Greek Resources

The Wines of Greece, Konstantinos Lazarakis (2005)

“Greek wine has made great strides in the last twenty years, even more so in the last decade: to some, it may well be the best-kept secret of the wine world. Young, ambitious winemakers, educated at top schools abroad have been at the forefront of the new developments. This new blood explores the infinite possibilities Greece's variety of native grapes and terroir present for making good, and often great wine.

Lazarakis' book is a useful snapshot of the state of greek wine which comes at a convenient point in the industry's development. The book is well-written, providing an overview of the grapes planted in Greece -native and foreign- the regions, and the laws. Extensive producer profiles form a further part of the book. If you, like me, have been stunned by greek wine and seek a guide through the labyrinth (pun intended) of grapes and locations, this is most certainly a good buy. The only omission is the lack of elaboration on how to pronounce the grapes. Lazarakis is Greece's first Master of Wine, which gives him impeccable credentials to write this book.”

GreekWinemakers.com

This extensive website contains lots of great information.

http://www.greekwinemakers.com/

The Exciting Wines of Northern Greece: Macedonia

Nice article on iWineReview.com

Sokrates Taverna in England

Great website with a menu with pictures and descriptions of Greek dishes.

http://www.sokratestaverna.co.uk/menu_Horwich.htm

Recipes

Click on "Greek Cooking," then there are recipes sorted by "featured" and "traditional" and then by menu part within those two categories (appetizers, salads, seafood etc…)

www.greekcuisine.com

http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/greece/newclass.html

http://www.gourmet.gr/greek-recipes/?gid=1

GREEK CUISINE

This land of blue skies and sparkling seas offers a variety of fresh ingredients close at hand. Olive trees flourish, providing a flavor-packed oil to bathe other foods. Vineyards thread the rolling hills, and the grape crush and ferment produces excellent wines, some resin-flavored. Fragrant lemon trees produce the golden fruit whose tang pervades Greek gastronomy.

The seas are blessed with a variety of fish and shellfish and harbor-side tavernas serve them grilled, baked, and fried and often whole, with the head still on.

Lamb is the principal meat served and a holiday festivity calls for ceremoniously spit-roasting a whole carcass out of doors. For everyday meals, lamb is braised and stewed in casseroles with assorted vegetables and skewered and broiled. Pork, beef, and game are marinated, grilled, and baked. Chicken is broiled or braised. Good meat and vegetable combinations are endless, often embellished with the golden lemon sauce, avgolemono, or a cinnamon-spiced tomato sauce.

Moussaka, layered with eggplant or zucchini and a garlic-scented meat sauce, and bearing a custard topping, is the ubiquitous casserole dish. Pilaffs are laced with spices and nuts. Fila pitas, composed of the wafer-thin pastry, and layered with chicken and mushrooms, spinach and feta, or lamb and leeks, are a delight. An abundance of fresh vegetables inspires imaginative cooked and marinated vegetable dishes and salads, often strewn with mountain-grown herbs: garlic, oregano, mint, basil, and dill. Fresh feta, Romano, and Kasseri, in particular, are used lavishly to accompany homemade whole-grain bread or salad or to grate and top vegetables or pasta.

Undoubtedly baklava is the most famous pastry, a multi-layered affair ribboned with nuts and oozing with honey syrup. A visit to a Greek pastry shop reveals the versatility of fila dough in dozens of different fila pastries, many of Turkish derivation. The honeyed fila pastries and buttery nut cookies compose a separate late afternoon meal accompanied by thick Greek coffee. Fresh fruit -- generally figs, orange, apples, and melon -- usually conclude the late evening dinner.

xoriatiki (true greek salad)

vine~ripened tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onions, bell peppers, arugula, capers and imported greek feta, with simple oregano olive oil vinaigrette

Moussaka

the greek national dish of potato, eggplant and kima, layered with bechamel and baked in an individual terracotta dish

Souvlaki

Fruit Wood Grilled Rosemary Skewered Tenderloin of Beef & Vegetables; Chick Pea Rice

Pastitsio

Pasta Casserole with Spiced Ground Lamb Topped with Yogurt Béchamel: ayers of baked pasta with greek style meat sauce and light bechamel sauce.

malfalda a la petros

fresh malfalda pasta tossed with white shrimp, locanico sausage, spinach and leeks, in a roasted garlic cream sauce, garnished with aged feta.

chicken kapamas style

traditional recipe from wonderful Crete, from our friend Nia Sotis, chicken braised in tomatoes, sweet onions, scented with a touch of cinnamon and clove. Served on a bed of fresh spaghetti, tossed with brown butter and mizithra cheese (greek romano).

chicken lemonato

autumn chicken recipe, from Kostas' village, half chicken braised slowly with garlic, shiitake mushrooms, rosemary and lemon, served on a bed of mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables.

Desserts

Loukoumades: Light Fritters Drizzled with Cinnamon Thyme Honey

Ravani: Semolina Cake Bathed in Vanilla Honey Syrup; Topped with Almond Cream

Rice Pudding: Lemon Scented Creamy Rice Pudding; Cherry Spoon Sweet

Greek Yogurt: Greek Yogurt, Thyme Honey & Walnuts

Bougatsa: hyllo Filled with Warm Semolina Custard

Baklava: Traditional Baklava with Walnuts, Pistachios & Spiced Honey Syrup

Karydopita: Olive Oil Walnut Cake, Yogurt Cream & Orange Spoon Sweet

Greek Cookies: Sugar Dusted Shortbread, Sesame Cookies & Sweet Olive Oil Biscuits with Orange Honey & Walnuts

http://www.allaboutgreekwine.com/articles/article21.htm