Good Day Atlanta Viewer Information May 12, 2016
ATLANTA - 26TH Annual Greek Festival: Food, entertainment, and music festival taking place this weekend in Marietta at the Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church on Trickum road in Marietta. Festival organizers Danny Vlahiotis and Eleni Nikolas joined us for a Greek cook lesson on how to make Spanakopita which a Greek style spinach pie. For today's recipe see below. For more information click here.
SPANAKOPITA
This is for 9 x 13 inch pan
3 lbs. (for ~1.25 inch thick or 2 lbs. for ~3/4 inch thick) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed very well
2 lbs. if you’re using fresh - trim and coarsely chop (Go to *** for fresh instructions)
2 large eggs slightly beaten
1/3 cup flat leaf Italian Parsley finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh Dill finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 medium onion chopped
1 bunch scallion ~10 white & green parts chopped
1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano grated into small short sticks
2 cups Asiago cheese, freshly grated
(1) 8 oz. cream cheese softened and broken up in small chunks
2 -3 cups Feta crumbled by hand, not to fine – leave some large chunks
1 stick butter, melted
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1-1/2 - 2 sticks of butter, melted
1 lb. (2) 8 oz. packs of Athens Phyllo
Stir in cheeses but the Feta, eggs, dill, parsley, nutmeg and salt if you choose to use it.
Pour the stick of melted butter in and mix gently. Add large hunks & smaller pieces of Feta. Mix gently (fold) not breaking up the Feta. Melt 1-1/2 - 2 sticks of butter, brush pan first before layering phyllo and lay 8 oz. (1 pack) of sheets for bottom and sides. Try to hang a few sheets about an inch over all sides.
Spread the spinach mixture evenly. Lay 8 oz. (2nd pack) of sheets on top after folding in sheets from the sides.
Remember to always lightly butter in between sheets - never place two raw sheets together without butter in between. Cut into desired pieces and pour any remaining butter on top in between pieces. Place in 350° oven for approximately 1 hour or until golden brown on top. (Ovens vary).
If you prepare a day in advance, before you put the spinach mixture in pan very lightly sprinkle some farina (cream of wheat) on the phyllo. It will absorb any liquid and won’t be tasted.
*** Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil in large pan and heat a few large handfuls of chopped fresh spinach and cook, tossing gently with tongs. Cook until wilted and bright green, about 4 mins. Transfer to colander set in sink. Do this for all the spinach. Let cool and squeeze with your hands to extract as much of the liquid as you can.
Wipe pan dry with a paper towel and add a little butter to cook the scallions/onions until soft and fragrant, about 3 - 4 minutes. Stir in the cooked/drained spinach to mix. Turn off the heat, transfer to large bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Go to “Stir in cheeses. . .” above.
3…2…1…Liftoff! Russell Elementary Students Heading To “Space” : It’s been another intense year of training, and this week, the hard work pays off. The Russell Space Team at Russell Elementary School in Cobb County is preparing for STS-18, and exciting day-long mission to "space.”
The Russell Space Team is made up of 4th and 5th graders who attend Russell Elementary School and have been selected after an application process. Each year, the team trains for a simulated space mission, which involves students working in Mission Control and four student “astronauts” who man the shuttle simulator (the shuttle, by the way, is named “The Intrepid”). The crews work together, communicating via UHF radio frequencies, for a total of 27 hours, from liftoff to landing. As STS-18 implies, this is the 18th space mission for the Russell Space Team, under the direction of Mr. Chris Laster.
Good Day Atlanta’s Paul Milliken spent the morning at Russell Elementary School, talking with members of the space team as they prepared for this year’s launch. And you can check out the live stream of this year’s mission on the team’s YouTube channel here!
WEB LINK: http://www.cobbk12.org/russell/
http://russellroadrunners.typepad.com/space/
https://www.youtube.com/user/russellspaceteam
Good Day Atlanta pet of the day from PAWS Atlanta. For more information click here.
DOR vehicle registration kiosks: Click here for more!