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The Pita Challenge
Go to any Greek restaurant or festival and you’re likely to see at least one type of pita on the menu. I’m not talking pita bread for your gyro or souvlaki sandwich here. When Greeks say “pita” or “pites” they are usually referring to a “pie” made of a vegetable, cheese, or meat filling and phyllo dough. Pites come in a variety of configurations, and are always delicious. My personal favorites are my mother’s tiropites (cheese pie), triangular packets of cheesy deliciousness wrapped in buttery, flaky phyllo.
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Cooking Greek In America: Q&A with John & Maria
John and Maria Frangakis are my parents and the inspiration for Phyllo Files. They emigrated from a small village in Chios, Greece with my brother and sister in the late 1960’s. They had no running water or electricity when they left Greece, and grew almost all of their own food. I sat down with them in their New Jersey kitchen to ask them about differences cooking in Greece and the US. And, for the record, learned that some of the Greek foods I grew up with, they started cooking after moving to the US. Responses have been edited for clarity.
