Greek and Italian Recipes Cookbook

My latest book I created to basically have all of my Mom's recipes that she had written down for me in notebooks and pieces of paper all in one place. I didn't have all of her recipes because many she just prepared from memory. All of the dishes in this book were prepared by me and my Mom together while she was alive. They are all yummy and fairly easy to prepare. They celebrate both my Greek and Italian heritage. If you have any questions, please contact me. Thanks.



Sample Recipe:

DOLMAS (GREEK STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES)

Ingredients:

1 jar grape leaves in brine

2 lbs. hamburger meat

1 large onion (chopped fine)

a few tomato wedges (about 8)

½ jar dill

pepper and salt to taste

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

1-cup rice

Rinse grape leaves in cold water then drain. Place the leaves

vein side up on a plate or board with the stem facing you. Grape

leaves are very delicate so handle gently. Mix all of the above

ingredients together in a large bowl, except for the leaves.

Once mixed, take a teaspoon of mixture and place on the leaf where

the stem begins. The leaf has five side edges. First fold the two

bottom sides over the mixture, then the two top sides and

ending with the top edge folded over and rolling tightly into a

cylinder shape. Place the rolled leaves into a 3-quart heavy pot.

Continue to place the leaves tightly together in the pot layer

after layer. Once they are all placed in the pot, dot the top layer

with butter and fill the pot with water to barely cover the leaves.

Squeeze the juice of one whole lemon over the leaves.

Find a plate that fits the inside rim of the pot and place it over

the leaves. This is done to weight down the leave so they do not

unroll. Cover the pot, bring to a slow boil and simmer for about

1-½ hours. Add water as needed. When done, remove from

heat and let them set in the pot for about 15 minutes before

serving. You can serve the dolmas with yogurt as a very tasty

appetizer.