a day of cooking: the cookie exchange and the pot roast, or how to wash every dish in your house in one day!

Once the holidays get closer it seems that there is never enough time in the day, and always more things on the "to do" list than when it was started. This weekend was the same. I had planned for Sunday to be an all day cooking day to make the requisite number of cookies for the annual work cookie exchange. Being known for being a decent cook got me roped into making baklava, an all day endeavor, when some of my compatriots were making buckeyes, and other easier treats. I knew I'd need reinforcements to make so many cookies, and present them in a cute way. I think I have a little bit of Martha in me somewhere. Anyway, Santa's Little Helper had requested a pot roast some time back, so I thought Sunday would be the ideal day to combine a dinner that needs hours to cook, and a cookies that require a lot of love in them.





The Roast Beast:

I must admit, I'm leary of things that get cooked in the crock pot out of fear that they will be chewy or overprocessed. My last pot roast effort wasn't very noteworthy. Too many of the available recipes involve cans of cream of mushroom soup, which make both me and Santa's Little Helper want to retch. In the end, I didn't like any of the recipes I located, or I was missing too many ingredients to fuss with on a rainy cookie baking day. I combined several recipes myself, adding onions, carrots, potatoes, lots of fresh ground pepper, a bay leaf, 8 cloves of garlic, and a lot of beef stock. See http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/236745 for inspiration . To my suprise, my slow cooker turned out the best meal we've eaten since the Herb Roasted Turkey back in November. My pot roast might even rival Santa's Little Helper's mother. A good thing indeed!




Baklava, Baklava and More Baklava:

With a hearty breakfast in our bellies, a pot roast cooking in the crock pot, and a lengthy nap it was time to begin the daunting task of assembling the multiple baklavas. I had made this recipe numerous times, however it is not a recipe easily doubled (or tripled as the case may be). Copious amounts of nuts were ground, butter was melted and tons of honey was poured. The house smelled like the Panegyri Greek Festival held locally every June. The most personally daunting part is the cutting of the pan of baklava before it goes into the oven. I always have difficulty not pulling the knife through, as well as making equal sizes pieces. I guess I'm not cut out to work at http://www.bonbonerie.com/ just yet.








In the end, come 11 pm, all the baklava was made. Santa's Little Helper and I carefully put each piece into a little paper, which then went into a little red bag. I'll spare the details (and jokes) about a guy with big hands, his difficulty putting tiny cookies into tinier bags, and just how many "casualties" there were. Just before the stroke of 12, all cookies were bagged, all bags decorated, and all dishes washed. I think a surge of Berries and Cream Dr. Pepper provided the last bit of sugar needed to get that all done before I turned into a pumpkin at midnight.







Today's cookie exchange provided more cookies than I can eat, even with help from Santa's Little Helper. Other partecipants made rum balls, buckeyes, various takes on old favorites like chocolate chip and oatmeal as well as interesting creations with lemon, nuts and candy canes. Props to the judge for the best decorated cookies. Who knew he had an artistic side? :)

In the end, it all got done, and a good time was had by all, but this amateur chef has no desire to set foot into the kitchen until at least Thursday....

Oh, and I couldn't forget to include Effie's Baklava recipe straight from her Greek relatives. Its time consuming, but well worth it.

Baklava

1 package phyllo dough
1 lb honey
1 lb butter
½ cup water
2 packages crushed walnuts
½ cup sugar
½ cup powdered sugar
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
½ washed orange

Preheat oven to 375.
1) In one bowl mix powdered sugar and walnuts. You could also add almonds.
2) Melt butter but allow to cool a bit so it doesn’t burn phyllo.
3) Open the phyllo. Move fast so it doesn’t dry.
4) Butter the bottom of the pan with a brush. Place one sheet of phyllo down then brush the top of it with butter again. Repeat this until there are 8 sheets of phyllo with butter on the bottom.
5) Place ½ of nut mixture on the top sheet. Sprinkle with butter.
6) Put a layer of phyllo/butter (3 more sheets worth).
7) Put ½ nut mixture on top layer of phyllo. Sprinkle with butter.
8) Use the rest of the phyllo for the top crust layering as phyllo/butter as before.
9) Cut it with a very sharp knife before baking. You must cut before.
10) Bake 40-50 minutes @ 375 until golden brown.
11) Allow to cool.
12) Make the syrup.


Baklava Syrup

Combine honey, water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon stick and ½ orange with rind on in a sauce pan. Allow to cook for 20 minutes but be careful as this can boil over making your stove a sticky mess. Remove the orange, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Allow to cool slightly. Pour the syrup over the room temperature baklava. Eat!

You can use other stuff in the syrup. Only the honey, water, and sugar are mandatory.