Opa! Leaping Into the February Food 'n Flix Roundup of My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Gus Portokalos says, "There are two kinds of people - Greeks, and everyone else who wish they was Greek." Or I bet at the very least those people wish that they had some of the wonderful Greek food and desserts that were inspired by this month's Food 'n Flix selection My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I won't go through the plot for the third time on the blog (read about it on my post here if you have not watched the movie, or better yet just go watch the movie already!), but ever since I played hooky from work one afternoon with a co-worker and we caught a matinee of MBFGW, it's been a favorite and an often-watched part of my DVD collection. I am so happy to get to host this sweet and funny romantic comedy for February and to do a leap day roundup of all of the fabulous dishes that it inspired.


Glennis of Can't Believe We Ate says that she "got captured by the traditions and history of this ancient cuisine." Glennis "selected Lahanodolmathes, or Stuffed Cabbage Leaves. A quick and easy casserole dish that goes together fast, and then simmers quietly in the oven or stove top for an hour and a half or so. I imagine these would also work pretty well if they were cooked in a crock pot, and the sauce then made from the pot liquor on the stove." Glennis is also the proud owner of two new Greek cookbooks so we can expect more great Greek dishes from her blog in the future!

Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla made an entire greek feast including Melitzanosalata (Greek Eggplant Dip), Bouyourdi (Baked Feta Appetizer--pictured), Pita Bread, Fish with Skordalia (Potato-Garlic Sauce) and Root Vegetables. She says, "Though I really don't need to watch the movie again - I think I have it completely memorized - I will pop it in the DVD and sip on some ouzo. And what a great excuse to cook some Greek food. There seems to be endless versions of these recipes; I adapted and used what I had in my cupboards."



Danielle of All Things Yummy was an enthusiastic first time viewer of the movie and made a very appropriate and very luscious Mocha Bundt Cake. She says, "My favorite scene is Toula's mother trying to pronounce and understand what a bundt cake is. Hilarious and even funnier when she sticks a flower in the middle. I resisted the urge to do that with my cake but now that I think about it, it would have been another good laugh."



Elizabeth from The Law Student's Cookbook made a hearty Lamb Moussaka and says, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding is actually one of the few movies I’ve seen more than once. When I was rewatching the movie to decide what to make for this month’s Food n Flix submission my boyfriend was confused at why I would laugh before anything funny would happen. But that was because I kept hearing the funny lines in my head right before they were said. So I would preemptively laugh. I had a long list of inspirations by the time the movie was over. I decided to be traditional though and make a moussaka."



Here at Kahakai Kitchen I love my Greek food as much as I love this movie. My dish was a sunny Potato-Leek Soup with Lemon and Dill, a blend of a classic soup recipe with some bright and zingy Greek-ish flavors that for me captures the pairing of Ian and Toula. It's meat-free, so vegetarian Ian could eat it, it is recognizable enough that it could satisfy both sides of the family, and it is delicious. I really enjoyed this soup and have been craving it ever since I ate the last bites of it.



Another movie fan, Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor says, "There are many great lines and scenes from this movie. The bridge scene is amusing. She finally tells Ian about her family, you know…the scene when they are on the bridge and he’s trying to get her to talk about herself? She has 32 first cousins and everyone is in everyone else’s business (with total love, of course) and the women are expected to get married, have Greek babies and fed the family. Then there is the party where Toula's family meets Ian. Aunt Voula finds out Ian doesn't eat meat and brings the party to a halt by loudly exclaiming, “Whatcha mean you don’t eat no meat?” Followed by, “I make you lamb.” Ok, so guess what I was inspired to make? Grecian Lamb Roast."



Kristina of Spabettie made Decadent Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake saying, "In the movie, when the two sets of parents are meeting for the first time, the groom’s mother brings a bundt to dinner. Mama Portokalos didn’t know what it was “What is it?” “Buuunnnn… dt?” “There’s a hole in this cake.” Later when serving it, she presented it with a pot of flowers in the middle. Come on, you cannot be surprised I did that. I am having fun participating in food ‘n flix for my second month, and this is a fun movie so I was happy to watch it again!"



Finally Food 'n Flix's fun founder (try and say that five times fast!), Heather of girlichef, made a gooey, drool-worthy pan of classic Baklava. She says, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one of those fun flicks I like to sit down with every couple of years. It has a forbidden love story line. It makes me laugh. It has a relatable lead actress. Plenty of eye candy (hellooooo John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, and Joey Fatone!). And if you actually stop to think about it...lots of awesome food references, scenes, and moments. The only hard part? Actually narrowing down what I wanted to head into the kitchen to make. "


It seems that this little movie inspired a big fat Greek feast! Many thanks to everyone who joined in. (Follow the links and pop by the participant blogs to check out the full details and recipes for their dishes.) If you missed the deadline for this month's Food 'n Flix, March's movie is Last Holiday, hosted at La Cocina de Leslie, come join in the fun!

And, if you are a foodie reader, I am hosting the Feb/March round of the best virtual foodie book club ever, Cook the Books and we are stepping back into childhood with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. You still have plenty of time to read (or reread) this classic book, make a dish inspired by it and join the party before the March 26th deadline. All of the scrumdillicious details can be found at Cook the Books.

Happy Leap Day!

What are you doing with this extra day of 2012?