Spanakopita

Ingredients

1 ½ Bags of Cello Spinach
4-6 Medium leeks
2 Tbsp. of chopped fresh dill
2 cups of olive oil
2 cups of crumbled feta cheese
8 lg. eggs
½ lb. of phyllo dough

Instructions

Wash spinach and leeks—Make sure that they are practically dry
Chop the spinach and the leeks and add dill—combine in a lg. bowl

Take a 2 inch hotel pan and brush it with olive oil

Then start placing the pyllo dough in the pan, draping excess phyllo on all four sides of the pan. Continue to stack 8-10 layers of phyllo while brushing olive oil in between the layers.

Beat the eggs whole in a separate mixing bowl—add one cup of the olive oil—mix in the crumbled feta—you may add some fresh ground pepper

Combine the egg mixture with the spinach mixture using a wooden spoon

Place the entire mixture in the pan evenly

Add 6 more layers of phyllo dough on top of the spinach mixture in the same manner as before. At last fold excess phyllo dough into the pan and brush the top of the spanakopita

Preheat oven and bake at 350 degrees for approx. 45 min. –or until golden brown

Remove from the oven and cut in square pieces while hot.

Remove the pieces with a spatula and place on a serving plate

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MOUSSAKA

PART A: BECHAMEL

ROUX: 3 sticks of Butter and one lg. yellow onion sautéed

Melt butter in saucepan—mix in garlic and onion add 2 bay leaf, oregano and thyme

Starts to brown—DO NOT BURN MIXTURE
add half cup of white wine--reduce
add -- 2 quarts of whole milk & 3 quarts of heavy cream
--- a pinch of Nutmeg
½ cup parmesan cheese—taste to salt
½ cup kefalograviera cheese—taste to salt or shredded mozzarella
add cornstarch slurry at the end--thicken while beating & straining over the moussaka

Method: (for the béchamel)

Add the Milk to the roux and stir until thicken under medium heat
Lower heat and add the Nutmeg, the cheeses and at last the eggs
Let cool

PART B: GROUND BEEF

3 lbs. of ground beef
1 Lg. onion chopped
1 ½ tsp. oregano
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup of chopped basil
2 cups of plum tomatoes
1-2 cloves of fresh chopped garlic
add some béchamel
pinch of cinnamon and pinch of nutmeg

Method: (for cooking the ground beef)

Pan Roast the ground beef until brown Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the mixture thickens

PART C: VEGETABLES

3 med - lg. eggplants 4 zucchini 5 Idaho potatoes Method: (for cooking the vegetables)

Cut all the vegetables lengthwise—Place in trays—apply blended oil And roast in the oven until cooked through. ASSEMBLE THE MOUSSAKA AND BAKE –Until béchamel is golden

Layer the potatoes first in the pan—then the eggplant and zucchini Spread the ground beef mixture even Spread the Béchamel on top evenly and BAKE AT 350

LET COOL-- THEN CUT