Going Greek for Thanksgiving: Dolmas!

I love dolmas. For the last couple of months, every time I order one I think "hm. I wonder how they make these?" I decided to figure it out over Thanksgiving. And I was surprised to find out they were not as complicated as I expected.

Here's the recipe I used:
www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/dolmades-stuffed-grape-leaves-recipe/index.html

I stuck to the recipe on this one, because I honestly didn't know what I was doing. If the first thing that confuses you is where to find grape leaves, try the grocery store aisle with the olives, pickled veggies, and tahini. One jar should be plenty.

I did have one place where I had to change course. I ended up with more dolmas than would fit in my (rather tiny) pan. So I had to use two. This ended up giving me one pan of dolmas that tasted rather different. One pan ended up with more lemon juice in the simmering liquid. You could really tell! It overpowered the other flavors, and was a bit too tart. But the other set were perfect!

Final word of warning on these. Dolmas are sensitive. Don't wrap them too tight, because they will explode. Don't wrap them too loose, otherwise they will explode! And don't take them off the simmer until it is easy to pierce them with a fork! Otherwise the leaves will be tough to bite through.

But if you want to totally impress people at a potluck, this is a pretty good recipe to go with!