# Help Me Enjoy Greek Food **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939 "2005-09-22T20:10:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/41 "2005-09-24T02:08:54Z")
Dammit, I wanted to be the first one to suggest baklava! It’s the best dessert ever. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/42 "2005-09-24T02:12:09Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Dammit, I wanted to be the first one to suggest baklava! > > It’s the best dessert ever. > > Daniel just bring some poist wipes, like Purell or something Baklava is SSTTIICCKKYY!!! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/43 "2005-09-24T02:25:46Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > just bring some poist wipes, like Purell or something > Baklava is SSTTIICCKKYY!!! What, you don’t have a tongue? Daniel ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/44 "2005-09-24T02:39:44Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > What, you don’t have a tongue? > > Daniel doesn’t do as thorough a job altho, i _could_ let the cat help - she actually has a bit of a sweet tooth (and there’s no chocolate involved…) ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/45 "2005-09-24T09:37:38Z")
**Kota Kapama** (sorry, the measurements are not exact. just eyeball it) Stuff you’ll need: **Chicken thighs** , boneless skinless works great. DO NOT USE BREASTS. **Tomato Sauce** - enough to cover thighs in a large sauce pan or stock pot **1-2 yellow onions** , roughly chopped **LOTS of lemon juice**. Depends on how much Kapama you make (which is directly related to how much chicken you use). Don’t bother with real lemons, just get the little plastic squirty ones in your produce department. Don’t use “Realemon” juice from the juice aisle. **Salt & Pepper** to taste **Pasta** - Long ziti is traditional, but sometimes hard to find. Regular ziti or penne is just fine. **Butter** (enough to mix into pasta so it won’t stick) \*\*Copious amounts of Pecorino Romano \*\* Place chicken (skin removed if you need to) into bowl or large ziplock to marinate. Add in some salt and about 3/4 of a squirty lemon. Let it marinate overnight. In your sauce pan/ stock pot, drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil and dump the contents of your marinated chicken in. Cook until the surface of the thighs is white, but not browned. Cover chicken with tomato sauce and about 2 squirty lemons. Add salt and pepper. Boil for oh, 7-10 minutes-- long enough to heat the thighs all the way through. Reduce heat to low and simmer for roughly an hour. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove thighs to a platter and let cool. This is the point when you taste the sauce to see if it’s tangy enough. If you feel the need for more lemon, add it now. Start your pasta water. When the thighs are cool enough to work with, remove bones if needed and shred meat. Place it back in the sauce. Take care to vary the size of the chicken chunks/shreds. Cook your pasta to al dente, drain and dump into a serving bowl. Stir in butter and then the Romano. You should use enough cheese to moderately coat the pasta. Serve by plating pasta and ladling sauce over the top, or you can just mix the pasta and sauce together. It’s your call. With Kapama, you’re looking for a fairly thick consistency. Not as thin as a spaghetti sauce, but just thin enough to ladle over the pasta. If you find that the sauce has congealed the next day, just add a bit of water as you reheat. I don’t think I missed anything. It’s freaking 4:30 am. > [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Dammit, I wanted to be the first one to suggest baklava! > > It’s the best dessert ever. > > Daniel **Daniel** (and the rest of the baklava fans)-- have you tried Galaktobouriko? Picture a lovely firm egg custard with filo on top and bottom, with honey drizzled on top. Not as sickly sweet and sinful as Baklava, but is equally as satisfying for a sweet tooth. It’s my favorite Greek dessert. ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/46 "2005-09-24T10:22:44Z")
Oh yeah… Put the onions in when you add in the shredded chicken. Cook until onions are transluscent but not mushy. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/47 "2005-09-24T12:36:50Z")
> [@Seeker74](#): > > **Daniel** (and the rest of the baklava fans)-- have you tried Galaktobouriko? Picture a lovely firm egg custard with filo on top and bottom, with honey drizzled on top. Not as sickly sweet and sinful as Baklava, but is equally as satisfying for a sweet tooth. It’s my favorite Greek dessert. Mmmmm, that sounds delicious. Part of what I love about baklava is the feeling when you take a bite and squish it against the roof of your mouth, and all the butter and honey just ooooooozes out…it’s as if you’ve got a mouthful of sunlight. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/48 "2005-09-24T13:33:57Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Mmmmm, that sounds delicious. > > Part of what I love about baklava is the feeling when you take a bite and squish it against the roof of your mouth, and all the butter and honey just ooooooozes out…it’s as if you’ve got a mouthful of sunlight. > > Daniel That’s a good way to put it! Sadly, regular baklava is just too darned sweet for me, and I’m not a huge fan of nuts. One bite will do me for a year. But coconut baklava is something I could have on a regular basis. ::drool:: About galaktobouriko: The custard is fortified with cream of wheat (?) or some kind of fine grain to thicken. Very tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/49 "2005-09-24T16:24:46Z")
Mmm, custard wrapped in filo with honey. It’s so good. Or loukomados (spellling?) honey balls- little fritters soaked in baklava syrup and covered with cinnamon. Skordalia. Potato or bread based dip with lemon and olive oil, that’s 30% garlic. It’s so good. It’s so very very good. **Jackknifed** , next time you come to Toronto, may I suggest Mezes? It’s in Greektown, and I’ve always had very good not too expensive food there. They have lovely saganaki and skordalia. And Athens bakery (honey balls and custard) is right across the street! Now I’m starving. Thanks, everyone. I might have to go get honey balls before work. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/50 "2005-09-24T16:53:03Z")
Back to entrees. I recommend _stifado_. It’s a meat stew in red wine sauce with pearl onions and whatnot. Yes, it’s sometimes made with lamb, but I prefer rabbit. It’s kinda like _coq au vin_, with rabbit as the _coq_. This is a specialty at my favorite Greek place, Molyvos in NYC. One of the best things at my other favorite Greek place (Meltemi, NYC) is the day’s fresh fish broiled whole with olive oil and lemon juice. They filet it at your table. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/51 "2005-09-24T16:59:13Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > mousaka is made with beef and eggplant and bechemel custard It’s sometimes also known as **moosekaka** (per _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_). > [@LHoD](#): > > Part of what I love about baklava is the feeling when you take a bite and squish it against the roof of your mouth, and all the butter and honey just ooooooozes out…it’s as if you’ve got a mouthful of sunlight. It’s at times like this I have to remind myself that _diabetes_ is also a Greek word. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/52 "2005-09-24T17:02:07Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > It’s at times like this I have to remind myself that _diabetes_ is also a Greek word. :rolleyes: Yikes–that’s like the culinary equivalent of another Greek word, _photophobia_. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/53 "2005-09-24T18:27:49Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Yikes–that’s like the culinary equivalent of another Greek word, _photophobia_. > > Daniel fear of cameras? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/54 "2005-09-24T18:35:37Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > fear of cameras? Only if photosynthesis involves making cameras. 🙂 Daniel ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/55 "2005-09-24T18:40:33Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Only if photosynthesis involves making cameras. 🙂 > > Daniel so then, vampires suffer from photophobia? or non-green plants do? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/56 "2005-09-24T18:56:38Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > so then, vampires suffer from photophobia? Vampires, my old roommate, and **Doug’s** tongue. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/57 "2005-09-26T14:31:10Z")
> [@Lissla Lissar](#): > > **Jackknifed** , next time you come to Toronto, may I suggest Mezes? It’s in Greektown, and I’ve always had very good not too expensive food there. I went to a restaurant in Greektown once, although I can’t recall the name. But I will make it out to Mezes next time and report back. We’ll probably try to get out to T.O. before the winter hits. How is their taramasalata? ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/58 "2005-09-26T14:36:06Z")
Afraid I don’t know. I usually end up gorging on saganaki, hummus, skordalia and tzatziki. And souvlaki, of course. Everything I’ve had there has been good. From a Flanders and Swann sketch: _Greek is the only language in which the word for stranger or foreigner is the same as the word for friend: xenos. As in xenophoia: fear and hatred of friends_. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939/59 "2005-09-27T03:04:44Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Limiting the question to food items… > > I have not yet knowingly/deliberately eaten insects. Maybe one day. > > There are a number of things I’ve tried once or twice and am not at all bothered to eat again; oysters, caviar and star fruit (not all at once, obviously) - are the ones that spring immediately to mind. During the huge cicada emergence last year, I tried cooking with the little fellows. Cicada pizza was pretty good, and the chocolate-covered dry-roasted cicadas were fabulous. Unfortunately, they all matured before I could try soft-shell cicadas or linguini with cicada sauce. Every now and then I still get a craving for cicadas. ☹ I’ve never had caviar, but I love sushi with roe. I also like oysters and star fruit. All at once…that could actually work, I think! I had a great bivalve dish (mussels, I think) with mango fruit salsa once at a Latin American place in Queens. Star fruit would definitely work for the salsa, and roe wouldn’t be out of place, either. I hereby demand that you hand over your title and username! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-enjoy-greek-food/322939.md?page=2)