The Wedding

Jo, George and Carrie's Hands

Baklava Recipe

By popular demand...ok, Amanda's demand...

Melinda's Baklava.
Need:
2 quart saucepan
pastry brush
towel to cover phyllo dough between laying down the sheets
9x13 pan

Preheat oven to 350.

1 lb Phyllo dough, thawed and cut in half to fit a 9x13 pan.
1 c unsalted butter, melted (I use my small crockpot, works great)

In a small bowl, mix
1 1/2 c. finely chopped nuts (I like walnuts or pistachios)
3/4 c. finely chopped dates
3/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

Peel off 10 sheets of phyllo and place in buttered 13x9x2 inch pan brushing with butter after each second sheet. Spread with 1/3 of nut-date mixture.

Place 5 more phyllo sheets in pan, buttering after each one. Add 1/3 of nut-date mixture.

Place 6 more phyllo sheets in pan, buttering after each one. Add remaining nut-date mixture.

Top with remaining phyllo sheets, buttering after each one.

Cut into diamond shapes. Pour on remaining melted butter.

Bake at 350 Degrees for 30 minutes, then turn oven down to 300 degrees for 1 hour.

After turning oven down, mix:

2 c. sugar
3 c. water
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 stick of cinnamon

in a 3 quart saucepan and bring to a slight boil. Simmer on stove until baklava is ready to come out of the oven.

When baklava has reached a nice golden color, remove from the oven. Remove cinnamon stick from the syrup and mix in 1/2 cup of honey (I prefer mesquite honey) just before pouring the hot syrup over the baklava.

Cool and serve.

Zucchini Mushroom Lebanese-style Pies

bread dough (see earlier post for pizza dough recipe)
1 large zucchini, grated
4 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 Tbsp sumac
1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh oregano leaves

1. Divide dough into 24 balls; then cover with damp cloth. Allow to stand for 30 minutes in a warm place.
2. In the meantime, make filling by mixing remaining ingredients, except 3 tablespoons of olive oil; set aside.
3. Roll dough into 5 inch rounds (about 1/4 inch thick).
4. Place one heaping tablespoon of filling on each circle and fold over to make a half moon shape and firmly pinch edges together. Place on well-greased baking sheets and brush generously with remaining olive oil.
5. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 for about 20 minutes or until light brown.
6. Serve hot

Notes:

Sumac sounds all deadly and poisonous, but I buy mine from a local middle-eastern grocery store. (and there have been no food-related deaths as a result)

I like to use the Williams-Sonoma pizza crust recipe.

Also, for convenience can be made as one pie with the edges folded up like a rustic apple pie.