There is a festival this weekend that is the best festival in town according to our viewers. "Taste of Greece Festival" in Plymouth took the No.1 spot in our Vote for the Best contest and this weekend you can see why for yourself!
We welcomed in the studio Louis Poulos and Georgia Theophelis from the festival to tell us all about the event.
The event will have food, drinks and live entertainment centered around Greek culture. Hundreds come to the festival each year. "The food, the fun times. Ultimately people love coming for the food," said. Poulos.
Attendees can expect to find spinach pie, cheese pie, gyros and desserts. Theophelis showed us how to roll a great grape leaf, which a very popular food that will be severed at the event. In addition, to the great food there will be live bands and dancing at the festival.
Tickets are $2 to get in; if you bring along three nonperishable food items with you, you can get in free. The items will go to Northville Civic Concern. The festival is Friday, August 24th, through Sunday, August 26th, at Nativity of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church on West Five Mile Road in Plymouth.
If you would like to try Georgia Theophelis' grape leaves see the recipe below.
Stuffed grape Leaves (dolmathes)
1 lb grape leaves (fresh or jarred)
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped or grated
3 Tbsp dried parsley
½ cup dill, chopped
½ cup rice (short grain, white)
1 cup olive oil
2 cups hot water
Salt and pepper to taste
If grape leaves are fresh, wash and blanch in boiling water and let them cool for a few minutes. If leaves are from a jar, drain and wash well with cold water. You may also boil them for a few minutes so they can be more tender, and then rinse with cold water.
In a large bowl, mix ground beef with the onion, rice, herbs, salt, pepper, and ½ of the oil. Make sure all ingredients are combined well. Line bottom of large pot with coarse grape leaves. Lay out grape leaf, shiny side down and place a tablespoon of the mixture at the top of the leaf. Fold both sides in and roll from top to bottom neatly and not too tight. Arrange in the pot packing them next to each other. Make sure leaf end is down. Most likely you will have two layers of dolmathes in the pot. Pour the remaining oil and the water over them. Place a heavy plate upside down on top of the dolmathes to prevent them from unwrapping or moving. Cover and let simmer for 1 hour.
Topping
1 cup liquid from the cooked dolmathes
2 eggs
1/3 cup lemon juice
Beat eggs in a bowl and add lemon juice gradually until fluffy. Then add hot liquid slowly beating mixture constantly to prevent egg from curding. Add egg lemon sauce to the pot with the dolmathes at once, shaking the pot gently. Remove from fire and let it stand for at least 15 minutes before serving. Dolmathes can be served hot or cold!