Baklava harem

Here's the email I sent to my friends

So Lou organized a dinner a few weeks ago at Turkuaz (if you haven’t been, you should go – fab food and great decor!), and when it came time for dessert - they were out of baklava.  [Perhaps you heard me gasp at that moment and just didn’t know what that sound was that was coming from across town.] As you know, I have a thing about baked goods.. and so I tried to convince Sezai (the owner) to teach me how to make it.  A trade secret apparently, and he was reluctant.  I offered a couple of things in exchange for a lesson (some to Zeric’s dismay), including cash.  He offered instead to teach me and 9 of my closest friends how to cook Turkish food (including baklava).  Call it a harem if you must.. but he offered to show us and feed us lunch for 400,000 rupiah each.

And so, last Tuesday , me and 8 of my foodie girlfriends showed up at Turkuaz for our class.  It was fabulous, and the lunch that resulted was even better.  [As of as far as I can tell up until now, I am still the only one who teaches a food class where the participants touch the food before they eat it.]

Most importantly, we now have the secret of making baklava.  It's all in the syrup.  That's all I can tell you without having to hand you over the Sezai.

So we made babaganoush, baked chicken with saffron, rice and peas, and BAKLAVA.  And they have fantastic bread!! 

[stay tuned for harem group picture here]