Cookbook Giveaway: It’s All Greek To Me

July 1, 2014 by Lisa 159 Comments

Disclosure: I received a review copy of It’s All Greek to Me. The comments in this post are 100% mine.

If you have been following me for a while, you would probably know that I’m a cookbook collector. When I was asked to be a participant in the “A Trip to Greece with Debbie Matenopoulos” blog tour, I was excited to learn more about Debbie Matenopoulos’ Greek heritage and Greek cuisine!

Debbie Matenopoulos, the first member of her family born in America, grew up in a traditional Greek household, eating the delicious, authentic Mediterranean diet her family had passed down and practiced for generations.

By the time Debbie had started her television career on The View, she had begun eating a standard American diet of fast and processed food. But despite eating less, she found herself gaining weight and lacking energy. As Debbie’s career as an entertainment news reporter and television host on CBS, MTV, E!, and other networks had her constantly on the go, she was grabbing whatever food was readily available. It was only when she returned to her traditional Greek way of eating that she found herself regaining her natural energy, stamina, and physique.

Now, in It’s All Greek to Me, Debbie shares the delicious family recipes that helped her turn her health around and rediscover the joy of sharing home-cooked meals with family and friends.

I love the photos and stories in this book! Debbie had an amazing upbringing! She enjoyed growing up in a traditional Greek home where food and family was everything to them. It’s easy to see how she became such a good cook. She spent endless hours learning the art of Greek cooking by watching the special women in her life. After reading this book, it makes me want to visit Greece to experience the Greek culture for myself!

The chapters and recipe names in this cookbook are in Greek and English. It’s nice to see how the Greek words are pronounced in parenthesis. The colored photos are beautiful and the recipes are easy to follow. If you LOVE Greek cuisine, then you got to get this cookbook!

Here’s a list of recipes that I’m looking forward to making!

Lightly Fried Calamari

Greek Hamburger Patties

Zucchini Fritters

Spinach Feta Pie

Stuffed Eggplant

Lemony Grilled Chicken

Lamb Souvlaki

Moussaka

Pastichio

Classic Roasted Leg of Lamb with Potatoes

Baklava

Greek Wedding Cookies

I have permission to share a recipe from the book! I made Debbie’s Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes with Garlic, Oregano, and Lemon. My family and I loved them! We enjoyed some of the potatoes with and without the lemon zest and lemon juice.

Here’s my photo!

Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes with Garlic, Oregano, and Lemon

2014-06-30 19:53:50

Serves 4

These potatoes are amazing! I serve them with soup, fish, or chicken and sometimes along with broccoli for an easy and quick veggie dinner. Garlic powder is a great trick here because you don’t have to chop it, and it doesn’t burn at high heat, which makes these potatoes very low maintenance. When I am having guests over, I love quick-to-prepare side dishes that just go in the oven and come out perfect. These are great hot out of the oven or served cold the next day.

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Ingredients

3 pounds skin-on red bliss potatoes, scrubbed, dried, and cut into 11/2-inch chunks
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1½ teaspoons garlic powder
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
1½ teaspoons sea salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons lemon zest
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper.
Divide the potatoes equally between the prepared baking sheets. Drizzle them with the olive oil and sprinkle them with the garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. Give the potatoes a quick toss with impeccably clean hands to distribute the seasonings and coat with the oil, and spread them evenly into a single layer on each baking sheet. Be sure not to position them too close to one another, or they will steam rather than roast.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring gently after 20 minutes, until the potatoes are golden brown and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Sprinkle the lemon zest and lemon juice over the hot potatoes, mix gently, and serve.

Notes

Yiayia’s Tip: Don’t overdo it with the oil or your potatoes will be greasy instead of crispy!

By Debbie Matenopoulos

Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms https://makemealforbusymoms.com/

Here are Debbie’s social media sites if you’d like to connect with her! She will be tweeting throughout her cookbook tour! Use the hashtag #GreekSummer.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Would you like to win a copy of

It’s All Greek to Me?

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS OVER!

The winner is #24 (Sue)!

(OPEN TO THE U.S. AND CANADA ONLY.)

*To enter this giveaway, leave me a comment below about this cookbook.

*If you would like more chances to win, you can do any or all of the following.

1. Tweet about this giveaway (You can do this once a day). After you tweet, come back and leave me a comment telling me that you tweeted. Be sure to tell me your Twitter name so I can check that you did it. You can copy and paste this on Twitter:

Enter to win a copy of It’s All Greek to Me! @iamdebbiem @janedoiron #Spon #GreekSummer http://tinyurl.com/nrwb7xe

2. Follow Debbie Matenopoulos on Twitter. (Then come back and tell me that you did.)

3. Follow Debbie Matenopoulos on Facebook. (Then come back and tell me that you did.)

4. Follow Jane Doiron on Twitter. (Then come back and tell me that you did.)

5. Follow Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms on Facebook. (Then come back and tell me that you did.)

6. Subscribe to my Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms blog so you never miss a post! It’s at the top of the side bar. Be sure to confirm it when you get an email. (Then come back and tell me that you did.)

7. Follow Jane Doiron on Pinterest. (Then come back and tell me that you did.)

8. Follow Jane Doiron on Instagram. (Then come back and tell me that you did.)

I will pick 1 winner on July 15th at 5 p.m. EST. Good luck!