Baklava

Ingredients
• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 pound chopped nuts
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Homemade Greek Gyro's

Tzatziki Sauce:
16 ounces plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
Pinch kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced
Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Meat Mixture:
• 1 lb. ground lamb (chicken/beef)
• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. rosemary
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Pita Bread:
Ingredients
• 1 envelope dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 cups white all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Combine the yeast and sugar in a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of the warm water and let it stand for 10 minutes to proof and ferment it.

Dissolve the salt in the remaining warm water.

Put the flour in a large mixing bowl, making a well in the middle and put the dissolved yeast and salt water into it.

Knead the dough in the bowl with your fists for 10-15 minutes or until it is smooth.

Pour the oil over the dough and knead it again until the oil is absorbed.

Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel and set it in a draft free area to rise to double it's bulk (1-2 hours), then punch it down and knead it again for a few minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Cut pieces of dough, egg size or larger, depending on the size of the pita desired, shape them into balls with your hands and roll them out over a lightly floured board or pastry cloth to 1/4 inch thickness.

Brush pitas with a little butter and bake in frying pan till golden brown

Wrap the baked pitas in a clean towel until they are cool, then store them in plastic bags to prevent them from drying out.

When you are ready to use them, heat a bit of oil in a shallow skillet and fry them a minute or so on each side, or until golden brown.

Use them immediately, because they get hard when they dry out.

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Pudding Cake

Heat oven to 350...

Combine...
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
3/4 cup White Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1 cup Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder

Stir in...
1/3 Cup butter (melted)
1/2 cup Milk
1.5 tsp Vanilla

Pour Batter into UNGREASED 9" square baking pan.

Stir together...
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup Brown Sugar

and sprinkle evenly over batter.

Pour 1 1/4 Cups hot water over the top. DO NOT STIR!
Bake 35-40 Minutes (or until center is almost set)
Remove, and let stand 15 minutes before eating.

Crepes

4 Eggs
2 Cups Flour
2 tsp Salt
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons melted butter or oil
2.5 Cups Milk

Just throw all of that in a blender and blend until bubbly and then just pour about 1/4 cup onto a hot skillet and roll it around on the pan to make it thin, flip it, and cook for a couple more seconds, you're done!
Top with Peanut Butter (crunchy of course;) Nutella, fresh fruit, jam, yogurt, powdered sugar, or whatever. You could also do sandwich meat, lettuce, ranch, sour cream, etc. The skies the limit.

Variations: Add pumpkin pie filling for pumpkin crepes, or cocoa powder and a little extra sugar for chocolate ones. And for the health conscious, you can use whole wheat flour and switch out the butter for applesauce, you get a slightly thicker, chewier crepe, and I actually almost like them better that way.

Note: The above recipe is doubled, but one batch is never enough!

Julia Child's Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence

Ingredients:

Chicken:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 3- to 3 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, rinsed, patted dry
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme or savory
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground in spice mill or with mortar and pestle
• 3 unpeeled garlic cloves
• 2/3 cup dry white wine or 1/2 cup dry white vermouth

Sauce:

• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon dry white wine or dry white vermouth
• 2 to 3 tablespoons butter, cut into 1-inch cubes (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, fresh fennel fronds, or fresh parsley (optional)

Preparation

For chicken:
Melt butter in large wide pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, if necessary, add chicken pieces and cook only until golden, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken breast pieces to plate. Sprinkle remaining chicken pieces in pot with half each of thyme, basil, and fennel seeds, then salt and pepper. Add garlic to pot. Cover pot; reduce heat to medium and cook 8 to 9 minutes. Sprinkle chicken breasts with remaining thyme, basil, and fennel seeds, then salt and pepper. Return breast pieces to pot; baste chicken with butter in pot. Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through, turning and basting occasionally, about 15 minutes. Transfer to hot platter; cover.

Remove peel from garlic cloves; mash garlic with spoon or fork in same pot. Add 2/3 cup wine to juices in pot; boil until liquid is reduced to 3/4 cup, occasionally scraping bottom of pan, about 8 minutes. Pour reduced pan juices into measuring cup and reserve for sauce.

For sauce:
Off heat, whisk egg yolks in heavy small saucepan until beginning to thicken. Whisk in lemon juice and 1 tablespoon wine. Gradually whisk reserved pan juices into eggs, 1 teaspoon at a time. Set sauce over very low heat and whisk constantly until warm and slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. If desired, whisk in butter, 1 piece at a time. Remove from heat. Stir in herbs, if desired. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.

Alton Brown's French Onion Soup

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 5 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions (about 4 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups white wine (don't use white grape juice!)
  
• 10 ounces canned beef consume
• 10 ounces chicken broth
• 10 ounces apple cider (unfiltered is best)
• Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
• 1 loaf country style bread
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper
• 1 cup Fontina or Gruyere cheese, grated (I used Swiss)
  

Directions

Trim the ends off each onion then halve lengthwise. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.

Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.

Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute.

Season soup mixture with salt and pepper. Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Mike's Unbeatable Creme Brulee

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 egg yolks
• 4 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Place about 2 tablespoons of the chocolate chips into each of four 6 ounce ramekins. Place them in the microwave, and heat on full power for 30 second intervals. Stir, and continue heating until chocolate has melted. Spread to cover the sides and bottom of each ramekin.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
4. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, whisk together the cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt. Set over medium heat, and warm until steam rises from the surface. Then in a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and vanilla. When the cream is hot, ladle a little bit into the egg yolks while whisking quickly. Ladle in a bit more to bring the yolks up to a high temperature without scrambling them. Whisk the yolk mixture into the rest of the cream. Ladle into the chocolate lined ramekins.
5. Place a towel in the bottom of a baking dish, and place the filled ramekins on top of the towel. Place in the oven, and pour boiling water carefully into the baking dish until it comes half way up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.
6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, just until the custard is set. Remove ramekins from the dish, and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.
7. Before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the top of each creme brulee. Use a kitchen torch or your oven's broiler to caramelize the sugar. It may take 2 to 3 minutes in the broiler. Serve immediately.

Pudding on the Rice, YUM!

Pudding on the Rice (Chocolate and Raspberry):

8 C Milk (½ Gallon) (Use Whole milk it's better!)
4 C Cooked rice
4 C sugar
2 tsp salt

2 eggs
4 C Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C Semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a medium size bowl crack the 2 eggs and let sit to warm up to room temperature.
In a large pan add the first 4 ingredients. Cook on medium heat and slowly stir for 45-60 minute until thickened then remove from heat.

Now take the bowl of eggs and whisk. Add 1 Tablespoon of the pudding from the large bowl to the eggs and mix. Continue to add tablespoons of the pudding to the eggs, one at a time, until you have equal parts pudding and egg mixed together. Then return the egg/pudding mixture to the large pudding bowl. Return the pudding to medium heat stirring until boiling. Take off the heat and cover with saran wrap. Refrigerate 6-24 hours.

After refridgeratin time:
Mix the 4 C whipping cream with 2 tsp vanilla. Fold the whipped cream into the pudding.
Now divide the pudding into 2 bowls. (One will be chocolate and one will be raspberry)
Raspberry Pudding: In one bowl mix in a bag of frozen raspberries with the pudding.
Chocolate Pudding: Take a separate bowl and melt 1 C chocolate chips then mix into the pudding.