Making Holiday Appetizers To Kick Off A Party!
This is the holiday season, which means it’s time to make lots of fun dishes for family and friends, like this: I was at the annual White House holiday party last Friday night, and this table was heaped with everything from cheese and crackers to shrimp, crab claws, smoked salmon, baby veal chops and more!
I was excited to take part in Jo Stacy’s BKD Cookbook Club – focused on Christmas recipes for us all to make and share at a party like this!
Everyone is choosing a Christmas Cookbook to review and here is my choice!
Carol Taylor has a great website called “Carol Cooks” and she is always sharing terrific recipes. Las year, she released “A Homemade Christmas!”
I decided to try one of the starters, designed to be served while everyone is enjoying a drink and settling in for the feast that lies ahead…here’s is what I made:
First, I wanted to know what a “boureka” was…here’s the defintion:
Bourekas are a popular baked pastry in Sephardic Jewish and Israeli cuisine. They are typically made from puff pastry or filo dough and filled with a variety of savory ingredients, such as cheese, potato, spinach, or mushrooms.Bourekas are often topped with sesame seeds and can be eaten warm or at room temperature.
That’s a beautiful looking dish to try and replicate, so let’s get going!
Here are your ingredients, as shown in the book:
My First Baking Disaster!
OK, for those who read my reviews, you know that I cook main courses, side dishes, and appetizers – I do NOT bake!
So the filo dough instructions seemed easy enough, right?
I laid each sheet down and brushed with butter, then popped it in the oven and started prepping the next part of the dish….hey, how long has that filo been in the oven anyway?
THIS LONG!
It felt like I had JUST put it in, but this is what came out!
So, after tasting it and knowing the burnt flavor was not going anywhere, I tossed it and did it again, making sure to stay on the light – and right – side this time!
OK, that looks better! Set it aside while you make your filling.
I added all of the cheeses, eggs, zucchini and milk and mixed well like this:
Use a springform pan and spray the bottom lightly with olive oil.
Crinkle the first pack of filo pastry dough to fill the bottom of the pan, then add your filling, making sure it’s even.
Repeat the process with the second pack of filo pastry crumbled over the cheese mix and then lightly spray the top with more olive oil and add sesame seeds to the top.
Bake for 40-50 minutes until golden brown…then serve warm and enjoy!
Here’s what it looked like when I cut a slice:
Carol had one great tip: while the dish serves perfectly out of the oven warm, she said it held up well to serve the next day: the pastry stayed crisp!
Here is the entire process from beginning to end in just one minute!
I’m happy with how this turned out and oh, I forgot one thing: it’s delicious! The egg and cheese is custardy, rich, and the zucchini gives it a nice crunch – although they are perfectly cooked. I wasn’t sure whether to eat this on a cracker or cut it like a pie – so I did both!
I also cooked recently from Carol’s latest cookbook as well:
I made her “Thai Penang Chicken Curry” and loved it as well!
See that recipe here:
As for Carol’s “A – Z Of World Cuisine” – here’s one of them I shared that celebrated Jamaican cuisine!
This is all part of a great new series by my blogging foodie friend Jo, who shared a bunch of great recipes from Nigella Lawson’s Christmas cookbook!
See her recipes here!
Jo also has a Facebook page just for the fun of sharing recipes – see it here!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2318373691845074
I love to try recipes from other people, and to share food stories and recipes as well.
I am sharing and storing all of these recipes here!
It’s your site for all things food – if you like what you see, please click on my link and follow this blog as well!
Bravo Carol – so happy for your success, and thanks Jo for hosting this Christmas recipe project!
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Food, Food Pictures, Food Travel, Recipes, Wacky Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
A terrific choice. That filo pastry burns quickly. I have to set a timer these days or I would forget about it too. It’s not really finger food but It looks so good and would be great on a brunch table. I must try it and try not to burn the filo pasty. 😉
It was fun to be sure..
I always set a timer you are not alone Darlene I am a nightmare according to my hubby I go down a rabbit hole and then when I smell burning or hubby shouting its too late-sigh- so now its a timer…
Just recently I burnt boiled eggs. Yup, you heard that right. I set them on to boil, went to do something else and forgot all about them until hubby shouted. That pan will never be the same again.
I always share my cooking mistake: first, some ar funny and second, it more entertaining NOT to pretend it’s an effortless process, right? Last night I cooked something that I just nailed to the bottom of my shoe because that’s how tough it was! will share that soon!
This is fabulous, John. I’m so glad you told me about the filo pastry! Great post.
Lookd good doesn’t it Collen , John did a good Job for a non baker 🙂
Thank you Carol, but as you know, it’s hard to mess up cheese! Just one of many recipes I plan to cook out of the book!
He did a great job! I’m making Ron the mint chocolate chip cookies for his Christmas treat. That is a great recipe!
Those sound great as well!
Wow, Colleen , Ron will love them just a warning they are addictive…lol xx
Ummm cheesey filo… I’m there! Filo can be difficult to work with so you did well! Love the look of the Penang chicken too – it (and Thai curries) are a Sunday night comfort food treat here in Chez Tracey. This book looks a winner & I’m off to check out her website.
I always include my mistakes, so I showed how badly I burned the first batch of filo, but luckily I had enough to do it again – it was the ingredient that I couldn’t find anywhere in my upper west side New York neighborhooD! Thanks so much for putting this on!
It’s so funny isn’t it what is common in supermarkets – it’s a common ingredient out here, but as I was just commenting on another post, we can’t get things like peanut butter chips. And you’re welcome – it’s a lot of fun.
I guarantee that, in the next month, I will find filo dough in every single store I go to – just not last week! Thanks for putting this together!
Hi Jo..yes cheesy Filo is good….John did a good job 🙂
I’ve never worked with filo, but I can imagine it has to be carefully watched. this recipe sounds delicious and nice there are so many options as far as fillings. Carol has so many great recipes, how lucky to go to the White House!
Thank you Beth it is a delicious recipe and Johns looks amazing 🙂
Yes, we also got a photo with the President and First Lady…and you are right: I watched VERY carefully on the second try! Thanks for the comment!
Thank you so much, John for testing out a recipe from “A Homemade Christmas” and promoting my cookbook your bourekas looks delicious… Thank again it is much appreciated 🙂
I am eating a slice of it now for breakfast and you are right, it holds up well overnight!
Lovely we really enjoyed the Bourekas 🎅
This definitely looks like a fun recipe John!
Well done to you, and Carol. I have never had those, but they look ‘cheesily-delicious’!
Best wishes, Pete.
That was fun and it looked so delicious, a cheese lovers dream.
It was an interesting dish to make…it tasted even better the next day and the filo did indeed stay crisp on top! Thanks so much for the comment, always great to hear from you!
You’re welcome John, Happy Christmas.
What a delightful post. I haven’t tried to make the bourekas yet – that philo scares me! Lol. But I did use her recipes for my entire Christmas dinner last year and everything was great. A wonderful review of her book!
Thank you for the comment! As my review shoed, I botched the filo spectacularly, but luckily had enough to re-do it! Great hearing form you!
Looks tasty!