Cranberry-Orange Cheesecake

2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
½ c. sugar
½ t. grated orange peel
½ t. vanilla
2 eggs
¾ c. chopped cranberries, divided
1 read-to-use graham cracker crumb crust (6 oz. or 9-in)
Mix cream cheese, sugar, peel and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix until blended. Stir in ½ c. of the cranberries.
Pour into crust. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ c. cranberries.
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Garnish with additional cranberries, mint leaves and orange peel.

Baklava

Warning: Jon is the one that makes this recipe for us, so I'll copy it down, but I don't have details on how to make it work! You'll have to call him up if you need more help.

2 lbs. phyllo dough
6 cups walnuts, chopped
2 cups rendered butter (see recipe below)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup confectioner's suggar
2 cups Attar (recipe below)

Mix nuts, sugar, spices, and 1 Tbs. butter.
Grease 12x17 baking sheet with butter. Place two layers of baklava phyllo on the baking sheet, brushing lightly with butter. Continue this process until 1/2 lb. of dough has been layered. Spread the nut mixture evenly over the dough. Lay the rest of the dough, following the same procedure. Do not grease the last layer. With a sharp knife cut into diamond shapes. Heat the rest of the butter (about 1 cup) and poru on the tray.
Preheat oven to 400. Place the tray in oven, then reduce to 275. Bake from 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Cool for 10 min. Pour cold syrup (attar) evenly over the surface.

Rendered Butter
(another warning: this makes way more than you will need for one batch of baklava, I know Jon shrinks the recipe down accordingly)
5 lbs. Sweet butter
1/2 cup flour
Melt butter in a saucepan. Add the flour. Cook on low heat until foam disappears from the top. When clear, remove from heat and cool. Pour the pure butter into jars. Be careful not to pour the salty residue.
Note: Rendered butter is used in Arabic pastries. Stored in jars it will keep for many months without being refrigerated.

Attar
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 Tbs. Lemon juice
Mix sugar and water and bring to boil. Add lemon juice and boil for 7 more minutes. Cool. Makes 2 cups Attar.

Recipe Requests

I have a few recipe requests. I would love it if you would post them here.

Ruth:

• wild rice soup (submitted below-Thanks!)
• bread recipe (submitted below)
• mushroom, tomato, chicken, spinach dinner

Cami:

• baklava
• black bean burgers
• cranberry orange cheesecake
• favorite vegitarian

Anyone else that has requests either comment here or create another post.