For the cream sauce:

For the eggplant:

For the assembly:

Make the meat sauce: In a little olive oil, saute onions, beef and garlic until meat is lightly browned. Add wine, tomato juice, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, uncovered, about one hour until juices are almost absorbed. Let this mixture cool. Add lightly beaten egg whites and mix. Add enough bread crumbs to absorb juices.

Make the bechamel (white sauce): In a saute pan over medium heat, melt butter and whisk in flour to blend. Cook slowly, stirring for 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat; add hot milk and whisk in. Over medium-high heat, stir sauce with a wire whisk until the sauce comes to a boil. Remove from heat, add a dash of nutmeg. Placed the egg yolks in a medium bowl and gradually whisk in the cream sauce, stirring constantly. Cover and set aside.

Process the eggplant: Wash eggplant and slice 1/2-inch thick; lightly brush with oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay out on a baking pan and lightly brown in a 400-degree oven just until softened.

Assemble the dish: Lightly oil an 11-by-17-by-2-inch pan and sprinkle bottom with fine bread crumbs. Line the pan with half of the eggplant. Spread the meat sauce evenly over the eggplant. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese and the parsley. Make another layer with the remaining eggplant. Sprinkle with a light layer of breadcrumbs. Pour 6 cups cream sauce over eggplant-meat sauce layers. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup grated cheese and a little nutmeg. Spoon browned butter over all and bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, until cream sauce is set and nicely browned. Cool 15 minutes before cutting.

Makes 28 servings.

If moussaka seems like a bit too involved, have a Greek experience by making this simple, fresh sauce to use on grilled fish, meats (lamb, pork or chicken), cooked vegetables or in a filled pita bread sandwich.

SATZIKI (YOGURT SAUCE)

In a bowl, mix all ingredients together gently; do not beat. Allow to stand for at least 4 hours in refrigerator. Taste and correct seasonings.

Makes about 2-1/2 cups; about 4 servings.

* To seed a cucumber, peel it and halve it lengthwise, then run the tip of a spoon down the length to dig out the seeds. Or use virtually seedless English cucumbers (the long, thin ones that come wrapped in plastic).

If all this cream sauce, sour cream and so on isn't enough richness for you, try these rich, sweet cookies. You'll need a food processor, blender or nut grinder for the nuts that go into the cookies. And, as with many other Greek recipes, there's some work involved; you need to clarify the butter and then cream it well, so it is light and fluffy. And, yes, the recipe does call for gin, but you can also use ouzo or brandy. Or skip it, if you prefer not to consume alcohol.

KOURABIEDES (GREEK BUTTER AND SUGAR COOKIES)

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream butter for at least 30 minutes (a standing mixer is most helpful for this). Add egg yolk and blend well. Add sifted sugar and brandy. In a separate bowl, combine nuts and almonds, then combine with butter-sugar mixture to form a soft dough.

On a greased cookie sheet, form cookies with about 1 tablespoon of dough, either in flattened balls or crescent shapes. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place half the remaining powdered sugar in a container. When the cookies are done, sprinkle the cookies lightly with gin and roll each cookie with sugar before it cools. Then place each one in the container of sugar and sift more powdered sugar over.

Makes 40 pieces.

* To clarify butter: Melt unsalted butter over low heat until the butter breaks down. There will be a white foam on top, which you skim off. There will be a clear layer in the middle, which is the clarified butter, and there will be sediment on the bottom. Remove the pan from the heat, allow the sediment to settle, then pour it slowly through cheesecloth or a fine sieve.

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.