Baklava (Turkish)

This is also a dessert. It is from Turkey. Some people know this wrong as it is a Greek dessert. Anyways, they are neighbors and sometimes countries share food even if they are not that friendly to each other. This dessert is normally very hard to cook but this recipe is simplified for your kitchen. Enjoy it.


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.

5. 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.

Chocolate Cola Cake

The title and the picture tells everything for itself! :)

Ingredients

oil, for greasing

250 g self-raising flour

generous pinch of bicarbonate of soda

3 heaped tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

300 g golden caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

250 g butter

200 ml cola

75 ml milk

For the frosting:
200 g icing sugar
100 g butter
2 tbsp cola
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
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Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Grease a 24cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
2. Sift the flour into a bowl. Mix in the bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and sugar.
3. Stir in the eggs and vanilla extract.
4. Put the butter in a saucepan and melt over gentle heat.
5. Add the cola to the butter and stir to mix, making sure mixture does not boil. Stir in the milk and remove from the heat.
6. Quickly whisk the cola mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix gently but thoroughly.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Leave to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, make the frosting. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Put the butter in a saucepan and melt over gentle heat. Stir in the cola and cocoa powder. Bring the mixture to the boil, then pour it over the icing sugar. Beat until smooth.
10. With the cake still in the tin, pour the frosting over it and leave in the tin until completely cool.

Barbecued Chicken Tacos with Lime Mayonnaise (Mexican)

This recipe is from Mexican cuisine. As you can see from the picture it is colorful as other Mexican food. It doesn't take long time to do. But it is delicious. 20 minutes for preparation. 15 minutes for cooking and 10 minutes to serve. Here is how to do it:


Ingredients
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 avocado, peeled, stone removed and diced
1 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp cayenne pepper mixed together
1 tbsp oil
4 chicken breasts
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 lime, juice and finely grated zest
1 heads lettuce, shredded

To serve
crisp fried corn tortillas, or taco shells
coriander, finely chopped

Directions
1. Preheat a grill/griddle or barbecue.

2. Mix the tomatoes, red onion and avocado.

3. In a large bowl combine the mixed spice and herb mixture with the oil until well blended.

4. Add the chicken to the spice and herb mixture and turn in the mixture to coat well.

5. Cook the chicken breasts on a medium heat for 12-15 minutes, turning a couple of times.

6. When the chicken is fully cooked through, place on a chopping board and slice.

7. To make the lime mayonnaise, mix together the mayonnaise, lime juice and zest.

8. To serve; fill the tortilla shells or tacos with the sliced chicken, avocado salad and lettuce. Drizzle with the lime mayonnaise and sprinkle with coriander.

Owen's Mozzarella And Tomato Salad

I will start with an easy one. This simple salad is more than it seems to be. It is from Italian Kitchen. It takes about 10 min to do it. But requires about 30 min of cooling. Here how:

Ingredients

• 4 large tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• ground black pepper to taste
• 10 ounces mozzarella cheese, thickly sliced
• 8 leaves fresh basil, torn into strips

Directions

1. Chop tomatoes in half, then slice finely; arrange on four plates. Trickle a tablespoon of olive oil over each serving, and sprinkle with black pepper. Lay slices of cheese over tomatoes, and strips of basil over cheese. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

First Post

Hi. I am a mom of 2 children and I live in Turkey. I love cooking and spend time in my kitchen. I used to follow some forums about different foods around world and I thought it will be good to start my own page for people. I will share easy and delicious recipes around the world. Hope you enjoy it.