From the category archives:

Greek Culture & Cuisine

Phanouropita: The Year of the Saint

08.26.2010
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Well, it’s been a year in the making, but today—on the eve of Saint Phanourios’s feast day—the first leg of my journey with this Greek Orthodox saint and his cake has come to a close. (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, please click the links in the right column or the main navigation, [...]

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Acropolis Pops

07.18.2010
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SUMMER IN THE CITY. Can’t say it’s my favorite. When the mercury reaches 100 degrees fahrenheit or more and it’s humid to boot, things get all out of whack. We stew in our own juices, bake in the corridors of urban concrete. Tempers flare; patience (mine anyway) gets pretty much liquified as well. Don’t get [...]

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Lima Love: Salad with Two Greek Cheeses

04.20.2010
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RESPECT YOUR BEANS. That’s the order of the day. Specifically, you should give the lowly lima bean its due. That’s right, everyone, April 20 is officially “Lima Bean Respect Day.” Lest you doubt my word, there’s even an e-card to prove the day exists (Hallmark’s got nothing on Ecardia, creator of the illustration shown above).
Of [...]

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Tsoureki Bread Pudding

04.05.2010
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EASTER HAS ENDED, and the food coma is starting to wear off, finally. After copious portions of lamb and lemony roasted potatoes, after way too many eggs and koulouria and slices of tsoureki, the Greek Easter bread . . . You notice that there’s still quite a bit of everything left over. What to do [...]

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Kokkinopefti: Red Eggs and Koulouria

04.01.2010
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THE RED FALLS. In Greek you say Kokkinopefti, and this very literal, symbolic description serves as one popular name for the day, Holy Thursday. The red comes down, washing what it may. In this case, eggs for Easter.
In Greece on Great Thursday—what some call Maundy Thursday in English (and which, when I was little, I heard [...]

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In Praise of Tsoureki

03.30.2010
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IT HAS RISEN. It has risen indeed. And it’s damn good, if I say so myself.
Some background: the Greek in me simply does not consider it a proper Easter without a loaf of Tsoureki on the table. Pronounced “soo-REH-kee,” this festival bread is similar to challah with its sweet, eggy, cake-like charms. I have been [...]

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Goat-Feta Ice Cream: Mister Softee It Ain’t

03.21.2010
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IT’S SPRING NOW, and for the first vernal weekend of 2010, the weather complied beautifully, at least in New York City. It may still be only a tease—we’re supposed to go back to rain and colder temperatures through the early part of the week—but for a few glorious days sunshine triumphed, coats and sweaters were [...]

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