My mother made this delectable Greek custard with cinnamon for a weekly dessert or for our breakfast. The recipe is a reflection of how simple our diet was growing up as kids. My mother had a reputation for her clean, and not too fussy food. Straight out of oven it’s simply dusted with a cloud of cinnamon. During the cold season we often serve it warm. In the summer time this dessert is quickly changed by adding fresh berries. It’s one of my go to easy recipes for everyday cooking.
Terms to Know: Water Bath
Water baths are typically used for custards, cheesecakes, and puddings.
Theses recipes need a gentle heat and moisture in the oven.
The hot water ensures you have a steady heat source and slow cooking for even baking.
The safest way to do this is to place your empty larger pan in the oven. Once you fill your custard pan place it in the larger pan. Place them together in the oven.
Add warm water to reach halfway up the sides of your custard pan.
Make this simple custard dusted with cinnamon for a quick breakfast or dessert. Serve it warm or cold. Can be served with fresh berries or a cup of coffee/tea.
Course
Breakfast or Dessert
Cuisine
Greek
Keyword
breakfast, cinnamon, custard
Servings6
AuthorMary Papoulias-Platis
Ingredients
3cupsmilk
1/2cupsugar
4eggs
1tablespoonvanilla
pinchof salt
cinnamon for topping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Place a square 8x8 glass pan in a larger pan with hot water reaching half way up the sides.
Warm the milk, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and vanilla. Set aside.
Beat the eggs in a medium bowl, and slowly add in a 1/2 cup of warm milk into the eggs, whisking until well blended.
Add the remaining milk whisking slowly.
Place a sieve over the glass pan and pour through into the pan.
Place in the oven in the water-bath and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until knife inserted comes out clean.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Cool, then refrigerate for several hours before serving.
Custard is very important and often used in the Greek cuisine. Here are a few more recipes to try for you and your family.
If you love Satsuma Mandarins then watch out, because here comes a new orange the “Neapolitan Mandarin”. I thought I loved the Satsuma variety (I even went out and bought my own Satsuma tree several years ago), but when Melissa’s Produce sent me these “Neapolitans” I almost ate them all before I could write a post about them. Candy-like and juicy with a soft tangy burst in your mouth. They have all the incredible flavors to take first place as my new favorite.
Let me tell you about this little gem of an orange.
Neapolitan Mandarins are a brand new hybrid variety available commercially for the first time in limited quantities.
This Neapolitan, also known as Page, is slightly smaller in size than most mandarins, but has a big flavor with a very high natural sugar content.
This fruit is seedless, easy to peel and extremely juicy.
I had no idea what to do with them because in the Greek diet we eat fruit for dessert. And it would be a sin if I cooked or baked with them. So, I happen to be on Instagram and saw that it was “National Chocolate Cover Anything Day” on the California Strawberry site. And it dawned on me that I love both of these ingredients. I could still preserve their amazing flavors, just enhance them with a touch of chocolate. And I did. Easy and quick and a perfect individual dessert for everyone at your table. An entire orange dipped in chocolate. Any complaints? Not in this house.
Use any mandarin and make it the center stage by dipping it in chocolate for an elegant individual dessert. It can be served with a dollop of whipped yogurt, a drizzle of honey, or an orange sorbet.
Course
Dessert
Cuisine
California Greek
Keyword
chocolate, citrus, mandarins
Servings6
AuthorMary Papoulias-Platis
Ingredients
6mandarins, I used Neapolitans)
18 ouncepackage of bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate
1teaspoonsugar, only if using unsweetened
19 ouncepackage chocolate wafers, finely crushed
Instructions
Place the chocolate in a medium bowl and melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or the microwave), until soft. If using unsweetened add sugar before placing in microwave. See instructions below.
While warm, dip the orange 3/4 of the way up the sides, in the melted chocolate. Dip immediately in the chocolate crumbs.
Place on wax paper to dry. Place in the refrigerator to harden.
Cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.
Serve in a bowl with whipped yogurt, orange or raspberry sorbet, or a drizzle of honey.
Recipe Notes
Melting chocolate:1 unwrapped chocolate square in microwavable bowl on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave 30 seconds more or until chocolate is almost melted. Add 10 seconds for each additional square.
Roasted cauliflower is the perfect addition to your holiday appetizer tray. I used a blood orange flavored olive oil, but a premium extra virgin olive oil works just as well. I just wanted that extra kick and flavor boost for this appetizer to awaken your taste buds! Serve the entire head on the board with a small paring knife, and have your guests pull it apart. Serve on a larger board with cheeses, nuts, dried fruit and bread. This also makes a great side dish for any of your main dishes. Add this simple and quick dish to your Meatless Monday meal, your family will love the nutty flavor from this delicious roasting technique.
Here’s the recipe, so simple!
Clean the cauliflower head by cutting away any dead leaves. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place on a sheet tray and sprinkle entire head with olive oil of your choice.
Add salt and pepper.
Place in the oven and roast for 30-45 min. roast until tender. (Check with a skewer or sharp knife tip).
Sprinkle with fresh herbs, I used dill and parsley.
Make the dip by using 1/4 cup blood orange olive oil with 1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar. Add chopped herbs, salt and pepper. Whisk together.
(If using a non-flavored olive oil you may also use sherry or red wine vinegar.
Serve dip alongside the cauliflower alone, or on a cheese board with nuts, dried fruit, and bread.
Note – The cauliflower can be roasted the day ahead and reheated before serving. This can also be served at room temperature.
Flavored extra-virgin olive oil can be found at your local fine gourmet stores, or online. I found mine at Temecula Olive Oil Company.
And if you would like to learn more about olive oil, take a look at my cookbook, Cooking Techniques with Olive Oil.
A hands-on phyllo demonstration class is one of my most popular cooking class. This is not making phyllo from scratch, which is another topic, but just working with the store-bought phyllo we find in our store. After class I often see many smiles and positive comments made from my students. They find working with phyllo is much easier once they are shown the technique. Many leaving the class are hoping to use phyllo in their cooking without the fear they had before attending. And it’s true. The dough is quite easy and forgiving which many doughs are not. I would rather work with phyllo than a pie crust any day!
My mother had to show me several times and with practice I became comfortable with it. Once you know more about phyllo, you will have an easier time with it. Here are some facts before getting started with your recipe, that you need to know. As I worked the county fairs for many years, I made up to 100 pans of each Greek pastry we offered. Just like any pastry, you need to work with it many times to get the feel just right!
Phyllo needs to be defrosted overnight in your refrigerator, so plan ahead and keep several boxes on hand. Keep the dough in the box.
Remove the phyllo package from the refrigerator as you begin the filling to warm up a bit. Don’t unwrap.
Phyllo needs butter or olive oil brushed between all sheets to get it’s crispy texture. If they are sticking together, two sheets can be used at once and it will work. I use sweet unsalted butter, or extra-virgin olive oil.
Use a soft bristle pastry brush, so not to tear the dough.
Plan on completing your filling first, then unwrap the phyllo. It will dry out if you answer the phone.
I lay out my phyllo on a clean kitchen towel as I work.
Phyllo comes in various thicknesses. I tend to use the thinner phyllo for pastries, and the thicker for savory dishes. But, if you cannot find either one, use whatever you have available to you.
The #1 instruction not written in most recipes when using phyllo, is to score the top before baking.
Always score the top layers of the phyllo dough with a sharp knife before baking or freezing. This will help in serving the dish after it’s baked. Follow recipe instructions on how many pieces to score.
If you plan on serving this on a busy holiday, I bake mine ahead of time and freeze it. It can then be baked off early in the day. ( I don’t like baking it the night before, because the top phyllo layers get soggy).
Phyllo dough can be found in the freezer section, next to the puff pastry or pie dough.
If you are not using all the dough, re-wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Purchase sheet trays for larger dishes, the phyllo dough fits these pans.
Instructions for a large casserole #1
Step One: Open the package and unroll the phyllo sheets gently, onto a kitchen towel or smooth surface.
Step Two: Place the first sheet down onto a greased sheet tray. A deep large casserole dish works as well, but you may have to cut the phyllo to fit the pan.
Step Three: Using your pastry brush and butter every layer lightly, but covering every corner and around the edges.
Step Four: Once you have all the bottom sheets layered, add the filling to the pan.
Step Five: Top with remaining sheets of phyllo, buttering every sheet. Butter the top sheet well.
Step Six: Score with the number of pieces you would like to serve and bake. (or freeze at this point)
Instructions for wrapping an appetizer #2
Step One: Place one sheet of phyllo on a smooth surface or on parchment/wax paper and cut larger than the phyllo size. Butter phyllo. (I use a silpat).
Step Two: Place a second layer on top and butter. Continue according to recipe.
Step Three: Cut phyllo in thirds or fourths, length wise.
Step Four: Add filling to bottom edge and lift bottom edge of phyllo up and over filling.
Step Five: Lift left corner and fold over to the right side to form a triangle.
Step Six: Lift right corner over to the left side.
Step Seven: Continue until all the phyllo is used up.
Step Eight: Place on a greased sheet pan , seam side down. Butter the top of the triangle.
Follow baking instructions in recipe or cover and freeze at this point, and bake off another day.
Enjoy my recipes from my blog below, and send me pictures of your experience working with phyllo. I may just post them.
Dandelions called Radiki in Greek, are made weekly in homes and restaurants throughout Greece. Simple with only three ingredients, dandelions are quickly boiled in water, and doused in olive oil and lemon. My mother would stop along the roads to and from work looking for dandelions in the fields of our small town. I will never forget the time she stopped behind my high school, (with me in the car) in a dress, and ran up to the field and brought back with her a handful of freshly picked dandelion weeds! Yes, weeds that are grown wild where we live. But research has found that eating wild greens, such as these are terrific for your health.
But I have to admit they are an acquired taste. Not only are they nutritional but I’m convinced they are a powerfood for our bodies. According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D, from Eat To Live, plant foods have tons of protein, including eight essential amino acids. A good example is one cup of spinach has 5.4 grams of protein and let’s not forget calcium as well. He also claims dark leafy greens such as kale, mustard greens, collard greens, swiss chard, watercress, spinach and arugula have the highest nutrient density score (100), which identifies phytochemicals, antioxidant activity, and total vitamin and mineral content.
Now back to radiki. Greeks have been eating dandelions for centuries. These bitter greens are served all over the countryside and in the cities as a side dish with your meal.
Often too bitter to eat fresh, they are boiled and served with lemon and fresh olive oil. Horta, often interchanged with radiki, is a mixture of greens prepared the same way as radiki, or sauteed in a frying pan with garlic and olive oil. I do find the dandelions bitter, so I do mix in whatever greens I may have on hand like spinach, swiss chard, baby kale, mustard greens or arugula with the dandelions. The official name for dandelions is “Taraxacum Officinale” and information about dandelions can be found here.
Let’s stay healthy this winter and eat dandelions or greens once a week. Add them to:
any grain or rice salad such as farro, quinoa, bulgur ,wild rice
Add dandelions to your main dishes such as pizzas, eggs, or salads for a healthful twist and don't forget to use a dash of lemon and extra virgin olive oil for added flavor.
Course
Side Dish
Cuisine
Greek
Keyword
dandelions, Greek, lemons
Servings4
AuthorMary Papoulias-Platis
Ingredients
2bunches of dandelions, roots removed if tough
2-3tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil
1lemon, juiced and zest
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonpepper
Instructions
Rinse dandelions in water and drain. Cut off the bottom roots and coarsely chop.
Place a medium pot on to boil, add dandelions and reduce heat to simmer.
Cook for 5-8 minutes, making sure greens have softened.
Remove and strain into a bowl, and reserve the juices. (great for a drink later)
Add back 1 cup of juice, extra virgin olive oil, juice of one lemon, salt and pepper.
Add zest to the top when ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
Note: With the extra water add lemon juice and olive oil and drink in the morning as a pick me up! Even better when you heat it up! Enjoy!
These are from my garden, they are a no fuss plant.
This week was a bit quiet compared to others that I’ve had. But that’s good, because winter clouds and the cold weather has arrived in San Diego and it’s a good time to buckle down and stay warm. As the week filled up with new activities, I carried my camera from place to place remembering to take lots of pictures. So, as you take a look at my week, I hope your week was just as fulfilling with friends and family as mine turned out to be.
One of my highlights this week was having a chat with Alice Waters during her book signing at Chino Farms. Growing up she was my idol as I pushed cooking and gardening in my classroom for many years. She inspired me all year long as I also tried to cook seasonally, before it became popular. I always had a garden, whether is was just a few herbs or a batch of new heirloom tomatoes.
Alice always kept me on track in the kitchen and active in my small backyard garden. This went hand in hand with what I was taught from my mother and father, as they also ate straight from the garden. Now, you can catch me in my kitchen as I collect my garden vegetables and try to create and develop recipes for you and for my family.
Years back when I owned a bookstore, The Reading Patch, P.K. Hallinan walked in as my first local author offering his books for review. I will never forget that day as we were setting up the store at the time, unpacking the stock, not close to being ready to open at all when he walked in. We became friends over the years and the rest was history. So many memories of book signings, visits to local schools, teacher conferences, and special events.
He was in town this week and we met up for coffee in the morning. It was just like old times, just listening to how the last 20 years have flown by. I’m so upset I forgot to take out my camera for a picture with the two of us. After a discussion about giving back to our community and his new book, P.K. ran to his car to fetch two of his board books for a donation to the library for Casa De Amparo – a lovely surprise. As our visit came to an end, he signed a copy of his new book for me. A lasting gift from a dear friend that I will read and cherish in the coming weeks.
Here is the path I take to walk and gather my thoughts during the week. It’s a quiet walk now in the Winter, but the birds do gather and welcome visitors in these cold months. What’s so lovely when you are down there is you never know what to expect. I witnessed a pod of dolphins that day, but I couldn’t capture it on my phone very well.
My advice is to never leave home for a nature walk without your phone or camera – a lesson I learned this week.
I had to post this food picture of a triple chocolate bread pudding! I did share this with the other ladies at our lunch, after the signing, but I could have eaten the whole thing! Stop by Dolce Pane Vino in Rancho Santa Fe, next time you travel to San Diego. Everything is fresh and baked in a fireplace oven, no burners, no ovens. Try their Carlsbad mussels, arugula salad with barrata cheese, and truffle braised beef flatbread, and don’t forget to order a glass of wine. We honestly felt we were eating in Europe!
Just a peak into my fall garden. The veggies are just getting started, I have three boxes, but in this one I have parsley, rainbow chard, lettuces, and sugar snap peas that are not quite 2-inches tall. Hopefully, they will make it up the trellis soon. I will post more pictures later as the garden matures.
One appetizer that I can always depend on is my Greek Deviled Eggs with Feta. It’s the first thing I grab when I see them out on a table at a party. I guess they go under the category of “comfort food” for me. One appetizer I have never posted is a deviled egg only because it’s not Greek. So here it is. My take of a traditional American dish with A Greek twist to put out on your appetizer table this holiday season. To start off making this recipe visit my post on How-To Make Hard Boil Eggs. It’s easy and fast with instructions you’ll never forget. It’ s important to get this right because you don’t want to see that green ring around your eggs, from overcooking them. While you are there, don’t forget to check out my tip on how to to peel eggs. So easy. This recipe can be doubled for a large group. A smart tip: Place the eggs on a platter lined with lettuce so they stay put while moving around.
A wonderful reminder on this Thanksgiving Day to all my family members, that we wouldn’t be here in this Beautiful Country, Living Freedom, with Working Opportunities without these two adventurous men, Tom Lamar Papoulias and Mike Balason. Two very brave men who left Greece at a very young age to have a better life here in America. Today, we have two generations of family members, they brought from Greece to form a community, living out their dreams. Today, I’m thankful for these two incredible and loving men, whom we were all blessed to know!
Sunday’s are a relaxing day for me. You can find me playing in the garden or cooking up a favorite dinner. But I do like going online to catch up a little. This is my idea of scrap-booking my weekly memories without having to step into a Michael’s and buy more stuff.
Many of us are on the computer browsing for the next best video to post, recipes to download, pictures to pin or just catching up with our FB friends. I thought this is a good time to post pictures of my week, so I can share my week and you can view my world for a second or two….enjoy!
San Diego Sharp Women’s Conference
My dear friend and fellow blogger Mimi Avocado won two tickets to the annual Sharp Women’s Conference in San Diego. I was so lucky to be her guest for the day. As we entered we stopped at the photo booth for some fun and crazy pictures. The day started out with a brilliant keynote speaker Rhonda Britten with an energetic talk on “Fearless Living” and I had my wings on before the talk was over. We watched Chef Bernard from the Marine Room, cook up bulgur and poached salmon in olive oil for his presentation on Mediterranean food. And we all listened intensely to Marianne Williamson as she spoke about her life and our everyday stress we develop in our lives today and how to cope with it. Watch for her in the future as she runs for Congress.
Temecula Olive Oil Company
Laura Bashar from (Family Spice), her three children and I took off to our local olive oil farm, Temecula Olive Oil Company, to take pictures of our upcoming olive oil cookbook. Catherine, one of the owners, met us there so we may shoot the many varietals of olives that they grow and process on their farm. We took Laura’s kids who explored the grounds and enjoyed running through the trees. After shooting all the pictures we needed, we headed to downtown Temecula for a quick lunch and a little antiquing at Grandma’s Antiques.
Book signing with Bonnie Manion
My dear friend Bonnie Manion had an author signing of her new book from the Dummies Series, “Gardening with Free-Range Chickens” at the Horticultural Society’s first annual holiday marketplace. I went along to help her. We laughed so hard because by the end of the night, we heard so many chicken stories and from one angry man who is lobbying for residential chickens in Escondido. You can purchase Bonnie’s gardening on her blog at Vintage Garden Girl.
Greek Cooking Class for Gardening Group
I taught a Greek Healthy Cooking class for a garden club in a beautiful home kitchen of a friend of mine. The ladies were lovely and very helpful as they watched me prepare 6, yes 6 meals for them. We were laughing when I couldn’t find the whisk for the garlic potatoes, and the mistake I made when I left out the feta in the spanakopita after preaching to the gals the importance of “mise en place” . A French term used in kitchens for preparing your ingredients ahead of time, so you do not leave out anything in the recipe. Also I forgot to pass out water to the group as they participated in an olive oil tasting with a few of the ladies choking on the fresh olive oil they were sampling. The only thing I could say to them is, ” this is not the Food Network ladies, this is the real thing”, and they understood.
The best part of the class was the garlic sauce, “kordalia” in Greek. The old saying goes when you serve this sauce,” once one person in the room eats this sauce everyone else in the room (really the entire house) must partake!
Meeting George Menzelos
This is George Menzelos from Arianna Trading Company. We met for the first time to discuss his Greek Organic Cold Press extra virgin olive oil and catch up with other news. We have many mutual friends we realized, and we had a great time talking about our trips to Greece. To buy George’s oil go to Arainna Trading Company to place your order.
Like scrap-booking online too, then visit where I played with this at Pic-Monkey. (not an advertisement, just a heck of a lot of fun!)
Hello from California Greek Girl. I’m the owner of Ethos Culinary located in the beautiful city of Carlsbad. Join me as we explore California’s bounty of foods, farmlands, and culinary experts. I’m looking forward to bringing you Greek, Mediterranean and Plant-Forward Cuisines. OPA!
Hello from California Greek Girl. I’m the owner of Ethos Culinary located in the beautiful city of Carlsbad. Join me as we explore California’s bounty of foods, farmlands, and culinary experts. I’m looking forward to bringing you Greek, Mediterranean and Plant-Forward Cuisines. OPA!
