Sunday Menus

Looking for ideas for Sunday menus? 

Updated regularly, this new post will index my way of dealing with Sundays when eating @ home. 

Going to extremes, from ridiculously easy ones to tedious or just a combination from both, here's my selection with photos and links to recipes whenever possible:   

Menu #1:

Starter = Tzatziki or guacamole  

Main = Veal or Pork chops and baby potatoes (tomatoes, garlic, oregano,

thyme, olive oil)

Dessert = Ekmek kadaif

Drink: Apple Cider

Stuffed mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms!

Here's a nice idea for a starter to serve with some nice wine next to the fireplace. Just replace the wine with some softer non-alcoholic version for me :) like a scented water where you have let infused several citrus fruits (nice idea for a new recipe btw). 

Haloween Fingers

Ok, Halloween has passed, but here it is a funny idea for your next year's Halloween aperitif.
I tried it for the first time a week ago at a great Halloween party of some dear friends of ours (thank you btw!!!) and everyone was excited with it!
So easy, so scary, so tasty... can you do better? ;)
With terror from me to you... BoooOOOOO

Feta cheese balls

Remember the recipe of feta cheese pies (tyropitakia)?
It's one of our favorite salty starters and if you have never tried it before this is the moment to do it!

I am giving you an alternative that is pretty simple, much simpler than the original recipe.

Hummus

Ok, I won't pretend that I managed to have a nice hummus on my first attempt neither on my second, I do not know why actually, as it is one of the easiest dip recipes to make.
I want to thank Katia (my ex zumba teacher that makes the most delicious hummus :) for her recipe and Aneta for being the intermediate (and for iniating me to zumba btw :)
So, what is hummus ? It's a Lebanese food dip made of chickpeas that I just loooove and that it takes a few minutes to make at home (much better than store-bought).

Zucchini muffins

Remember the delicious zucchini balls that I have presented a long time ago?
Discover today my personal touch to turn them to muffin-like starters in a xmas dinner that I have organized recently. They looked gorgeous and they tasted even better! Just try them...
Procedure

• Use the same recipe for the filling and simply pastry dough (cut in disks) and assemble them in a muffins tray. 
• Sprinkle on top with some yellow cheese. 
• Bake for about 30min at 180 degrees of Celsius and fan.

Aperitif (or cocktail hour) flower!

Living in France, I became keen with the idea of an "aperitif" that is a cocktail hour in between meals that might include a simple drink or a small buffet with some finger food.
Have a glimpse of the latest trend that I did in a hurry with whatever I had in my fridge and that was still delicious despite all odds :)
I had only 1 pastry dough so I made half the flower but it's enough to get the idea still...

Recipe reminder (Tyropitakia)

I would like to remind you a salty greek recipe that I just cannot resist :
"Tyropitakia", the feta cheese pies!
If you haven't tried it yet, just do... if you have, just give me some feedback of what do you think of it or tell me your own recipe, if you like sharing :)
You can even offer them in a nice gift box to someone, to give you some ideas. I always do that, when I want to thank someone ...
Specifically made today as a surprise for one of my kids that I missed soooo much ;) Enjoy!

"Tigania" or fried pork

"Tigania" is a fast and tasty way to prepare a starter for a nice dinner. Actually these starters in Greece we call them "mezes" and we can eat several starters like this instead of following the classic procedure of a dinner.
Once again, a Greek recipe that in old times, people were cooking in villages with meat coming from their own pigs and instead of olive oil, they were using the pork fat. Not so healthy, but soooo delicious! Even the modern version is very tasty, so do not hesitate to try it :)

Feta & dried tomatoes cake

I promised to give you the recipe of the mozzarella cake with feta and I always keep my promises :)
So, find today another version of this salty cake with a greek touch this time ...
Just replace the mozzarella with feta cheese and fresh tomatoes with dried tomatoes and add more flour so that in total will be about 250gr. Try it! 
See some photos from the preparation below...

Greek tzatziki!

Tzatziki is the famous greek dip that is actually a white sauce made with strained yoghurt, cucumber and garlic. It's easy to make, veeeery tasty, great for your bbqs, and is the perfect condiment for "souvlaki", the greek skewers. Find today, how easy it is to make it at home in just a few minutes!

Tomato-mozzarella-oregano cake

Summer is coming soon and I would like to urge all the fanatic ones with cakes like me to calm themselves down by doing salty cakes ! I start the sugar banning :) today by proposing to you a tomato-mozzarella cake that has my favorite oregano to boost it. Easy, fast and excellent starter for a nice dinner or a fancy aperitif.
I would add feta cheese instead of mozzarella to be honest, but I live far from Greece and feta is a precious cheese at home, especially for my daughter :)
As far as it concerns the sugar banning... it was a joke ! I am addicted to sugar, so it's not easy to ban it, for the time being, I can only lower my daily intake ...
Ready? Let's go for it then!

The greek focaccia with feta ("tyroklouri")

Want to try a different focaccia, this time with feta? Actually it is a traditional greek recipe from my region Thessaly, that looks like focaccia but more to the crunchy side.
It is very tasty and for the ones that like focaccia style breads, you will love this one!
It takes time to make it, so choose a cold day that you will stay at home, as you will have to wait for the dough to rise.
The result will reward your patience :)

Easy feta rolls!

(Updated recipe!) Want an easy and tasty starter? Make this feta rolls with "filo" pastry! You will need :

12 filo layers
1-2 eggs
some feta cheese and maybe some emmental cheese
some white pepper

"Skordalia", the greek puree

Find today a different way to make a potato puree, the greek way :) that has (what else?) olive oil and plenty of garlic. Beware, no romantic evenings that day ;)

Spetzofai, weird name, greeek taste!

Another traditional recipe today, coming from the mountain of the Centaurus, Mt Pelion (remember from the greek mythology the half men half horses?) We combine the sausages with a spicy tomato sauce and peppers with eggplants to make this dish that is called in greek "spetzofai".
It's tasty and according to your style can be used as main dish or as a starter. Here it goes...

Tortilla rolls

 Here's a simple but very attractive idea for a buffet: tortilla rolls!
You will need :

• wheat tortillas
• your favorite cream cheese
• a lettuce (washed and well drained)
• slices of ham, turkey or salmon

Just spread the cheese on the tortillas, then add the ham and some lettuce. Roll tightly and cut in parts using your imagination. Use toothpicks to hold the rolls. Decorate nicely and enjoY! 

Keftedakia, the mini burgers :)

Do you remember my home-burgers?
With the same recipe, you can make mini-burgers that you fry in a big frying-pan with good olive-oil and in greek we call them keftedakia that stands for meatballs :)
It is great for a buffet and kids and adults get crazy with them. So crazy, that I did not manage to get a photo from mine when done as they disappeared immediately!   
[updated] I managed to do again in order to show you the result...

Spinach-feta pie (spanakotyropita)

[UPDATED: Check also the alternatives here]
Do you like spinach and cheese? Especially feta cheese? Imagine adding the subtle smell of the dill on top and cover all of them with crunchy layers of a pastry like "filo"... Yummy... We call this "spanakotyropita" in greek and it is a pie that is made with filo and has a filling of spinach and feta.
I come exactly from the region that is known for this and normally, it is even better if we make our own pastry of filo. I will be sincere here, it takes time to make your own filo, so let's use today the ready made one, but of good quality still...

Cheese balls/Gougeres au fromage

Today I will share with you a simple and delicious recipe that my polish friend Anneta does and that I really like. It's great for buffets like birthday parties, various celebrations at home, at work, at school of your children, etc. and it's so easy to make!
In french they call these cheese balls "Gougeres au fromage" and if you speak french have a look in the original recipe here: http://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_gougeres-au-fromage_20095.aspx

For the ones, that cannot understand the french, I will try to translate :)
Thanks Anneta for sharing this recipe and please send a nice photo to us if you have one!