Biftekia Gemista–Stuffed Beef Burgers

The last week has been a hectic one for a couple of reasons and as such has called for some quick, no-frills, family meals. Having made more than my fair share of saucy tomato-based dishes the last month (many of which I have yet to post), the night before found me wanting to use the ground beef I’d defrosted to make a fresh, simple and flavorful dish without employing even a tinge of chopped tomatoes, strained tomatoes, tomato paste or the like. After mentioning my ground beef “dilemma” to Peter of Kalofagas that evening, he quickly started

Chicken Stuffed with Trahanas

So, I picked up some trahanas from one of the many Greek specialty shops here in New York last week and decided that aside from the traditional soup I often make, I wanted to do something more with these tasty, tangy tidbits. I should note that there are two types of trahanas, sour and sweet, and to be honest I have only ever had the sour type. I don’t believe the sweet version is used differently and am pretty sure, although labeled as “sweet,” it is just not as sour as the other variety. In case you are wondering, which some of you probably are

Pork with Quince — Hoirino Kydonato

A couple of weeks ago, while at my local fruit and vegetable market, I spotted some quince (kydonia in Greek) and having recently seen recipes featuring quince on a number of yummy blogs I follow, (namely Kopiaste, Food Junkie not junk food, Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska and Kalofagas), I decided to give this versatile fruit a go. Quince, related to apples and pears, are somewhat pear-shaped and yellow in color. According to sources, the quince likely preceded the apple and is more likely to have been the oft referred to “golden apple” in Greek mythology.