I'll forward this on to Oly, I'm sure she'll be pleased. Sherry, you out there?

oh Jessica, thank you. And Happy Chanukah! I may have lost count of my layers, but when I ran out of time, I was done! :-)

Could someone point me at Oly's baklava recipe? I've done a bit of poking around and searching, but I've not come up with it yet. Help? :) TIA! (btw, I've already put the Santa's Helpers cookies on my list of things to do...)

Bri

I'd like one of each to go with my last cup of Coffee. Lucky students and staff....I'll be back to get the recipe too.

David

Stacy just lovely! You always do such nice things for the teachers. I'm sure they are very appreciative of your efforts.

Here is the recipe!

Baklava - oly
SYRUP
3 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
NUTS
1 lb finely chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
scant 1/8 teaspoon cloves
BUTTER
3/4 lb unsalted butter
Phyllo
Because there are several components to baklava- syrup, walnuts, and clarified butter - Eash step can be done in advance, then when I'm ready to assemble, it doesn't seem like such a big job.
I use Apollo Brand Fillo, because i can buy it fresh at my International Grocery. I make the baklava in a 12in x 8 1/2in disposable "cake pan" you can get at the market. The phyllo comes in 12in X 17in sheets, you can cut the sheets in half and they fit perfectly in the pan. No waste! I use 1/2lb phyllo for each pan.
SYRUP
I make this at least a week in advance (sometimes longer) It can sit in the refrig for several weeks - This helps to blend the flavors.
Bring the sugar, water and cinnamon stick to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 20 mins. Add the lemon and honey and bring back just to a boil. Cool and store in refrig.
NUTS
Mix walnuts with sugar, cinnamon and cloves. (I do this sometimes months in advance, put them in a baggy and
store them in the freezer).
BUTTER
Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Remove foam from the top and discard. I'm basicly lazy, LOL, so I put it in the refrig, to harden overnight. When I'm ready to use it, I make a slit in the solidified butter and pour off the milk solids. When you're ready to assemble, remelt.
ASSEMBLY
Brush bottom of pan with melted butter. Line bottom of pan with 8 sheets of phyllo, brushing each with melted butter. Sprinkle with a scant 1/2 cup of nut mixture. Cover with two sheets of phyllo (each brushed with butter). Continue layering nuts and two sheets of phyllo, until you have 7 layers of nuts. You should have 8 phyllo sheets left (from your 1/2 lb.)to make up the top. Brush each layer with butter.
With a sharp knife, cut baklava into four lengthwise strips and then cut diagonally in small diamond shapes. Only cut about 1/2 inch down into baklava. (You will have small end pieces that will not be diamond shaped. The cook gets to eat these!!)
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-60 mins., or until golden. Remove baklava from oven and, while still hot, carefully
pour 1 3/4 cup room temp. syrup evenly over. (It will look like it's too much syrup, but don't worry, it will get soaked up)
Baklava is best if made 2-3 days before you plan to serve it, so it's the perfect make ahead dessert. It will last at least a week at room temp. Do not refrig. When you are ready to serve, cut with a non serated kitchen knife. Using a sharp knife will puncture the pan.
-- yasou
Baklava can be made in any size pan, just cut the phyllo to fit. I've had baklava ranging from 1 inch to 2 inches thick. It's all good!! If you're going to cut the phyllo to fit the pan you should have more than enough scraps to use for extra layers. A "layer" can be made up of pieces of phyllo,the butter does a good job of fusing them. The one thing that is important is that you do not piece the very top layers.
My recipe only uses 28 sheets, but you could use less.
I would go ahead and make the full recipe of syrup and nut mixture. The extra syrup will keep nicely in the refrig for a long time, the extra nuts and claified butter freeze great. For a 8x6x2 pan I'd use 1/2lb of the nut mixture,(divided evenly between layers of phyllo) and about 3/4 to 1 cup of syrup.
Bake it about 30 mins.
An important thing to remember is that the browner(is that a word?? LOL) the baklava is the more syrup it will absorb. So in plain words, if you under bake it, and it's very light in color, it doesn't need as much syrup. Make sure it's nice and golden.
If you want, put it together and freeze it, unbaked. Do not thaw before baking, just adjust the baking time.

Thanks Stacy! I can't wait to try this, but I've got a HUGE batch of cinnamon rolls going right now and plans for ragu bolognese for dinner tonight so I don't think I'll be able to do it today. :(

Bri