Turns out attempting to study three majors leads to a heavy workload. I've been crazy busy. Good news? I'm not going to be pre-med anymore, so I'll have more time after this semester. Bad news? No idea what I'm doing with my life!
WHOO!
Let's get cooking.
I have some stuff that I've been meaning to blog for awhile, so more posts are coming behind this one. Today, I'm going to share something beautiful and delicious and also that tells you exactly how the whole 'diet' thing has been going.
Baklava
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| Oh yeah. |
*Note-- one of my male friends actually referred to me as 'phat' a few days ago. I keep it hella classy.
Ingredients
I was recently in a production of "The Burial at Thebes," which is an adaptation of Antigone. For those of you who haven't been subjected to classical Greek literature (lucky you!), Antigone is a tragedy written by Sophocles. After every show, our director has a super nice cast party at his house. The food always follows a theme related to the play, so I made this to bring for dessert.
I'm so grown up. Ugh. Love it.
For those of you who are afraid of baklava, this is my lazy ass telling you it is easy, and it is worth it.
First, make the syrup.
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| GAH GROSS |
Boil your sugar and water. When the sugar is melted, put in the honey and vanilla. I had some local honey from a farmers market, and it gave it a really dark molasses kind of flavor. So good. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stick it in the fridge.
*Another note-- the recipe says to make the syrup while the baklava is cooking. Don't, especially if it's your first time. It was a little tricky, and I don't think I would have been able to handle both things going at once. Also, putting it in the fridge means it will be cool later, which makes the baklava crispier. At least, according to a commenter. No clue if that's true. Did you miss me?
By the way, I made half of everything in this recipe except the syrup. A lot of commenters said make at least 1.5 times the amount of syrup called for, and I agree. I didn't use all of mine, but half of it wouldn't have been enough.
OH GEEZ I ALMOST FORGOT PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 350ยบ DO IT NOW.
Meanwhile, defrost your phyllo. Phyllo is a little tricky. You're supposed to keep it covered with a damp cloth the whole time you are working with it, or it can flake and fall apart a lot. Or, you can assume you are a speedy enough baklava maker that this rule does not apply to you, especially if you have no paper towels or clean cloths. Whatever. It was delicious anyway.
Mix your cinnamon and nuts and set them aside. Melt all that butter. ALL that butter.
Put a layer of phyllo in your pan and brush it with butter. I don't have a food brush, so I went to the dollar store and bought a little paint brush. Don't worry, I washed it! It worked really well.
Keep layering phyllo and butter until you have about 8 layers. Then brush the phyllo with butter and add a thin layer of nuts. Add two more layers of phyllo/butter then another layer of nuts. Repeat like this until you get near the top of your pan or run out of nuts, then go back to just phyllo and butter for the last 8ish layers.
If your phyllo kept falling apart and being dumb like mine, just save a few good sheets for the top. Nobody will notice. It should end up like this--
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| That also looks kind of gross. Don't worry. |
Note that you cut the baklava before cooking it. I don't know what happens if you don't, but I assume it would end in tears.
The recipe said to bake it for 50 minutes. I made half as much, and it was ready after about 30-35 minutes, so keep an eye on it. It will be nice and golden and puffed up.
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| Yum! |
IMMEDIATELY get your syrup and pour it over the whole business. I don't know how this works, but it magically makes the baklava all crunchy and beautiful. Let it cool in the pan so that the syrup gets all soaked in, then remove it and put it in cupcake wrappers.
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| It. Is. So. Good. |
*Yet another note-- Do not cover it while it's sitting out, because it will get soggy. I had to cover mine for a little while to protect it from the less-than-classy cast party we had at our apartment the night before, but it definitely lost a little crunch.
I didn't make a ton of it, but I did let myself have a piece the night I made it. I ate it out of the pan, alone. Again, I don't know what I'm doing with my life.
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| Makin' baklava and not rotatin' pictures, that's what! |
Whatevs. It tasted mad good. Do it up, my Little Blankies.
Want to see something I've been working on while I haven't been blogging? Watch this music video I made in video production class. Proud'a me!
On a final note, I was visiting family last weekends and saw some of my little cousins I hadn't seen in at least four years (probably. I have no perception of time.) I was about to get all sad because I am old and they probably wouldn't remember me when one of them said, "Hey! You're the one from the computer!"
Blanket Blog: Maintaining family bonds since 2010. Hi Nick and Noah!
More updates soon! I promise.
