Monday, October 13, 2014

Greek Food Festival Weekend

#MICROBLOG MONDAY

I could sum up this post with one word:  Delicious.

Our city's Greek Orthodox Church sponsors it's Greek Food Festival every year in October.  We (and the rest of the Festival-goers) wait all year for the good food that can be purchased.  This year it was Thursday the 9th, Friday the 10th, and Saturday the 11th. 

We headed out on Friday night - the line was all the way down the block.  No one was leaving.  No one was complaining.  Everyone knew it would be worth the wait.  And it was!

We each had a Dinner Combination Plate that consisted of 1) Pastitsio, 2) Spanakopita, 3) Dolmades, Meat Balls (my favorite), plus a Greek Salad, Rice Pilaf and a roll.  (Which we ate standing up at a high table while Greek dancers entertained us with their folk music and traditional dances.  It was loud, it was crowded, and we could not have cared less.)

The Greek Festival wouldn't be complete without the Greek Pastries:  1) Baklava, 2) Koulourakia, 3)Kataife and 4) Loukoumades among others.  We are Baklava lovers, but had to try a little of everything.  So we bought a sampler and shared.  Wonderful!

In addition to all the great "home cooked" Greek food, there were tours of the recently restored Church, and many other Greek items for sale - the usual, Tee-shirts, tote bags, jewelry, Orthodox religious items and Greek music CDs.

It was so good, we went back on Saturday afternoon and got dinner to go. 

I can't wait for next year!

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1)  Pastitsio -  Baked macaroni layered with ground meat and cheese topping.
2)  Spanakopita - Spinach with feta cheese and herbs baked in layers of filo.
3)  Dolmades - Cooked Rice, ground beef, and herbs rolled in grape leaves and served hot. 

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1)  Baklava - Pecans and spices baked in layers of filo with honey syrup.
2)  Kourabiedes - Butter cookies topped w/powdered sugar.
3)  Kataife - Shredded filo with chopped nuts, spices and honey syrup.
4)  Loukoumades - Honey puffs (think donut holes) w/cinnamon and nuts.  Served hot.