Spanikopita Video

Ok, if I'm being totally honest, I feel a little self-conscious posting this. I don't mind talking to the camera, but don't love seeing myself on video. Still, it's something I thought I'd share (maybe purely for your entertainment/laughing pleasure?).

This is a cooking video I submitted on You Tube for a contest for Food Network.
The parameters of the challenge meant you have to keep your video under three minutes. They're picking fifteen finalists that will be announced and up for public voting starting next week. There are some really good entrants, so I feel like my chances might be as good as David's pet lamb against Goliath, but hey, I had fun making it and am thankful to my Dear Husband for all of his sweet camera and editing work! Somehow, I missed taking a picture close up of the spanikopitas, but hopefully, you get the idea from the video and the recipe below!

Spanikopita (Greek spinach and feta pies)

8 oz. frozen chopped spinach
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella and Parmesan cheese mixed together

1 package filo dough sheets, thawed
butter flavored or olive oil non-stick cooking spray

Thaw and drain chopped spinach. Make sure to squeeze out all excess water (this will keep your pastry from getting soggy when baking). In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute red and green onion in olive oil until translucent and almost tender (2-3 minutes). Add spinach, garlic powder, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a separate bowl, combine cheeses. Add spinach mixture and stir until combined.

Unwrap the filo dough and unroll to spread it out flat. Make sure to keep the sheets that are not in use covered with a damp towel to keep from drying out and becoming brittle. On a cutting board, take one sheet, lay it flat and cut the sheet across the shorter side into quarters so you have four strips of dough. Spray the sheets with the cooking spray until evenly and thoroughly coated. Place about a tablespoon of spinach-cheese mixture in the center of the bottom edge of a strip of filo dough. Take a bottom corner and fold it up so that you create a triangle. Continue to fold in a triangular fashion until you reach the end of the strip of filo, tucking the ends under when finished folding. Repeat until you've used all the filling.

Place in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Spray the tops of the spanikopitas with a final dusting of cooking spray. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about fifteen minutes or until golden brown and crispy, turning half-way through.

p.s. For my Denver friends, I picked up the filo dough and feta cheese from Arash International Market (Parker and Yale in Aurora). You can get bulk feta cheese there for $2.99 a pound