Baklava

 Folks-

This is really a work in progress, so I don't yet consider it complete. I created this by cobbling it together from several other recipes.

Ingredients:

Honey Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp rose water (or orange extract, or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
• 10 black peppercorns (or 5 whole cloves)

Nut Filling:

• 8 oz shelled raw pistachios
• 8 oz raw walnuts (or almonds, or pecans)
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 Tsp salt

Pastry and Butter:

• 2-3 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 lb frozen phyllo dough, thawed

To make the honey syrup:

Combine all ingredients except rose water in a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature before discarding peppercorns and stirring in the rosewater or other flavoring.

To make the nut filling:

Pulse the nuts together in a food processor until very finely chopped. Set aside about 1 tbsp before you add in sugar, salt, and ground cardamom and pulse together to combine.

To assemble and bake:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Brush a 9x13 inch pan with butter then layer a half-sheet of Phyllo in the bottom and brush with butter, layering 6- 10 more half sheets on top, brushing each with butter. Layer 1/3 of the nut filling on top, and place a half-sheet of Phyllo on the filling, and dab with butter (brushing will slide it off.) Layer 6-10 more half sheets, another 1/3 of the filling, another 7-10 sheets of dough & butter, the rest of the filling, the rest of the dough and butter. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough and filling into squares or diamonds. Place in the oven for 45 minutes, turn it 180 degrees, and bake another 45 minutes or until golden in color. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack then immediately pour the honey syrup through the cuts, leaving the last couple of tablespoons to cover the top of the baklava. Decorate the tops with the saved nut mixture.

Allow to cool for at least three hours, than wrap in aluminum foil and allow to sit for 12 hours before serving.

Notes: Aaron strongly recommends sitting down while assembling the baklava in the baking dish. It takes quite a while with all of the layering, dabbing, and covering with nut filling, and, yeah, I wish I had done it sitting at the table that first time.

Also, this is much better the day after it's baked. Like, a lot. I strongly recommend fixing it a day ahead if you have a party or gathering planned.

And this recipe is great for sharing. One full recipe is too much for my family of six to finish in a reasonable amount of time.

Crab Rolls

Folks-

I've been watching too many eating/travel shows lately. Specifically Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix.

As a result, I created a completely experimental dinner tonight. I fixed my own Crab Rolls with chips (as in fries) and homemade blueberry soda. The fries were experimental in that I cut the potatoes into chunks and boiled them, drained them, let them cool, then fried them.

The Crab Rolls in this case are sandwiches with warm crab and Cole slaw.

I'm going to post the Blueberry Soda recipe next. Here's my homemade Crab Rolls!

Ingredients:

4-6 sandwich rolls or 8 hot dog rolls

16-24 oz cooked crab meat

14 oz thin sliced cabbage or a package of angel hair Cole slaw 

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1-1/2 tablespoons vinegar (white or apple cider)

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cut a flat side on the top and bottom of the sandwich rolls, slather them outside and in with mayonnaise, and grill them inside and out. Mix the mayo, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, black pepper and salt together and reserve 1/4 cup. Mix the cabbage into the rest of the dressing. Stir-fry the crab meat in butter just until hot. Drain off the juices,then add the reserved dressing to the warm crab. Serve a roll by covering half of a sandwich roll with Cole slaw, and the other with chunks of crab.

Garlic Butter

 Time for another quick recipe, this one adapted from AllRecipes.

I recently decided to fix grilled burgers for dinner (I know, in summer?!? What am I thinking? The shame!) and I decided to try something decidedly different. I smeared the buns with garlic butter and grilled them in the last 5-10 minutes on the same grill I used to fix the burgers. I left the meat unseasoned, because it probably would have been too much.

But, damn, those were good! Very possibly the best I have ever made.

For the garlic butter, I used a recipe I found at All Recipes and I (wait for it!) modified it. Here's my version.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter (1 cube)

1-1/2 Tsp minced garlic

3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (shelf stable powder works, but fresh is better)

1-1/2 Tsp garlic salt

1/2 Tsp Italian seasoning or French Herb de Provence

1/4 Tsp ground black pepper

1/4 Tsp ground paprika

Just mix it all together. Easily doubled.

For garlic bread, cut a loaf of French bread lengthwise and smear with the butter, and toast open face up under a broiler. Or smear on hamburger buns or sandwich rolls and grill or griddle over medium heat for a wonderful addition to your hamburger or salmon patty sandwich!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Folks-
This is a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe with just a couple of subtle changes. Melting the butter, instead of using softened butter, is my dad's contribution. I also often use vanilla sugar thrown into the measuring cup before measuring out the white sugar. Tip: I use a 2-cup measuring cup most of the time. First I pack-in the brown sugar, then I finish by adding white sugar until it reaches the 1-1/2 Cup level. That gives you the most accurate measure of sugar for your cookies!

Ingredients
1 Cup (2 sticks) melted butter
3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
3/4 Cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or 2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 large eggs
2-1/4 Cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 Cups chocolate chips
Optional: 1 Cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Beat together butter, sugars, and vanilla extract until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Add all other ingredients except chocolate chips and nuts and mix well. Mix in chocolate chips
From into 1-2 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Note: It's easy to use a mellon-baller to form these. They can be frozen for up to six months, and baked straight from the freezer.

Eleanor's Peanut Butter Cookies

If you ever wondered how I started cooking, or where I got my tendency to change the recipes of others, this is where both started. You see, this is my mom's Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe. She took the recipe from a '60's-era Betty Crocker Cookbook, and changed it by a single ingredient. The original recipe calls for a combination of butter and shortening, but she found that if you used more butter instead of the shortening (a 1 for 1 substitution) then the cookies came out softer, and more flavorful.
Here's my mom's variation of the Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe:

1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 Cup peanut butter
1/2 Cup softened butter
1 egg
1-1/4 Cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Mix together sugars, peanut butter, butter, and egg until smooth. Add all other ingredients and thoroughly mix them in. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
Set oven temperature for 350 degrees. Shape the dough into 1 to 1-1/4 inch balls by hand or using a melon-baller, placing them 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press a checkerboard pattern into the top of each cookie with a fork. Bake 9-11 minutes until golden brown around the edges.
Remove from the cookie sheet and allow cookies to cool on a platter (they tend to fall apart if cooled on wire racks, unless supported by parchment paper.)
Optional: dip the fork into granulated (white or party-colored) sugar between pressing the checkerboard pattern into each cookie for an added decoration.
Tip: This recipe makes a lot of cookies, but you don't have to bake them all at once. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days, or four to six months in the freezer. I like to make them into balls using a melon-baller, and then freeze them in a zip-seal freezer bag labeled with the expiration date. When I want fresh cookies, I put the frozen balls on a cookie sheet, press in the pattern, and bake them as directed.

English Toffee

Folks-
This time of year it's a tradition in my family to make my Aunt Carolyn's English Toffee. It's not the simplest candy I make (that would be the truffles) but it tastes SO much better than anything you could buy. If you like Heath Bars or Almond Rocha, you owe it to yourself to try this recipe.

English Toffee

Ingredients:

1 lb butter + extra for coating jelly roll pan

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

2 cups sugar

2 cups chopped almonds, toasted if preferred

Melted chocolate for dipping

Coat a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides with butter and set aside. Melt 1 lb butter and add sugar and cream of tartar, stir until thermometer reaches 275 degrees. Add chopped almonds and stir to 300 degrees. Spread into the jelly roll pan and immediately score into 1" pieces with a sharp buttered knife. Cool for about 7 minutes and break into pieces. Dip into melted chocolate and roll in chopped nuts. Refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Note: it appears most people don't realize cream of tartar is a powder, not an actual cream. You can find it in the spice section of most supermarkets.

Old Time Fudge

Folks-

The computer was on, so I figured I should power out another Zap 190 recipe. This one I intend to try soon, only I want to try it using whipping cream instead of milk. If I try it, I'll post the results!

-Edly

Old Time Fudge
P. Jones

Ingredients:
2 Cups Sugar
¾ Cup Milk
2 Squares (2 Oz) Unsweetened Chocolate, broken up
1 Teaspoon Light Corn Syrup
2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
½ Cup Coarsely Chopped Nuts (optional)

Line a 9x5x3” loaf pan with foil, extending foil over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil; set pan aside. Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In the saucepan combine the sugar, milk, chocolate, and corn syrup. Cook over medium-high heat to boiling, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Avoid splashing the mixture on the sides of the pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until a thermometer reads 234 degrees (soft-ball.) The mixture should boil at a moderate, steady rate over the entire surface. Remove the saucepan from heat. Add butter and vanilla but do not stir! Cool without stirring to lukewarm (118 degrees.) Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until fudge is just beginning to thicken; add nuts if desired. Continue to beat until the fudge is very thick, and just begins to lose its gloss. Quickly turn the fudge onto the prepared pan. While warm, score it into 1” squares. When the candy is firm, use the foil to lift it out of the pan; cut candy into squares. Store tightly covered.

Classic Cheesecake

Folks-
Here is my variation of the Classic New York Cheesecake recipe I found at Food Network's website. This is just a little bit easier than the method Food Network suggests but comes out just as good. (Baking in a water bath? Really?) Also, this version of the recipe makes use of the Vanilla Sugar I taught you how to make a few months ago (glad you were paying attention now, aren't you?)

Ingredients:

Crust:
6 Tablespoons Butter (Unsalted Optional)
1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker crumbs
2 Tablespoons Sugar
Pinch of salt (no, really, a pinch)

Filling:
2 Pounds Cream Cheese at room temperature (about 4 packages)
1 1/4 Cups Sugar
3/4 Cups Sour Cream
6 large eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Sugar
About 1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest, finely ground (about 1 lemon)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Melt the butter. Brush a 9 inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter into the Graham Cracker Crumbs, Sugar, and Salt and press into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes and cool.

While the crust is cooling, beat the cream cheese on medium speed in a good stand mixer until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl and the beaters as necessary. Slowly beat in the sour cream and eggs one at a time, the vanilla sugar and the lemon zest. Do not whip the mixture. Pour into the cooled crust. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour, 10 minutes, then turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to continue to cook in the cooling oven for another hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and run a knife around the edge and allow to cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

Ed's Truffles

Folks-
The main reason I'm writing this recipe blog is to keep track of the recipes I use and like. Since it's Christmas week, I'll post two today, and perhaps more later this week. I'll start by posting my Truffle recipe. I got it from the Betty Crocker's cookbook, and then started fiddling with it to make it my own. The secret is in the notes at the end (hint: This is a versatile recipe!)

Ingredients:

6 oz Chocolate (Semi-sweet, dark, or milk)
1/4 C Whipping Cream
2 T Melted Butter
1 C Chocolate Chips (Semi-sweet or milk)
2 T Vegetable Shortening

Melt the 6 oz of chocolate over a double boiler or in a glass bowl in a microwave oven (run the microwave starting at 30 seconds and then progressively shorter time periods, stirring between each heating cycle.) Mix in the melted butter and whipping cream until the mixture is smooth, and pour into a buttered baking pan. Refrigerate until hard, and then cut into 1" cubes. Melt 1 C chocolate chips and mix in shortening. Dip chocolate centers into the melted chocolate and fish it out with forks, placing them on an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until hard. Best served at room temperature.

Notes: This recipe is very versatile. You can change the flavor by changing the kind of chocolate, or by adding flavorings. One thing I have noticed is that white chocolate tends not to harden as well as other kinds, I recommend halving the amount of whipping cream and melted butter if using white chocolate.
Mocha Truffles: Use semi-sweet chocolate and add 2 T Instant Coffee crystals to the whipping cream.
Mint Truffles: Add a few drops mint extract to the whipping cream. Seal finished truffles in a container. DO NOT MIX WITH OTHER TRUFFLES! The flavor is so strong that it will overpower the flavor of other truffles and you can easily end up with your box of mixed truffles being a box of mint truffles.
Orange or Strawberry: Add up to 1/2 t flavoring to the whipping cream before mixing it into the chocolate.
Mexican Chocolate: Add 1/4 t Cinnamon and 1/2 T finely chopped almonds to the melted chocolate before adding in the melted butter and whipping cream.
Conversion tip: 1 Cup of chocolate chips is 6 oz. Feel free to use baking chocolate, eating chocolate, or chocolate chips in this recipe!
The coating for these truffles is so good that I use it for almost all candies that need a chocolate coating. I have never had it separate out or bloom.

I'll be posting my dad's Chili recipe soon, and then I'll start posting the recipes from the cookbook I compiled with my old co-workers (The Zap 190 L.O.S. Cookbook!)

-Edly