design*sponge, Istanbul, and chocolate hazelnut baklava

A week before I left on my trip to Istanbul, Turkey, I got a surprise email from the lovely Kristina Gill of design*sponge’s in the kitchen with series, asking if I would be interested in submitting a recipe. Of course my answer was a resounding “heck yeah!”. I thought about what I could make, and bounced a few ideas back and forth with Kristina. I fell back on an old standby and told her I would shoot and submit the recipe when I returned from my trip.

After an incredible week in exotic Istanbul, I was completely enamored with everything Turkish; the city, the people, and especially the food. On one of our last days in this wonderful city, we sampled some amazing baklava from the famous Baklavacı Güllüoğlu. They had seemingly dozens of different varieties, but the one I was drawn to the most (and a customer favorite from what I hear), was their chocolate baklava. Thin sheets of chocolate phyllo, layered with nuts and chocolate. Crisp, chewy, sticky, decadent. I was smitten. It dawned on me what I should really make for my post: a twist on that baklava, a chocolate hazelnut version drizzled with cardamom honey!

Check out the full post with more photos and recipe on design*sponge… thanks Kristina and Grace!

special delivery

warmed up, with a scoop of vanilla, oh so good!

It’s been a month already and Istanbul is still on my mind. I can’t remember the last place I had the opportunity of visiting that completely and utterly captured my heart, soul, and stomach. I recall clearly the puzzled expressions and concerned tones I received when I told my family and friends that I would be visiting Turkey on my next trip. “Why Turkey? What’s in Istanbul? Isn’t it dangerous? Why don’t you go to Spain or Italy instead?” I wanted to say, “Why it’s the 2010 European Capital of Culture!” or “It has an incredible array of historic sites and monuments.” or “It’s really cosmopolitan and modern!” While all of those statements are completely valid, the real reason and overwhelming deciding factor that Istanbul made the cut was that it was the only viable destination on the short list that wouldn’t conflict with our travel during the week preceding Easter Sunday. Most of the desirable cities in South America and Europe (places we wanted to go to) I was told, shut down during that week. “Everything will be closed, even the restaurants.” Gasp. That’s the whole purpose of traveling, right? Is to eat?

Well I have to say, Istanbul really sealed the deal because it’s been touted as one of the most exciting food cities as of late, and trust me, it didn’t disappoint. While the food coverage will have to wait for the next post, I leave you with a few images from the trip that will hopefully illustrate the beauty, mystery, and charm of this exotic city. Lots more to come…