The Visit Greece team has gathered their own special ideas and has come up with recipes and Greek products from all over Greece to make your spirits bright and please every single one of your invitees.

Tidbits to whet your appetite

Welcome your guests with a glass of sparkling wine and make a good first impression. Choose between the flavoursome Santorini Assyrtiko or the Agiorgitiko Nemea, a semi-sweet, semi-sparkling rosé wine.
Accompany with delicious appetizers like chickpea-leek balls, Ntolmadakia (a rice and herbs mixture wrapped in vine leaves) or giaprakia (small sized minced-meat and rice mixture wrapped in cabbage or vine leaves) from the Dodecanese.

Starters to start with

How about a pumpkin soup with ginger to start with? It is easy to prepare and it will tickle your guests’ taste buds by leaving a slight spicy flavour.

A delicious Kefalonian meat pie makes an excellent starter as well, but if you are looking for a vegetarian friendly recipe then try the bougiourdi from Thessaloniki.

Main course

Serve your family and friends the traditional Greek roasted stuffed pork with chestnuts and prunes accompanied by small unpeeled potatoes baked in herbs, orange juice and zest. For your vegetarian friends prepare an oyster mushroom stew.

Accompany your primary dish with a green leafy salad. On a layer of kefalograviera cheese lay a combination of various type of salads such as lollo rosso, spiny chicory, ruccola and lettuce, add raisins, dried figs, hyacinth edible bulbs (called vrovioi in greek), pomegranate seeds (that are known to bring good fortune), poppy and sesame seeds. Finally sprinkle with a dressing made with vinegar and honey.

Another scrumptious idea is to offer your guests a plate with a variety of Greek cheeses; white, yellow, soft or hard, they will all impress your guests. We suggest the following ones:Metsovone from Epirus, Kalathaki from Limnos, Graviera from Amfilochia, Anthotyrofrom Crete and Ladotyri from Mytilini.

A sweet delight

Close this festive dinner with tantalizing sweet treats; traditional melomakarona, kourabiedes, diples, saragli and baklava with almonds, they will all tickle your guests’ palates. If you prefer a more heart healthy dessert then try baked quinces with yoghurt and grated nuts.

To round up this fulfilling and luscious dinner there is nothing better than a glass of liqueur or a glass of Greek sweet wine. Taste the bitter almond, mastic, tentura from Patras or cranberry liqueur from Serres.

Raise your glasses and let’s all toast to nothing but memorable dinners in the future to come!

Via visitgreece.gr

From: Anthi Sasmatzoglou

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