Greek Dinner with friends

Melitzanosalata (Eggplant dip) from Modern Greece.  Bake 2 pounds of eggplant at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Peel and chop.  Mash 3 garlic cloves with salt and puree in mortar and pestle.  Put eggplant, mashed garlic, 1 small grated onion, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley into food processor and puree until smooth.  With motor running, drizzle in 5 tbsp olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Top with crumbled feta.  (This dish was really pretty ugly, but it was good.  Even non eggplant eaters at it.)

Tzatziki (from Modern Greece).  Grate 2 cucumbers and place in colander with plate on top for about 15 minutes.  Put in towel and ring out the cucumbers.    Put in food processor along with 6 cloves garlic, 4 cups yogurt, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, pepper.  With motor running, add 4 tbsp olive oil.  (This is the easiest of all the tzatzikis)

Connie serving up some fritters.  (From Modern Greece):  Grate 1 1/2 pounds zucchini.  Mix with 2 bunches finely chopped green onions, 6 oz crumbled feta, 1/2 cup grated kefalotiri or parmesan, 2 beaten eggs, 4 tbsp chopped dill, 4 tbsp chopped mint, 1 2/3 cup flour (we had to use more).  Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.  Heat 1/2 inch of olive oil in a pan.  Fry on both sides for about 5 minutes each.  (Our batter was still pretty wet, so we dipped them in flour before frying.)  Serve with a squeeze of lemon.  Tasty.

A spin on spanakopita (also from Modern Greece)  Blanch 2 pounds of spinach (we didn't have enough spinach, so we used mustard greens, we just boiled them a little longer).  Mix with 8 finely chopped green onions, 4 tbsp chopped dill, 12 oz crumbled feta cheese, 2 beaten eggs, salt and pepper.  In a 12 inch pan, layer 1/2 package of filo pastry, brushing each layer with butter.  Put all of the filling in and layer the remaining filo dough, brushing with butter.  Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

This is the only picture that I took of dinner.  It got late, things got rushed and I completely forgot.   We made steak with bone marrow htipiti.  from How to Cook a Lamb.  Soak 3(2-3 inch)  marrow bones in very cold water overnight.  Ours were shorter so we used more, we also tripled the recipe, which was a mistake).  Then roast them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Scoop out the marrow and put in food processor with 1 stick of butter, 1 chopped shallot, 1 tsp oregano, 3 sprigs of thyme, chopped, one small sprig of rosemary, chopped, 6 cloves of garlic confit, 1 tsp lemon zest, 2 tsp salt and a coarse grinding of pepper.  Pulse until smooth.  Grill the steaks.    After resting, put back on  grill to warm the outside.  Smear the htipiti on the steak.  Squeeze the lemon over it and sprinkle with oregano and salt. (We forgot this last step of putting it back on the grill to heat the outside.  So our htipiti didn't melt very well, which had mixed reviews.  It was very rich.  Blame the ouzo)   Serve with Creamed Spinach.  Heat 1 tbsp olive oil.  Add 3 tbsp finely chopped shalot and 4 sliced scallions for 2-3 minutes.  Add 8 oz baby spinach.  Toss for a few minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in Greek Bechamel Sauce and dill.  Greek Bechamel Sauce:  Melt 2 1/2 oz butter.  Add 5 oz flour, whisky to a very crumbly roux.  Whisk constantly and energetically for about 5 min, but don't let it brown.  Still whisking, slowly add 3 1/4 cups warmed whole milk.  Simmer on low until it thickens a little.  Add pinch of nutmeg, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon and pepper.  We also served it with the green bean and tomato salad from earlier in the month.  This was supposed to be a very traditional steakhouse meal.