After I left you yesterday, I ventured to Watertown in search of Eastern Lamajoon, WHen I missed a turn at the 5-way intersection with routes 16 & 20 in Watertown I gracefully ended up on the door step of the Arax Armenian Market, so I thought, "What the heck!" In I went. We already know that I can't pronounce the name of the dish I am making so finding the proper dough is going to be a challenge in this market (literally a room) crowded with fresh vegetables, canned goods, spices, olives and cheese. I must ask for help. I look around, there are three men with almost black hair and dark skin loudly joking in what is either Turkish or Armenian. I can't ask them, my accent and pronunciation are horrible, I will totally give myself away as the Armenian with no tie to the homeland. I look around again - BINGO! They employ a black man! He cheerfully shows me where the Khadayeef dough is and then grinds me some Malab from the spice counter, sending me on my way with a "Good Luck Miss!". Mission accomplished!
At home I melt the butter and gradually pull apart the Khadayeef dough, which I have learned is just shredded phyllo dough. I must combine the dough and butter so all strands are coated. By the time I finish this process the kitchen floor looks as if I dumped burnt, dried grass clippings all over it - booooo - I'll clean that up later. I made the syrup and let it cool according to Grandma Sally's instructions. I layer the dough in a Pyrex with a cheesey filling and walnuts coated in cinnamon. Into the oven we go!
30 minutes later, it is nicely browned. I remove it and like the super granddaughter that I am, follow my instructions to pour the cooled syrup over the top of the hot Khadayeef. Except my syrup is a little to cool now, it doesn't really pour but more glops out of the pan - I am frighted to go against my directions to heat it back up so I proceed. What SHOULD happen next is that the syrup seeps throughout the whole pan of Khadayeef and makes the dessert more dense and moist. Instead, mine looked more like a glazed donut. The dough was moist but it was loose when you tried to remove it from the pan. Ho-hum, first timer mistakes I guess, I am no superstart Armenian Grandmother baker yet that is for sure! I am not giving up on this one though! I will attempt to make it again - I just have to practice my Armeturkglish accent first!
Grades:
Taste -> A- (Flavor was good, I would have liked it to have the denser texture I remembered)
Execution -> B- (Syrup is clearly a big factor in this one, better get that part right!)
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