Tiropita - Project Food Blog Entry #2

Tiropita, or Cheese Pita, is a traditional Greek dish. It can be served as an appetizer or eaten for breakfast. The best part about it? The cheese. Tiropita involves at least three different cheeses including feta, cottage cheese and kefalotyri (which is hard to find in my parts, so I used Parmesan).  I love the texture of buttered, layered phyllo dough and knew that this would be a fun, yet challenging dish.

Feta cheese has been made in Greece for centuries and is one of the world's oldest cheeses. It is often referred to as "pickled" cheese, because it must be matured and stored in a brine solution. It can be consumed after one to two months of brining, but can be aged for up to one year.  Feta has a fresh, milky flavor and can be quite salty. I typically add it to a lasagna or salad, which makes it 'oh so good'.

Kefalotyri is a firm and dry cheese that becomes flaky and brittle with age, Greek's version of Pecorino Romano. It is made with sheep's and goat's milk, with a salty yet sharp flavor.  In Greece, the name of the region this cheese was made is typically added to the Kefalotyri name.

Cottage cheese is a fresh cheese made from any style of milk: whole, skim, part-fat. It's an acid curd cheese, which means the milk is coagulated naturally, rather than with the aid of rennet. This cheese is very common in the United States and Europe; also very excellent in a lasagna.

I wasn't very familiar with this classic as my heritage background involves German, Polish and some Danish. To me, that sounds like a lot of meat, potatoes and some good, sweet dessert. Tiropita is not any of those. Many of you may be familiar with the Greek dessert, Baklava. It's a nutty, yet sweet dream in your mouth. When I saw the recipe for Tiropita, I thought of the texture of Baklava and decided to give it a whirl.

I found my recipe at www.greecefoods.com. If you're interested in making some Greek foods, I recommend checking that site out. To be honest, I was originally going to make Russian Pelmeni. It looks really good, but I've made ravioli before - why not try something new?!

I'm not sure that I'd make Tiropita again. Mostly, because it was bland. I poured a little honey on top and that seemed to cure the needed sweetness. My husband and co-workers love when I cook or bake too much.

Tiropita
GreeceFoods.com
Makes 35 pieces

Don't judge the Parmesan.

3 tablespoons cream of wheat
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup water
Dash of salt
2 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 eggs, beaten
1 pound phyllo
1 to 1 1/4 cups butter, melted and warm

In a small saucepan, cook cream of wheat in milk and water over medium-low heat for 2 1/2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in salt; cool. Combine cheeses and eggs in a large bowl. Add cream of wheat and beat until smooth. Set aside. -Mine doesn't appear to be very smooth, does it.

Take phyllo out of plastic bag and carefully unfold (this is the tricky part).  Line buttered pan with half of phyllo sheets, making sure to overlap and drape phyllo over sides of pan (see photo to the bottom-right).

Soggy phyllo is very difficult to use. Ugh.

...nearly forgot the butter.

Brush each sheet generously with melted butter. Spread prepared filling evenly over phyllo.

Fold overhanging phyllo over filling and brush with butter. Top with remaining phyllo, buttering each sheet. Trim phyllo sheets used for top 1 inch beyond pan size. -Buttering each sheet takes some time. Be sure to crank up the tunes and be prepared to practice your patience for the week.

Tuck phyllo down the sides with edge of pastry brush to seal. Sprinkle a few drops of water over top of pita to keep phyllo from curling during baking.

Score through top layer of phyllo with a sharp knife, making 3 equal rows lengthwise.







Bake at 350*F. for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes before cutting into squares.

Serve warm for best flavor. Refrigerate leftovers. To reheat, place in 300*F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

*Tiropita can be made in triangle shapes or in a 9x13-type pan.
*Sick of the word phyllo yet? I know, me too. Enjoy!

Credit: To my husband - for taking photos of me while layering and buttering pastry dough. You're the best.

Behind the 'Fork In It'

Cows; I know. Food; I'm still learning.

I will be blogging for one year at the end of October. I never imagined it was something I would do. I'm the kind of person that tries to live life more through my own eyes, versus all online. That's what separates me a little from my own generation. I don't have an iPhone or any of those crazy gadgets, nor am I opposed to them. I just don't need them. I'm getting off course... (pun intended).

I grew up on a dairy farm in central Minnesota - in the top dairy county in the state. I dreamed about being Princess Kay of the Milky Way and showing the Champion cow at my county fair. My days consisted of getting up at 5:30am to feed the baby calves, rushing in the house to get ready for school and learning 'just how fast' I could drive into town (16 miles away). I won't say how fast since my mom reads this blog.

I didn't care what anybody ate - as long as they were drinking milk and eating cheese. To be honest, I still feel that way. I have such a strong passion for the dairy industry and the livelihoods of those on farms - that I will stand up for it in any regard. My parents still dairy farm and produce energy made from methane that comes from cows' manure. It's an awesome idea, that isn't quite perfected - but we're proud of it.

I went to college and continued to stay involved in agriculture. I didn't win Princess Kay of the Milky Way, but I did make the top 12 and had my replica carved in a 90 lb. block of butter. I still have it. I lived in a house with 5 other girls that had also grew up on farms. Two of us loved to cook. We were actually called Betty Crocker and Martha Stewart, simply because there was always a plate full of cookies or a new pan of apple crisp coming out of the oven. We'd have guys come over from one of the fraternities just to help peel apples (that's the only reason they came, right?). We weren't professional cooks by any means, but we loved it - and we loved the gratification of someone enjoying the food that we made.

Well, I ended up marrying one of those fraternity boys and moved all the way to Vermont with him for his job. The climate in MN and VT is very similar, but the culture is not. I went from big, production agriculture to small, tiny farms. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but it was definitely a culture shock for me. I continue to be surrounded by dairy as my husband works for a dairy breed organization and I work for an artisanal cheese company. We are also surrounded by local foods, micro-brews and orchards.

Being so far away from home - and learning to make new meals for my husband and I, I decided to start blogging about it. I learned to cook from my mother as she made steak, potatoes and pie for at least 4 out of 7 meals. It was wonderful. Though, now that we are away from home, nice cuts of meat aren't as affordable or available to us. I've been learning how to make creative yet, simple meals that are fairly easy to make. Because when my husband is hungry - I better get food on the table! My membership to a monthly challenge blog has really broadened my cooking and baking horizons, and sometimes it even turns out. But it's still fun. And that's what counts.

So as I continue my life journey, I'm going to continue blogging and shooting photos, even though my husband has to wait to eat his food just a few minutes so I can take a photo of it (I drive him crazy). It's something I love and enjoy and I hope you do too.