Everybody who’s been to a Greek restaurant knows moussaka, cucumber salad and baklava. But real Greek cooking is so much more.

Have you ever heard of trahana and mastiha? Does Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms sound like a recipe from Provence or Firenze? And what about the dozens of amazing regional cheeses which most of us don’t know and can’t pronounce, like xinomyzithra, kalathaki limnou and kasseri. These are some of the surprising ingredients and foods which Greece gives us.

For the next couple of months, we’ll post a recipe a week featuring some of the favorite dishes we’ve tried and tested this year at our Greek cookbook club.

In the meantime, if you’re buried under four feet of snow right now, maybe you could use a vicarious trip to a white Aegean beach, best enjoyed with a big helping of Greek comfort food, Feta Rice Casserole with Fennel.