My mom, Sadie, loved to make this Strudel to celebrate special events. I suppose a sweet strudel reminds us of the sweetness of life. I watched my mom make it many times but never really paid a lot of attention. Yes.... I was very attentive when they were sitting so pretty on the trays...and then I would pay a lot of attention...very yummy.... My dad, Irwin, assisted her all the time. One day in November, when I was visiting Montreal, we decided to try to make it together. We did not have a recipe written but my dad has a pretty good memory and we had a lot of fun!
He kept saying "Your mother did it this way" or "I think she added more of this ...or that"...whatever we did, it really did taste and look like hers and we both were proud of the results.
He made it again a few weeks ago, when we had the pleasure of welcoming a new little baby boy to the family. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go into Montreal for the celebration, but I was told his strudel was amazing! He wrote the recipe for us and I want to share the recipe as he wrote it... . I added my 2 cents just a little bit.
Irwin and Sadie's Strudel
Ingredients;
1 lb phyllo dough ..............(You use about 4-5 sheets at a time as stated below)
I/2 LB Turkish delight ....
1 cup pitted prunes
1 cup pitted dates
1 1/2 cup of-raisins preferably [white or golden)
1 cup glacé fruit mix
glacé cherries green & red
icing sugar
10 oz medium unsweetened shredded coconut
1 lb shelled walnuts
1/4 cup of plain breadcrumbs
1 lemon
Mix prunes dates raisins in food processor - not too long- just enough to get it mixed together, than put it in a very large bowl.
Mix walnuts and glac
é fruit mix in food processor, until walnuts are in little pieces, then put into the big bowl
Add to bowl - shredded coconut & juice of 1/2 a lemon in the bowl and some rind of the lemon
then with your hands or whatever mix everything together
Open phyllo dough into the flat position and cover with a damp cloth or
it will dry out , take 4 or 5 sheets - whatever you are comfortable working
with, flatten out and spray lightly with pam or veg.
oil. Place mixture along edge, about 1 inch wide.
Cut glac
é cherries in 1/2 and place about 1/2 inch apart all along row.
Try
to roll the turkish delight into a rope about a1/4 thick [if not cut in
small pieces ] and place on dough alongside the mixture.
Roll it
up (jellyroll style) to about 1/2 the sheet.
Cut the sheet of dough.
Cut your roll into
about 3/4 inch pieces and place on a slightly oiled cookie sheet (or line with parchment paper) .
Bake for
about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Don"t let it get brown! Let cool then
sprinkle with icing sugar. ( a lot of icing sugar)
GOOD LUCK
________________________________
And I will leave it there...
I love you Daddy!
Until we bake again...
Penny
