Grebe's Wausau "Melomakarona" Recipe

 Last Monday night (Oct 21st) I presented this recipe at Grebe's, in Wausau, WI.  Please, contact me if you have any questions.   This dessert is one of the "Christmas specials" and among my family's favorites!

                                                                                                  Vasileios

Melomakarona

Ingredients for the Dough:

480 gr (18oz) Paeleon EVOO

50 gr (1.5oz) Brandy

160 gr (5.8oz) Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Baking Powder

200 gr (7.1oz) Sugar

2 tsp Cinnamon Powder

1 tsp Ground Cloves

The Peel of an Orange

900 gr (2 lbs) All Purpose Flour

Medium size pieces of walnut

Ingredients for the Syrup:

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Water

1 Cup Honey

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 Small Lemon

Ground Walnut (not too thin or thick!)

Directions for the Dough:

Put the flour and the baking powder in a bowl and mix well.

 In a large bowl, add the Paeleon EVOO, the brandy, the sugar, the cinnamon and the orange peel and mix well.  In a smaller bowl mix the orange juice and the baking soda.  When the baking soda is dissolved, empty it into the bowl that has the olive oil and the other ingredients.  Mix well. 

Slowly empty the flour into the bowl that has the olive oil and the rest of the ingredients.  Stir slowly.  The mixture is supposed to be oily.

Preheat oven at 320 F (with the fan on).

Take small chunks of the mixture and work them a little in your hands until they take the shape of a ball.  Stick a small piece of walnut at the side and roll the mixture in your hands, making it oval in shape.  The walnut should be roughly in the center of the dough.  Place on an ungreased tray.  Do the same with the rest of the mixture.  After you are done, use a fork to poke holes on the surface of the dough.  This will give it a small design and also help the cookie to absorb syrup after it is cooked. 

Cook for 30-35 minutes (30 min will make the cookies soft, 35 min will make the cookies crispy).  Remove from the oven and let them cool down completely.

Directions for the Syrup:

Add all the ingredients for the syrup in a small deep pot.  Bring to boil and let it boil for 4-5 minutes.  Remove the cinnamon stick.  Take each Melomakarono and dip it in the syrup for 15-20 seconds.  Remove and put in a plate.  Sprinkle some ground walnut on top of it.  Enjoy!!!

This is a very common dessert in Greece during Christmas!

Grebe's Wausau "Pastitsio" Recipe

 Last Monday night (Oct 21st) I presented this recipe at Grebe's, in Wausau, WI.  Please, contact me if you have any questions.   This pasta dish is an all time favorite among the people of Greece.  

                                                                                                          Vasileios

Pastitsio

Ingredients:

For The Pasta:

2 lbs Pasta (Penne or Perciatelli style)

For The Sauce:

2 lbs Ground Beef

1/3 cup Paeleon EVOO

1 Large Onion chopped

3 Cloves of Garlic chopped

1 cup Tomato Sauce

¼ cup Brandy (otional)

1 tsp Sugar

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 Bay Leaf

Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

For The Cream:

6 cups Fresh Milk

6 Tbsp Corn Flour

2Tbsp Paeleon EVOO

3 Eggs

½ tsp Allspice

Salt

1 cup Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Pasta:

Cook the pasta as usual in a pot of water.  Drain the water and put aside.

Sauce: 

Pour the Paeleon EVOO in a large pan and warm it up.  Add the ground beef and sauté it for 8 minutes.  Add the onion and the garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.  Pour the Brandy over the top and stir for a minute.  Add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce and stir well.  Cover and let it simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes (remove the cinnamon stick and the bay leaf half time into the simmering). 

Cream:

In a large pot pour the milk and heat it to medium-high temperature.  Add the corn flour, the Paeleon EVOO, allspice and salt and stir continuously for about 10 minutes, until the mixture becomes thick.  Sometimes the mixture takes a little longer to thicken.  If you have difficulty, try raising the heat a little.  After the cream becomes thick, remove from the fire and while stirring mix in the egg yolks one by one.  Add ¾ cup of the parmesan and mix well.

Bake:

Oil a baking tray and add half the pasta.  Spread evenly at the bottom of the tray.  Pour a cup of the cream over the pasta.  Spread evenly.  Take a cup of cream and mix it well with the sauce.  Pour that in the baking tray and spread evenly.  Add the rest of the pasta over the top, spread the remaining cream and finish with ¼ cup of parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes.  Serve hot or cold and Enjoy!

Grebe's Wausau "Tzatziki With Beets" Recipe

Last Monday night (Oct 21st) I presented this recipe at Grebe's, in Wausau, WI.  Please, contact me if you have any questions.   This salad dish is very good when served with steak, sausage and meat in general!

                                                                                                          Vasileios

Tzatziki with Beets

Ingredients:

2 lbs strained Yoghurt

4 Tbsp Cream Cheese

7-8 boiled Beets

5 Cloves of Garlic

1-2tsp Salt

1tsp Pepper

4 Tbsp Paeleon EVOO

4 Tbsp  Vinegar

1 Tbsp chopped Spearmint

Directions:

Boil the beets until the fork can go through them.  Peel and cut into small cubes.

In a bowl add the yoghurt, cream cheese, the minced garlic, salt, pepper, Paeleon EVOO, vinegar and spearmint.  Mix well until the ingredients are well blended.  Add the beets and mix well.  Serve cold next to your main dish.  Enjoy!

Upcoming Olive Crop ... and more!

Hypothesis:

 When I left Greece four years ago, I was aware that management of my land through Skype would be a challenge.  But who doesn't like a good challenge!  Right????  Well ... let's take a closer look!

Test:

 Here is a good example (of a challenge).  Last week I asked person X (who was not in charge of my land) to go take a look at my Olive Grove and Citrus Orchards on the "Rock".  X called me an hour later and said:  "Vassili, I am really sorry, but I have some bad news!  Your olive trees are thirsty and the olives are falling off the trees.  Your Navel oranges are shrank and all the young lemon trees you planted two years ago are almost dead!  They don't have any leaves on!"  

Well ..., naturally, I was alarmed, especially after I had just talked to my worker the previous day and he said everything was coming along great!  So ..., I called my father, asked him to go take a look for me and call me back.  And he did!  He even took some pictures and emailed them to me today.  According to my father's saying and the pictures that I saw, things are not bad at all.  The Olive Trees appear to be loaded, and the Navel Orange Trees definitely have more oranges on them than I expected.  On the other hand, the young Lemon Trees could use a few more leaves and there seem to be a couple of areas where the field is not irrigated properly and that causes stress on the plants.

Result:

The whole experience was quite fascinating!  Great expectations followed by a variety of mixed feelings that lead to growth!

However, I still wouldn't trust anyone else to do the pressing of the olives for me.  There is simply too much room for mistakes there!

Vasileios

Greacy Event(s) at Grebe's Fall 2013

First of all, I want everyone to know that I am aware I misspelled the word Greacy above.  It was deliberate!

So, here is the news!  On Monday, October 21st, I will be presenting recipes of Greek cuisine at Grebe's, in Wausau, WI.  The recipes are Pastitsio (main dish), Beet Tzatziki Sauce and Melomakarona (dessert).  

Then, on Tuesday, October 22nd, we will meet again at the same place for something new!  We will join artist Anne Beckman, who will teach us how to draw olives.  At the same time I will offer different kinds and flavors of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, we are going to dip some excellent breads and have some light appetizers, while we get messy!  Don't miss it.  It will be fun!

You can find more about the events and how to sign up at www.grebesonline.com, under the link "Fall 2013 Chef's Center Class Brochure".

Hope to see you there!

Vasileios

Paeleon EVOO Available in Downtown Madison!

Paeleon Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Alea Kalamata Olives are now available at the Fresh Madison Market grocery store in downtown Madison.  The address is 703 University Ave, Madison, WI, 53715, Tel 608-287-0000.  We are getting closer to you!

The Fresh Madison Market is a family owned grocery store that offers a full line of groceries, ready to eat foods and even picnic baskets-to-go!   For more information, you can check out their website at www.freshmadisonmarket.com or simply stop in for a first hand experience.  

Paeleon Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Oregon and McFarland, WI!

There is two things I would like to share with all of you who know or would like to know Paeleon.  

The first is that Paeleon EVOO (and Alea Kalamata Olives) is now available in Oregon, WI, at Bill's Food Center.  The address is 787 N Main St #1, Oregon, WI, 53575, Tel 608-835-3939.  Bill's Food Center offers a full line of grocery products and we are excited to have our products available through that store!

The second thing is that we were accepted at McFarland Farmer's Market as vendors for the 2013 season and we will start selling our products there on Thursday, August 1st 2013.  The market is located at the Spartan Bowl, 4711 Farwell st, McFarland, WI.  It is behind Kwick Trip, across from Culver's, in McFarland, every Thursday between 2 and 6 pm.  For more information, you can call Vasileios at 920-359-1796.  I look forward to meeting you there! 

Tomato Salad in Madison !

When we decided to move to Madison, about 4 months ago, my first thought was:  “Yeah, I will have tomatoes by July”.  I put my garden in around the end of May, when I returned from Greece, and things have been going along great!  We’ve been enjoying plenty of Lettuce and Arugula, we got our first Zucchinis 2 weeks ago and finally … today … we harvested some Tomatoes!

So, here is the simple recipe for the Greek Tomato Salad:

3-4 large juicy tomatoes

At least 4 Tbsp Paeleon EVOO!

10-15 Kalamata Olives

1-2 tsp ground oregano

Salt to taste

5-8 oz Feta cheese

1 dry onion

Fresh baked bread!

In a large bowl, cut the tomatoes in bite-size chunks.  If you skin the tomatoes the flavors will blend together better, but you will lose some of the lycopene and beta-carotene content.  Cut the onion in half, slice it to long strips and add it to the bowl.  Continue with the olive oil, the feta cheese and the olives.  Mix it well, until the salad gets a “wet” kind of look.  Finish with the salt and the oregano. Mix one more time.   Enjoy within ½ hour!  Oh, I almost forgot!  The more people you have dipping bread in it, the tastier it will get!

Note:  Some people like to add more vegetables, like peppers and cucumbers in their Greek salad.  I have found that the tomatoes and the olive oil give moisture to the salad, so I always try to have a higher proportion of those two ingredients.

Paeleon EVOO ... in Stevens Point !!!

It's been a whole year since Paeleon set up a bench in Stevens Point, WI.  We are excited to say that we will be at The Market on Strongs, during the Riverfront Rendezvous for the Independence Day Celebration.  We will offer our amazing Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus a few ... NEW products.  We hope to see you there!

The Place:  1332 Strongs Avenue, Stevens Point, WI

The Day:  Saturday July 6th

The Time: Between 9am and 2pm

Spring 2013 ... Madison or Greece?

In the beginning of April we moved to Madison and quiet early we were able to see why the word "Madison" brings a smile and a look of longing on everyone's expression!  The weather would be an obvious reason, and I will agree with all those that take note of the cultural diversity, the education, the theaters and the museums.  However, what impressed me was the fact that you can walk on Capitol Square and then take your car, drive for 5-10 minutes and be in the country, surrounded by nature!  

​Having said that  ...!

May is practically here and that means I am going to Greece any day now!  I will not stay as long as I would like, but I will get to do things that I love.  This spring's itinerary involves inspecting the olive groves and the orange and pomegranate orchards, selling Valencia oranges, preparing the irrigation and planting two thousand Kalamata Olive trees.  ​And ... of course ... fresh fish and a glass of wine by the ocean!

​Then ... back to Madison!