Spanakopita with Handmade Phyllo from Culinary Flavors

So how's everyone? I know it has been two weeks since my last post and though I know you all understand, I want to apologize for that. Summer is keeping me really busy and I just can't find enough time for everything. But anyway, I'm here today...and I must say, it truly feels great! Summer isn't over, so expect me to be MIA again...but today, allow me to bring you another delectable recipe for our PiTCC's Favorite Dishes from Around the World Series... 

Greek Cuisine is one of those that I didn't get to enjoy when I was still in the Philippines. I don't even remember seeing a Greek restaurant there. It's only here in the US that I've tried it, and though my family don't frequently eat Greek food, we always enjoy it when we do. Among the Greek dishes that I fell in love with are the Moussaka, Gyros, Souvlaki and of course, the Spanakopita and Baklava. Today, one of my admired bloggers is sharing with us her recipe of Spanakopita, which is a savory pie made of spinach. Spanakopita came from the words spanáki which means spinach and pítta which means pie. I only get the chance to eat this at restaurants, and I would really like to be able to make this at home. I am glad that Katerina of Culinary Flavors is kind enough to do a guest post on Spanakopita for PiTCC.  Katerina is a wonderful blogger who I find really kind and supportive. Despite her busy schedule, she frequently leaves inspiring comments here on my blog and that's something I really appreciate. The best thing I admire about her is how she perfectly balances blogging with working full-time and being an awesome mom and wife. She's one of those that I consider "super Mom" in the blogosphere! Words are not enough to express how honored I am to have her here. So, are you ready to learn how to make Spanakopita with me??? Without further ado, I give you Katerina Delidimou...

Hi everyone! I am Katerina, a working mother and wife living in Athens, Greece. As a child I watched and helped my mom and grandmother cooking and baking. Food has always played a major role in my life and at some point in 2008 I decided to start my own food blog. I always try to experiment with traditional and new recipes. My husband and son are my 'guinea pigs' but as they say they wouldn't want to be anything else. When Tina contacted me and asked me to do a guest post for her blog regarding a traditional dish of Greece, I jumped right in to it. She gave me a few choices and I immediately picked Spanakopita.

No Bake Chocolate-Bottom Peanut Butter Pie

Everytime we host a party at home, I always make two to four all-time favorite Filipino desserts, just so we can satisfy our guests' sweet tooth. For Cherlin's party last Saturday, I made bibingka, food for the gods and buko salad just as she requested. I was done with all three when Clarise said she wanted something with peanut butter. She and Ryan love peanut butter, you know! I told her I'll check what's in our ref and pantry and if I find enough ingredients to whip up something good, then I will...but if not, she can satisfy her craving by just eating PB&J sandwich. :)

In the pantry, I found graham crackers, table cream and of course, peanut butter. We never run out of peanut butter and this time, we have two more extra jars! These are the Planters peanut butter which I got as part of Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program with the National Peanut Board.

Since I have graham crackers (which I always use as crust for no-bake pies) and I found butter and cream cheese in the ref, I thought of making no-bake peanut butter pie.

Cherlin, who is not a big fan of peanut butter asked me if I can add some chocolates in the pie. I remember I have some Ghirardelli dark chocolates which I also got from Foodbuzz, so I thought of just using it for topping either as chocolate curls or drizzle.

 

But the birthday girl said she wants it in the pie, so I ended up making a chocolate-bottom peanut butter pie. I used Ghirardelli Intense Dark Twilight Delight 72% cacao for the bottom part mixture. I just whipped up this No Bake Chocolate-Bottom Peanut Butter Pie with the ingredients I had on hand, and I'm am glad it turned out really good! Everyone loved it...even me & Cherlin who don't usually eat anything with peanut butter!

I am glad I used Planters Peanut Butter for this. It's not our usual brand and we didn't know that it is really smooth and creamy. Thanks to Foodbuzz and the National Peanut Board for the opportunity of trying this product! Combined with Ghirardelli Intense Dark Twilight Delight chocolate, it makes a perfect No Bake Chocolate-Bottom Peanut Butter Pie!

Ingredients:
*Makes two 9" round peanut butter pie

• 4 cups finely crushed graham crackers
• 1 cup plus 4 Tbsp sugar, divided
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 3 cans Nestle Table Cream
• 1- 3.5 oz. Ghirardelli Intense Dark Twilight Delight, chopped
• 2/3 cup plus 4 Tbsp coarsely chopped peanuts, divided
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 2- 1oz. packs Nutter Butter Bites (optional)
• 2- 1oz. packs Keebler Mini Fudge Stripes (optional)
• 1 cup Cool Whip (optional)

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, combine crushed graham crackers, 4 Tbsp sugar and butter. Divide into two. Press each portion onto bottom and up sides of two 9-inch pie pan.

 

 

2. Freeze for at least 10 minutes.

3. In a small saucepan, empty the contents of 2 cans table cream, and heat just to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chopped Ghirardelli bar and 2/3 cup peanuts. Stir until chocolate is melted. Spread chocolate mixture over bottom and up sides of pie crust. Freeze for at least 15 minutes.

 

4. Whisk remaining 1 can table cream, adding vanilla extract half tsp at a time.

5. Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar in a bowl for 4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Gradually beat in peanut butter. Fold in whipped cream mixture. Spoon mixture into pie shell.

 

6. Sprinkle with remaining peanuts and garnish as desired. As for me, I topped it with Nutter Butter, Keebler Mini Fudge Stripes and Cool Whip. Freeze for 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Filipino Classic Egg Pie

As promised last weekend, here's the other dessert that I made for Ryan's birthday. We Filipinos call it Egg Pie. It is available in almost all bakeries in the Philippines and is enjoyed by Filipinos either as dessert or snack. It looks like a giant Egg Custard Tart usually found in Chinese restaurants, and is basically the same as the Classic Egg Custard Pie. The difference is just in the type of milk and flavoring used as well as in the appearance. We, Filipinos, use evaporated milk in our Egg Pie, and instead of nutmeg, we simply used kalamansi juice or rinds for flavoring (Kalamansi is a small round citrus like lime, common in the Philippines whose peel is sweet and whose fruit is sour). And unlike the Egg Custard Tart and the Classic Egg Custard Pie, our Egg Pie is dark brown on top.

There is this bakery in Calapan City (where Ryan & I grew up) named Halina Bakery which sells the best tasting egg pie! It is owned by our elementary classmate's family...and it is where both Ryan & I had our first taste of this very delightful dessert! I grew up loving it...same with Ryan! Now that we are far away from home, learning to make it on my own is a must. Glad that a friend of mine was nice enough to share this recipe with me. Not only can we enjoy it anytime we want, Ryan and I can also share one of our childhood favorite with our daughters! Though it's not Halina Bakery's recipe, it's close enough and definitely tastes like it!

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened
• ¼ cup cold water

Filling:

• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 4 large eggs and another 1 large egg with white and yolk separated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp fresh kalamansi or lemon juice
• 1 can condensed milk (14oz)