Greek Night!

I was feeling a little more adventurous this week and decided to try something different.  We had "Mexican Night" several days before, so I came up with a couple recipes for "Greek Night"!  Our menu included spanakopita and a new Greek salad.  We drank red wine (since I'm not a huge fan of Ouzo), and while I should have made baklava from the leftover Phyllo dough, we had so much Easter candy in the house I just skipped the dessert.  I completely regret that, of course, because I would kill for a  piece of baklava right now.

Anyway, both recipes I'll use again.  I thought the spanakopita would be a challenge, but it was really more time-consuming than difficult.

Some tips:

• Make sure the phyllo is completely thawed before unrolling it, or it will crack. 
• Always keep the phyllo covered.  When you take out a sheet, cover the rest back up... otherwise it will crack.
• Try putting the cooked spinach in a thin, clean dish towel to squeeze out the excess liquid.  It's much easier than trying to do it with your hands.
• It's best to eat the spanakopita right after baking- don't plan on trying to reheat it the next day.  It loses all its crispness when reheated.  
• I also recommend stuffing the spanakopita extra full- they're better that way!  
• In case you haven't seeded a cucumber before, use a spoon to scoop out the center.
• Greek Night = feta galore!  Don't recreate it if you're not a feta fan. 

Here are the recipes below:

Spanakopita (Adopted and adapted from Epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

1 stick + 1 T unsalted butter
1 lb baby spinach
8 oz crumbled feta
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
5 phyllo sheets, thawed (if frozen)

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 T unsalted butter.  Add the spinach and cook, stirring (about 4-5 minutes) until wilted.  Let cool in a strainer, then squish out any extra liquid (using the towel-method if desired).  Chop coarsely and add to a small bowl with the feta, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
2. Melt the stick of butter in the skillet you used for the spinach.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Cover the phyllo with plastic wrap and top with a clean, damp kitchen towel.  Lay out one layer of the dough on a flat surface, with the long side closest to you (I used my big cutting board, which was pretty convenient).  Use a pastry brush to brush butter over the entire sheet.  Take another phyllo sheet and stack it on the first.  Brush this one with butter as well.  Slice the dough into 4 strips crosswise.  
4. Put a tablespoon of the spinach mixture on the nearest corner of one of the strips.  Fold the corner across to make a triangle.  Fold back and forth (like a flag) until you reach the end of the strip (see photos below if this sounds confusing).  Lay the triangle seam side down on a baking sheet.  Brush with a little extra butter.  Repeat with the remaining phyllo.
5.  Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.  

Greek Salad (Adopted and adapted from FoodNetwork.com)

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, sliced lengthwise and seeded, then sliced into 1/4" pieces

1 red pepper, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

1 pint grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes, halved)

1/2 red onion, diced 

8 oz feta, diced into 1/2" cubes (buy a block of feta, not crumbled)

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives (you can buy these canned at most grocery stores)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp mustard

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar, if you have it)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine the peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, and onion in a large bowl.  
2. In a small bowl, combine the last 7 ingredients to make the dressing.  Whisk well and immediately pour over the vegetables.
3. Add the olives and feta.  Fold lightly to combine.  Let sit for 30 minutes before serving to allow the dressing to saturate the vegetables.