Valentine's Day dessert

Some time ago, my husband asked me if I had ever made baklava. He mentioned that he really liked it and wouldn't mind if I made it sometime. It's funny to me that you can know someone for so long and find out that they like something that seems completely out of character. He's not a big fan of nuts (a main ingredient for baklava) and it's about as unhealthy a dessert as you can find.

For Valentine's Day, we had dinner at home. I tracked down a recipe for baklava from Emeril Lagasse. It was fairly simple by my standards (perhaps a little labor intensive) and I think it turned out fairly well. I may add some kind of liqueur for a different flavor in the future.

Baklava

For the Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup honey
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 (1-inch) strip lemon zest
2 pinches ground cloves
2 pinches ground cardamom

Filling and Dough:
1 pound walnuts, or a combination of walnuts, pistachios, and almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 pound phyllo, thawed according to package instructions

To make the syrup: Combine the sugar, honey, water, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, lemon zest, cloves, and cardamom in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the syrup is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon zest and set aside to cool.

To make the filling and dough: Using a sharp knife or food processor, finely chop the nuts. In a mixing bowl, combine the nuts, cinnamon, and salt and stir well to combine.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan.

Using a pastry brush, lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch or 10-by-15-inch baking dish with some of the melted butter.

Open the package of phyllo and lay the thin sheets on a clean work surface next to your baking dish; if the sheets measure approximately the same size, then proceed from here. If they are larger, use a sharp knife to cut the phyllo sheets approximately the same size as your baking dish. Discard any scraps. Cover the sheets with a piece of plastic wrap or a lightly damp kitchen towel; the sheets of phyllo dry out very quickly if left uncovered.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place one of the sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the buttered baking dish and lightly brush with some of the melted butter. Repeat this procedure with 6 more sheets of phyllo, for a total of 7 layers. Spread 3/4 cup of the nut mixture evenly over the buttered phyllo sheets. Repeat again with 7 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each layer as before, and top these sheets with another 3/4 cup of the nut mixture. Continue this layering process, buttering 7 sheets of phyllo and topping each 7 sheets with 3/4 cup of the nuts, until you have used all of the nut mixture. Layer any remaining sheets of phyllo on top, buttering between each layer, until all of the phyllo sheets have been used.

Use a sharp knife to make four lengthwise cuts through the layered phyllo at 1 1/2-inch increments. You should have 5 (1 1/2-inch) wide strips lengthwise. Then cut diagonally at 1 1/2-inch increments to form diamond shapes. You should end up with approximately 36 diamond-shaped pieces of baklava.

Bake the baklava until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, set aside on a wire rack to cool 5 minutes. Using a ladle or small measuring cup, drizzle the cooled syrup over the warm baklava. Allow to stand several hours before serving.

From Emeril Lagasse, Emeril Live

Quiche

I have never made a quiche. No particular reason. Just haven't ever made one. I decided it was time to make a quiche. I used this recipe from Kraft's Food and Family magazine. It's very easy and it was pretty tasty as well. I might suggest adding a bit of pepper and maybe even a few fresh herbs for extra flavor. In addition, a deep dish pie crust is best for this one. It makes more than will comfortably fit in a regular pie crust. I served this with a simple salad --- a quick, fairly healthy meal.

Weeknight Cheese Quiche

1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
1/3 cup Miracle Whip
1/3 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 frozen prepared pie shell (9 inch)
1/4 cup bacon bits

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add mushrooms and onion; cook 5 min. or until tender. Stir in spinach; mix well.

Mix dressing, milk and eggs until well blended. Add spinach mixture and cheese.

Pour into pie shell; sprinkle with bacon bits. Bake 50 min. or until set and golden.

More salmon for us!

As part of my weekly salmon endeavor, I tried a recipe from the Kansas City Star last week. This recipe for Mediterranean Fish Fillets could really be used with a variety of different fish fillets, but it worked very well with the salmon. I added a bit more red pepper than called for....probably shouldn't have done that. It was a bit spicy. But it was tasty nonetheless. I served it with green beans, which made for a pretty healthy meal overall. I reduced the green bean recipe by half (otherwise we would have been eating green beans for a month!) and it worked out perfectly.

Mediterranean Fish Fillets

1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped red pepper
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
¼ teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Dash salt
¼ cup white wine
6 salmon fillets (1/4 pound each)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in saucepan over medium high heat. Ad onion and red pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until tender. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and wine; simmer 5 to 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Arrange fish fillets in a single layer in pan. Top with tomato sauce. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Makes 6 servings.


Green Beans with Apple Cider

2 (16-ounce) bags whole frozen green beans
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow skinned onion, finely chopped
¾ cup apple cider
Salt and pepper

Put the beans in a large microwave safe bowl, loosely cover bowl with plastic food storage wrap and microwave on high 5 minutes. Uncover and stir the beans, then cover and microwave on high 4 to 7 minutes more, until desired doneness, from still-crisp to tender, but with a bite.

Heat a small skillet over medium low heat. Add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and the onions and cook until beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the cider, raise the heat to medium high and cook until liquid is reduced and syrupy, about 5 minutes.

Remove the beans from microwave. Season the beans with salt and pepper, to taste, and add to the pan with the onions and cider. Toss evenly to coat the beans and keep warm until ready to serve. Makes 8 servings.

From Rachael Ray, 30-Minute Meals

Rigatoni with Steak Sauce

We don't really eat a great deal beef at our house, but I've been feeling hungry for red meat lately. I saw this recipe on Everday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. I thought it seemed easy at the time, and I was right. It's a pretty simple recipe to prepare and it is delicious! It was a big hit at our house.


Rigatoni with Steak Sauce

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 12-ounce rib-eye steaks
Salt and pepper
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¾ dry red wine
1 26-ounce jar marinara sauce
1 cup beef broth
16 ounces dried rigatoni pasta
3 ounces Parmesan, shaved


Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in heavy large frying pan over high heat. Sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper. Cook the steaks until they are brown but still rare in the center, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the steaks to a plate and set aside to cool completely.

Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan. Saute the onions and carrots until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes, with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Add the garlic and oregano and sauté for 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer for 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and broth. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat to allow the flavors to blend, about 10 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, trim off any fat from the steaks, then cut the steaks into bite-size pieces and set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the rigatoni and boil until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 10 minutes, Drain the rigatoni.

Toss the rigatoni and reserved steak pieces and any accumulated juices from the steaks with the sauce to coat. Transfer the pasta to bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese shavings and serve.

From Giada De Laurentiis, Everday Italian