Saturday, December 29, 2012

Bitchin' Baklava

Ever since I made my first tray of baklava back in 1986, I've so enjoyed offering it to friends and family.  In 1988 I began selling it wholesale to Wholefoods in Marin County, and was on my way to getting it to other stores but got waylaid on other projects I was working on at that time.


New store managers and policies in the interim changed the status of my baklava at Wholefoods, but, besides offering it at my restaurant, Al-Masri Egyptian Restaurant in San Francisco, I've since began to make it again for other local coffee shops.  One of them is Simple Pleasures on 35th and Balboa Street in San Francisco.  And Groupon.com ran a pilot promotional program called Grouponicous, which featured a sample box of my Bitchin' Baklava for $60 (included shipping and handling), discounted to $30 to buyers just this past Holiday season.  Over 20 were sold and were either picked up or I mailed them to the buyer.

In each promotional box I placed two baklava squares each of the following fillings:
    • Walnuts
    • Walnuts with Semi Chocolate Chips
    • Almonds
    • Almonds with White Chocolate Chips
    • Hazel Nuts
    • Hazel Nuts with Milk Chocolate Chips
    • Cashew Nuts
    • Cashew Nuts with Reese's® Peanut Butter Chips or Butterscotch chips

    I'm working on a new website called www.bitchinbaklava.com.  I plan to launch it before January 31 in time for Valentine's Day.  I hope you'll visit it from time to time.  It will feature my baklava with different delicious fillings.  Some of them will include those I have already mentioned and some new ones like:

    Aloha Hawaii - Macadamia nuts with dried coconut and candied pineapple.
    Pistachio Pistachio - Pistachio nuts exclusively.
    PB&J - Peanuts with Reese's® peanut butter chips, and gold and dark raisins.
    COW-abunga - Walnuts with dried cranberries and candied orange peal.
    Devine Valentine - Pistachio nuts with dried cranberry and more!
    Sweet Piggly Pecan - Pecan nuts with bacon bits and golden raisins.
    Design Your Own Baklava (DYOB) - Choose your own filling!

    Boxes contain 16 squares and weigh around two and a half pounds to three pounds.  Shipping and handling is $7.00 in California and $13 outside California.  Price range per box depending on fillings will be around $35 to $55 per box.

    I'll look for your order!!  They are all hand made, hand packaged, and hand mailed with all the love, care, and deliciousness that each one comes with.

    Why not put your order in today? 
    Email me at chefsausan@gmail.com
    Comments also always welcome.

    -------------------------------
    Bitchin’ Baklava
    by Al-Masri Egyptian Restaurant
    4031 Balboa Street, San Francisco, CA  94121
    www.bitchinbaklava.com
    www.almasrisfca.com  •  www.sausanacademy.com
    415-876-2300 • chefsausan@gmail.com

    Ingredients
    Layered phyllo dough (Enriched bleached wheat flour [bleached flour, niacin, iron, thaimin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], water, modified food starch, corn starch, canola oil, salt, vital wheat gluten, preservatives [sodium and/or calcium proprionate, potassium sorbate], dextrose, maltodextrin), Sugar , unsweetened butter, Fillings (see below) cinnamon, nutmeg, orange blossom water, lemon juice, pistachio nuts

    Fillings
    As labeled with the following one or more fillings

    Actions
    Hand made, hand crafted, hand packed.
    Thank you for your order.
    Please order again!



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