Despidoodle

the digital alias of Despina Panagakos Yeargin

Author: Despina Yeargin

  • Fava Board for Entertaining

    Fava Board for Entertaining

    I say, Ban the butter boards! Yes, and let’s replace them with a tastier and more creative option. Let’s start the Greek-style fava board movement!  My FAVA BOARD WITH GREEK SALAD in all its glory. Fava is a dip made by cooking yellow split peas and pureeing with lemon juice and olive oil. Famous on…

  • Savoury Baked Beans

    Savoury Baked Beans

    Are you tired of going to a barbeque and getting dessert served as a side? Me too! What am I talking about? I’m referring to all of the ultra-sweet baked bean casseroles served at a home barbeque and at many barbeque restaurants. There’s so much sugar or honey or maple syrup in there, that we…

  • Grocery Store Bouillabaisse

    Grocery Store Bouillabaisse

    Did you know that the classic Provencal fish soup, Bouillabaisse, is a Greek recipe? Seriously! Not seriously. Actually, ancient Greeks did set up housekeeping in France, in an area that we now know as  Marseille. Because they were fishermen, whatever they caught that they couldn’t sell became dinner, hence a Greek soup recipe called Kakavia,…

  • Savory Petit Fours & More, Afternoon Tea Part Two

    Savory Petit Fours & More, Afternoon Tea Part Two

    It’s true, petit fours aren’t just cute bites of little layered cakes. They can be savory too! They don’t even have to be layered, but my mind always defaults to a delectable layered bite. Our recent Afternoon Tea was missing savory items. We had beautiful sandwiches, but nothing as dainty as a chocolate or cookie.…

  • A Proper Afternoon Tea

    A Proper Afternoon Tea

    Recently, I hosted an Afternoon Tea honoring two friends who have back-to-back birthdays. It was a lot of work to prepare everything (surprisingly), but I had the support of other friends who each brought a savory or sweet treat and flowers to the event. Thank you, Brenda, Martha, Angela, Donna, and Caroline! It takes a…

  • Beautiful Endings. Beautiful Beginnings.

    Beautiful Endings. Beautiful Beginnings.

    We hate to say goodbye, don’t we? Ending something usually hurts. We leave a job, we end a relationship, a loved one passes on to another realm, and children leave home to marry or to follow a career path in other parts of the country or the world. Of course, as we all know, there’s…

  • How I Relish a Good Relish

    How I Relish a Good Relish

    ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2010. Somehow, I changed the settings and can’t figure out how to put this back to the original date. I gave in and left it here. —————————- Having grown up in Greece and then in Australia, I knew nothing about Thanksgiving, that wonderful coming-together of family and friends to eat too much…

  • Thanksgiving Recipes Curated for You

    Thanksgiving Recipes Curated for You

    I’ve gathered Thanksgiving recipes for you again. I did this a few years ago with other people’s recipes. It was an extremely popular post. This year I’ve curated a collection of my recipes. Anything that can be served at a Thanksgiving day dinner is assembled here, from starters to sweets. With My Dewey Thank you…

  • Final Freekeh Friday Recipe…Finally!

    Final Freekeh Friday Recipe…Finally!

    Yes, I realize that I may have fed you a few too many freekeh recipes, but, OMG, they have been so delicious! I promise to use other ingredients in future recipe posting, at least for a respectable period of time.  Finally! It’s FREEKEH PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE MUFFIN time! Sorry, couldn’t let the pumpkin spice latte…

  • Freekeh Fennel Fritters

    Freekeh Fennel Fritters

    Yes, I lied. Freekeh Friday continues. My obsession with using freekeh in new recipes is not over yet. Me? Obsessive? Well, yes. I look for new ways to use fennel, and now, as in today’s recipe, I’ve doubled my obsession and combined fennel with freekeh…and a few other vegetables. If you’re curious, the recipe is…