For Sunday's housewarming party, I went with the Alton Brown recipe I
got from Food Network that I posted (and am reposting below) last
week. It turned out brilliantly and everyone, but *everyone* raved
about it. I made it exactly as written and the only thing I would
change is to cut back on the syrup by about 1/4 cup for the honey and
water, as it's overly wet, but the flavor is perfect.

And many thanks to Janet Wilder for suggesting the cupcake papers,
which was an excellent idea. Made service of the baklava much, much
easier.

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Baklava

desserts

for the filling:
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
15 - 20 whole allspice berries
6 ounces blanched almonds
6 ounces raw or roasted walnuts
6 ounces raw or roasted pistachio
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon rose water
1 pound phyllo dough, thawed
8 ounces clarified unsalted butter; melted
for the syrup:
1 1/4 cups honey
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 (2-inch) piece fresh orange peel

Heat the oven to 350° F.

Place the cinnamon stick and whole allspice into a spice grinder and
grind.

Place the almonds, walnuts, pistachios, sugar and freshly ground
spices into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely
chopped, but not pasty or powdery, approximately 15 quick pulses. Set
aside.

Combine the water and rose water in a small spritz bottle and set
aside.

Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch
metal pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with butter; lay down
a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat this step 9 more times
for a total of 10 sheets of phyllo. Top with 1/3 of the nut mixture
and spread thinly. Spritz thoroughly with the rose water. Layer 6 more
sheets of phyllo with butter in between each of them, followed by
another third of the nuts and spritz with rose water. Repeat with
another 6 sheets of phyllo, butter, remaining nuts, and rose water.
Top with 8 sheets of phyllo brushing with butter in between each
sheet. Brush the top generously with butter. Place in the oven and
bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cut into 28 squares.
Return pan to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes.
Remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for 2
hours before adding the syrup.

Make the syrup during the last 30 minutes of cooling. Combine the
honey, water, sugar, cinnamon stick and orange peel in a 4-quart
saucepan and set over high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has
dissolved. Once boiling, boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat and discard the orange peel and cinnamon stick.

After the baklava has cooled for 2 hours, re-cut the entire pan
following the same lines as before. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the
top of the baklava, allowing it to run into the cuts and around the
edges of the pan. Allow the pan to sit, uncovered until completely
cool. Cover and store at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up
to overnight before serving.

Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Notes: Alton Brown Food Network

Yield: 28 pieces

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

--

"If the soup had been as warm as the wine,
if the wine had been as old as the turkey,
and if the turkey had had a breast like the maid,
it would have been a swell dinner." Duncan Hines


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