Greek Night

Putting together Greek night was a bit stressful - I must admit. There was a lot to do and really a lot of pressure on this Greek girl to do it right! I had my work cut out. What painting will we do? Will everyone like it? What should we serve for food? Will it taste good? How much should we make? How will we decorate? How much Greek stuff do we actually have to decorate and make an impact? The studio is a huge space and the idea of decorating is always a bit daunting.

Well, the painting choice was a great hit with my customers. Thank goodness - they loved it. I really am trying to stay away from "cheesy" and "cliché" here!

The food was absolutely delicious! We made Spanakopita - one of my favorites. Spanakopita translates to spinach pie. I make mine with eggs, feta, cream cheese and of course filo dough. Then, at my sister's wonderful suggestion, I made Stifatho. Stifatho was a staple at our house growing up. It's basically Greek Stew - browned meat, onions, potatoes and tomato sauce and cooked all day. There a few spices in there as well. Yum. It turned out fabulous. My good friend, Amalia, brought Dolmathes which are grape leaves stuffed with ground beef and rice. For desert we had Kourambiethes (cookies) and my daughter's famous Galatoboureko (custard pie with filo - of course!).

Some awesome folks brought Ouzo. A shot of that will take the edge off putting that first brush stroke on that vast white canvas!

So, preparing the painting, the food, and the studio for 25 people was a bit stressful. But, all in all it was so much fun. My customers loved it! And, we all voted to make it a "staple" at the studio. Monthly ethnic theme parties coming up! Up next is Irish Night in March. Hmmm....what shall we paint? What shall we serve? Oh well, it will all work out in the end. Opa!!