If you and your family like spanakopita then this dip is for you. Great for a family get together or watching the game with friends (football or otherwise 🙂 ). I got this idea when I was making spanakopita and had a couple of cups of filling left over. Wow, it is amazing!!!

You can serve it with homemade pita bread chips or regular pita, or if you don’t have time store bought is just fine. I also used leftover dip to make spanakopita mac and cheese. Just make your favorite version of mac and cheese and throw in a cup or two (depending on how much you are making) and let it melt into the sauce…actually, that is what I made for dinner tonight.

In this version of spanakopita filling, I added cottage cheese which makes it perfect for a dip since it lends more creaminess to the dish. I also used whole milk mozzarella and asiago for the additional cheeses since that is what I had at home. If you are feeling adventurous, you can add a third cup of chopped canned artichoke hearts (drained) or chopped sautéed mushrooms into it too! Give this a try, it’s a real treat.

You will need:

• 10-12 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed of excess liquid
• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 4 green onions, cleaned, thinly sliced, and darker greens separated
• 3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups shredded kasseri, graviera, gouda, gruyere, Monterey jack or mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/3 cup grated mizithra, kefalotyri, asiago, or parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (for dish)
• Pita chips, pita bread, or veggies, to serve

Steps:

1. If you are starting from scratch and don’t have a couple of cups of spanakopita filling left from a different dish then prep your spinach by making sure you have squeezed out as much of the water…this is very important. I use a cheese cloth or thin kitchen towel to twist the water out.
2. Sautee the white and light green parts of the chopped green onions in about a teaspoon of olive oil, set aside.
3. Mix the first 10 ingredients together (from spinach to egg), well (you will add the sautéed green onions and the darker greens at this time), this is your basic spanakopita filling. If you have your own version of filling left over than use that instead, you will need two packed cups worth, and continue with step 4.
4. Add in the cream cheese until well incorporated.
5. Mix the shredded cheese with the grated cheese to combine and reserve 3/4 cup for topping.
6. Add in the rest of the cheese and red pepper flakes to the spinach mixture and combine well.
7. Add mixture into an oven proof dish brushed with a light layer of olive oil.
8. Evenly top with reserved cheese and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, or until it starts to lightly bubbly on the sides. If you want the cheese to have a light brown color broil for the last 1 to 2 minutes, but keep an eye on it.

Kali Orexi!

Nothing like a nice starchy potato to comfort you. These rosemary, garlic, and lemon potatoes will do just that! A wonderful side dish to pair with roasted chicken, a steak, or even loukaniko (a Greek sausage, but you can use Italian sausage too 🙂 ).

You will need:

• 15 baby yellow or gold potatoes, halved
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary (or use 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano)
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 lemons, juiced and zested (about 1/4 cup juice)
• kosher salt and pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Add all ingredients into a 9″ by 13″, or similar, pan and combine well. I used 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, but adjust to your liking. If some of the baby potatoes are larger then quarter. Try to keep them approximately the same size so they are done at the same time.
3. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
4. Remove from oven and remove foil, gently stir potatoes, check to see if they are done. If done, let sit for a few minutes before eating.
5. If potatoes are not done yet, check liquid and if needed add another 1/2 cup of broth, so they don’t stick to the pan, carefully cover with same foil (cause it’s hot), and cook for another 15 minutes, or until tender.
6. Remove and taste for seasoning. If you think they need more salt, sprinkle a little bit more on. Otherwise, enjoy!

Kali Orexi!

Right when my daughter said, the night before, “don’t make any more desserts cause then we will eat them” I thought, “I have some extra homemade Greek yogurt that I need to use up…hum, how about some olive oil and yogurt cake?”…lol. So here we are.

This is a flavorful and dense cake. You can use your homemade Greek yogurt in this recipe or just go buy some. This cake can be served as is or with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, a glaze or a fruit sauce. Today I made it with a lemon glaze and a cherry sauce infused with basil…but I was thinking that infusing the sauce with rosemary would be very flavorful too. I used fresh cherries that I pitted, but you can definitely used pitted frozen ones too.

You will need:

For the cake:

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the glaze:

• 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

For the cherry sauce:

• 1 cup cherries, pitted (fresh or frozen) & quartered
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 sprigs basil (about 6 leaves) or 1 sprig rosemary (optional)

Steps:

1. Add all ingredients for the cake into a mixing bowl and mix well by hand or mixer. Do not over mix, its okay if there are some small lumps in it.
2. Place cake mixture into a 9″ by 5″ inch loaf pan that has been oiled and floured.
3. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes, until toothpick inserted into bread comes out clean. It’s okay if there are a few crumbs that come out with it…it is a moist cake 🙂 .
4. Take out of the oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove the cake to a wire rack over a sheet pan. You may have to loosen all edges before taking it out. Let cool on rack for 1 hour, or until cool to the touch.
5. In the meantime, make the lemon glaze and cherry sauce. Mix lemon glaze ingredients in a bowl until smooth. If too thick, add a little more lemon juice, if too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. It should be a consistency that allows the glaze to stay on the cake, for the most part.
6. For the cherry sauce, add all ingredients to a pot. Stir and bring to a boil. Break up the cherries further, if you like and let boil for 5 minutes, until liquid has reduced and mixture is more syrupy.
7. Turn off heat and let cool. It will thicken a little more as it cools.
8. Serve a piece of cake with additional lemon glaze and dollup with cherry sauce.

Kali Orexi!