Vasilopita – Greek New Year’s Cake

Tina0 Comments

Happy new year! I’m sharing a very special family recipe with you today.  Vasilopita is a traditional Greek cake served on New Year’s Day (or thereabouts).  A coin is hidden in the cake and it’s said that whoever gets the coin in their slice has good luck for the year.  It’s a fun family tradition that I’ve done for as long as I can remember. This cake is part of a story of greedy kings and excessive taxes. It was used by St. Basil as a way to give taxes back to the people after the king was convinced to …

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Sorbet and Sparkling Wine

Tina0 Comments

Who is up for some bubbly with a sweet surprise? I saw this “recipe” last year and I have been looking for a good excuse to try it. I just love that you can take 2 simple ingredients and make 1 impressive cocktail. Since we’re about to ring in the new year, I thought this was as good a time as any to whip it up. I use the term “recipe” loosely because you don’t need to follow specific proportions of sparkling wine to sorbet since it doesn’t really matter.  If you want more wine then add more to your …

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Kourabiedes – Greek Christmas Cookies

Tina0 Comments

I have one more cookie recipe you, just in time for Christmas. These cookies are a traditional Greek cookie served at Christmas time. They are like a shortbread cookie with almonds and covered in a lot of confectioners sugar. A lot. And I’m not just saying that because I’m obsessed with the stuff. It’s a Greek fact. These Christmas cookies do not have a lot ingredients in them, but like many recipes every family makes them slightly different. Depending on the recipe, some cookies don’t contain nuts. Some cookies have whiskey or ouzo (which I skipped). My mom makes these …

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Christmas Sundaes with Miniature Gingerbread Man Cookies

Tina0 Comments

If you add a little gingerbread man cookie to a bowl of ice cream then it makes your sundae instantly cuter. I wanted a quick and easy dessert to serve at some of the holiday dinners that we host this season.  Ice cream sundaes are always a hit (not to mention easy), so I thought I’d make sundaes but with a Christmas twist.  After all, ice cream is acceptable even if it’s 15 degrees F. I think these sundaes are all about these miniature gingerbread man cookies, which is why I wanted to give them credit in the title of …

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Christmas 2019

Tina4 Comments

Seasons greetings! I’m the kind of person who starts listening to Christmas music right after Halloween. (Don’t judge.) I also like to start decorating the home for Christmas around Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving was late this year, I pulled out the bins the week before Thanksgiving. My husband wasn’t exactly thrilled because he prefers his holidays to be in the normal order. I have a process that takes time, so I wanted to get started. I like to decorate my home a little differently every year for Christmas and I’m a visual person so I’ll probably decorate an area two or …

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