I like fresh cilantro...and yeah, that's on the list of Mexican herbs, I just forgot it when I typed it up. I don't measure anything, and it changes every time.

Thanks. Personally, I think this is one of the best things about not measuring. You get a variation each time.

Hey Chef,
How are you at working with Phyllo Dough?

Oh - if you have a Phyllo Dough recipe, throw it out there. I love the stuff...and with the amount of Greeks in Charlotte, I can find the GOOD stuff!!

However, thanks to my Bohemian great-grandmother, Baklava to me will always be Czech, with orangeblossom, not honey.

mmmmm... Panini Day. I like the sound of that. :D

Dang this thread makes me hungry!!!

Let me decipher my favorite recipe. It's sort of in "code". Can you get the Number 2 Phyllo? That works the best. It's a little bit thicker that what you can buy in the grocery and some Eastern European stores carry it fresh.

I've never looked, but I'm pretty sure I can.

Banitsa

This is a popular dish from Bulgaria and can be eaten on its own or as part of a main meal. I have been eating leftovers for breakfast since I was a kid. It’s also known as Zelnik (or Pita) in Macedonia and is very similar to Spinakopita.

I use the thicker Phyllo, called Number Two (from what I have been told, there are 5 different thicknesses). Handling Phyllo is an art and a science. You must keep it moist, but not wet, while you are working with it. I cover it with a damp kitchen towel at all times. My advise…Work Fast!

For the Feta, I use French, which is a bit creamier. If I can’t get that, I get Bulgarian. Greek Feta is ok. There are many that are just awful. If you go to a Mediterranean shop, you can taste the different types of Feta.

Filling:
30 oz of Frozen Spinach. Cook down a little bit to remove the liquid
30 oz. Ricotta Cheese
4 Eggs
½ c to 1 c Feta, cubed
Salt to Taste
Mix Ingredients together

Melt one stick of butter. Use this to brush each sheet of dough after placing it into the pan

Grease a cookie sheet pan.

Place 4 sheets of dough on the sheet pan, brushing each with butter after laying it down.
Spread ¼ of the filling over the top sheet

Place 3 additional sheets of dough, brushing each with butter
Spread ¼ of the filling over the top sheet

Repeat the last step, then repeat it again

Top with 3 or 4 more sheets, brushing each layer with butter
Roll each edge inward. Brush it liberally with butter

Bake for 10 minutes at 375, then for 35 minutes at 350.

Note: Recipe can be cut in half by folding over each sheet of phyllo

You can experiment with different types of fillings. I sauté leek to add to the filling, in lieu of spinach. For desserts, I do Apple or Winter Squash (with sugar and cinnamon), or Cherry with sugar. With cherry, since it is so juicy, I sprinkle a little Cream of Wheat to absorb some of the liquid.

First, Benzgirl. I am not real good at working with phyllo dough. The one really good thing I have made with it is a chocolate banana spring roll. You just take a section of banana, quartered, about 3 inches long and roll it with a few chocolate chips in a strip of phyllo dough, tucking in the ends as you roll, just like with a spring roll. you brush them with butter and bake. Ummmm. Delicious!

Second, to my friend at UNC: I have heard of your make your own pizza bar and I intend to shamelessly copy it at some point. I have had requests for a whole wheat pizza and have found a really good crust to make pizza on that is whole wheat. My standards in pizza making are pepperoni, fresh veggie, and plain cheese. I also do variations on pizza for a change: stromboli, french bread pizza.

I have started doing an ocassional Friday Fry Day but I call it the Bar food Buffet. In fact that;s what we are serving for lunch tomorrow.

Tonight we had our chapter Thanksgiving Dinner. We did it buffet this year so as to accomodate more folks and more variety of food. The menu included fresh cut citrus, roast turkey with gravy, red skin mashed potatoes, green beans, jellied cranberry sauce and a fresh cranberry orange relish, two dressings (one with cornbread and sausage, one with bread and apples with veggie stock), baked sweet potatoes with pecan brown sugar topping, squash casserole, cheesy broccoli, yeast rolls, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and coconut cake. While dinner was being devoured, Rick James blared on the stereo (not my idea, but fun none the less). It was a blast, but made for a long, long day.

To all: Your ideas keep inspiring me. Keep them coming.

Also, you should see my panini maker. Its 4 foil covered bricks and a half sheet pan. I can fix 3 whole italian loaves stuffed with all kinds of fillings (ham, mozz, 1000 isalnd; turkey, havarti, sliced apples: cheddar, bacon, tomato) at a time. the girls at the house will easily go through 24 to 30 full size loaves in a lunch.

Chef, do you use oil or butter?

If oil is it Olive Oil?

I hope you have tried my gooey bun fixins!

Tom, I don't use butter frequently in cooking because of the expense. I still use margarine occasionally in some items, but mostly for general cooking I use extra virgin olive oil or a pressed olive oil blend. I fry in canola when I fry. For frying I prefer peanut oil, but, while I don't have any peanut allergies currently, I don't want to get into the habit and risk a guest or other unsuspecting diner being affected.

I do use whipped butter as a spread on the table and use real butter when doing most baking.

Because of the girls general adversion to fat, I have had to adjust my cooking style to limit or remove a lot of fats. There is a type of pea that I'm partial to called a "butter pea". It's like a fat, small butter bean or lima. But that's the name of the variety of pea. One night when I had it on the menu, I had a girl come up and ask how much butter was in the peas. I showed her the pot. There was maybe a quarter teaspoon of some fat or oil floating on the surface of the stock, probably from the vegetable base I used for flavoring. She seemed satisfied and had some. It was a while before I realized that she did not understand that "butter pea" was the name and not the preparation.

What I haven't been able to get across to the girls is that if I were to add say a quarter cup of butter or margarine to a pot of vegetables that would serve over 100 meals that they would be getting less than 1/8 teaspoon of fat IF all the fat came out of the pot with the vegetables. It is simply the idea of fat that queasies them up.

However, after a night of partying, they will look for the fattiest fried foods in the belief that it will sit well on their hungover stomachs. So I will have made a point of trying to be a fat conscious as possible only to have girls head out to Wendy's for Fries and Frosties after a party night.

TOm,
besides you, who in the hell will eat your gooey buns with Cheese Whiz?

Oh wow! I used the peanut butter bar recipe and brought them to work. They were inhaled and only one little piece remained by the time it was my lunch. So yummy!

Benzgirl, I served the Banitsa for lunch today along side chicken souvlaki, tzatziki sauce and pita. It was very popular and very appreciated by our vegetarians. It was actually simple to prepare other than the fiddly nature of the phyllo dough. So thanks for the idea. I've now added some greek to my menu (although I know its not truly greek, but close).

So that make two great ideas from this thread. I still haven't tried the Gooey Buns (sorry Tom), but they may show up soon.

Thanks for the ideas.

Leftovers are great for breakfast. Once you get the hang of Phyllo, it's not that hard and the filling is very easy.
The girls must love you. I would love to know what you will be serving just prior to Christmas.