So the Avgolemino soup was a success, and because I knew it tasted very close to my grandmother's soup I decided, at the last minute to invite family and friends over for a birthday dinner for my Dad. As last minute as it sounds for dear ole Dad, we did plan on an outdoor activity for his birthday, but got caught by Ernesto's Labor Day Rain Parade.

To do something so last minute was logistically insane. I really didn't have the time to cook or the excitement/energy to shop, cook, host and clean, all while juggling a toddler. And what's worse I promised my husband we'd play 9 holes of golf on Monday, on our day off.

So the morning started with a Red Bull. Our daughter went to play with her grandmother, JP and I shot nine holes of golf at Rock Creek Park, then hit Harris Teeter on the way back, picked up the toddler, ran through the house with a dust cloth and a vacuum cleaner, set a pretty cute table, and started to cook around 5. Guests were told to come at 5:30. Needless to say, dinner was served late--7pm or thereabouts. In my family, good scotch will save the hapless cook. I served plenty.

I practically stood over them while they ate the soup. Making sure I got the right looks and comments. I was begging for it I admit it, but to me this was my grandmother's soup. My Aunt and Dad said it was 'delicious.' Trust me that is real praise. Full recipe with secrets, below. The rest of the menu was simple: beef tenderloin, cauliflower au gratin, pomme frittes and Harris Teeter's double chocolate cake.

Full Avgolemino Soupa:

Chicken Stock:
1 package (1lb) Chicken Drumsticks (Thawed or Fresh)
1 package (1lb) Chicken Hearts and Gizards (Fresh)
1 package (1lb) Chicken Backs & Necks (Thawed or Fresh)
4-5 Quarts of Water (an inch over the top of the ingredients)
5 Stalks Celery, halved or chopped
4 Med. Carrots, skinned, chopped
1/4 Onion, quartered
5 Sprigs of Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
3 tsp Salt
3 tsp Pepper

Bring to a boil all ingredients, reduce heat to the lowest setting, simmer for 7-9 hours. Simmer with the top ajar to let the steam out. Make sure you watch the heat or your stock will reduce to chicken soup concentrate.

Bechemel Sauce:
2 tsp Butter (Presidential or Irish)
2 tbs Flour
Wisk until blended.
4 cups scalding hot milk
Pour milk slowly into butter and flour mixture, wisking constantly in the same direction. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium temp, constantly stirring for about 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken. (Secret: If it gets lumpy, simply strain it after it's cooked, put it back in the pot, and put Saran wrap directly on sauce so it doesn't form a skin when it cools.)

Egg & Lemon:
(Secret: The more egg yokes the richer the soup).
5 Eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice (This is a taste preference. You can do less or more).

In a bowl, separate eggs, keeping the yokes. While wisking add a little lemon juice at a time to the eggs. Keep stiring in the same direction.

Assembling the soup:
Heat up the stock, if you've let it cool. Some people make it the day before and store it in the refrigerator. If it's cold and gelatinous, heat it slowly, contantly stirring.

Add the Bechemel in teaspoon fulls contantly stirring the soup. Take your time with this step. You might not want to use all of the bechemel as your soup can get heavy. I used about 4 tbsps of bechemel for 3 quarts of stock.

After you have blended the eggs and the lemon juice in a separate bowl, slowly add the hot chicken soup to the egg and lemon, one cup at a time, constantly stirring. This is the phase where the lemon and butter meet and might separate, or curdle. To keep this from happening always stir slowly and in the same direction.

Then you now have to transfer this egg, lemon, chicken stock with bechemel to the larger pot of soup. Again, do it slowly and stir in the same direction.

That's it.
By the way, omit the bechemel and this is the best home remedy for a cold.
Questions? Email me!

The Cooking Tradition

My aunt, Margot Kopsidas Siegel has not only written a cookbook on Greek cooking and is currently writing a book on etiquette, but her son Christopher Phillips is a pastry chef in the White House. This is more than just name dropping, they're really great at what they do, which is cook and bake (and offer insight to the usefulness of the small spoon with two tongs.) And more importantly, these are two more family members whose love of food and passion for cooking has always left me wondering if somehow the cooking gene skipped me completely. My husband, will tell you I'm wrong, that I'm a good cook, which coming from a French-National is a huge compliment, but Jean-Pascal has the same fervor with Domino's Pizza.

I am going to work my way through my grandmother's Greek recipes, sharing them along the way and letting you know the outcome and the secrets. I'll start with Avgolemino soup this weekend (see the Stock tips below) and move on to Baklava, which I'll give to a Greek friend, of course, who just received his US Citizenship. I want to bring tears to his eyes. Make him think of the old country. Or not. We'll see.

In the meantime, I'm also going to dive into Ina Garten's newest cookbook, Barefoot in Paris.

Marion Calomeris Kopsidas

When my grandmother passed away last year, her obituary in The Washington Post was three columns long, complete with recipe.

She was known around DC for her generous spirit, immovable political convictions, love of God and Church, and her grace, style, and food. She was a great woman and a great cook--self-taught from one very large cookbook given to her by the Greek-National she married.

My grandmother used food as a way to raise money for her favorite charities, often luring Washington wives and their dignitary husbands to embassy garden parties, book signings at her home in Van Ness, luncheons to celebrate a successful fundraiser, museum openings, or something having to do with her beloved political party, the GOP. (You can't see it but my head is shaking.)

One of things I miss the most besides our long political conversations (read: fights) is her food! I ate dinner with her pretty much twice a month from 18 to 27. And I spent every major holiday in DC with the ole' fam just to rekindle my taste buds for what I knew was the best food around. We had the holiday staples for Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving: chestnut stuffing (I want to cry), Avgolemino soup, green beans with tomatoes, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. She'd throw in the occassional tyropita triangles or taramousalata as hor d'oeurves, and if it was Thanksgiving there would never be less than six pies. At Christmas, there would be pies along with baklava, and well everything you see in the photo above.

I long for her Avgolemino Soup with it's rich chicken broth and bechemel, egg, lemon and rice. She had this way of making sure the chicken was the primary flavor, while the bechemel, egg and lemon simply brushed your tastebuds like velvet. (I know that sounds odd, because chicken broth is the base, but sometimes you can get or make Avgolemino with too much lemon or worse it can taste like chicken with flour sauce (uncooked bechemel) or chicken flavored water.) She truly made velvet chicken soup. The Greeks should rename it. Ah but they couldn't. Like most of her recipes my grandmother perfected this one. You can't buy this in any of the best restaurants in Greece, nor does anyone else's Yiayia know how to make it like this. Do I sound partial? I say this based on years of searching for good Greek food outside of my grandmother's kitchen. My beloved Aunt comes in a very close second, having written a wonderful cookbook on Greek cooking many years ago, she definitely has the talent and some of the secrets, but I'm pretty sure that the amount of lemon and the exact clove count thrown into the baklava honey sauce is long gone, as is the exact recipe for the Avgolemino.

Right after my grandmother was married, her mother told her the first thing she should think about when she wakes up in the morning is "what is my husband going to have for dinner tonight?" She took it to heart.

Asked how she learned how to cook, she'd simply say anyone can cook as long as they know how to read a recipe. Which brings me to the purpose of this blog. I hope to use this as a way to share family recipes, Washington social history, and cooking tips on all types of food from chefs, cookbook authors, caterers and my grandmother.

Avgolemino Chicken Stock Soup Tips:

• When making stock, don't use a pot larger than a 6 or 7 qts.
• Buy Chicken Backs & Necks only.
  Forget using a whole chicken when trying to make stock, you can't get enough flavor out it. And don't even think about buying canned stock. The makers throw onion powder, garlic and other spices which throws off the entire recipe.
  

• Fill the pot with water only an inch over the chicken.
• Toss in lots of fresh celery--mostly the outer stalks where all the flavor is.
• Add a few carrots.
• Salt and Pepper (add most of the salt at the table before eating)
• Cook on low for the entire day and most of the night until the bones have practically disappeared. Seriously.