieve is a smooth small orange bite to blend with the light smooth feel of the panna cotta. Learn to supreme an orange here at Martha Stewart.
Also, as you supreme your oranges the juices will be dripping everywhere. So make sure you do this over a bowl to collect all the juices. And squeeze the orange to release more juices before throwing out. You can save the juice for a vinaigrette, smoothie, or a sweetener.
With any custard-type dessert, make sure to individually wrap each cup to protect the freshness of the dish. Scents collect in the refrigerator and the can impart their flavor onto your dessert.
My family enjoyed the freshness and simplicity of this dessert. And requested it again for our next dessert.
How often do you make a pumpkin pie and have a small amount of pumpkin puree left over?
Here’s a quick dip to make with your leftover pumpkin puree, which can be sweet or savory. Just change up the spices and turn it into a savory dip. Serve with your favorite crackers, bread, carrots, celery or nuts. If you are in a pinch use organic pumpkin in a can.
Ideas:
For Sweet: Use cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered sugar, fresh orange juice, or add fresh fruit such as an apple, pear, dates, or banana.
For Savory: Use garbanzo beans, white beans, sweet potato, herbs such as oregano, thyme, parley, cilantro. Add onions, fresh peppers, or any green such as spinach, green onions, kale.
Note: This could also be served along with a cheese board for a new fresh taste. Serve with cheese that match your choice of sweet or savory.
Try and use a freshly roasted pumpkin, see my instruction below.
When I plan for my Thanksgiving dinner every year my dessert list is always filled with our family’s favorite pies.
What is it about pie that we cannot replace with cakes, cheesecake or cookies?
It all started when I married into the Platis’ family, and my mother-in law Helen served homemade pies for all occasions. She actually had frozen pies in her garage freezer year around. Now that’s hard to beat as a newlywed to the family. So, I sat in her kitchen for hours watching and writing down recipes as I attempted to roll out fresh crusts and prepare the many fillings she had in her recipe box. She was known for her pies in town, and I remember neighbors dropping by as early as 6:00 in the morning for one leftover slice.
It’s Thanksgiving week and I was strolling through the market remembering the many times we shopped for special ingredients getting ready to bake again for the holidays. Fresh pumpkins, spices, butter, flours, sugar, evaporated milk, nuts, whipped cream, and it went on and on as we dropped these items into our baskets.
Today, I’m preparing fresh pumpkins for our family Fresh Pumpkin Pie. I bought four small pumpkins roasted them, scooped out the filling, pureed the flesh in the food processor and placed it in a sieve to sit overnight in a bowl to drain. And it’s ready in the morning for pies.
As I continued to learn different fillings for our holiday pies, my mother-in-law was carefully reading through her current magazines for new ideas. She always had a large basket on the kitchen floor filled with magazines and food articles from the food section of her local paper. They were her treasured few she saved every month.
We would often go to Marie Calendar’s for pie, and one pie struck a chord with her, and it was the multi-berry pie. She couldn’t stop talking about it so we played together in the kitchen until we found our our version of the pie, which I named Our Razzleberry Pie.
It took us many tries with this pie, only because we needed a better thickener for the large amount of juice left from the berries. Even tough you can use flour, or cornstarch we chose our last choice – tapioca. It seemed to do the job. After baking this pie it needs to sit and cool , and or placed in the refrigerator to set up. What a gem of a pie.
As we continued baking together for the holidays, my mother-in -law insisted on her favorite old-fashion pie to be included. For some reason she would bake this for her girlfriends and the grandkids over and over. Again, I remember going to her friend’s house and tasting it there for the first time. But knowing her as well as I do, she made it her own. So, this pie is made every year in her memory ~ She was the best mother-in -law a girl could have!
This was an interesting pie, in that it was the most often requested dessert we made. And we threw many parties every year.
Why? I’m not sure other than it was a real comfort food for that generation. It may not be the healthiest pie to make, but many memories are associated with this pie. Is it not what it’s all about? Hat’s off to a mother-in-law and her famous Pineapple Sour Cream Pie.
Now it’s my turn to share with you my favorite pie for the holiday season. This pie was presented at a local garden party I had attended many year’s ago. It stayed with me for months. I tried to recreate it, and searched for it in my large collection of cookbooks. Nothing. I even called my good friend Wendy several times to try and find the recipe.
After many years, my best friend called and found the recipe from a one of her mother’s dear friend. She attended the garden party and was a terrific baker! And now I can share it with you!
Trust me this pie will always be my personal favorite pie, Best Bosc Pear Pie.
What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving every year, than baking up a set of memorable family favorite pies, just for the memories!
Don’t miss these California Greek Festivals as they prepare to educate, entertain, and feed you with the best Greek food in town!
I haven’t been all these festivals, but my goal is to get to them all within a year. My daughter attended San Francisco’s and was excited to share how great the food was that day. Modesto was the other festival she attended and had a similar story.
I’ve been to San Juan Capistrano’s and they are so dedicated to bringing you a wonderful experience with their food, music and entertainment. Pasadena’s festival is one of the oldest in California, and be prepared to spend the entire day there. There is so much to see for everyone. Where your walking shoes, they are in a large sprawling park.
Turn to Saint Phanourios, the finder of lost articles. Traditionally, Fanouropita is cake is baked on August 27th., in which the baker makes a wish for good fortune. When an item is lost, the cake is baked to ask all saints for help in finding it. The items lost can be a missing piece of jewelry to good health and happiness.
My sister-in -law insisted I make this Fanouropita cake for you, to help carry on the tradition of baking.
I do know as I traveled Greece, baking is a very important custom for several Greek holidays. I attended a special service in Tripoli one Sunday, and the women brought beautifully decorated breads to have them blessed by the priest. Oh, I wish I had taken a picture! But, I nearly got kicked out of the church that day for sitting up front.
This cake is baked in hoping to find a lost item in the Greek Tradition.
Course
Dessert
Cuisine
Greek
Keyword
cake
Servings6
AuthorMary Papoulias-Platis
Ingredients
1 1/4 cupsolive oil
2 1/2cups sugar
1 1/4cupswarm water
1/2cuporange juice
1orangegrated rind
1/2teaspoonground cloves
1/2teaspoonground cinnamon
3teaspoons baking powder
4-5 1/2cupsflour
1/2cup chopped walnuts
1/4cupsesame seeds (optional) or dust with powdered sugar when cooled
Chocolate Cake
2 teaspoonsgood-quality chocolate powder
1 teaspooninstant coffee granules
powdered sugar
Instructions
Combine 4 cups of flour with the baking powder and spices and set aside. For the chocolate cake: add the powdered chocolate and instant coffee granules.
Beat together the oil and sugar until blended. Add the water, orange rind, orange juice and walnuts and continue to blend.
Next, blend in the dry ingredients until smooth. If too thin, add more flour until thickened.
Pour batter into a buttered 10x14 inch pan, or two 8 or 9-inch pans, sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. For the chocolate cake, let it cool and dust with powdered sugar.
This cake is made with pantry ingredients, which most cakes are in the Greek home.
But as you know I love updating a recipe to fit in with my California twist, that I often give to my Greek recipes.
The strawberry fields in our area are still producing colorful sweet berries. All I did here is add chocolate and coffee to the original recipe to give it more of a punch! (the measurements are above in the recipe).
During the baking of the cake, say a prayer for Saint Phanourios’ help and for the soul of his mother, a troubled woman.
Share the cake with seven or more people, but do not reveal what you are trying to find.
Sesame seeds are often used to top breads and cakes in the Greek cuisine. Greek cakes are traditionally not too sweet, and are often served for breakfast or as an afternoon treat.
Summertime spells fresh cherries in our home. Although, I have never seen a cherry tree (so sad) I would love to have planted one in my backyard. My mother grew up with a cherry grove in her village of Corinthos Greece, which I would hear about during her days of storytelling to us kids. She served cherry desserts and drinks to everyone who came to visit. They were her favorite fruit.
Our varietals here are the Bing and Rainer varieties. I try to visit our local farmer’s market as much as possible. These are the two varietals I see in our markets.
I love to pickle vegetables and fruits when they become seasonal. They come in handy for cheese platters, meze and appetizers or just serve them on a salad, with pork tenderloin, or in your favorite sandwich.
As you boil the cherries skim off the froth that appears on the top of the surface. Discard.
After 10 minutes or so, the cherries are ready to be removed. Place in a bowl and cool.
They should be plump and full, do not overcook.
Once you remove the cherries, cook the syrup down a bit and place in a container to cool. Add back into the cherries, or keep on the side for a salad dressing, marinade or drink.
In the summertime who can pass up pickled cherries over their green salad, on a cheese board or over any protein as a kick to their dish! Use any spices you like to change up the flavor - a jalepeno, ginger, or red onion.
Course
Side Dish
Cuisine
California Greek
Ingredients
1 cupsugar
3/4cupwhite wine vinegar
1cinnamon stick
1wholevanilla bean
1star anise
1/2 tsp. salt
1lbsfresh cherries, pitted (about 4 cups)
Instructions
Combine the sugar, vinegar, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, star anise and salt in a saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Pour the mixture over the cherries, allow to cool, then cover and refrigerate.
Recipe Notes
Add these cherries to your salads, on any protein such as lamb, pork or fish. Place in a small cup and add them onto a cheese tray.
These are one of my favorite pickled recipes, so don’t pass them up!
If you happen to be traveling through our beautiful state and need a bite to eat, stop by our authentic Greek festivals for the day! Bring your friends and family to experience the Foods of Greece. Dancing and live music is happening every night along with instruction if needed.
Sip on a glass of ouzo, or wine and spend the evening living Greek!
Hello from California Greek Girl! Teaching culinary is my passion. I’m a Cookbook Author, an Olive Oil Specialist, Certified Plant-Based Chef, and a Greek Girl who loves her food!
