Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

Spanakopita is a Greek spinach pie.  In this version, the papery-thin layers of phyllo pastry hold a spinach filling with leeks, scallions, dill, feta, Parmesan, and ricotta.  Agapi Stassinopoulos said on The Martha Stewart Show that the inclusion of ricotta is untraditional but makes the pie sweeter.  She happens to be Arianna Huffington's sister, and this is their mother's recipe.

Joe and I liked this spanakopita, but we could have done without the ricotta and amped up the feta in this dish instead.  We really like feta, and I had followed the recipe and added only three-quarters of the 8-ounce block.  Our other criticism was we would have preferred a shallower pie with a lower ratio of spinach to pastry, because you get a big mouthful of spinach and little phyllo by comparison.  After all, there's three pounds of spinach in this dish!

Like all spanakopita dishes it takes some time to put together, and my least favorite part is squeezing the water out of fistfuls of spinach.  I used thawed frozen spinach, but if you go the fresh route you'll still have to steam or saute the spinach to release the water from the leaves to avoid a soggy pie.  Also, I used a decidedly non-Greek cooking vessel -- the wok.  There was so much filling it would have come up to the rim of my saute pan, making it difficult to stir.

But when it's all assembled and ready to go in the oven, the house has started to warm up and you can just sit back and wait.  And think back to last week when it was sunny and springlike, instead of cold and grey like today.  And then dig into some good spinach pie.

"Austen" Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

I have not been able to get these sandwiches out of my head!  Rebecca from my Austen in Boston book club makes some awesome sandwiches, but these are my favorite, hands down.  Rebecca calls them "Austen in Boston" English Cucumber Tea Sandwiches.  We enjoyed them at our last picnic, and they are so good with a cup of tea -- with cream and sugar, of course.

This post also appears at Boston Tea Party.

Cucumber sandwiches are simple, but these get some complexity from herbs and good-quality bread.  Rebecca uses Ezekiel Bran for Life bread, but my store didn't have any so I went with Nature's Pride Nutty Oat (strangely, the packaging says it has a nutty flavor but no nuts, and it's 100% natural).  Even Joe loved the nutty oat, and he isn't always keen on the 12-grain-type breads I bring home.  Plus I think ordinary white bread is too bland for something as mild as cucumber.

Using a mandoline gives you uniform slices

The slices are paper-thin

Rebecca also uses organic cream cheese, nothing artificial.  I went with neufchatel cheese, which tastes just like cream cheese but has a third less fat.  Philadelphia makes one.  I went with the English seedless cucumber she recommended -- it has less water and seeds than regular cucumber -- as well as the dill.  Rebecca recommends dried chives as an alternative and says they're better than fresh.  I used both dill and fresh chives, since I have chives growing in my garden and personally love them fresh.

Slathering cream cheese on half of the bread

Slightly overlap layers of cucumber, then repeat once

These few ingredients make up a sandwich both delicate for tea and snacking, but hearty enough to fill you up, to my surprise.  Now, I once made cucumber sandwiches on this blog way back when, but in retrospect I didn't have a great formula.  You need the right ratio of cucumber slices to cream cheese to bread, and this recipe has it.  I foresee many chilly afternoons with these babies and a hot pot of tea.

Moosewood's Cheesy Potato Soup

My friend Jill made this soup for my birthday last year, and I had to ask for the recipe. It's hearty and just what you want as the weather gets chilly. I like to puree a little over half of the soup, so you get that creamy texture but still have some good chunks. It's easy to make, and can come together in under half an hour.

Moosewood's Cheesy Potato Soup
3 tbs butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large potatoes, peeled in large dice
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into chunks
3 cups vegetable stock or water
2 tbs fresh dill
4 oz. cream cheese
1½ cups milk
1 cup grated cheddar (3 oz.)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the garlic and onions in the butter until translucent. Add potatoes and carrots and saute 5 minutes longer. Add the stock and dill and simmer until vegetables are tender (expect 15 to 20 minutes). Stir in the cream cheese and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cheddar and cook until just melted.

I throw chunks of cheddar in the food processor to shred, and then ladle about half of the soup in to puree.

Then return the velvety mixture to the pot, stir to combine, and add the cream cheese and milk.