Greek style cheese pies (Tyropita) and the plight of the lonely extrovert.

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Life, it will kill ya! Well had some recent disappointments, reality cooking show redemption is on hold perhaps forever….don’t you love rejection emails? I sure do….not. But onward and upward…in all actuality, besides feeling sorry for myself and reflecting on what I lack, I’m not really that upset. I think life is more about learning to be resilient to rejection more than it is about celebrating success. Self-analysis is a less than stellar activity for most, myself included and I’ve done a lot of it in the last few years, and realized I am one of those people pleasing extroverts. Some folks can’t stand our kind, I think oh I am hilariously vocal, others might find this audible annoyance, but really we just yearn for love and approval. I just want everything to be fun! Is that so wrong?
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I think the main problem with humanity in general is a lack of ability to enjoy the moment, myself included, we take all the stuff we should appreciate daily for granted, and then when it is gone, as we will all be at some point, nothing but great things and love is communicated. Wouldn’t it be better to do this while the person is living and breathing? Seems simple but is quite hard apparently. You would figure with all this brain matter we could learn to enjoy the intelligence it brings a little….but instead we do what we can to dumb down feelings in general. Sad. On that note, let me introduce you to tyropita…..cheese pie…..phyllo fun which can be served on the run….was that dorky? Yeah probably.
We usually always have these at the annual Ogden, UT Christmas Eve extravaganza at my brother’s house. They are great, but they are full of animal fat and pastry soooo not an everyday treat that is for sure, but I currently have some imported Israeli feta and defrosted phyllo that can’t be re-frozen, so it looks like I will be doing a bit of extra cardio today and pairing this with salad. When life gives ya feta, make tyropita, makes 6.
You will need:
12 sheets of phyllo
1 cup feta
1 cup ricotta
1 tsp dill
1 tsp dried mint
½ tsp pepper
1 egg
1 stick of butter melted, clarified is best. You can use part butter and part olive oil if you prefer.
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine feta, ricotta, dill, mint, pepper, and egg. Working quickly, brush sheet of phyllo with butter, top with another sheet of phyllo, brush with butter, and place a few tablespoons of cheese filling on the bottom right corner of phyllo, fold over, brush with butter, and fold into triangle, kinda like folding a flag.
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Repeat until you finish all six. Brush with a bit more butter, and bake on a sheet pan for 20 minutes or until golden.
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Eat. Be nice.
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