Spanakopita & store-bought phyllo dough

On Sat 10 Dec 2005 07:06:22a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

Yesterday I made a pan of spanakopita.
http://tinypic.com/ieeaa8.jpg
The phyllo I bought was the only brand I had access to (in my 30-mile
area). It had vegetable oil as an ingredient. Actually, I would have
preferred lard or butter. The phyllo was certainly not flaky, more
sodden or saturated appearing. I used Kirkland butter and brushed each
layer. Is there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't pour it
on - tee hee). And does anyone have a brand that they have used that
they prefer? TIA,
Dee Dee

Athens

http://www.athens.com/consumers/fillodough.html

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat 10 Dec 2005 07:06:22a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

Yesterday I made a pan of spanakopita.
http://tinypic.com/ieeaa8.jpg
The phyllo I bought was the only brand I had access to (in my 30-mile
area). It had vegetable oil as an ingredient. Actually, I would have
preferred lard or butter. The phyllo was certainly not flaky, more
sodden or saturated appearing. I used Kirkland butter and brushed each
layer. Is there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't pour it
on - tee hee). And does anyone have a brand that they have used that
they prefer? TIA,
Dee Dee

Athens

http://www.athens.com/consumers/fillodough.html

Well, I surely must've done something terribly wrong -- I used ATHENS.
Me, oh, my. Thanks for letting me know.
I can think of lots of things I could've done better. It's hard to pinpoint
them all; but my 'brand' of phyllo was the first thought since it was the
part that didn't turn out right.
Thanks,
Dee Dee

Quoted message said:

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

Dee Randall said:

Yesterday I made a pan of spanakopita.
http://tinypic.com/ieeaa8.jpg
The phyllo I bought was the only brand I had access to (in my 30-mile area).
It had vegetable oil as an ingredient. Actually, I would have preferred
lard or butter. The phyllo was certainly not flaky, more sodden or
saturated appearing. I used Kirkland butter and brushed each layer. Is
there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't pour it on - tee hee).
And does anyone have a brand that they have used that they prefer?

Yes, you can use too much butter.
Phyllo is tricky to work with. You have to have everything laid out so that it
is easy to get at and allows you to work fast, getting the layers on and brushed
with butter, and keeping the stack of pastry covered with a damp cloth.

I should use phyllo more often. I have had terrific results with it. One of my
favourite phyllo dishes is salmon fillets wrapped in it. I have made Baklava a
few times and once tried Galaktoborito <sp?>, a rich, thick custard topped with
Phyllo and drizzled with a honey syrup. I had put off making that for a long
time because the recipe looked like it was restaurant size, but I had some
phyllo that needed to be used up. There was way too much for just the two of us
so I took half of it over to my brother. He and his family still rave about it,
saying it is one of the most delicious things they ever had in their lives.

On Sat 10 Dec 2005 08:38:27a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat 10 Dec 2005 07:06:22a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

Yesterday I made a pan of spanakopita.
http://tinypic.com/ieeaa8.jpg
The phyllo I bought was the only brand I had access to (in my 30-mile
area). It had vegetable oil as an ingredient. Actually, I would have
preferred lard or butter. The phyllo was certainly not flaky, more
sodden or saturated appearing. I used Kirkland butter and brushed
each layer. Is there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't
pour it on - tee hee). And does anyone have a brand that they have
used that they prefer? TIA,
Dee Dee

Athens

http://www.athens.com/consumers/fillodough.html

Well, I surely must've done something terribly wrong -- I used ATHENS.
Me, oh, my. Thanks for letting me know.
I can think of lots of things I could've done better. It's hard to
pinpoint them all; but my 'brand' of phyllo was the first thought since
it was the part that didn't turn out right.
Thanks,
Dee Dee

Dee, have you made spanakopita before without a problem? When I use phyllo
dough, I don't think I handle it any differently than you did. Was your
filling, perhaps, too wet? There's always the chance of too much butter,
but it should make it sodden, just too greasy.

The Athens Foods, Inc. is in Cleveland. When we lived there I used to be
able to by fresh (not frozen) phyllo dough at their company store. I can
tell you that using the frozen dough, properly handled, is not any
different than using the fresh.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat 10 Dec 2005 08:38:27a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

Quoted message said:

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat 10 Dec 2005 07:06:22a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

> Yesterday I made a pan of spanakopita.
> http://tinypic.com/ieeaa8.jpg
> The phyllo I bought was the only brand I had access to (in my 30-mile
> area). It had vegetable oil as an ingredient. Actually, I would have
> preferred lard or butter. The phyllo was certainly not flaky, more
> sodden or saturated appearing. I used Kirkland butter and brushed
> each layer. Is there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't
> pour it on - tee hee). And does anyone have a brand that they have
> used that they prefer? TIA,
> Dee Dee

Athens

http://www.athens.com/consumers/fillodough.html

Well, I surely must've done something terribly wrong -- I used ATHENS.
Me, oh, my. Thanks for letting me know.
I can think of lots of things I could've done better. It's hard to
pinpoint them all; but my 'brand' of phyllo was the first thought since
it was the part that didn't turn out right.
Thanks,
Dee Dee

Dee, have you made spanakopita before without a problem? When I use
phyllo
dough, I don't think I handle it any differently than you did. Was your
filling, perhaps, too wet? There's always the chance of too much butter,
but it should make it sodden, just too greasy.

The Athens Foods, Inc. is in Cleveland. When we lived there I used to be
able to by fresh (not frozen) phyllo dough at their company store. I can
tell you that using the frozen dough, properly handled, is not any
different than using the fresh.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*

I'll bet that it was too wet. Remember that ricotta I had left over?
Well, I used it as well as a lot of the feta. The feta didn't melt much, so
it probably wasn't the feta. The spinach was very well drained and
squeezed; then after the onions & garlic were cooked, I added the spinach to
it to dry it a bit more. It has to be the ricotta causing the problem.
Also I combined about 5 recipes to get the one I wanted. I saw that ricotta
was added to a couple of the recipes, the reason I used it; but I know I
must've used too much.

I took a "course" in phyllo at one time, can't remember where. Came home and
tried it several times and it was never a success. This is my first
adventure into it again after decades. DH was there at every layer lifting
the phyllo up from under the wet towels (one under and one over) and
returning the wet towels to cover the phyllo. I did the brushing with
butter.

NO MORE RICOTTA! in spanakopita.
All that aside, DH thinks it was darned good.
I'll make it better next time, but I want to make Baklava. I'll make it
first with phyllo improving my skills. Then I HAVE to find the pinwheel
style Baklava; I prefer that.
In a Greek restaurant in CT nearly next door to f-i-l's, their spanakopita
is homemade (also their Baklava) and it was more of a pie crust instead of
phyllo. I'm going to have to go back and study it a little more closely.
Their Baklava was more of a little square and really no phyllo (perhaps a
variation of the pinwheel style, I don't know.

Dave, I watched Food 911, Tyler's version of triangle appetizers of
panakopita. (The name of the program is Phyllo Fear.) He also made the
Baklava and thirdly, he had his version of the salmon wrapped in phyllo. DH
wants us to make that recipe. I'll have to check the ingredients for it to
purchase on Monday on the big trip to Fairfax.
Dee Dee

Quoted message said:

there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't pour it on - tee hee). And does anyone have a brand that they have used that they prefer?

A few months back, I made a baklava (Cook's Illustrated recipe) for my
doctor's office (they cured me of a bad case of vasculitis) and used a
commercial phyllo dough made by Athens®. When I returned home from
dropping it off, my doctor had already called and left a message on my
voicemail saying how amazing it was and how quickly it dissappeared at
the office. He had set some aside for his wife as well and later that
evening, she called to tell me it was, "the best baklava she'd ever
eaten". Drenched in butter as each layer went down, it still managed to
remain flaky and crisp, so i'd imagine the Athen's brand is acceptable
even though it too uses vegetable oil. Kev

"Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Then I HAVE to find the pinwheel

Quoted message said:

style Baklava; I prefer that.

http://www.recipe-cook.com/cook/Greek_Recipes/Baklava.

"Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Well, I surely must've done something terribly wrong -- I used ATHENS.
Me, oh, my. Thanks for letting me know.

Ooo, you reminded me I have some of that in my freezer,
same brand. I went to check the list of ingredients, it's just
as you say with the vegetable oil, but I did notice they have
a recipe book you can send away for. I'm a sucker for
anything made with phyllo, I'm getting it.

nancy

"Ophelia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Then I HAVE to find the pinwheel

Quoted message said:

style Baklava; I prefer that.

http://www.recipe-cook.com/cook/Greek_Recipes/Baklava.

Thank you, dear Ophelia, for your nice present this wee mornin'.
Smiling,
Dee Dee

Quoted message said:

"kevnbro" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't pour it on - tee
hee). And does anyone have a brand that they have used that they prefer?

A few months back, I made a baklava (Cook's Illustrated recipe) for my
doctor's office (they cured me of a bad case of vasculitis) and used a
commercial phyllo dough made by Athens®. When I returned home from
dropping it off, my doctor had already called and left a message on my
voicemail saying how amazing it was and how quickly it dissappeared at
the office. He had set some aside for his wife as well and later that
evening, she called to tell me it was, "the best baklava she'd ever
eaten". Drenched in butter as each layer went down, it still managed to
remain flaky and crisp, so i'd imagine the Athen's brand is acceptable
even though it too uses vegetable oil. Kev

Thanks for your advice. (So glad you are cured, too!).
I'll scour my Cook's Illustrated books for their recipe. If I don't have
it, it will give me a reason to buy another one of their books, although I'm
still [censored] at buying their "Best Recipe" only to see it in the 1,000+
edition a few days or weeks later. My fault, I know.
Along with Ophelia's pinwheel recipe, this should keep the pounds on me.
P.S. There are two brands of Baklava that Costco has carried in the last
few years. One with the 'wrong' kind of oil (for me) and one with -- as I
recall - butter. I keep hoping they'll get the butter made one in, but so
far, it's not been there. Christmas time being the best time of year for
them -- but they must keep for months. I've heard that honey is one food
that NEVER goes bad. It must protect the Baklava's.

Dee Dee

Quoted message said:

Thanks for your advice. (So glad you are cured, too!). I'll scour my Cook's Illustrated books for their recipe.

Thanks Dee Dee! The Cook's recipe for baklava is in the March & April
2004 issue. OR, you can access it at their website if you're a member.
The recipe calls for "1/3 cup of honey" and when I went to the store
to pick some up of course, found quite a variety (ie. clover, alfalfa,
wildflower etc). The honey I chose was an organic farmed honey made by,
Miele Rigoni Asiago which is an Italian honey... they had several
flavors but I purchased the Orange as I thought the hint of orange
would work nicely with the baklava... Of course, having saved some for
my wife and I, I too can attest that it was delicious.

Always! Always... save some for yourself! Kev

I realize you weren't happy with the results,. but even though I've just
eaten dinner, I got hungry seeing that picture.

"Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> looking for trouble wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Yesterday I made a pan of spanakopita.
http://tinypic.com/ieeaa8.jpg

OMG, it looks like a White Castle hamburger. Now you've done it 😉 You've
set off a craving.

Quoted message said:

The phyllo I bought was the only brand I had access to (in my 30-mile
area). It had vegetable oil as an ingredient. Actually, I would have
preferred lard or butter. The phyllo was certainly not flaky, more
sodden or saturated appearing. I used Kirkland butter and brushed
each layer. Is there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't
pour it on - tee hee). And does anyone have a brand that they have
used that they prefer? TIA,
Dee Dee

Dee Dee, it looked perfect to me. I only wish I could get my phyllo looking
so nicely browned when I use it. I have never made Spanakopita but now I
want to try. Have you a recipe?

Michael

--
....Bacteria: The rear entrance to a cafeteria.

All gramatical errors and misspellings due to Ramsey the cyber kitten. He
now owns all keyboards and computing devices in the household and has the
final say on what is, or is not, posted.
Send email to dog30 at charter dot net

In my experience, the sodden appearance of your phyllo has more to do
with improper storage or handling. I have best results with phyllo if I
can get it fresh. Even if it was frozen, it is best if it hasn't been
frozen too long. I make sure I defrost it in the refrigerator
overnight. If the phyllo has been frozen too long or if it has been
thawed and refrozen, it gets that sodden, stuck, hard to work with look.
I have trouble finding phyllo and had this great idea that I'd buy
extra boxes and keep them in my own refrigerator. Mistake! The
spanakopita I made that afternoon was fine. The stuff I tried to make
after the phyllo had been stored in my freezer was impossible.

--Lia

Dee Randall said:

Yesterday I made a pan of spanakopita.
http://tinypic.com/ieeaa8.jpg
The phyllo I bought was the only brand I had access to (in my 30-mile area).
It had vegetable oil as an ingredient. Actually, I would have preferred
lard or butter. The phyllo was certainly not flaky, more sodden or
saturated appearing. I used Kirkland butter and brushed each layer. Is
there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't pour it on - tee hee).
And does anyone have a brand that they have used that they prefer?
TIA,
Dee Dee

"Julia Altshuler" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In my experience, the sodden appearance of your phyllo has more to do with
improper storage or handling. I have best results with phyllo if I can
get it fresh. Even if it was frozen, it is best if it hasn't been frozen
too long. I make sure I defrost it in the refrigerator overnight. If the
phyllo has been frozen too long or if it has been thawed and refrozen,

You can't refrozen a thing!!! It's dangerous!
Pan

it gets that sodden, stuck, hard to work with look.

Quoted message said:

I have trouble finding phyllo and had this great idea that I'd buy extra
boxes and keep them in my own refrigerator. Mistake! The spanakopita I
made that afternoon was fine. The stuff I tried to make after the phyllo
had been stored in my freezer was impossible.

--Lia

Dee Randall said:

Yesterday I made a pan of spanakopita.
http://tinypic.com/ieeaa8.jpg
The phyllo I bought was the only brand I had access to (in my 30-mile
area). It had vegetable oil as an ingredient. Actually, I would have
preferred lard or butter. The phyllo was certainly not flaky, more
sodden or saturated appearing. I used Kirkland butter and brushed each
layer. Is there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't pour it
on - tee hee).
And does anyone have a brand that they have used that they prefer?
TIA,
Dee Dee

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dee Randall said:

And does anyone have a brand that they have used that they prefer?
TIA,
Dee Dee

Atheno?
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 12-8-05, My Farfel-less
Farfel with Mushrooms. Jeez!

"Julia Altshuler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In my experience, the sodden appearance of your phyllo has more to do with
improper storage or handling. I have best results with phyllo if I can
get it fresh. Even if it was frozen, it is best if it hasn't been frozen
too long. I make sure I defrost it in the refrigerator overnight. If the
phyllo has been frozen too long or if it has been thawed and refrozen, it
gets that sodden, stuck, hard to work with look. I have trouble finding
phyllo and had this great idea that I'd buy extra boxes and keep them in
my own refrigerator. Mistake! The spanakopita I made that afternoon was
fine. The stuff I tried to make after the phyllo had been stored in my
freezer was impossible.

--Lia

Dee Randall said:

Yesterday I made a pan of spanakopita.
http://tinypic.com/ieeaa8.jpg
The phyllo I bought was the only brand I had access to (in my 30-mile
area). It had vegetable oil as an ingredient. Actually, I would have
preferred lard or butter. The phyllo was certainly not flaky, more
sodden or saturated appearing. I used Kirkland butter and brushed each
layer. Is there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't pour it
on - tee hee).
And does anyone have a brand that they have used that they prefer?
TIA,
Dee Dee

You said,
I have trouble finding phyllo and had this great idea that I'd buy

Quoted message said:

extra boxes and keep them in my own refrigerator. Mistake! The
spanakopita I made that afternoon was fine. The stuff I tried to make
after the phyllo had been stored in my freezer was impossible.

I think you mean to say, ".... and keep them in my own 'freezer'"?

Thanks for your help. I'm wondering where in the world I would even look
for unfrozen phyllo. I'm going to Whole Foods next week. I'll see if they
keep it in their freezer or cooler. The Athens brand phyllo that I bought
was in the frozen case. If it is in their cooler, do you call that "fresh"?
That's about the best I could probably do within a 1,000 miles. <grin>.
Dee Dee

Wayne Boatwright said:

The Athens Foods, Inc. is in Cleveland. When we lived there I used to be
able to by fresh (not frozen) phyllo dough at their company store. I can
tell you that using the frozen dough, properly handled, is not any
different than using the fresh.

I always have a problem with "wet" spots in the dough after it has
thawed. Thank goodness I can find fresh, because I probably wouldn't
use phyllo if I only had frozen as a choice.

"Michael "Dog3" Lonergan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> looking for trouble wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Yesterday I made a pan of spanakopita.
http://tinypic.com/ieeaa8.jpg

OMG, it looks like a White Castle hamburger. Now you've done it 😉 You've
set off a craving.

Quoted message said:

The phyllo I bought was the only brand I had access to (in my 30-mile
area). It had vegetable oil as an ingredient. Actually, I would have
preferred lard or butter. The phyllo was certainly not flaky, more
sodden or saturated appearing. I used Kirkland butter and brushed
each layer. Is there such a thing as using too much butter (I didn't
pour it on - tee hee). And does anyone have a brand that they have
used that they prefer? TIA,
Dee Dee

Dee Dee, it looked perfect to me. I only wish I could get my phyllo
looking
so nicely browned when I use it. I have never made Spanakopita but now I
want to try. Have you a recipe?

Michael

Thanks for the compliment.
I googled about 8 recipes, printed them out, and read them all thoroughly
and used something from each. If you do that you will see that it is
basically only a few ingredients. Preparation of: onion, green onion &
tops, garlic, spinach, egg, and nutmeg. Then comes the phyllo & butter
layers on the bottom, inside is the spinach & cheese mix, and then comes the
layers of phyllo on the top.
There were different temperatures from 350-375. I baked it at 375.

My problem was that I saw one recipe that used a little bit of ricotta. I
had some left-over ricotta and added it. We had the leftover spanakopita
again today and DH said that he LIKED the ricotta in it, and it tasted
better to me than yesterday, but I pushed aside the phyllo.
Dee Dee