Peynirli Börek (baked Turkish pastry dish filled with cheese)

Börek is the name used to define any Turkish dish made with thin sheets of dough (think phyllo) filled with a variety of fillings (not sweet, or else it would be baklava). Typical fillings are: cheese, ground beef, potatoes, spinach and leeks. Also, börek is made in a variety of ways either baked or fried.

Peynir is the Turkish word for cheese.

Ingredients (for 1 pan):

• 1 box of phyllo dough (I must admit, I don't know how to roll it out myself);
• sauce:
• 1/2 a container of yogurt
• 1 egg
• milk (roughly 3/4 of a cup)
• a bit of olive oil (typically, more is better but I prefer to use less)
• cheese filling:
• feta cheese (use your judgement to figure out how much you would need - you'll want enough to have an even layer approximately 1/2-1" thick)
• paprika
• dill to taste
• parsley

Directions:

• In a bowl, mix the ingredients for the sauce making sure the egg is mixed in really well
• In another bowl, crumble the feta cheese (I use a fork to break it up) and mix in the dill, parsley and paprika
• take a sheet of phyllo and place it in your pan (it doesn't have to be a perfect sheet, it can be creased and bunched up, evenly)
• drizzle about 2 spoons of the mixture randomly on top of the sheet
• put another sheet over top and drizzle another couple of spoons of sauce
• continue this way until you've put down roughly 6-8 sheets (more if you want it thicker, less if you want it thinner - should only be 1/2 of the sheets you intend to use for the entire börek)
• on your 6th (or 8th) layer, do not put any sauce; instead, spread your feta cheese filling evenly across the entire sheet
• place another sheet of phyllo over top and drizzle a couple of spoons of sauce
• continue this way until you've placed another 6-8 sheets
• on the final sheet, drizzle 6-8 spoons of the sauce and make sure to get the entire top layer coated
• sprinkle some sesame seeds and bake on the middle rack at about 300 degrees
• bake for about 1/2 an hour and check to see if the top is turning nice and golden brown
• continue baking if needed but check frequently to make sure it doesn't burn
• once it has turned golden on top, remove from oven and let sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares.
• enjoy!

Sour Plum Jam

Ingredients:

• plums (leave the skin on - that's where the pectin is!)
• sugar to taste - I started with 1 cup to roughly 6 cups of plums and added more as I was cooking it until it reached a taste I was satisfied with - roughly 2.5 cups (I used natural, unrefined, non-bleached sugar produced from raw sugar cane)
• lemon (only a quick squeeze of half a lemon - at the end of the process to keep the sugar from crystallizing)
• water (very little - just enough to cover the bottom of the pot and roughly 1/4 of the contents)

Directions:

• seed the plums and cut them into fourths (again, leave the skin on)
• add all of the ingredients (except the lemon juice) and cook on medium heat until it boils
• once it starts to boil, stir the contents frequently to keep it from burning
• cook for roughly 20 minutes and then either take a hand blender or a potato masher and mash/blend the contents a bit
• squeeze a bit of lemon juice
• continue to cook and stir until the mixture reaches a consistency to your liking
• ladle into containers and enjoy!