Opa! Greek Festivals 101

I've always had a fascination with Greece.  Greek food, culture, all of it.  There's something about all that blue and white that makes me want to get to the shores of Greece ASAP.  We almost went last year, but ended up in Italy instead.  Forget France- I'm going to Greece if I win PFB!

 

This weekend, we hit up the Central GA Greek Festival and I was reminded about how much I love Greek food.  I thought I'd share with you some of my favorites so you can navigate your local festival like a pro.

First, the savory stuff.  My favorite Greek classic is pastitsio, a lasagna-type dish with beef and a sweet cream sauce.  Since I tasted it again this weekend, I'm dying to find a recipe and replicate it at home.

The hubs picked souvlaki, or grilled chicken kebabs.  That man sure loves his grilled meats.  Who can blame him?  They smelled amazing as we walked into the festival.

 

Other classic savory dishes to look out for:

Spanakopita (spinach and feta wrapped in phyllo dough)

Dolmades (ground beef and rice in grape leaves)

Gyro (a pita sandwich, usually filled with a mix of beef and lamb, veggies and Tzadziki sauce)

On to the desserts!

At past Greek fests, I went straight to the baklava and forgot the rest.  But this time I tried a few extra treats.  Baklava, honey and nuts layered in phyllo dough, is the most popular Greek pastry.  We tried finikia (honey dipped spice cookies) and kataifi (shredded phyllo dough filled with nuts), too, and I have to say, the finikia was my favorite!  I loved the texture of the cookie- it seemed like it would be dry, but it was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. 

Other desserts you might run into:

Koulourakia (braided butter cookies)

Kourambiede (powdered sugar dusted cookies)

Karithopita (moist spice cake in syrup)

Loukomades (Greek-style doughnuts with honey and cinnamon)

The drinks are fun, too!  You'll usually run into some imported Greek beers and maybe some Ouzo, an anise-flavored liquor.  We found this little gem at the festival- Ouzo-flavored soda!

Someone was pretty into the soda bottle, if you can't tell.

It was so good to get a taste of Greece again.  If I've given you an appetite, too, here are some Greek F&W recipes to try:

Greek Baked Pasta (Pastitsio)

Pork Souvlaki with Tzatziki

Spanakopita

Bacon Baklava (umm.. what??? I need to make this!)

Fried Greek Pastry with Honey and Nuts

If you've got a great Greek recipe, please share!  I'd love to try it out.  I really hope I get to Greece some day, but for now, Greek festivals and daydreams will have to do!

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This post is part of a series featuring recipes from the FOOD & WINE archive.  As a FOOD & WINE Blogger Correspondent, I was chosen to do four recipes a week from FOOD & WINE.  I received a subscription to FOOD & WINE for my participation.