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Leith Hall Recipes
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These are a few of my favorite recipes - or favorites of my guests. If you have some great recipe for a breakfast or tea time treat, please email it to me. If you want a recipe for something you’ve had at Leith Hall, let me know and I’ll be happy to email it to you.
Elan |
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LEITH HALL BAKLAVA
This recipe is a little bit Greek (the lemon), a little bit Turkish (the pistachios), and a little bit American (the pecans). It is both very rich and very sweet so small portions make a good dessert after a Greek or Middle Eastern dinner party.
1 lb sweet (unsalted) butter, melted, mixed with half of grated lemon zest from syrup recipe
1 lb package of filo dough, thawed
2 to 2 1/2 lbs nuts, chopped (I use 1 1/2 lbs pecans and 1/2 lb pistachios)
2/3 cup sugar, mixed with nuts
1 tsp ground cinnamon, mixed with nuts
1/4 tsp nutmeg (or allspice or mace), mixed with nuts
13” x 9’ pyrex baking dish
350 F for about 1 hour
Brush dish with melted butter and lemon zest mixture. Layer filo dough, brush with butter, sprinkle with a few nuts. Repeat about 10 times.
Layer most of the pecans, reserving a little bit for sprinkling the remaining filo layers. Two more layers of filo, then the pistachios. Then layer the rest of the filo, butter, and chopped nuts.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour ‘till golden. Remove from oven. Cut into diamonds or triangles. Spoon syrup over evenly. Let cool completely.
SYRUP
2 cups honey
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
juice and grated zest of two very large lemons
Heat all ingredients except lemon juice together. Add lemon juice and spoon over baklava.
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LEITH HALL BUCKWHEAT CREPES WITH PEARS AND SWISS
I often make these for breakfast, especially if guests are staying for a while and I want to give them a change of pace. They make a nice luncheon dish if you want something more “special” than apples. Also, the same crepes are great filled with seafood for a first course for dinner.
THE BATTER
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour (I use white whole wheat flour for a little extra flavor)
4 large eggs
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbs butter or vegetable oil
or you can cheat and substitute:
1 cup any buckwheat pancake mix
2 eggs
3 tbs oil
1-2 cups of water to make a very thin batter
THE PEARS
1 pear per person, peeled. sliced
Microwave cut up pears in a covered bowl until soft.
Sprinkle with a little cinnamon and mix
THE SWISS CHEESE
Grate Emmenthaler cheese
TO ASSEMBLE
Pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle. Spread out quickly to a thin crepe. Cook until bottom is slightly brown (2-3 minutes). Remove from griddle to cutting board.
If the crepes are too thick, add a little water. If they are too brittle, add a little oil.
Spoon pears onto crepe with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle with swiss cheese. Fold over ends and transfer to plate.
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LEITH HALL LEMON BARS
I often make these as a tea time treat. I try to serve one chocolate pastry and one non-chocolate for tea time (I’ve heard that there are some people who don’t like chocolate - amazing!)
They are much richer than regular lemon bars because of the cream cheese.
CRUST
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1cup melted butter
325 F
Combine. Press into 13x9 pan. Bake 20 minutes.
FILLING
2 large packages of cream cheese
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
zest of 1/2 lemon, grated
4 tbs. flour
4 eggs
Beat cream cheese, then eggs, then sugar, lemon juice, flour - together until smooth. Pour on baked crust. Bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool, cut, sprinkle with powdered sugar.
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LEITH HALL BANANA PANCAKES
These are favorites with our guests. There is something about hot, cooked bananas that is much richer than the same fruit cold. I often make these as a change from my corn-and-raspberry pancakes.
1 cup flour
2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbs melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
bananas
Mix dry ingredients. Beat egg with wet ingredients. Mix together dry and wet ingredients. Slice bananas.
Drop by quarter cupfuls onto a hot, oiled griddle. Immediately top each pancake with three slices of banana. When bubbles appear and the bottom is golden, flip and cook the other side.
Makes 14 pancakes
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SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD
As you may know, the Leith family is Scottish, and one of the greatest contributions of Scotland to world civilization is Scottish Shortbread. My shortbread is orange flavored - but the most important ingredient is butter and lots of it.
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
pinch of salt
grated zest of one orange
350 F for 20 minutes
Combine all ingredients. Press into an *8* square baking pan lined with cooking parchment. Bake until slightly golden around edges. Remove from oven and immediately cut into 24 squares while still in the pan. Let cool completely, then turn out. Drizzle with or dip into melted chocolate, if desired.
The way I do it is to melt the butter in a microwaveable bowl, then add the orange zest. I mix all of the other ingredients in another bowl, then dump the contents of the dry bowl into the butter. Mix with a rubber spatula into lumps. Dump into the lined pan and press flat. Pierce with the tines of a fork and bake. It takes about a minute to make - and it’s delish.
If you make shortbread in a round quiche pan and cut it into small wedges, they’re called Petticoat Tails. |
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© All rights reserved. 2009. LeithHall.com
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Site Last Updated: Friday, January 15, 2010
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