Filo Dough

Filo dough is used a lot in Greek cooking.  I always have a pack of ready to use dough in my freezer.  I have never attempted to make it... just because it is so nice to have it ready to use.  Plus, honestly, I don't know how in the world I would stretch it so thin without uttering several colorful words to express my dismay if it tears.  So, I will continue to use ready made.  Really better that way as I am not a planner at all as to what I want to cook on most days.  Frozen can be ready in 30 minutes thaw time.  

A few weeks ago, I decided to make egg rolls!  Chinese style egg rolls.  You may be asking..."why are you talking about egg rolls? You were talking filo!" Here is the reason.  I made enough egg rolls to freeze and I did not really want more of the same.  What to do?  um... I have a bag of fresh spinach. Spinach is healthy. I have to keep up my health during this isolation from hell time in my life (I am a people person) Look, there is some feta cheese.  This is starting to sound more and more like spanikopita to me.  LIGHT BULB MOMENT (that's my brilliant thought).  I will make spanikopita egg rolls!  Why not!  Filo is just really, really, really thin egg roll wrapper isn't it?  If you ask a GREEK the answer would be "are you kidding? They are not the same! We invented darn near everything (that is what my papas would say)". Being the adventurous cook that I am, I decided to give it a go. No worries about filo over heating and tearing or clumping into a mess, no spreading olive oil over layers, no folding into flag like triangles, etc... I honestly don't mind working with filo at times because that is the authentic way my grandparents and their ancestors did it!  I like tradition but darn it, I was not going to throw away egg roll wrappers.  So I made the spanikopita ingredients (there is probably a recipe somewhere on my blog), filled the wrapper, put on parchment lined baking sheet, spread with olive oil and baked.  Oh my goodness!  They are so good! I also made enough of those to freeze too!  Now just waiting for the time when people can come over and enjoy these treats that are in the freezer! 

Spanikopita egg rolls with fresh tzatiziki (I spell it differently every darn time I write it). The key, in my opinion, to absolutely delicious filling is FRESH herbs!  I very rarely use dried herbs but have them at the ready just in case.  

Quick review of my "I should start writing again" ...

I started this blog to share some family stories and recipes for my sons to have one day.  I've not written in it for quite some time.  I need to start again, if only for some kind journal for fun.  I try to write every day in a gratitude journal, but food is truly an adventure.  I decided, today as a matter of fact, that I might not write the recipes, but just the stories.  Being that I don't measure half the time that I cook, it originally was quite difficult to measure everything and write it down (but I did it!) So, now I will write some of the cooking adventures that I have had during this Corona virus isolation.  Cherry clafouti was a FAIL. This focaccia bread was absolutely delicious.  It will just depend on my mood.  Of course, I will tell cookbook source if used.

I always do a "mise en place".  That's a fancy word for "get all your stuff together" I was a French major, so "mom, dad, I am still using my knowledge...and that trip to Paris and Dijon to study was not in vain!  I'd love to live there again one day!  Thank you! Thank you! Merci beaucoup"  ...but you already knew my love for the place.  Miss talking to both of you!  

I have a bread machine, but there is something about getting your hands in the dough!  

Here is a quick hint!  Mark the outside of your bowl with a chalk marker!  You can really tell where your dough started before the rise.  It is just fun to do.

Ta da!  It was so much fun to decorate!  I believe it was from my Italian cookbook by Lidia Bastianich  It also freezes very well!  I've enjoyed the "fresh out of the oven" taste on several occasions.

Cherry Clafouti - NAILED IT!! FAIL

What to do with all of these cherries?  I know.... I'll make cherry clafouti

Yeah... I've made it before and it wasn't too difficult. I honestly believe that the cherry/olive pit gizmo is one of the best kitchen time savers since slice bread.  I used this on over a pound of cherries.  The batter was easy enough to make.  One direction is the put part of the batter in a baking dish and bake for 2 minutes, then add cherries and rest of batter.  How easy is that?  Well, apparently, not so easy as I messed up somewhere...  It, honest to goodness, could have probably been rolled up and bounced across the floor.  That was the texture of it.  At least I had some great romantic jazz and Andra Day to listen to while I attempted this french dessert.  I will not give up! No, I will make it again soon...just not today.  I'm thinking that I will make a cheesecake. A small bake in a pie pan cheese pie. Brownies would be good too. Darn, I can't decide.  Cheesecake brownies!  That's an idea.  I am not sharing the recipe because, well, it was a fail.  See the scale?  It is supposed to be 105 grams of flour.  I'm just blaming that itty bitty extra gram for the failure! The entire thing was thrown in the bin!