Baklava ...inspired by My Big Fat Greek Wedding {Food 'n Flix}

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one of those fun flicks I like to sit down with every couple of years.  It has a forbidden love story line.  It makes me laugh.  It has a relatable lead actress.  Plenty of eye candy (hellooooo John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, and Joey Fatone!).  And if you actually stop to think about it...lots of awesome food references, scenes, and moments.  So, when my friend Deb from Kahakai Kitchen chose it as our Food 'n Flix film this month (she's hosting at her place)...I was psyched!

The only hard part?  Actually narrowing down what I wanted to head into the kitchen to make.  I almost went with the Greek family-owned restaurant idea and made a version of the Greek Breakfast Skillet I order EVERY SINGLE TIME we go to a local Greek family-owned restaurant.  Or perhaps I'd just go order and photograph the environment.

And then I thought maybe I'd put a lamb on a spit in the front yard.  Or perhaps serve flaky, rich Spanikopita.  With an Ouzo chaser, of course.  Maybe something vegetarian for Ian.  Or perhaps a bundt cake circling a flower pot.  Hmmm...the possibilities!  In the end, I decided to go with something that I haven't had or made in years.  Really.  Years!  And it's inspired by one of my absolute favorite, most hilarious scenes of the film.

Let me set the scene.  Toula wakes up on her wedding morning to hear the clang and clatter of a gaggle of her female family members getting ready for the day in the kitchen.  She calmly smiles and makes her way downstairs.  She walks into the kitchen oblivious to the screaming red welt under her lip.  Chaos ensues with her running back up the stairs with a train of clammoring cousins on her tail.  So.  Mosquito bite or zit?  Windex or cover-up?  And in the midst of the madness...girls in mustache bleach, curlers, and bathrobes searching for concealer...you hear:  "Hello ladies...fresh Baklava!" from the doorway to Toula's room.  As they all turn around to look, Nicky (Toula's brother) is standing there snapping a Polaroid.  I know I didn't do it justice.  But it's a great scene.

If you pay close attention, you'll even notice Toula holding a sweet, flaky diamond of Baklava in her hand while she starts getting ready a few moments later.  So, what can I say other than what I say everytime I see a golden pan of this goodness?

Baklava

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

Keywords: bake boil dessert vegetarian nuts sugar bars Greek

6018520

Ingredients (~30 pieces)

syrup

• 2 c. sugar
• 2 Tbs. honey
• juice of ½ lemon
• strip of lemon peel
• 2-3 small cinnamon sticks

all the rest

• 2 c. nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios - mix of a couple or all)
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 22 sheets phyllo pastry
• 6 oz. butter, melted until slightly golden and nutty-smelling
• palmful of whole cloves, optional

Instructions

syrup

Put all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat to a simmer for 5 or 6 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

making the baklava

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Finely chop and crush the nuts, leaving some with good texture. Mix them with the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Have your phyllo sheets ready, covered by a damp dish cloth or paper towel to keep them from drying out. Brush a baking dish (~8½ x 12") with some butter.

Lay one sheet of phyllo dough over the bottom and brush with butter. If it doesn't fit exactly, you can either trim your sheets or just allow them to curl up at the edges like I do. cover with another sheet of phyllo and brush wtih butter. Continue like this until you have a stack of 10 sheets brushed wtih butter.

Spread half the nut mixture over the phyllo and pat down. Cover with 2 sheets of phyllo, buttering each. Scatter the remaining nuts evenly over these sheets and press down again.

Continue with remaining ten sheets of phyllo, buttering each in the same manner, including the top sheet.

Use a small sharp knife to cut diamonds on the diagonal of ~2½" x2½". Cut all the way through the layers, as this will make it simpler to lift out the pieces when serving. Flick a little cold water over the top to prevent the layers from curling up. Stud the center of each diamond with a clove, if using.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until just golden on top. Slowly pour half of the syrup all over the baklava. Once it is all absorbed, pour the remaining syrup on also. Let cool totally before serving.

Will keep, covered and either at room temperature or in the fridge for at least a week.

slightly adapted from Food From Many Greek Kitchens

Powered by Recipage

This is my Food 'n Flix post for My Big Fat Greek Wedding hosted by Deb @ Kahakai Kitchen.

I am also sharing this post with:
IHCC theme: Fight Scurvy - Eat Citrus!

Soutzoukakia {Cumin Meatballs in Tomato}

I think there is something so humble about the meatball.  Sure, you can dress it up, but it still comes across as unassuming.  You can find the meatball perched atop a big mound of pasta, swimming in a brothy bowl of soup, or snuggled inside a crusty bun.  There are teeny tiny meatballs and there are meatballs the size of a softball.  From the usual suspects made from beef or pork or veal to their paler cousins made from chicken and turkey to the buoyant balls of shrimp or fish, the meatball instills comfort in many forms.  

These particular balls resemble a football (not in size, but in form).  They emanate the earthy, primal scent of cumin and they are bathed in deep, red tomatoes.  Yet they are soft, moist, and almost delicate.  Whether eaten on a bed of chewy, nutty brown rice right away or gently reheated and tucked inside some thick, comforting bread to make a sandwich later, they are a comfort and a delight to the taste buds.  It's always the quiet ones that surprise you.  The  humble meatball.

Soutzoukakia

Cumin Meatballs in Tomato 

adapted slightly from Food from Many Greek Kitchens

serves 4-6

3½ oz. (~3 slices) crustless bread, torn up

¾ c. milk

13 oz. ground beef

12 oz. ground pork

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 Tbs. Italian parsley, chopped

3 garlic cloves (2 minced, 1 whole)

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

7 Tbs. olive oil, divided

2 (14 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes (or use whole and crush in your hands)

½ c. red wine

Place bread in a small bowl, cover with milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes to soak and soften.  In another bowl put ground meats, egg, cumin, parsley, and minced garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Squeeze excess milk out of bread and add it to the beef.  Mix everything very well using your hands.  Form into elongated meatballs, ~1¾ oz. each.  Line them up on a tray.

Heat 3 Tbs. of the oil in a nonstick pot, add the whole clove of garlic, and when it begins to smell good, add the tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper, put the lid on and simmer for 10 minutes or so, pressing on any big chunks as well as you can.  

Heat remaining oil in a large nonstick skillet with a lid.  Add the soutzoukakia (the skillet should be big enough that they all just fit).  Cook until golden all over, gently turning with tongs or a thin spatula.  When they look gently browned, add the wine and cook until it reduces, 5-6 minutes.  Scrape the tomato sauce over the meatballs and bring to a gentle boil.  

Put on the lid, lower the heat and simmer for ~20 minutes.  Move the skillet around a few times to make sure nothing is sticking.  In the end, there should still be a good amount of sauce for spooning over the meatballs.

Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or french fries.

Our theme at IHCC this week is Peasant Food.

I am also sharing this post with:

cookbook review: Food From Many Greek Kitchens by Tessa Kiros

Food From Many Greek Kitchens

Author: Tessa Kiros

Publisher: Andrews McMeel

Hard Cover: 333 Pages

Photos: Yes- gorgeous ones!

Chapters/Sections: Glossary, Traditional Foods, Fasting Foods, Easter Foods, Shared Foods, Baker's Foods, Soups, Ladera + Salads, Ready-Cooked Foods, There + Then Foods, Sweet Foods, Index

My Favorite Feature:  Fantastic, magical, mesmerizing photos.  This book is meant for being paged through at leisure.  Drinking in the colors and the people and devouring the food and the architecture with your eyes.

(a few of the) Recipes Destined for my Kitchen: Hortopita (Wild Greens Pie), Hilopites (Homemade Noodles), Tsoureki (Braided Easter Bread), Saganaki (Fried Cheese- with or w/out Honey & Sesame), Melomarkarona (Honey Cakes), Loukoumi (Rose Delight), Pastelli (Sesame and Pistachio Snack), Melopita (Honey Cake)

My Thoughts/Review:  This is the kind of book that I can gaze at with dreamy eyes for hours.  I want it displayed on my coffee table for guests to enjoy.  With an introduction to familiarize you with Greek letters/symbols and their pronunciations and meanings and a glossary of common Greek ingredients/food words, you'll be itching to turn the pages and feel your salivary glands begin to tingle.  There is not one single thing that I do not love about this book.  Grecian scenes, landscapes, people, and tablescapes.  Recipes and photographs that transport you to another land. Unless, of course, you live in Greece.  And if that's the case, color me jealous. 

stunning images from Food From Many Greek Kitchens by Tessa Kiros

*I received a free copy of this book to review from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions stated in this post are 100% mine.
I am sharing this post with: