Tsoureki

This week's recipe comes from my Yiayia, which means "grandma" in Greek. She is an amazing cook, and makes the best Greek food I've ever tasted. Greek Easter is in two weeks, so she has been busy preparing all kinds of goodies for friends, neighbors, and family.

She let me help her make "Tsoureki," a traditional Greek Easter Bread. It is an egg bread, and is decorated with traditional red Greek Easter eggs. Even though Greek Easter is still two weeks away, everyone who knows my yiayia starts requesting it in advance, so we had to get busy!

Ingredients:
12 cups of flour
3 tablespoons of active dry yeast
1 cup of melted butter
1 cup + 1 tablespoon of sugar
6 eggs
1/2 tablespoon of mahlab (or crushed aniseed, or vanilla extract) + 2 cups of water
2-3 pieces of mastic, crushed with 1/4 teaspoon of sugar (or grated peel of 1 orange)
1 cup of lukewarm milk
3/4 teaspoon of sea salt
egg wash - 1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon of water
sesame seeds or blanched sliced almonds (optional)
hard boiled dyed red eggs (optional)
Preparation:
Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk. Add a few spoonfuls of flour to make a paste. Cover and set aside in a warm place to rise.

In a bowl, combine 10 cups of the flour and salt, and add melted butter. Boil mahlab (mahlepi) in 2 cups of water, strain, and add the liquid to the flour. (Alternatively, add 1 teaspoon of mahlepi or other flavoring + 2 cups of liquid - 1 cup each of orange juice, milk or water.)

Add the eggs, mastic, sugar, and the risen yeast mixture. On a floured surface or in a mixer, knead the mixture well, adding in remaining flour until it becomes a malleable dough, about 15-20 minutes (or 10 minutes with a mixer). Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (1 1/2 - 2 hours).

Punch down the dough and create shapes:

Braids: Form 12 or 15 ropes, each about 15 inches long. Braid sets of 3 ropes to form loaves, tucking ends in underneath the loaves. For the traditional Easter loaf, tuck one or more red eggs (choose eggs that have no cracks) into the braids.

Twists (photo): Shape into ropes 20-24 inches long. Fold each rope in half and twist gently.. Tuck a red egg into the top of the twist.

Other shapes: They can also be shaped into round loaves, rings, or shapes of your choice.
Place the loaves on greased cookie sheets or baking pans, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Brush with egg wash.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

(Optional) Sprinkle with sugar, sesame seeds, or blanched almond slices.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes or until golden brown. (Tap on the bottom; they should sound hollow.) Cool for 5 minutes, then move to racks to cool completely.

Yield: 4 to 6 loaves



This was definitely one of the hardest things I've ever made. Good thing I had a professional like Yiayia to help me get through it!

Cheesecake Tarts

Cheesecake is my favorite dessert, so when I ran across this super-easy recipe for small cheesecake tarts I had to try it.

3 8-oz packages softened cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 tsp. vanilla
24 Nilla Wafers

Beat cream cheese well. Add sugar a little at a time; add eggs one at a time; add vanilla. Combine thoroughly. Place cupcake papers in tins and put one Nilla wafer face up in the bottom of each paper. Spoon in cheesecake mixture over Nilla wafer. Fill about 3/4 full. Bake for 60 minutes at 300 degrees F. Top with favorite cheesecake topping.

These turned out great. I took them to a party and they were a big hit!

Stuffed French Toast

This is a recipe my dad and I made together. He is a big fan of breakfast and is always looking for new ways to make french toast. This is one of his favorites so far.


1 loaf French bread (not sliced)

1 small can peaches, drained and diced

1 package cream cheese (room temperature)

¼ cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons honey

6 eggs

½ cup milk

cinnamon

In a bowl mix peaches, cream cheese, pecans and honey. Set aside. Cut bread — cut off heel, cut slice 1 til ¼ inch til bottom, cut slice 2 all the way, cut slice 3 til ¼ inch from bottom — continue through entire loaf. Each piece should look like a little book.

With a fork spread about 1 ½ tablespoons of filling into each slice, fold shut.

Mix eggs and milk in a bowl and dip each slice into egg mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon on one side of each slice. Cook on griddle until eggs are cooked through. Serve with maple syrup. (Makes about 19 pieces, depending on thickness of bread slices.)

Project 2 Website

http://fileserver.art.utah.edu/~kkourian/DG_/University_of_Utah-Beta_Gamma_Chapter.html

Stove Top Chicken

I got this recipe from a friend and was so excited to try it because Stove Top stuffing is one of my favorite foods of all time. It wasn't as easy as most things, but turned out pretty great.

Stove Top One-dish Chicken Bake

1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top stuffing mix for chicken
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut up
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup sour cream

Mix contents of vegetable/seasoning packet, hot water and butter in large bowl until butter is melted. Stir in stuffing crumbs just to moisten. Let stand 5 minutes.

Place chicken in 12-x-8-inch baking dish or 2 quart casserole dish.

Mix soup and sour cream; pour over chicken. Top with stuffing.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Makes 4 servings.

My Website

http://fileserver.art.utah.edu/~kkourian/Katie_Kourianos_Website/Welcome.html

Shrimp Scampi

Since I started this blog, I have really noticed just how busy I am. I find myself waiting until Sunday to cook my meals because I just can't find enough time during the week. Even Sunday evenings are busy, so I have to do it early in the day. Good thing I have "The Busy Woman's Cookbook." It's a great book with 3-4 ingredient recipes that just take minutes. Perfect. This week I decided to try shrimp scampi...

Shrimp Scampi
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds raw shelled shrimp
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped parsley

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-height heat. Add shrimp and cook 3 minutes. Remove shrimp and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add garlic and parsley to skillet and cook over low heat. Cook 1 1/2 minutes. Pour over shrimp and serve at once. Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy!