Orange Pistachio Phyllo Diamonds Food

CARAMEL PECAN DIAMONDS

Steps:

• For the dough, combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well to mix. Cut the butter into 8 to 10 pieces and add to the dry ingredients. Rub the butter in finely; be careful that the mixture remains cool and powdery. Beat the eggs lightly and stir them into the dough with a fork. Continue stirring until the dough masses together. Remove the dough to a floured surface and knead lightly, until the dough is smooth. Form the dough into a rectangle about 1-inch thick and wrap in plastic. Chill the dough until it is firm, about 1 hour.
• Butter a 10 x 15-inch jelly roll pan. Roll the dough to a rectangle about 12 x 17 inches. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin, then unroll it into the pan. Press the dough well into the bottom and sides of the pan and fold the excess dough into the pan. Make a high fluted edge around the edge of the pan. Chill the dough-lined pan while preparing the filling.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the corn syrup and sugar in a saucepan and mix well. Place on medium heat and stir occasionally, until the syrup comes to a boil. At the boil, add the butter and cream and return to a boil. Simmer the mixture for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and rum.
• Place the chopped pecans in a heatproof mixing bowl. Pour the cooked syrup over the pecans and stir well to mix. Pour the filling on the dough in the pan and spread it evenly with a metal spatula.
• Bake the pastry on the lowest rack of the oven for about 30 minutes. Turn the pan occasionally to make sure that the dough and the filling bake evenly. Remove the pan from the oven and cool it on a rack to room temperature. Wrap the pan in plastic wrap and chill overnight.
• To unmold the pastry, run a small, sharp knife between the crust and the sides of the pan. Place the pan on low heat for a few seconds to loosen the pastry. Place a cookie sheet on the top and invert. Remove the pan in which the pastry baked and replace it with a cutting board. Invert, remove the cookie sheet and trim away the edges of the pastry.
• Cut the pastry into 1 1/2- inch diamonds.

PISTACHIO ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 11-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat the butter and sugar until combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and orange zest and beat until combined. Beat in the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the pistachios and beat just until evenly distributed.
• Tip the dough into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle the top of the dough with sanding sugar and bake on a rimmed baking sheet until the shortbread is golden brown and set, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet holding the tart pan to a rack to cool for a few minutes. While the dough is still warm, remove the pan edges and cut the cookie into wedges. Let cool completely.
• Carefully separate the wedges and set them on a work surface. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Let stand at room temperature until the chocolate has set, about 1 hour.

SAUSAGE PHYLLO ROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and keep nearby.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat, until the mushroom mixture is very tender, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the turkey, cream cheese, and Cheddar until well blended.
• Place 1 sheet of phyllo with the short side facing you on a work surface. (Cover remaining phyllo with plastic wrap to keep from drying out.) Spray the phyllo sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Then fold it in half lengthwise and spray again. Place 1 heaping tablespoon filling in the center of the bottom end of the phyllo. Fold in the sides, then roll up from the bottom to completely enclose the filling (it should look like an egg roll). Place the roll, seam-side down, on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets, nonstick cooking spray, and filling to make a total of 16 rolls.
• Spray the rolls generously with nonstick cooking spray and bake until the rolls until lightly golden, about 20 minutes.
• Food Network Kitchens created this lightened-up recipe from a user submission. Click here to see the original recipe.

APRICOT AND PISTACHIO BAKLAVA WITH ORANGE CARDAMOM SYRUP

Steps:

• Thaw the phyllo overnight in the refrigerator. Then put the phyllo box on the counter to come to room temperature, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
• Make the filling: Put the pistachios, apricots, and sugar in a food processor. Process until the nuts and apricots are finely chopped (the largest should be the size of small dried lentils), 30 to 45 seconds. Set aside.
• Assemble the baklava: Unfold one pack of the phyllo sheets and stack them so that they lie flat on your work surface. Cover the top with plastic wrap, letting some excess plastic fall over all four edges. Dampen and wring out a kitchen towel and drape it on top of the plastic wrap; this will hold the plastic in place and prevent the phyllo from drying out.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Brush the bottom of a 9x13-inch metal pan (preferably with straight sides and a light-color interior to prevent overbrowning on the edges) with some of the butter. Remove a sheet of phyllo from the stack, re-cover the rest (be sure to cover the remaining sheets each time you remove a new one), and put the sheet in the bottom of the pan. Brush the sheet with some of the melted butter but don't soak the phyllo (remember, you'll have about 40 layers of buttered phyllo by the time you're done). Repeat until you have layered and buttered about half the sheets from the first pack-about 10 sheets in all. If your pan has slightly angled sides, arrange the sheets so the excess falls on the same side of the pan and cut the extra off every few layers with a paring knife. Sprinkle about one-third of the filling evenly over the phyllo.
• Repeat layering and buttering the remaining sheets from the first pack and sprinkle on another third of the filling. Open, unfold, and cover the second pack of phyllo. Layer and butter it as described above, sprinkling the remaining filling after layering about half the phyllo, and ending with a final layer of phyllo (you may not need all of the butter). Cover loosely and put the pan of baklava in the freezer for 30 minutes (this makes it much easier to cut the pastry).
• Bake the baklava: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.
• Before baking, use a thin, sharp knife, preferably serrated,and a gentle sawing motion to cut the baklava on the diagonal at 1-1/2-inch intervals in a diamond pattern. Try not to compress the pastry by pressing down on it with one hand while cutting with the other. Not only are you cutting serving portions, you are also cutting pathways for the flavored syrup to permeate the pastry, so be sure to cut the pastry all the way to the bottom of the pan. If you have an electric carving knife, pull it out and use it now. Bake the baklava until golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely. Run a knife along the cut lines to help the syrup absorb evenly.
• Make the syrup: Simmer the sugar and orange juice in a small pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cardamom. Pour the syrup evenly over the entire surface of the baklava, allowing it to run down into the cut marks and along the sides of the pan. Allow the baklava to cool to room temperature before serving.
• Make Ahead Tips. The baklava is at its best about 24 hours after the syrup is added. It will keep at room temperature for up to 5 days, though the texture changes from flaky and crisp to more solid and crystallized as time goes by.

PISTACHIO BAKLAVA WITH ORANGE-CARDAMOM SYRUP

Steps:

• Simmer 1 3/4 cups sugar and orange juice in saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil over medium heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Add cardamom and cool syrup.
• Place nuts and 2 Tbsp sugar in processor. Pulse until most of the nuts are finely ground (the largest pieces should be the size of small peas.) Mix nuts, 6 Tbsp sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with some of the melted butter. Place a sheet of phyllo in the dish and brush with melted butter. Repeat with 9 more sheets of phyllo and melted butter.
• Sprinkle half of the nut mixture evenly over the phyllo. Top with a sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Repeat with 9 more sheets of phyllo and melted butter.
• Sprinkle with rest of the nut mixture over the phyllo, then top with 10 more sheets of phyllo and melted butter.
• Using a sharp knife, cut diagonally through the top phyllo layer from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. Cut top layer of phyllo into 1-inch-wide rows parallel to both sides of the first cut. Turn pan and cut rows about 2 1/4 inches wide, forming diamond pattern.
• Bake baklava until golden brown and crisp, 50-55 minutes. Drizzle syrup evenly over hot baklava. Cool in pan on rack. Recut baklava along lines all the way through layers. Baklava can be made two days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

PISTACHIO PHYLLO CRISPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Finely grind pistachios in an electric coffee/spice grinder, then stir in sugar.
• Cut phyllo sheet crosswise into 3 equal pieces, then stack pieces between wax paper and cover stack With a lightly dampened kitchen towel. Arrange 1 piece of phyllo on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and brush with some butter. Sprinkle with half of pistachio sugar and top with another piece of phyllo. Brush phyllo with some butter and sprinkle with remaining pistachio sugar. Top with remaining piece of phyllo, pressing down gently, and brush with some butter. Chill stack 10 minutes.
• Using rim of a ramekin as a guide, cut out 2 (4-inch) rounds with a sharp paring knife and discard scraps. Cover rounds with a piece of parchment and bake in middle of oven until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool crisps on baking sheet on a rack.