Vefa Alexiadou literally wrote the book on Greek cuisine with her 700-plus page tome, Greece: The Cookbook (previously published as Vefa's Kitchen). It's a truly comprehensive book on original Mediterranean cuisine. But there's no need to be overwhelmed by the (hundreds of) recipes contained within — the recipes are straight-forward and easy to prepare. While you're waiting for your copy to arrive, we've rounded up 13 Greek-inspired dishes to get you in the groove:

1. Spanakopita scones

(Julia Gartland/Courtesy Food52)

2. Greek lemon soup — avgolemono

(Mark Weinberg/Courtesy Food52)

3. Greek salad with fennel

(Nicole Franzen/Courtesy Food52)

4. "Greek-amole" guacamole

(James Ransom/Courtesy Food52)

5. "Greek" lamb with orzo

(James Ransom/Courtesy Food52)

6. Grilled skirt steak with Greek salsa

(Tom Hirschfeld/Courtesy Food52)

7. Greek chicken meatballs

(James Ransom/Courtesy Food52)

8. The WFP: Greek mahogany potatoes

(Courtesy Food52)

9. Greek style shrimp in tomato sauce with feta

(Tom Hirschfeld/Courtesy Food52)

10. Grilled whole branzino with "Greek fish sauce"

(Bobbi Lin/Courtesy Food52)

11. Batsaria (phyllo-less spanakopita)

(James Ransom/Courtesy Food52)

12. Pastitsio

(Sarah Shatz/Courtesy Food52)

13. Mrs. Z's secret-ingredient baklava

(James Ransom/Courtesy Food52)

This story was originally published on Food52.com: 13 Greek-inspired dishes to enjoy from sunrise to sunset.