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My Mom’s Special Winter and Holiday Recipes

I   have collected for you some of my mom’s ( Stacy) specialty dishes except for the walnut cake that’s mine. These recipes are just another reason why you should visit Greece and experience it yourself! The following are some of the easiest recipes that anyone can make and turn a dinner into a Greek treat. Kali Orexi  (Bon Apetit)!

Greek Corfiot Christmas Treat, Sperna ( Boiled Wheat)

This recipe is done on the beautiful Island of Mathraki in honor of the Patron Saint Spyridon. They are called ( Koliva)

Ingredients:
2 ½ pounds of wheat
1 to 2 pomegranate
1 cup sesame seeds
2 to 3 teaspoons black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons coriander
1 ½ cups white almonds
1 ½  cups sugar
½ cup ouzo
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup black raisins
1 cup white raisins

Instructions:

First, we clean the wheat thoroughly. Then we put it in a pot to boil. (Wheat is ready when it has split) Once ready we drain it. We wait till it cools about 1 hr. or so then we place it in a big pan we mix all the ingredients together. We put it in the refrigerator for another hour. It’s ready to serve.

Christmas Cookies (Kourabiedes)
Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
¼ cup of sugar
1 shot glass cognac
1 orange squeezed
3 bars sweet butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 bag confectioner’s sugar
Ouzo ( to sprinkle cookies)
½ cup almonds white, baked and crumbled

Instructions:

Beat butter ( until white) then you put egg yolks and then slowly one by one the rest of the ingredients. When dough is ready you make either oval shapes or half moons . Place in a buttered pan. When ready you take them out of oven and right away you sprinkle them with ouzo then you have a piece of aluminum foil filled with confectioner’s sugar and you role the cookies in the sugar, then you place them in cupcake cups and you put 1 teaspoon of confectioners sugar in the cup to cover the cookie and it’s ready. They taste great in the morning with coffee !!

Honey  Dipped  Cookies ( Melomakarouna)
They are also made for Christmas time.
Ingredients:
2 cups Mazola oil
1 bar of sweet butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 spoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon powder clove
1 grated rind of lemon
1 grated rind of orange
8 cups all purpose flour
walnut crumbs ( for topping )

Instructions:

First, we beat the butter until white then, we pour in the sugar , we beat for 2 to 3 minutes. Secondly, we slowly put in the rest of the ingredients. We beat for about 10 minutes. We leave the flour for last. We slowly pour in the flour (we continue mixing with our hands) when we have finished we form oblong shape cookies. ( Make sure they are not too flat.) Must be a little thick in order for cookies to absorb honey syrup.

We bake cookies in medium oven for 15 minutes shoud be ready when they have a brown color. We let them cool till next day. *

Syrup Preparation:
3 glasses of water
2 cups of sugar
2 full spoons of honey
1 drop of lemon juice (fresh)

Put all above ingredients in pot. Put on stove on low fire when sugar and honey have melted then syrup is ready.

You take syrup off the stove. You start to put your cookies in syrup until soft make sure you don’t leave in syrup too long or they will break. It will be a little difficult at first but you will get the hang of it. When done place in cupcake cups, sprinkle with crumbs of walnuts and ready. You should let stand for 3 to 4 hours till eating so they could soak up the syrup.                                                                                 

• You can do the dip before cookies come as soon as they come out from oven they soak up the dip faster but you have to be very careful because if you leave them in more than 15 seconds they will break because they’re hot. I prefer to do it the following day.
• If you like you can place one piece of walnut inside the cookie before baking.

Sweet Easter Braided Bread
Ingredients:
5 pound All purpose flour
10 whole eggs
1 drinking glass of milk
1 bar of sweet butter
5 envelopes of yeast
3 glasses of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon mastic (resin found on a tree bark in Chios)
1 teaspoon mahlepi (a Middle Eastern Spice)
1 glass of corn oil

Instructions:

One night before you warm up one glass of milk and then in a bowl you mix the glass of milk with the 5 envelopes of yeast , then add  a little flour until you  form a leaven. You leave overnight and the following day:

In a big mixing bowl you put 8 eggs, 2 glasses of warm milk then slowly as you mix , the remaining ingredients , you leave the butter for last. When this is done you mix the leaven and slowly as you knead you put flour (as much as it takes) Make sure the dough isn’t too dry . As you knead you should have a plate with corn oil, dip your hands in and knead (this makes the kneading a lot easier). You should knead for about 10 minutes. After you complete the kneading you leave in the bowl for about 3 hours or until it rises.

Then when it rises you take the dough out of the bowl and you cut balls (about the size of your palms put together and you roll them out. For one bread you will need: 3 balls and you role them out into a rope style and then you braid. At the top of the braid you place a red egg. You slowly pick it up and place it in a greased pan. You beat an egg and with a brush you wipe the top of the bread and finally you bake at low heat when golden brown they are ready.  The dough should make anywhere from 7 to 9 breads depending on size.

ENJOY THEY ARE DELICIOUS ESPECIALLY WITH COFFEE  !!!!!!

Maggie’s Walnut Cake
120 grams of margarine
300 grams of sugar
600 grams of crumbled walnuts
extra walnuts to sprinkle cake on top
600 grams of dried bread
small shot glass of cognac
8 whole eggs Separate
3 teaspoons of baking powder
2 spoons of cinnamon (not full)
1 teaspoon powdered vanilla ( on the tip of teaspoon)
2 teaspoons of grinded orange rind
1 cup of black raisins

Syrup
440 grams of water
440 grams of sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 slice of rind

Instructions:

Mix walnuts with a little bit of sugar(use your hands for this) In a separate bowl mix the margarine until white, in mixture put in walnuts,  cinnamon, vanilla, raisins .  Then in another bowl mix egg yolks with the sugar and then slowly we pour in the cognac. This will be poured in the above mixture. In another bowl we beat the egg whites to meringue whip . We also pour this in the mixture interchanging with the egg whites until both are finished. We have a buttered pan ready and we pour the mixture inside our pan. Bake at medium heat for about an hour.

Just about when cake is almost done. You boil all the ingredients for the syrup together. When cake is ready We slowly pour the hot syrup over the cake , sprinkle with walnuts , let rest for about 1 to 2 hours then serve.

New Year’s Eve Cake (Vasilopita)
Ingredients:
3        pounds all purpose flour
2 sticks of sweet butter (Breakstone’s  preferred)
2    pounds sugar
1 cup of walnut and almond (mixed together)
100 grams of white raisins
100 grams of black raisins
4        whole eggs
1 grated orange rind
1 grated lemon rind
1 grated nutmeg
50 grams aniseed
50 grams sesame
1 glass of milk
3 ½ to 4 teaspoons of baking powder
Edge of   teaspoon powdered vanilla

Instructions:

First we mix butter with sugar until white. Then slowly we add the remaining ingredients one by one.

Leave the flour for last.

When done butter a baking pan and place the mixture inside. You should allow to bake for ½ hour. It should be done when placing a tooth pick in the middle it comes out clean.

* Before baking wrap a small coin in aluminum foil and place in cake, whoever finds it on New Years should be treated to money and has good luck all year long.

Mayieritsa , Special Easter lamb stew
Ingredients

Innards of a baby lamb which include: intestines, heart, liver, lungs and stomach.
Fresh mint, fresh rosemary garlic, oregano 1/3 cup vinegar, ½ cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons tomato paste.

The intestines should be cleaned thoroughly. You should take a scissor place it inside an intestine and cut right through them then wash them thoroughly. You should wash them with hot water then rinse, again( at least 4 times). Then take the stomach if dark matter is covering the stomach then it should be scraped off rubbed with salt and lemon and scrape using a knife, then rinse it should be white by the time you are done. Now, you take all the innards put them in a pot and boil them, squeeze about two lemons in the water. When it comes to a boil leave them for about 10 minutes. Pour the water out and put new water also let boil for another 10 minutes.

Once done with the boiling ,on a cutting board cut all the innards to small pieces ( bite size) If it seems a lot place half of it in  a plastic bag refrigerate  and cook at  a later time.

You place your innards along with all the ingredients except the vinegar inside the pot and you sauté for about 10 minutes when done pour in water almost to the top. Allow to cook for 1 hour if innards seem chewy cook some more when ready to simmer put tomato paste and vinegar. Let simmer for at least 15 minutes. Served best with red wine.

Greek Zeppoles

 Ingredients:
2 envelopes of yeast
2 pounds of all purpose flour
½ glass of warm milk
sugar
honey
1 egg yolk

Instructions:

We liquefy the yeast with a little bit of warm water, then we pour in this mixture the warm milk. We place this mixture in a pot we mix with flour until it’s leaven. You leave this aside. We warm up some water we mix it with the remaining flour, we put in the leaven, with egg yolk and half a teaspoon of salt, we beat this very well at least 15 minutes. You put aside again until it rises. When done you make zeppoles.

Procedure:

A deep frying pan

Olive oil

You take the mixture with your hand in a fist at the top a little ball will form you take this with a spoon and place in the hot oil. If you would like you may add raisins to the mixture. When lightly yellowish to golden yellow, Zeppoles are ready. Sprinkle with sugar( you could also use confectioner’s sugar)  or dip them in honey with cinnamon. They are good at anytime of day to eat. Children will love them.

Personal note: I like them with raisins 

The following cake is usually made during Christmas time but because I like so much I make it whenever I’m in the mood for it.

Fried Pancake Bread ( Tehganopsma)
Ingredients:
2 envelopes of yeast
1 pound of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
olive oil

Instructions:

In a small bowl you empty the yeast pour in just about enough flour and warm water to make leaven add salt. Put aside till it rises. Once it rises pour in flour and more water make dough. Put again aside till it rises, cover with towel. When it has risen take dough and separate it into balls. With a rolling pin roll out each ball into a flat pancake.

by Magdaline Makris

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