[Food] My Big Fat Greek Eat Club

My turn was last night again. Greek theme.


Courses:

salad - Greek salad

main - gyros

dessert - baklava

Tzatziki:
2 cups lowfat plain yogurt
2 medium cucumbers diced and then squeezed to remove excess water
1 sprig of mint, chopped
2 large pinches of Dmitri's seasoning (a greek seasoning from one of my local greasy spoons, a shout out to Mac's cafe!)
3 turns of the salt grinder
2 splurts of vinegar
2 splurts of olive oil

mix, let cool in refridgerator 1.5 hours before serving

Greek Salad:
1 medium cucumber sliced
1/2 very large red onion
1 head of red lettuce
1 green pepper, sliced
3-5 kalamata olives per serving
3 peppercini's per serving
Feta cheese crumbles (I used part of a block of Feta from the local greek restaurant, shout out to Zorba's!)
1 tomato cubed per serving

dressing:
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 tblsp Dmitri's seasoning
mix well, adjust sugar and seasoning to taste

Gyros:
fixings
1/2 red onion sliced
cherry tomatoes
1 medium cucumber sliced
(doh forgot the parsly)
2lbs (should have only had 1lb though) of excellent Gyro meat from Zorbas (no one in town carried gyro meat and I did not have time to make it myself)
Pita bread (multiple)

Baklava:
1lb Fillio bread (frozen)
1/2lb butter (two sticks, unsalted)
3 cups crushed pecans
1 cup sugar
1 tblsp cinnamon
1 tsp lemon finely shaved lemon zest
sauce
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup honey (US Grade A Fancy)
1 tblsp lemon juice
rough shaving lemon zest of 1 whole lemon
13"x9" baking pan

butter the bottom and sides of the baking pan
melt 2 sticks of butter on low heat
pre-heat oven to 325F

place 2 sheets of fillio in pan, brush melted butter on top sheet
place 2 sheets of fillio in pan, brush melted butter on top sheet
place 2 sheets of fillio in pan, brush melted butter on top sheet
cover top sheet with 1/2 of the crushed nuts and 1/2 of the sugar-cinnamon-lemon zest mixture
place 2 sheets of fillio in pan, brush melted butter on top sheet
place 2 sheets of fillio in pan, brush melted butter on top sheet
place 2 sheets of fillio in pan, brush melted butter on top sheet
cover top sheet with remaining crushed nuts and sugar mixture
place 2 sheets of fillio in pan, brush melted butter on top sheet
place 2 sheets of fillio in pan, brush melted butter on top sheet
place 2 sheets of fillio in pan, brush melted butter on top sheet
cover top sheet with remaining melted butter
cut into 2" diamonds or squares (won't be able to do this after baking as it will be too fragile)
place in oven at 325F for 30 minutes
reduce heat to 300F bake for 40-60 minutes or until top layer is a nice golden brown
20 minutes before you finish baking, make the sause:

place sugar, honey, water, lemon zest into a saucepan and bring to gentle boil, reduce heat and let simmer uncovered until baking is complete.

Remove pan from oven, while still hot, evenly pour the sauce over the top. Let cool for 4 hours or until you can't stand it anymore.

Beverage:
Mythos Lager (a greek imported Hellenic Lager, very light colored with mild taste, great for hot days)