On Xenia Street is where I fell in love with food. Join me on my culinary journey!
Just about everyone loves a great pecan pie! And with Thanksgiving around the corner, it is an American holiday favorite, along with apple and pumpkin pies! This pie is kissed with bourbon. Always use a good bourbon when cooking. A little bit of the same one that you drink. My recipe uses light corn syrup, … Continue reading Bourbon Pecan Pie Recipe
Have you ever heard of ladopita? This is a traditional dessert that stems from the Greek island of Lefkada. It means olive oil pie. A handful of simple ingredients, and sweetened with a combination of honey and sugar, and simply spiced with a cinnamon stick. This is one of those beautiful old world desserts, that … Continue reading Leta’s Ladopita -from Lefkada
Galaktoboureko is one of those gorgeous, decadent & delicious Greek desserts that are based in a semolina custard and are phyllo wrapped. It is drenched in a lemon honey simple syrup, which is spiced with a little cinnamon & clove. Our family friend, Eleni would make this for holidays and hers was absolutely superb! We … Continue reading Galaktoboureko
Rizogalo! Nearly every Greeks favorite simply made “mommy” food. Possibly the epitome of homey comfort. I have the best memories of my mother making this late at night & then finding bowls cinnamon dusted rizogalo on the kitchen counter! Rizogalo, or rice pudding, has been known as a Greek favorite food all the way to … Continue reading Rizogalo-Greek Rice Pudding
One of my coworkers kept telling me about this St. Louis original breakfast pastry called the Missouri Gooey Butter Cake. I had to find a recipe because it just sounded so good! The legend is that a baker in 1930s St. Louis made a mistake in his coffee cake recipe proportions. Instead of tossing it … Continue reading Missouri Gooey Butter Cake
Today has been bread making day in my kitchen.This is lagana. It is a traditional flatbread that we eat on “Kathara Deutera”, called Clean Monday. You might call it Ash Monday, as the Catholic equivalent to this is Ash Wednesday. We enter the Lenten period leading up to Easter joyously. This day (tomorrow) is a … Continue reading Lagana – Greek Flat Bread
The biggest Greek New Years tradition, is the baking and cutting of the Vasilopita! It is the St. Basil’s cake. There is a hidden coin, called a flouri in it, and when we cut the cake, the winner of that coin is granted good luck for the new year. This day is observed for our … Continue reading Vasilopita- Brandy & Orange New Years Cake
Melomakarona are Greek honey cookies. They are very popular during the holiday season. We make them early in December and continue to enjoy them through the New Year. The cookies are spiced with cinnamon, clove and orange. And finally they are soaked in a delicious honey syrup. Greeks love their traditions. In fact we are … Continue reading Melomakarona- Greek Honey Cookies
Clafoutis is a French dessert that is traditionally made with black cherries. It has a custard like texture and could easily be described as somewhere between a cake and flan. It hails from Limousin. When other fruit is used, this dessert is actually called a flaugnarde. Since it’s apple picking season, here is a recipe … Continue reading Gluten Free Apple Clafoutis
I absolutely love pancakes! I especially love pumpkin pancakes. Ok! I love just about anything pumpkin. I also love everything about fall! This is so easy to make too. It’s based on my keto pancake recipe. I added in the pure pumpkin purée and some pumpkin spice. And wala!!!!! Keto pumpkin pancakes! Here is the … Continue reading Keto Pumpkin Pancakes
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