Our Greek Momma's Stuffed Grape Leaves!

Okay, we do not have a Greek mother, grandmother, or even a Greek great-grandmother, but these grape leaves (dolmades) are so good that you could fool anyone. Stuffed grape leaves are generally expensive when bought at a restaurant and, if they are actually made on-site, they will be even more expensive. 

Stuffed grape leaves seem complicated, but are actually very easy to make even though the prep time and total times seem long. Prep will take about an hour. The total time is about three hours, but most of that is hands off cooking. 

For a main course, this will feed 4 to 8 people. It depends on how many sides you have to go with it.

 

To make this dish, you will need a 2-pound jar of grape leaves. 

Simply remove the grape leaves from the jar, flattening them out. There is no need to rinse.

Trim off the tough, little stems. Any torn, broken, or damaged leaves will be used to line the bottom of the large pot that will be used to cook them.  Also, there is a layer of leaves to cover the top as well. 

For the broth, you will need 2-cups of chicken broth (Better-Than-Boullion works) and the juice of a large lemon.

For the filling, you will need: 

• 1 cup of uncooked long-grain rice 
• 1/2 cup of good olive oil (if it smells off, go get fresh olive oil otherwise this dish will taste off) 
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced 
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 
• 1/2 cup of fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley or 1/4 cup of dried
• 1 tablespoon dried dill or two tablespoons fresh minced 
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried mint 
• 1 teaspoon allspice 
• 1 pound of very lean ground meat (lamb, beef, or a combination. I use lamb.) 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups chicken broth

1. Mix all but lemon juice and chicken broth together well. (I usually mix the lamb in last.) 
2. Using leftover or damaged leaves, line the bottom of a pot with a single layer of grape leaves. 
3. Once you have everything mixed up, your grape leaves are stem-free, and you have lined the bottom of the heavy bottom pot with one layer of leaves, you are ready to assemble. 
4. Place a leaf with the bottom toward you and place a heaping teaspoon of filling on the leaf, then fold the stem end over, each side in, and then roll. 
5. NOTE: Do not fold them too tightly because the rice needs to expand as it cooks.  The rice will be hard if they are bundled too tightly.
6. Put the stuffed leaves into the pot with the seam-side down.

Plunk.

Fold up the bottom.

Fold right.

Fold left.

Roll it up pretty.

Put the bundles in the pot. Place them seam-side down.

You will have multiple layers. Don't align them, but crisscross the layers.  You do not add more loose leaves between layers.

• Cover the top layer with a single layer using unused or faulty grape leaves. You can place a weight on top if you feel it needs weighed down.  (I have never had to do this.)
• Pour the lemon juice and chicken broth over the leaves. If your stove cooks hot at a simmer, add an extra 1/2 cup of broth. 
•  Cover the pot and bring to a light simmer. Cook for 1 hour without lifting the lid.
•  Without removing the lid, remove from heat and allow to cool for 1 more hour. Call your auntie while waiting. 

Serve with Egg-Lemon Sauce over the grape leaves. To make this, you will need: 

• 1 to 2 cups of chicken stock or pot liquid 
• 2 tablespoons of butter 
• 2 tablespoons of flour 
• 2 eggs 
• 1-3 lemons, juiced 
• salt to taste 
• white pepper to taste. 

1.  Heat the stock until just warm. 
2.  Melt butter and add in flour. 
3. Whip eggs, stock and lemon juice in a bowl until frothy. 
4. Add egg mixture to the butter/flour mixture and stir until thickened. (It should be thick enough to glaze over the leaves when used or coat a spoon, but it should not be so heavy that it clings in opaque clumps.) 
5. Adjust using flour or stock. 
6. Don't boil the mixture but stir until thickened and you no longer taste flour. 
7. Adjust salt and pepper seasoning to your liking.
8. Hint: The sauce should coat a spoon but not glob onto it.

This goes great with a Greek Village Salad, which is red onion, green pepper, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes and feta. Mix up a good oil and vinegar salad dressing. Pita bread is also delicious as it can be used for the remaining sauce!

So where did I get this recipe? From our loving Yia-yia, of course! Καλή όρεξη!

Wickedly Good Egg Salad

I love sandwich salads such as tuna and chicken salad. I absolutely adore great egg salad but rarely found a place that made it well. My friend Jennifer, who we call Jai, worked at a small diner. I went to visit her and she told me that the daily special was egg salad. I was skeptical, but she assured me it was good. It was good! In fact, it was SO good that I begged her to find out how they made it. All egg salads start with hard-cooked eggs, but there was a trick to this wonderful egg salad.

First, only use Duke's mayonnaise. (Yes, I know that family feuds have started over which brand is best between Hellmanns and Dukes. Just so all know, I have always been a Hellmann's advocate. so I had to purchase a jar of Dukes to followed Jai's instructions.)

1. Whip the cooked yolks with Dukes mayo. One can add as much or as little mayo to the yolks as blending with the egg whites will not change anything but the consistency of the salad. I personally like my egg salad to be on the thicker side, but it is a matter of preference. After making it, I decided to add a healthy squeeze of plain yellow mustard and a few shakes of HotShot. (The little diner did not do this.)

2. Chop hardcooked egg whites to the sizes desired. The little diner used an egg slicer to get more uniform egg whites. I am waffling on whether I like the larger chunks or want to slice them and chop with a knife.

3. Blend together.

The result is the Wickedly Good Egg Salad that I have been seeking for years! Yesterday, Jai said I had been grumpy. Anyone would be grumpy for not having this recipe for most of their life! But here it is so no one else needs to be grumpy.

I like my sandwich on untoasted oat or wheat bread with fresh tomato slices. Wickedly. Good.