Baklava

On one of his recent trips to Europe, Wayne had Baklava and decided it was delicious and thought we should have some at home. I found a recipe, but it's really more of a process. So, here's what we did:

Prepare a syrup by bringing 1 1/4 cups water and 1 1/4 cups sugar to a boil. Then add 1/2 cup honey and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla and let it cool.Melt some butter (about 3/4-1 cup). Lightly grease a 9x13" pan. Take one package (16 oz.) of phyllo dough and start layering the sheets in the pan, brushing each of them with butter.

Every 6-8 sheets, sprinkle with finely chopped nuts, cinnamon and sugar. (I chopped about 2 1/2 -3 cups of nuts with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon.)

When all the dough is used, carefully score the pastry (don't cut all the way to the bottom of the pan, but almost) and bake at 325° for 45 minutes. Take it out of the oven and pour the syrup over it all. Let cool and finish cutting all the way. Leave uncovered or it will get soggy.

Today we had it just like this. However, I was informed that the restaurant served it á la mode topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon. I guess I'll go shopping for ice cream before serving the leftovers!

I went shopping! It was delicious before, but this was even better!!