Greek New Year's Lucky Cake (Vasilopita) 2017

The 2017 I want to be lucky, be sweet like candy, be bright and colorful to making our mood and bring into our lives the best and most important of what we want. Furthermore a pie for Santa Claus to contain all or wish to contain with lots of icing for hope, sweet optimism raisins, blanched for health almonds, candied Orange Peels for prosperity, soft butter for tenderness and love, and of course, colorful bonbons for happiness!
Yours!

※※※※※Happy New Year 2017!※※※※※

work: 30′

time: 3h:30′

medium:

Kourabiedes: Greek Christmas Butter Cookies

The Kourabiethes are the best known, loved and popular sweets in various forms and names in all Central Europe, Austria, Germany, and in some Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
In Greece is the most favorite Christmas dessert and although at first glance the sugared biscuit, crescent, circular or a mouthful, seems to be a rather unspectacular goody -only a little powdered sugar sprinkled upon a biscuit- between all the colorful Christmas buttered sweet cookies, truffles or chocolate treats is a clear favorite. The flavor and texture to win: It is a unique combination of butter and nuts and there is also the fact that melt in your mouth and have lovely crisp texture with roasted almond inside.
Follow the steps of the recipe and enjoy the tastiest kourabiedes ever!
Yours!

work: 1h:00′

time: 2h:00′

middle:

Christmas Chicken with Minced Meat Stuffing

A stuffing recipe for Christmas chicken or turkey with traditional stuffing of minced meat, not with livers, roasted pine nuts, black currants, sweet chestnuts and unique spices. An excellent stuffed chicken can be the main dish on the Christmas Table. It is recommended especially for those who do not prefer the turkey on size and taste.
Your kitchen will smell of Christmas aromas of spices, as it is baked in the oven. This roast stuffed chicken will indulge your palate!
Yours!

Happy Holidays,
Merry Christmas!

work: 1h:00′

time: 3h:30′

medium:

Melomakarona-Honey Cookies with Mavrodaphne

Melomakarona, the cousin of Kourambiethes, traditional Christmas sweets have their technique to get soaped in a delicious honey syrup properly, to be tasty and soft inside. The dough should be soft and fluffy to not become hard during baking and syrup to be viscous with a lot of honey and flavored with exquisite essential oils of orange but also the individual flavors of cinnamon and cloves.
The Mavrodaphne, this wonderful Greek product, gives tasty heady tones in melomakarona and as a final complement of all this comes the crushed walnuts to meet all of the above.
Yours!

work: 30′

time: 1h:15′

easy:

Chicken Salad

Hearty and very tasty salad, made with chicken cooked along with vegetables. Made through any meat is in the refrigerator and not consumed. We can prepare it with ready spit roast chicken (even more delicious) or the remaining of a huge turkey, that was left because many ignored its presence and only ate the filling and the accompanying. Thereby changing the texture, flavor and its appearance is consumed easily. Also we can make it with smoked turkey ham, when we do not have much time at our disposal.
Prepared by the previous day and served on the festive table, as though they offered to us as a starter in a delicious meal at the family table years ago and since then we often enjoy it and never have bored.
Yours!

work: 1h:30′

time: 2h:30′

easy:

Turkish Delight & Walnuts Cookies

Biscuit Dough crumbles into a thousand crumbs, contrasting with the very tender inside of the Turkish Delights accompanying the crunchy walnut. They are always made in our house with Turkish Delight & Walnuts; we worshiped them as children or adults.
In some areas of Crete, these Skaltsounia are named Patoutha (Τα Πατούδα), with various fillings, and besides dusting with icing sugar, they are also made with syrup. A mouthful delight for the palate and a sweet lenten for every season.
The Lenten «Skaltsounia» are traditional in many parts of Greece with various fillings but also in the Balkan Countries. And also the neighbors Italians make something similar with nuts and dried fruit or jam or chocolate. «They are named «Ravioli Dolci».
Yours!

work: 30′

time: 1h:15′

easy:

Smoked Salmon Mousse Canapés

It is one of the most delicious smoked salmon canapés. The fluffy mousse with cream cheese and coarse French mustard from brown seeds make this mousse an exquisite delicacy. Complete and delicious walnut bread upon which it sits, but also the salmon roe that breaks the mouth, flooding the senses with flavors from the sea and you will have an ideal food finger as an introduction and accompaniment of your drink.
This small luxury taste will give points to your holiday table. Surely no one would hesitate even for a moment, to take one in his hand and try. On the table or your buffet they will sell out.
Yours!

work: 10′

time: 30′

very easy:

Gingerbread Men

Gingerbread Cookies usually in the form of a stylized human figure, although other shapes or forms, especially seasonal themes (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc.) are common.
The history of these cookies, one of the most famous cookies in the world, starting in the 15th century and the various forms and shapes in the 16th century. Since arriving the expensive and rare spices from the East to Europe and was for use on rich households, nobles and crowned.
The first documented case of human figure shaped gingerbread cookie was in the court of Elizabeth I of England. They had the form and showed similarity with some of the most important visitors.
This typical Christmas cookies, which are made in Northern and Central Europe and across the Atlantic, with ginger, cinnamon, cloves and honey or molasses and decorated with white, chocolate or colored glaze.
Yours!

work: 40′

time: 1h:10′

easy: