Galatoboureko

4 cups Milk

3/4 cup Sugar

3/4 cup Fine semolina

1/4 cup Butter

Zest from 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons orange blossom water

1 cinnamon stick

1 pinch of Salt

5 Eggs; lightly beaten

1 tablespoon Vanilla

1 lb Filo pastry sheets

1 lb Unsalted butter; melted

Syrup

1 cup honey

1 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup water (or more if a wetter consistency is desired)

1 one inch strip of orange rind

Add all syrup ingredients to a sauce pan and bring to a boil and let cool.

Mix milk, sugar, semolina, butter, lemon rind, cinnamon stick orange blossom water, and salt in a saucepan and heat until thickened, stirring constantly.

Let the custard simmer gently over low heat for 5 minutes continuing to stir constantly.

Take from heat and remove cinnamon.  Cover with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent skin forming.  When cool, blend in eggs and vanilla.

Butter a 13 x 9 inch pan.  Place half of the filo pastry sheets in the pan, brushing each sheet with the melted butter.

Pour in custard and top with remaining sheets, again brushing butter on each sheet as you layering the top crust, make sure to brush top with butter and score the top sheets of filo in 3 inch squares or diamonds. With a spray mister, sprinkle the top lightly with water.

Bake in oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and the custard is set when tested with a knife.

Remove from oven and cool thoroughly in the dish.

Cool syrup to lukewarm before straining and pouring over the cool pie.

Let the Galatoboureko completely cool before serving.

Kourabiedes

 Start getting you recipes lined up for the Holiday season!
These cookies are traditionally served during the Christmas and New Years Holidays, but Mom would make them for us anytime of the year.
I have modified Moms recipe by using ground clove instead of the whole clove which is traditionally placed in the center of each cookie before baking. I do this for 2 reasons one, I never liked biting into the cookie and chewing on a whole clove, secondly in my mind I think it is unsafe for little kids to have a whole clove hidden under all that beautiful powder sugar.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground clove

3/4 pound butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons Metaxa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup finely chopped blanched almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions
Sift flour with baking powder and spices. Set aside.

Cream butter and gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, brandy, almond, and vanilla. Beat again until very light.
Add flour to the butter mixture and almonds, mix well but don’t over work the dough. Chill 30 minutes or until it can be handled easily.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Shape level tablespoonfuls of dough into crescent-shapes. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet line with parchment paper. Insert whole clove into center of each. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light...do not brown.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for a few minutes roll them in powdered sugar while they're still hot.  You can roll several times to create a thicker coating.  Cool the cookies completely, Dust generously with more confectioners’ sugar.

Fancy St. Phanourios Bread (Phanouropita)

Not even close to fasting!

This recipe originally came from a cookbook for a Greek parish in Chicago, but I've tampered with it, mostly by editorializing.

Doubles well; the recipe given is for one loaf pan worth, but Doubled it makes a bundt pan's worth.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large, heavy bottomed saucepan, combine:

1. 1 cup orange juice

2. 1/2 cup brandy

3. 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

4. 1/2 teaspoon salt

5. 2 cups golden raisins

6. 3/4 cup sugar

7. 1/2 cup honey

8. 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

9. 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for exactly ten minutes -- any longer, and you'll have a good caramelized smelling door stop instead of a cake.

Set pot in cold water to cool mixture completely.

Sift into cooled syrup:

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour

2. 2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

3. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Beat vigorously for eight to ten minutes (Takes muscles! We use a wooden spoon for this) or until batter is smooth and bubbly.

Stir in: 2 Tablespoons grated orange peel

Turn into well greased 7" fluted pan or 8" loaf pan.

Sprinkle with 1/2 sesame seeds (optional; skip if you like).

Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Sprinkle with 1/4 cup brandy and cool cake in pan.

Bring to church to have blessed, and then share with parishioners or the poor.

Smells amazingly wonderful while cooking.

Easy St. Phanourios Bread

Fasting (with oil)
Preheat oven to 350.
1. 1 cup sugar
2. 1 cup oil
3. 2 cups orange juice
4. 3/4 cup raisins
5. 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
6. 1 tsp. baking soda
7. 4 cups flour
Mix oil and sugar, and beat until it's a creamy yellow. This may take a long time.
Put the baking soda IN the orange juice, and stir until dissolved. [NB: this can be spectacularly dramatic if you use a two cup measuring cup with two cups of o.j. in it. (Please don't ask how I found out.) It might be easier to hold a two cup measuring cup OVER the bowl full of oil and sugar and pour in *one* cup of o.j., mix in 1/2 tsp. baking soda, watch the fireworks, pour it into the bowl, and again mix *one* cup of o.j. with 1/2 tsp. baking soda, stir and pour again. If you don't dissolve the baking soda completely, you get lumps of it in the cake. So, stir well.]
Add the flour, then the raisins and nuts.
Pour the batter into an ungreased 9"x13" pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes (or until a clean toothpick dipped in the cake emerges clean.)
I use a bundt pan instead of one 9" x 13", and my kids prefer this with chocolate chips in the place of the raisins and nuts. It doesn't really need a frosting, but if you wanted to drizzle a stiff glaze made out of, say, powdered sugar and lemon juice and a little water over it, that would be okay, too.
If you wanted to put spices in the batter, I'd go with a tiny amount (1/4 tsp. or less) of ground cloves.
Modified from a recipe in Greek Traditions and Customs in America, by Marilyn Rouvelas

Pie apples

1 tin Pie apples - cut into pieces and place in greased pie dish.

3 eggs and 1 cup sugar - beat well
3 dessertspoons soft margarine, 1/4 cup milk and teasp of vanilla - add and beat well.
1 cup self raising flour OR
1 cup cake flour and 1 1/4 teasp Baking Powder - add and mix well.
Plus bit of salt
Pour runny mixture over apples
Bake at 180 for about 30 mins

Sauce. 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup fresh cream, 1 teasp vanilla.
Boil and pour over cake when it comes out of the oven.

WEDDING CAKE

INGREDIENTS

2 cups love

1 cup courtesy

3 cups respect

1 cup tolerance and understanding

2 cups trust

1 kg faith in God

METHOD

Beat everything together in the mixer and once the crowns (stephana) have been worn, place on the fire of routine and daily existence!
Stir continually removing the selfishness which arises and adding as much patience as is needed! Continue stirring throughout life! BE CAREFUL: if stirring is stopped it will stick in the pot and could burn!

GOOD LUCK