I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

And while I'm at it, anyone have a tried and true recipe for baklava?
Tried and true by *you* that is! Mine calls for the filo to be rolled
"jelly roll fashion". I've always seen baklava in diamond shapes
which I assume means it was baked in a rectangular or square pan, none
of this rolling stuff. And can it be frozen? Pre or post baking??

Any advice appreciated!

many thanks, blessings to all,
Jonquil

Here's my favorite lentil soup recipe. Feeds a small army :-)

6 slices bacon, diced
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
1 cup diced ham
2 cups lentils, sorted, washed and drained
5 cups water
1 medium celery stalk, with leaves, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
salt, pepper to taste
1 can (1 pound) tomatoes, undrained
4 cups tomato juice
1 pound turkey kielbasa sausage, diced
4 tablepoons (or more to taste) cider vinegar
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley


Fry bacon in a stockpot and add the onions, carrots and ham. Saute for
5 minutes. Add the lentils, water, celery, thyme, salt, and pepper,
and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook slowly, covered, about 30
minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the lentils are
soft. Add the tomatoes, tomato juice, and diced sausage. Cook another
10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and remove from the stove. Serve
sprinkled with parsley. Serves 8-10

*Note: I usually thin this quite a bit with either more tomato juice,
water, or both

variation: add 1 cup small pasta pieces (mini shells, etc)

(Jonquil) wrote in :

I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

I've always thought that the syrup used for baklava was made with honey.

Wayne

Wayne Boatwright wrote in
:

(Jonquil) wrote in :

I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

I've always thought that the syrup used for baklava was made with honey.

Wayne


Whatever honey or simple syrup....

simple syrup recipe is 1 cup water to 1 cup sugar...heat the water so all
the sugar dissolves.

--
And the beet goes on! (or under)
-me just a while ago

Jonquil wrote:

I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

And while I'm at it, anyone have a tried and true recipe for baklava?
Tried and true by *you* that is! Mine calls for the filo to be rolled
"jelly roll fashion". I've always seen baklava in diamond shapes
which I assume means it was baked in a rectangular or square pan, none
of this rolling stuff. And can it be frozen? Pre or post baking??

Any advice appreciated!

many thanks, blessings to all,
Jonquil


My sister usually makes me Baklava for a Christmas gift since it can be
time consuming... :-) She uses a square pan and layers it, then cuts it
into triangles.

I'd use the 2/1 simple syrup and add just a touch of maple. Baklava is
_supposed_ to be rich!

I find walnuts to be bitter and don't care much for them. We usually
substitute minced pecans instead as they are sweeter. Plus, this is
Texas and I can get all the pecans I want for free just picking them up
off the ground. G

K.

--
^,,^ Cats-haven Hobby Farm ^,,^ ^,,^

"There are millions of intelligent species in the universe, and they are
all owned by cats" -- Asimov

Custom handcrafts, Sterling silver beaded jewelry
http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAP...s&userid=katra

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 11:43:54 -0600, Katra
wrote:

Jonquil wrote:

I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

And while I'm at it, anyone have a tried and true recipe for baklava?
Tried and true by *you* that is! Mine calls for the filo to be rolled
"jelly roll fashion". I've always seen baklava in diamond shapes
which I assume means it was baked in a rectangular or square pan, none
of this rolling stuff. And can it be frozen? Pre or post baking??

Any advice appreciated!

many thanks, blessings to all,
Jonquil


My sister usually makes me Baklava for a Christmas gift since it can be
time consuming... :-) She uses a square pan and layers it, then cuts it
into triangles.

I'd use the 2/1 simple syrup and add just a touch of maple. Baklava is
_supposed_ to be rich!

The Lebanese often scent the syrup with rose water. I've also had it
with orange zest.

I find walnuts to be bitter and don't care much for them. We usually
substitute minced pecans instead as they are sweeter. Plus, this is
Texas and I can get all the pecans I want for free just picking them up
off the ground. G

Also traditional in many regional recipes are pistacchios.

JD wrote:

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 11:43:54 -0600, Katra
wrote:

Jonquil wrote:

I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

And while I'm at it, anyone have a tried and true recipe for baklava?
Tried and true by *you* that is! Mine calls for the filo to be rolled
"jelly roll fashion". I've always seen baklava in diamond shapes
which I assume means it was baked in a rectangular or square pan, none
of this rolling stuff. And can it be frozen? Pre or post baking??

Any advice appreciated!

many thanks, blessings to all,
Jonquil


My sister usually makes me Baklava for a Christmas gift since it can be
time consuming... :-) She uses a square pan and layers it, then cuts it
into triangles.

I'd use the 2/1 simple syrup and add just a touch of maple. Baklava is
_supposed_ to be rich!

The Lebanese often scent the syrup with rose water. I've also had it
with orange zest.

I actually have some rose flavoring up in my spice cabinet. :-)
I'd forgotten about that, thanks for the reminder!


I find walnuts to be bitter and don't care much for them. We usually
substitute minced pecans instead as they are sweeter. Plus, this is
Texas and I can get all the pecans I want for free just picking them up
off the ground. G

Also traditional in many regional recipes are pistacchios.

Oh YUM!!!

K.

--
^,,^ Cats-haven Hobby Farm ^,,^ ^,,^

"There are millions of intelligent species in the universe, and they are
all owned by cats" -- Asimov

Custom handcrafts, Sterling silver beaded jewelry
http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAP...s&userid=katra

Jonquil wrote:

I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

Here's what I've used on baklava with very satifactory results.
It's uses a 1:1 simple syrup.

Orange Scented Simple Syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 cup orange blossom honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 large strips orange peel
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Suzanne Capwell wrote:

At 11:43 AM -0600 12/6/03, Katra wrote:
Jonquil wrote:

I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

And while I'm at it, anyone have a tried and true recipe for baklava?
Tried and true by *you* that is! Mine calls for the filo to be rolled
"jelly roll fashion". I've always seen baklava in diamond shapes
which I assume means it was baked in a rectangular or square pan, none
of this rolling stuff. And can it be frozen? Pre or post baking??

Any advice appreciated!

many thanks, blessings to all,
Jonquil


My sister usually makes me Baklava for a Christmas gift since it can be
time consuming... :-) She uses a square pan and layers it, then cuts it
into triangles.

I'd use the 2/1 simple syrup and add just a touch of maple. Baklava is
_supposed_ to be rich!

I find walnuts to be bitter and don't care much for them. We usually
substitute minced pecans instead as they are sweeter. Plus, this is
Texas and I can get all the pecans I want for free just picking them up
off the ground. G


Square pan. Cut into parallelograms or triangles before baking.
That's important. Get a paint brush or spray bottle for your
butter (don't use margerine. Don't even consider it... Too much water
content in most.)

Simple syrup use 1 to 1 ratio. Add some honey, a little lemon juice,
and rose water if you want a truely authentic flavour. This will
cover the baklava and soak in for at -least- 24hrs. (See, time
consuming. No maple syrup. What, are you canadian?

USe finely chopped walnuts. I use Walnuts and only use pecans when I
get lazy. :P The syrup totally counteracts the bitterness of the
walnuts. You can also mix in pistacios if you want. That's also
authentic.

If you want to freeze, do it after you bake and let the syrup soak
in. No problems there.

Feel free to forward this post to the proper usenet thread if you want.
--

Did and done luv, thanks! :-)

This was a hint by the way..... grins
Baked goods for Christmas are always good!
To heck with low carbing over the holiday.

Planning to get Chas a black leather jacket for Christmas...
Have already done some shopping for you as well.

What else would you like?

Will get the nephew probably mostly leapfrog toys!

I got Christmas day off! Yay!!! Am looking forward to this year with Dyson.

hugs
'sis'

--
^,,^ Cats-haven Hobby Farm ^,,^ ^,,^

"There are millions of intelligent species in the universe, and they are
all owned by cats" -- Asimov

Custom handcrafts, Sterling silver beaded jewelry
http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAP...s&userid=katra

JD wrote:


The Lebanese often scent the syrup with rose water. I've also had it
with orange zest.

I suppose it is the Indian in me, but I boiled with simple syrup with a
cardi pod in it.
blacksalt

Jonquil wrote:

I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

And while I'm at it, anyone have a tried and true recipe for baklava?
Tried and true by *you* that is! Mine calls for the filo to be rolled
"jelly roll fashion". I've always seen baklava in diamond shapes
which I assume means it was baked in a rectangular or square pan, none
of this rolling stuff. And can it be frozen? Pre or post baking??

Any advice appreciated!

From Greek With Gusto

Baklava

Filling

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
2 tsp. cinnamon

Pastry
1 lb melted, clarified butter
1 lb. phyllo pastry
Allow phyllo to thaw 24 hours in fridge.

Syrup

2 cups white corn syrup
1 cup honey
2 orange slices 1/2" thick
1 lemon slice 1/2" thick
1 tsp. vanilla

To prepare syrup
Combine corn syrup, honey, orange and lemon slices in a sauce pan. Place
over medium heat for 5 minutes or until honey and syrup make a thin
liquid. Do not boils. Squeeze out orange and lemon slices to remove juice
and discard seeds and rind. Cool. Stir in vanilla.

To prepare filling
In a large bowl mix pecans, walnuts, almonds and cinnamon.
Cut phyllo pastry to fit exactly in pan. Cover with slightly dampened
towel.

To Assemble

Butter sides and bottom of a rectangular 9" x 13" pan. Place one sheet of
phyllo on bottom of pan ad brush with melted butter. Repeat with 6 sheets.
Sprinkle 6th sheet with butter and half the but mixture. Lay on 4 more
sheets, brushing each with butter. Sprinkle he rest of the nut mixture on
top. Layer 8 more butters sheets over the mixture. With a sharp knife
make a 1" deep cut in a pattern of square or diamonds. Sprinkle lightly
with a few drops of water and bake in the centre of the oven a preheated
to 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 and bake another
20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately pour half the syrup over the
pastry. After syrup has been absorbed pour the rest of the syrup over it.
ALlow to rest for several hours before serving.

Thanks to all! I used rose water and honey and the baklava is just
luscious!

blessings,
Jonquil

(Jonquil) wrote in message ...

I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

And while I'm at it, anyone have a tried and true recipe for baklava?
Tried and true by *you* that is! Mine calls for the filo to be rolled
"jelly roll fashion". I've always seen baklava in diamond shapes
which I assume means it was baked in a rectangular or square pan, none
of this rolling stuff.

From _Greek Cooking in an American Kitchen_. Seattle: St Demetrios
Orthodox Church Cookbook Committee, 1st ed. 1983.

Baklavas
Makes 40 servings

Syrup

2 1/4 c sugar
2 c water
2 or 3 2-inch strips of lemon peel
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tblsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 c honey (optional)

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except lemon juice and
honey. Bring to a boil; simmer 20 minutes or until candy thermometer
registers 224 degrees Fahrenheit. Add lemon juice and honey; simmer 5
minutes. Remove from heat; cool.

Nut filling

1 1/2 c finely chopped walnuts
1 1/2 c finely chopped almonds
1/2 c sugar
2 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
dash ground cloves

In a medium bowl, stir together nuts, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and
cloves; set aside.

Phyllo preparation

1 1/2 c clarified butter
1 1/2 to 2 lbs phyllo (36 sheets)

In a small saucepan, melt butter and keep warm. Brush bottom of a 13
x 9-inch pan (not glass) with some of the melted butter. Count 36
phyllo sheets; cut 10 sheets to measure 14 x 10 inches and set aside.
Cut remaining sheets into 13 x 9-inch rectangles. Cover with wax
paper and a damp tea towel.

Baklava assembly

Line pan with the 10 sheets measuring 14 x 10 inches, brushing each
sheet with melted butter. Sprinkle with 1/3 c nut mixture. Place two
13 x 9-inch phyllo sheets on top of nuts, brushing each with butter.
Sprinkle with 1/3 c nut mixture. Repeat this procedure until all nut
mixture is used. Top with remaining ten 13 x 9-inch phyllo sheets,
brushing each with melted butter while layering one on top of the
other. With a sharp knife, carefully cut all layers of baklava into
pieces. Bake at 325 degrees F 45 minutes; reduce oven temperature to
275 degrees F and bake 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and while
still hot, carefully spoon cooled syrup evenly over baklava.

Derek Juhl

Jonquil wrote:

Thanks to all! I used rose water and honey and the baklava is just
luscious!

blessings,
Jonquil


Now you have to send some to everybody here... ;-d

grins
K.

--
^,,^ Cats-haven Hobby Farm ^,,^ ^,,^

"There are millions of intelligent species in the universe, and they are
all owned by cats" -- Asimov

Custom handcrafts, Sterling silver beaded jewelry

Jonquil wrote:

Thanks to all! I used rose water and honey and the baklava is just
luscious!

blessings,
Jonquil


Now you have to send some to everybody here... ;-d

grins
K.

--
^,,^ Cats-haven Hobby Farm ^,,^ ^,,^

"There are millions of intelligent species in the universe, and they are
all owned by cats" -- Asimov

Custom handcrafts, Sterling silver beaded jewelry


Send mine Air Overnight. I haven't had any good baklava since I left
Jacksonville, FL in 1996, had a Greek friend that made it. Also made a
delicious stuffed grape leaves dish.


Gms




It's snowing in Memphis but Graceland's all alight,
And in Atlanta, Georgia, there's peace on earth tonight.

.....Christmas in Dixie....

You can freeze it before or after baking. The baklava is made in a
rectangular pan to get the diamond shapes. To get the diamond shape,
you make a cut diagonally twice making an X. Then you go from left to
right making up and down cuts from left to right about an inch apart.

Dave Smith wrote in message ...
Jonquil wrote:

I'm going to make baklava today. Never made it before. My recipe
calls for "1 recipe simple syrup". I'm wondering if I should use a 1
or 2 water-sugar ratio for this purpose??

And while I'm at it, anyone have a tried and true recipe for baklava?
Tried and true by *you* that is! Mine calls for the filo to be rolled
"jelly roll fashion". I've always seen baklava in diamond shapes
which I assume means it was baked in a rectangular or square pan, none
of this rolling stuff. And can it be frozen? Pre or post baking??

Any advice appreciated!

From Greek With Gusto

Baklava

Filling

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
2 tsp. cinnamon

Pastry
1 lb melted, clarified butter
1 lb. phyllo pastry
Allow phyllo to thaw 24 hours in fridge.

Syrup

2 cups white corn syrup
1 cup honey
2 orange slices 1/2" thick
1 lemon slice 1/2" thick
1 tsp. vanilla

To prepare syrup
Combine corn syrup, honey, orange and lemon slices in a sauce pan. Place
over medium heat for 5 minutes or until honey and syrup make a thin
liquid. Do not boils. Squeeze out orange and lemon slices to remove juice
and discard seeds and rind. Cool. Stir in vanilla.

To prepare filling
In a large bowl mix pecans, walnuts, almonds and cinnamon.
Cut phyllo pastry to fit exactly in pan. Cover with slightly dampened
towel.

To Assemble

Butter sides and bottom of a rectangular 9" x 13" pan. Place one sheet of
phyllo on bottom of pan ad brush with melted butter. Repeat with 6 sheets.
Sprinkle 6th sheet with butter and half the but mixture. Lay on 4 more
sheets, brushing each with butter. Sprinkle he rest of the nut mixture on
top. Layer 8 more butters sheets over the mixture. With a sharp knife
make a 1" deep cut in a pattern of square or diamonds. Sprinkle lightly
with a few drops of water and bake in the centre of the oven a preheated
to 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 and bake another
20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately pour half the syrup over the
pastry. After syrup has been absorbed pour the rest of the syrup over it.
ALlow to rest for several hours before serving.