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THE THING ABOUT HOME COOKING . . .
is that it makes it near impossible to remain distant from where your food comes from.
In the thick (and thin) of social distancing, articles and videos and recipes and food content everywhere have zeroed in on the home cooking experience. Even with famous chefs teaching the at-home cooking class via Zoom, and phone calls to your mom/aunt/grandpa/neighbor the only way to get details about how to perfect an old family recipe you've been missing, we are more intimate with our food than ever.
But for those who don't like to cook, or have always feared the kitchen, or are just plain angry that the options have been removed from what used to be a veritable smorgasbord of dinnertime possibilities...I'm curious: how are you doing with the shift toward eating in? What has surprised you about the experience? Where have you found room to soften or experience joy? What shortcuts improve your day? What day-long projects have enriched your table? We'd love to hear from you.
I'm especially grateful for my local Farmers' Market each week, which has adapted to the pandemic with skill and grace: everyone signs up online in advance, with earliest slots going to senior citizens and first responders. Folks wait in line six feet apart while market staff checks your name off a list, ensures you are in line for the right time slot and that you're wearing mask and gloves. Cash is discouraged. Preorders are encouraged. There's an express line for folks who do all their shopping via preorder, so they don't have to enter the market at all.
At first, I was sad to miss the hugs and smiles and greetings of my weekly market shop...now I love talking to a farmer each week when I place my phone order for eggs and ground chicken (meatballs, anyone?) and listening to a podcast while I wait in the long line for fresh seafood (see more on how small farms are flourishing in our tidbits below). And I know exactly what I'm going to do with the big bag of spinach I preordered last week...
Taylor's Mom's Spanakopita
I grew up with the last name Cocalis, but the only Greek person in my family was my paternal grandfather. I had a YaYa (who was 100% Irish) and a Mom (mostly Irish and German) who made a Greek Easter feast that we'd eat on the Christian Easter holiday. Needless to say, we were not a religious household. Unless you consider special-occasion cooking a religion (which - let's be honest - it pretty much is mine).
I am grateful that my Mom had some kitchen staples I will always remember. In some cases, it's all about the ingredients (like the secret to her crab cakes, which you will see in a forthcoming newsletter), and in others it's all about the technique. I'm most grateful that she used to make spanikopita, because phyllo dough can be a bizarre and foreign concept when you're reading a recipe. I had the pleasure of watching her over the years, taking care to cover the phyllo with a very lightly damp kitchen towel in between layering the filling, to ensure that it didn't dry out. I used to love sitting there watching her, and waiting for scraps that might break off that I could dip in melted butter to snack on. Now spanikopita is a staple in our house. I like to make it in big batches, and then freeze it in pocket-sized triangles that can be baked off for a quick lunch or a nourishing side dish at dinner.
Like many of my recipes, I've adapted this one from the original that Marge made (which she had inherited from my kindergarten classmate's grandpa, by way of a flimsy recipe book put together by my elementary school). The major difference is that I've swapped out the filling for a more flavorful one: another favorite of my Mom's, the spinach based stuffing she uses in her boneless leg of lamb for the same Easter feast. In addition to the classic spinach and feta, it also has lemon zest, dill, mint, shallots, and a bit of kasseri cheese, making the interior more moist and melty.
SPANIKOPITA
Makes 3-4 dozen big triangles. As you can tell, I love to make it in big batches to freeze. If you are going through the trouble, you might as well . . . but if you're not looking for a whole-afternoon project, then you can scale it back as you like.
INGREDIENTS
the filling
- 6x10-oz package frozen spinach, thawed
- 12 Tbls olive oil and 6 Tbls butter
- 10 shallots, chopped
- 3 cups chopped parsley
- 6 Tbls chopped fresh mint
- 6 Tbls chopped fresh dill
- zest from 2 large lemons
- 1.5 lbs feta cheese, crumbled
- 1.5 lbs kasseri cheese, grated
to assemble
- 2 packages phyllo dough
- 1 lb butter + 2 cups olive oil (you might not use it all, but be sure to have it on hand)
INSTRUCTIONS
make the filling
- Thaw the frozen spinach and squeeze all excess moisture out of it. Set aside.
- In a sauté pan heat the oil and butter until it foams, then add the shallots and cook until they are fragrant. Add the spinach (a little at a time) and wilt it, cooking slowly until all moisture has disappeared from the spinach. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Cool until you can handle the mixture.
assemble the spanikopita
- Mix a lot of melted butter and olive oil (maybe start with 1 stick butter and ½ cup oil. You can always make more if you need it) and heat on the stove to melt the butter. You will want this to remain liquid, so either keep it on the stove while you work, or return it to the stove if it starts to solidify throughout the process. (You can also clarify the butter if you're into that sort of thing.)
- Lay down three sheets phyllo dough, brushing butter / oil mixture on top of each layer before you lay down the next sheet. Be sure that the short end of the rectangle is closest to your belly, with the long end extending away from you.
- Plop three balls of filling (about 1/2 cup of filling each) on the end of the phyllo, spacing them evenly apart. Then slice the phyllo dough into three long strips. Fold each strip up like up like a flag, starting with the end closest to you, around the filling.
- Place on baking sheet and brush with butter/olive oil before you put in the oven.
- Bake at 350F until golden / crispy / warm throughout, about 20 - 25 minutes.
NOTES
// you can freeze the triangles in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once frozen, transfer to a Ziploc freezer bag. You can bake them directly from the freezer, and they will likely take a little longer - about 35 minutes.
// Also, if you read the instructions above and are totally lost, watch this guy's video for technique (start it at 3:05). You will see that working with the phyllo dough is a little temperamental, but be fearless - once they are all folded up, nobody will know if you ripped it a little bit. He made his triangles smaller, but I like them big for a main meal.
// Kasseri can be hard to find, so if you can't find it, don't sweat it. Just replace with the same amount of feta.
// If you want a super nutrient dense alternative, you can add stinging nettles to your spinach. You can find them in the wild in the Spring. Just be sure if you use them to blanch them first, otherwise you'll have a prickly surprise.
To loving your Mom's cooking,
Tay + Dor
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tidbits...
what we’re reading / listening to / watching / noticing / thinking about / captivated by this Tuesday…
After decades of struggle to prove they are sustainable businesses, small farms seem to be flourishing. (NY Times)
If you’re in withdrawal from all the great programming around Mr. Rogers of late (the book on his life, the documentary, the film starring Tom Hanks) you might want to pick up Officer Clemmons, the new memoir by Dr. Francois S. Clemmons, the first African American actor to have a recurring role on a children’s television program.
We're not surprised that things are looking more democratic from the home kitchen, as illustrated by Hannah Giorgis in The Atlantic.
In the ongoing effort to promote resources for those in the hospitality industry, please continue to share / add to / check in with our friend Dana's open source google doc.
got a tidbit? drop it here for us, and you just might see it in next week's newsletter.
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