# To CC and KyleW



## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: 
I got it !!!!!! I GOt it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE GLORIOUS FOODS OF GREECE of Diane Kochylas!!!!!!!!


WHAT A BOOK!!!!:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:


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## risa (May 11, 2001)

How authentic did you find this book? I've borrowed it from the library before and enjoyed the book.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

It's the best cook book on Greek Food I have ever seen!!!

It has even Lagoto, this weird recipe from Arcadia -Greece that I have posted to Nicko.

Great book with great recipes


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I think it is an important book on Greek cooking. The organization drove me bats as there are common dishes with only slight regional tweaks. Trying to compare and reference these when scattered through the whole book was annoying. 

And there are many local ingredients that are impossible to come by in my area. That's not a critique of her work, just a note for people who live in limited areas.

It's greatly researched and deeply written. I blame her editors for the book's weakness in organization, not her.

Phil


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

I don't agree with you.

It's not a common cook book. It's not a book Martha would have written for sure. And those "slight regional tweaks" on common recipes, well it's not that simple.
Greek cuisine is very old , therefore, complicated in her simplicity.


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Oh, Athenaeus, if YOU say it's so fabulous, I guess I'll have to break down and get it. It's really a reference work, after all, no?


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

It is a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who really enjoys Greek cooking.

Athenaeus is your copy in Greek or English?


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

My copy is in English!!!

iIwas telling Kyle that the first thing I would do in April 28 would be to bye this book 
This afternoon, I went for my regular walk in the bookstore and I saw it smiling at me


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Does the book include recipe(s) for skordalia, like the one that Athenaeus mentioned a while back?


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

The good think about this book is that you will realise that Athenaeus is not day-dreaming about the foods of Greece 

Oh yes it has skordalia in various ways and dishes


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

I just ordered the book from Jessica's Biscuit. I hope that it'll assist me in improving my poor ability at preparing lamb and mutton. Cooking with those two meats have always given me difficulty although I love the flavor when someone else prepares a dish.


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

~A~

I'm happy you found it. What a great cook book and history lesson all rolled up in one "PRETTY" package.

*Greece's culinary lineage*

*The Peloponnesos*

*The Ionian Islands*

*Roumeli*

*Thessaly*

*Macedonia and Thrace*

*The Islands of the Northern Aegean*

*The Cyclades*

*Crete*

*The Dodecanese*

*Athens*

*The Basics of Greek cooking*

and thiers more.

_I find this book incredible and so full of history and very "doable" recipes.The Index is excellent, and the bibliography very deep in reference. This is a cook book that reads like a Novel._

I highly recomend this piece of culinary literature to everyone.:chef:


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## nancya (Apr 30, 2001)

Finally a book on Greek cooking that is approved by our resident Greek cooking expert!!

Thanks, Athenaeus! I'll keep my eye out for it!

Nancy


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## kylew (Aug 14, 2000)

I got my copy the other day. The author seems to have the best of both worlds, she lives in Greece and is a native New Yorker  I have read the first bit and think I will like it a lot. I really like the fact that she addresses things an a regional basis. She seems to present the food that Greeks eat rather than the Greek food that Americans eat


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

I was hesitating between The Foods of the Greek Islands or The Glorious Food Of Greece. Thanks to you Athenaeus I know which one to get.


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

I just skimmed thru my recently received copy of the book. Man, my expenditures for EV olive oil will skyrocket! Hope my waistline doesn't.

I really like some of the desserts and also cooking meat dishes with cinnamon stick as well as other spices usually reserved for sweets. Mind expanding...


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

he he he

I haven't realised that you are such a big fan of olive-oil T, have you seen my b read recipes where I use hot oil??

If you need any clarifications regarding the recipes I will be glad to help


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

A, I have a few questions regarding recipes:

One recipe metions the use of ORZO. Is that a misspelling of OUZO? If not then what is it?

Is the phyllo dough rolled out thinly like our puff pastry? It appears that some types of phyllo are "thick" and that multiple sheets are superimposed. How thick are these sheets, not paper thin like puff pastry, I suppose? 

I think that I'll investigate the quality of Greek EV olive oils. According to the book, they're equally tasty and cheaper than olive oils from western Europe.

Where are your bread recipes located?


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

Kokopuffs,

The answer to your question regarding orzo is on page 68! It's the rice shaped pasta. You can find answers regarding terms and unknown words in the INDEX 

As for the phyllo dough. Phyllo is rolled out always thin.
I haven't checked if she mentions tricks on how to have a crispy baked phyllo!
Although being a baker your self , you don't need those tips 

I am not aware of prices. Papa knows those things , in my biased opinion the olive oil from Mani is the best.
Papa who is an expert, thinks that it is the second best .I have no idea whether the Greek XVOO is cheaper. Always look for organic and extra virgin though!

EDITED TO ADD THE LINK TO THE BREAD RECIPES WITH OLIVE OIL
Recipe 1


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Thanks, A, for the complement and answers. I should have consulted the index, first.

It seems that using shortening in place of butter would give a phyllo thats crispier and flakier. Shortening contains NO water.

I assume that ALL PHYLLO IS ROLLED PAPER THIN.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

Yes , when you read a Greek recipe and it requires phyllo is ALWAYS paper thin, unless your taste is different!

But it's like a competition between women in Greece. Which makes the best, thin and crispy phyllo, that's why there is the anecdote :
"Learn how to make a good spinach pie -spanakopitta- with a home made phyllo , if you want to find a husband of some merit "LOL  

The secret is soda water 

I edited my previous post to add the link to the recipe I was telling you about

i will add another one I am certain that I have posted


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Soda water as in sparkling soda water like Schweppes Club Soda, with effervescence I assume. Is it substituted totally for water?


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

No!!! You use the soda water while baking the pie!!!!

You spill it over phyllo while baking the spinach pie 

There is the second recipe but it's a bit extravagant!

Bread Recipe 2


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

:smiles: :smoking: 

Is the soda water poured at the beginning, the middle or the end of the baking time?


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

:lol: Welcome to the 2346th Chef Talk International Congress on how to bake crisp phyllo :lol:

Well, you spill very little of soda water as soon as the phyllo starts to get reddish and then 5 minutes before you stop baking 

You can experiment with that. My grandma, used to use soda water as soon as she has fonished the baking and has taken the pan off the oven and afterwards she covered it with aluminum foil...

It was crispy but not as crispy as I , personally, like it


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

To add my 2 cents: Shortening, yuck. So it's olive oil, or *clarified* butter. (I mean, for phyllo)


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Suzanne, I was just bein' american!


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