Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Burgiving and Spinach and Blue Cheese Filo


Spinach and blue cheese filo triangles

This is a slight variation of spanakopita. Spanakopita is generally made with feta cheese. I substituted with blue cheese. I think both feta and blue cheese work well with spinach, but blue cheese is what I had in the refrigerator when I made this.

Making these spinach and blue cheese filo triangles is simple but you need gentle hands. Filo is quite delicate to work with, it can tear quite easily if it is dry or not defrosted properly, in case you are using frozen pastry. Other than that, it is as simple as gift wrapping. Here's a word of wisdom! You can wrap the present or spinach mixture as neatly as possible but ultimately it is the contents that count. So wrap your presents neatly but don't put too much effort into it. And wrap that spinach mixture neatly as well but don't overdo it. Instructions for gift wrapping spinach mixture and the recipe is available here.


Today's Favourite Photo
Burgiving made with roast turkey, sweet potato with cinnamon and nutmeg, currants, cranberries, cheddar, and salad greens



Today’s Favourite Blog
Denis Duthie, 65, took a few nips of vodka to celebrate his parents' 50th wedding anniversary. As he walked into his bedroom he could not see anything. He initially thought it had turned dark and he lost track of time, but it was only half-past-three in the afternoon. He somehow switched on the light but realized it didn’t do the trick, he had just gone completely blind.

Trying to sleep off the effects didn’t work. He was taken to hospital. Denis had been a diabetic for 20 years. 

As the surgeon cut open Denis's stomach, he noted a "strong smell like nail polish remover," which suggested formaldehyde poisoning, brought on by consuming methanol. Ethanol, the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, is used to treat such a condition, but the hospital didn't have enough on hand. A medical registrar ran down to a liquor store to buy a bottle of Johnnie Walker, which was then dripped into Denis 's stomach via a nasogastric tube. Denis woke up five days later and could see again. A happy ending.

The Russians wouldn’t be too pleased to read this, considering that vodka is considered the cure for everything. But this will give the Scots another reason to smile.

12 comments:

  1. That middle photo of the burger is hilarious! :P

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Three Cookies, your filo triangles look very appetizing. Wish I can have a bite, it look so crispy. YUM!

    Thanks for sharing today's favourite photo, that's a very cute burger. :)
    Have a nice week ahead,regards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.
      You have a great week also, whatever's left of it:)

      Delete
  3. I haven't had spanakopita, but the crunchy "present" with spinach and blue cheese looks luscious (I have already forgotten how good the combination of these two is! thank you for reminding me).
    The story sounds like from a Gogol short story! (Have you read Gogol?) Hilarious! I love the good ending of course. Very Christmasy miracle-like positive story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spinach and cheese - great together. I noticed spinach and cheese rolls were sold at many places in Australia - seemed popular. Basically sausage roll but with spinach/cheese instead.
      I've never heard of Gogol. I will look it up.

      Delete
  4. Waaaah! That's a crazy story about the vodka...kinda makes me glad I gave up drinking ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And in this case whisky came to the rescue, though not through drinking:)

      Delete
  5. These sound delicious and will be perfect for the Christmas cocktail party that I am having soon.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh yum! Your spinach packets look delicious! I'd make them with blue cheese over feta, love them both but blue cheese is a great favorite!
    The turkey burger is hilarious!
    OMG!! I'm so into my vodka! Ok, message read loud and clear ... time to get some Johnnie Walker :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. That burger looks awesome! Love the idea. And your spinach filo looks really good

    ReplyDelete