Demetra's Kitchen: Traditional Greek Recipes Handed Down Generations

By Demetra Nerantzini

**iTunes 'New & Noteworthy' selection February/March 2012** Demetra's Kitchen is a personal collection of traditional Greek recipes that have been handed down many generations. You are not required to have expensive tools handy. You are not required to have a culinary degree. The recipes in Demetra's Kitchen are approachable to everyone, even those just beginning in the kitchen. Baklava and other Greek sweets are simplified, including tips and tricks that explain how to easily work with phyllo. There are a variety of options to make a wonderful table of Greek appetizers almost effortlessly. Numerous recipes, even Greek-style leg of lamb are explained, step-by-step. You will not only learn the traditional way of cooking Greek, but you will be guided on how you can adjust these recipes to make them suit your family's particular tastes.

Demetra's Kitchen is not just a collection of recipes; it's a family history being told through sight, smell, touch and taste.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Demetra Nerantzini
• Release date: Jan 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452453545

Demetra Nerantzini

To eat in the home of Demetra Nerantzini is to experience her Greek family's history via sight, touch, smell and taste. A Seattle native, Demetra was raised preparing the same recipes that had been passed down generation-to-generation, that her grandparents had brought from their villages in three separate regions of Greece. In a Greek household, the kitchen is the heart of the home, a gathering place, where food is shared along with the family histories and methods that accompany them. Beginning with Demetra's Kitchen: Traditional Greek Recipes Handed Down Generations, Demetra Nerantzini is inviting you into her family's kitchen to share those recipes, learn the methods and hear the stories which share the love, joy and flavors of generations.

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By

Demetra Nerantzini

Demetra's Kitchen: Traditional Greek Recipes Handed Down Generations

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2012 by Demetra Nerantzini

Cover photograph from Santorini, Greece, Copyright © 2010 by Joan P. Gage www.arollingcrone.com; used with permission

All other photographs Copyright © 2012 by Demetra Nerantzini

All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, including email, recording, photocopying, or other electronic or mechanical methods, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the author or photographer, if for copyrighted photo reproduction, with the exception of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright and/or other law.

To obtain a permission request, please contact the author, using permission request as your subject line at [e-mail].

Disclaimer of Warranty/Limit of Liability: While the author has used their greatest efforts in crafting this book, they make no warranties or representations with respect to the completeness or accuracy of the contents of this book and disclaim specifically any implied fitness for a particular purpose or warranties of merchantability. The author shall not be liable for any commercial damages or any other loss of profit, including but not limited to consequential, incidental, special or other damages.

If any provision herein shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes: This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

I dedicate this book to my Parents, Marianna and Jerasimos, who

taught me that life and love both need a little spice.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

DEMETRA'S RULES - NO RULES!

STAPLES IN DEMETRA'S KITCHEN

RECIPES AND STORIES FROM GENERATIONS

APPETIZERS, DIPS & SAUCES

Tzatziki (Cucumber-Garlic/Gyro Sauce)

Bechamel Sauce

Meze (Bite! Taste!)

Scordalia (Greek Garlic Dip)

SOUPS, SALADS & SIDES

Avgolemono Soup (Greek Egg-Lemon-Chicken Soup)

Xoriatiki (Greek Village Salad)

Kalamata Olive Tapenade

Fasolakia (Yia Yia's Stewed Green Beans and Squash)

Tiropitakia (Greek Phyllo-Cheese Triangles)

Papou's Roasted Potatoes

MAIN COURSES

Souvlaki

Leg of Lamb, Greek Style

Phyllo-Wrapped Feta Chicken

Metera's Keftedes (Mom's Greek Meatballs)

Gyro Meat

Pateramou's Moussaka

GREEK SWEETS

Baklava

Galaktoboureko (Greek Custard-Filled Phyllo Rolls with Honey Sauce)

Karithopita (Honey-Soaked Walnut Cake)

Pasteli (Sesame & Honey Candy)

Koulourakia (Sesame Cookies)

Koulourakia Nistisima (Lenten Sesame-Wine Cookies)

OTHER FAVORITES

Yiaourti (Greek Yogurt)

Spitiko Rodonero (Homemade Rosewater)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Growing up in a Greek household, I don’t ever recall a time I wasn't included in whatever was going on in the kitchen. Whether it was a simple as helping one of my parents cook dinner for our immediate family, or helping all the ladies in the family when there was a large celebration, I was always included. Don't get me wrong here - the men cook too, and they're always happy for you to give them an extra hand. You'll see in this book the distinct things I learned from the men of the family, and their differences from what the women have taught me. I'm sure you will find the differences somewhat comical; mostly how the men must have wine handy so they can toast every step they take when they're cooking.

In a Greek kitchen, if you're old enough to ask if you can help, there's always something you can do. I started at peeling garlic, then moved up to tearing lettuce; then I felt really special when I was old enough to be allowed to chop things. No matter what I was doing, I was always made to feel how important my task was. The best part, for me, was that I was allowed to hear the stories of, My Yia Yia (grandmother) taught me to do this [task] this way because…, or "My