I made these for my quilt guild's holiday potluck last night.


Ingredients:


8 ounces ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated romano cheese
1 cup finely chopped mixed flat leaf parsley and cilantro
2 cloves garlic put through garlic press
about 3 sticks melted butter
1 pound store bought phyllo dough


Method:


Combine first 6 ingredients in bowl and mix well.
Melt butter over gentle heat. Ideally, you get melted butter that
hasn't separated.
With pastry brush, slather one sheet of phyllo dough with butter.
Put a generous tablespoon of cheese mixture on to dough.
Fold up like a flag into a triangle.
Repeat with a second sheet of phyllo.
Place on buttered cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees until lightly brown, about 15 minutes.


---------------------------------


I got lots of compliments, but that didn't surprise me as everyone was
trying everything and complimenting each other all over the place. The
one I'll remember was the compliment was from the woman I'd never met
who went out of her way to ask around for who made the phyllo. She has
an accent, said she's Greek and that they were fantastic. I answered
that they weren't exactly tiropita because I made up the recipe and
didn't use feta cheese. She said that she makes up recipes all the time
and that she loved them.


--Lia

On Dec 12, 11:06 am, Julia Altshuler > wrote:
> I made these for my quilt guild's holiday potluck last night.
>
> Ingredients:
>
> 8 ounces ricotta cheese
> 2 eggs
> 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
> 1 cup grated romano cheese
> 1 cup finely chopped mixed flat leaf parsley and cilantro
> 2 cloves garlic put through garlic press
> about 3 sticks melted butter
> 1 pound store bought phyllo dough
>
> Method:
>
> Combine first 6 ingredients in bowl and mix well.
> Melt butter over gentle heat. Ideally, you get melted butter that
> hasn't separated.
> With pastry brush, slather one sheet of phyllo dough with butter.
> Put a generous tablespoon of cheese mixture on to dough.
> Fold up like a flag into a triangle.
> Repeat with a second sheet of phyllo.
> Place on buttered cookie sheet.
> Bake at 350 degrees until lightly brown, about 15 minutes.
>
> ---------------------------------
>
> I got lots of compliments, but that didn't surprise me as everyone was
> trying everything and complimenting each other all over the place. The
> one I'll remember was the compliment was from the woman I'd never met
> who went out of her way to ask around for who made the phyllo. She has
> an accent, said she's Greek and that they were fantastic. I answered
> that they weren't exactly tiropita because I made up the recipe and
> didn't use feta cheese. She said that she makes up recipes all the time
> and that she loved them.
>
> --Lia

Looks excellent. Thanks

Perhaps you should cross reference this to the 13year old
vegetarian's thread. It looks like a good recipe for the girl if
Scooter can keep herself and the other two away from the triangles.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

John Kane wrote:
>
> Perhaps you should cross reference this to the 13year old
> vegetarian's thread. It looks like a good recipe for the girl if
> Scooter can keep herself and the other two away from the triangles.


Nah, I think we frightened away the original poster long ago. Working
with phyllo dough is something fun for teenagers, though. I had 3 18
year olds for the Thanksgiving weekend. I bought a pound of phyllo with
no clear ideas on what to do with it. When they expressed an interest,
I suggested a number of fillings, and they said they liked the apple
idea the best. So I set them to making a chopped apple, nut, raisin,
dried apricot, cinnamon filling, showed them how to use the pastry
brush, and put them to work. My sample came out lopsided. Their
triangles were perfect. All were delicious.


--Lia

Julia Altshuler wrote:
>
> Nah, I think we frightened away the original poster long ago. Working
> with phyllo dough is something fun for teenagers, though. I had 3 18
> year olds for the Thanksgiving weekend. I bought a pound of phyllo with
> no clear ideas on what to do with it. When they expressed an interest,
> I suggested a number of fillings, and they said they liked the apple
> idea the best. So I set them to making a chopped apple, nut, raisin,
> dried apricot, cinnamon filling, showed them how to use the pastry
> brush, and put them to work. My sample came out lopsided. Their
> triangles were perfect. All were delicious.

As fiddly as phyllo is to work with, my experience has always been that if
you keep it covered, spread lots of butter and work fast thing cooked with
it tend to be good. Last week at the grocery store I was given a sample of
a phyllo canapé.... phyllo cups with feta and fig. Rather than buy a
package I figured it was something I could make with some of the phyllo
taking up room in my freezer.

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> As fiddly as phyllo is to work with, my experience has always been that if
> you keep it covered, spread lots of butter and work fast thing cooked with
> it tend to be good. Last week at the grocery store I was given a sample of
> a phyllo canapé.... phyllo cups with feta and fig. Rather than buy a
> package I figured it was something I could make with some of the phyllo
> taking up room in my freezer.


My tips for working with phyllo:


Defrost in the refrigerator. That is, buy it from the freezer, put it
away in the refrigerator the night before you intend to use it.
Even though it is frozen, buy it as fresh as possible.
If you find a source for easy to use phyllo, remember and keep buying it
from the same place.
Have everything ready before taking the phyllo from the refrigerator.
This is no time to start looking for the pastry brush.
It is fiddly, but enough butter makes everything taste better.
Work fast.
All sorts of mixtures can go in phyllo as long as they're not too wet.
Try the following:


- sauteed mushrooms (liquid evaporated) with ricotta cheese and rosemary
- ground lamb seasoned with ginger and cinnamon (haven't tried it yet,
saw the idea in a Claudia Rodin cookbook)
- peeled apples and pears cut into chunks with nuts and dried fruit
- cabbage, carrots, and dill
- anything you'd normally put in a quiche shell
- the classic spinach, feta, garlic and oregano


--Lia

Julia Altshuler wrote:
>
>
>
> My tips for working with phyllo:
>
> Defrost in the refrigerator. That is, buy it from the freezer, put it
> away in the refrigerator the night before you intend to use it.
> Even though it is frozen, buy it as fresh as possible.
> If you find a source for easy to use phyllo, remember and keep buying it
> from the same place.
> Have everything ready before taking the phyllo from the refrigerator.
> This is no time to start looking for the pastry brush.
> It is fiddly, but enough butter makes everything taste better.
> Work fast.
> All sorts of mixtures can go in phyllo as long as they're not too wet.

Good tips.
I used to be intimidated by phyllo, but I have had so many successes with
it that I have learned that the terrific tasty results are worth the
effort. I confess to be sloppy about the freshness, usually buying it and
tossing it in the freezer where it sits for a long time before use. I do
thaw it in the fridge. I make sure that everything is ready to go. Sure,
some of the sheets rip and tear. It is no big deal. Just make sure that
everything else is ready to go, keep it covered with a moist towel, slap on
the butter and work fast. The result are amazing.


> Try the following:
>
> - sauteed mushrooms (liquid evaporated) with ricotta cheese and rosemary
> - ground lamb seasoned with ginger and cinnamon (haven't tried it yet,
> saw the idea in a Claudia Rodin cookbook)
> - peeled apples and pears cut into chunks with nuts and dried fruit
> - cabbage, carrots, and dill
> - anything you'd normally put in a quiche shell
> - the classic spinach, feta, garlic and oregano


I have made Baklava, Salmon in Phyllo (a real winner) and my all time
favourite, Galaktoburito, a rich, sweet custard baked in phyllo and covered
with syrup. The people I have served it to raved about it. My brother said
it was the best thing he ever ate in his life.

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> I have made Baklava, Salmon in Phyllo (a real winner) and my all time
> favourite, Galaktoburito, a rich, sweet custard baked in phyllo and covered
> with syrup. The people I have served it to raved about it. My brother said
> it was the best thing he ever ate in his life.


Never having heard of it before, I just googled, and it looks divine.
(Google suggested that I spell it "galaktoboureko".) Most recipes call
for lemon peel and lemon juice. A few don't call for lemon. Which way
did you make it? Also, did you use semolina flour and/or cornstarch?
I'm guessing that semolina flour is more authentic.


--Lia

Julia Altshuler wrote:
>
>
> Never having heard of it before, I just googled, and it looks divine.
> (Google suggested that I spell it "galaktoboureko".) Most recipes call
> for lemon peel and lemon juice. A few don't call for lemon. Which way
> did you make it? Also, did you use semolina flour and/or cornstarch?
> I'm guessing that semolina flour is more authentic.

I used a recipe from a Greek cookbook "Greek with Gusto" that called for
semolina or Cream of Wheat, and not having Semolina on hand but lots of
cream of Wheat I used the latter. You cook the custard, which has lots of
eggs and sugar, line the baking pan with buttered phyllo sheets, pour in
the prepared custard, top with more buttered phyllo sheets and bake. While
it is still hot your pour over the syrup, similar to making Baklava.

Perhaps you should make a trip to a Greek restaurant and try it before
making it yourself. I put off making it for a long time because it make a
huge amount and, as good as it is, it is not the sort of thing I could eat
day after day after day. It would get stale, and I don't think that it is
the sort of thing that would freeze well. I had had it several times in
restaurants and I found their portions to be way more than I could eat. I
could only imagine what would happen with a big baking pan full of the
stuff.

When I finally got to the point where I just had to try making it I took
some to my mother and some to my brother and his family. They went nuts
over it. It really is wroth trying, but you are going to need a crowd
there to help you eat it. It would likely be a big hit at a potluck.

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> Perhaps you should make a trip to a Greek restaurant and try it before
> making it yourself. I put off making it for a long time because it make a
> huge amount and, as good as it is, it is not the sort of thing I could eat
> day after day after day. It would get stale, and I don't think that it is
> the sort of thing that would freeze well. I had had it several times in
> restaurants and I found their portions to be way more than I could eat. I
> could only imagine what would happen with a big baking pan full of the
> stuff.


This is the wild thing. I've eaten in plenty of Greek restaurants and
don't recall ever seeing it on the menu. I'll look for it specially.
My most recent source of phyllo dough sells it in a one pound package,
but it comes in 2 8 ounce plastic bags. So I think I could cut the
recipe in half easily. I'm going to try this. In fact, I'm going to
try it at the next quilt guild pot luck.


--Lia

On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:06:13 -0500, Julia Altshuler
> wrote:

>I made these for my quilt guild's holiday potluck last night.
>
>
>Ingredients:
>
>
>8 ounces ricotta cheese
>2 eggs
>1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
>1 cup grated romano cheese
>1 cup finely chopped mixed flat leaf parsley and cilantro
>2 cloves garlic put through garlic press
>about 3 sticks melted butter
>1 pound store bought phyllo dough
>
>
>Method:
>
>
>Combine first 6 ingredients in bowl and mix well.
>Melt butter over gentle heat. Ideally, you get melted butter that
>hasn't separated.
>With pastry brush, slather one sheet of phyllo dough with butter.
>Put a generous tablespoon of cheese mixture on to dough.
>Fold up like a flag into a triangle.
>Repeat with a second sheet of phyllo.
>Place on buttered cookie sheet.
>Bake at 350 degrees until lightly brown, about 15 minutes.
>

The cheddar put me off immediately. My recipe is cottage cheese and
feta.... a recipe the local Greek community used to make yearly on
local television to promote their Greek festival about 20 years ago.
I still make it occasionally and it hasn't lost anything with time,
IMO.

--
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On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:35:42 -0500, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>Last week at the grocery store I was given a sample of
>a phyllo canapé.... phyllo cups with feta and fig. Rather than buy a
>package I figured it was something I could make with some of the phyllo
>taking up room in my freezer.

You can get fresh figs this time of year?

--
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On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:49:39 -0500, Julia Altshuler
> wrote:

>My tips for working with phyllo:
>
>
>Defrost in the refrigerator. That is, buy it from the freezer, put it
>away in the refrigerator the night before you intend to use it.
>Even though it is frozen, buy it as fresh as possible.

Have you NEVER gotten a roll that didn't have a wet spot when thawed?
I HATE that.

>If you find a source for easy to use phyllo, remember and keep buying it
>from the same place.

I have one place (thank goodness I have *one*). It's a "source" and
it's the only place I'll buy phyllo from - Shaharazad Bakery (here in
San Francisco).


--
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On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:02:46 -0500, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>Just make sure that
>everything else is ready to go, keep it covered with a moist towel, slap on
>the butter and work fast. The result are amazing.

You throw a wet towel directly on phyllo? I cover it with waxed paper
before I put the damp towel over it.

--
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sf wrote:
>
> Have you NEVER gotten a roll that didn't have a wet spot when thawed?
> I HATE that.


I have often gotten rolls with wet stuck together spots and dry crumble
to nothing spots. That's why I recommend getting the freshest phyllo as
possible. In Miami, there was a Greek import specialty shop that sold
its phyllo unfrozen, just take it from their refrigerator to mine. That
was some beautiful easy to work with phyllo. Since then, my luck hasn't
been as good.


I've seen the cover with damp towel idea in cookbooks but have never
liked it. Just having everything ready and working fast seems better
for making sure it doesn't dry out.


--Lia

sf wrote:
>
> On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:35:42 -0500, Dave Smith
> > wrote:
>
> >Last week at the grocery store I was given a sample of
> >a phyllo canapé.... phyllo cups with feta and fig. Rather than buy a
> >package I figured it was something I could make with some of the phyllo
> >taking up room in my freezer.
>
> You can get fresh figs this time of year?
>


Well there is a good question. We can so seldom get fresh dates here that I
really can't remember when they are available, but it is a good thing to
remember if I do see them.

sf wrote:
>
> On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:02:46 -0500, Dave Smith
> > wrote:
>
> >Just make sure that
> >everything else is ready to go, keep it covered with a moist towel, slap on
> >the butter and work fast. The result are amazing.
>
> You throw a wet towel directly on phyllo? I cover it with waxed paper
> before I put the damp towel over it.


Moist, not wet. If you put was paper of it the damp towel isn't going to do
much.