Tiropitakialittlecheesepies Recipes

Steps:

• Crumble or mash the feta cheese with a fork.
• Add the grated cheese, parsley, eggs and pepper.
• Cut pastry sheets in strips about 2x12 inches.
• Stack them one on top of the other to prevent From drying.
• Brush a strip of phyllo with melted butter, lay another strip on top and brush that one with butter too.
• Put one teaspoon of the filling on the short end of the strip, facing you, and fold over one corner to make a triangle.
• Continue folding pastry strip from side to side in the shape of a triangle until the entire pastry strip covers the filling. (Remember how we were taught to fold a flag into a triangular shape? Think of that as you keep folding the dough over. You should have a nice, neat, triangular packet.)
• Proceed in this manner with remaining pastry strips and filling until all are used.
• Put"tiropitakia" on a buttered baking sheet, brush generously with melted butter and bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve hot.
• You can also make these ahead, put on a baking sheet and freeze, unbaked. When frozen, just keep them in a ziploc bag and you can have tiropitakia at a moment's notice. Just add 5 more minutes to the baking time if you're using frozen ones.

Steps:

• To make the filling, combine the all the cheese together with the parsley, nutmeg, pepper, and eggs. Mix well and set aside for 1 hour, refrigerated. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pull phyllo dough from the refrigerator and unroll. Make sure to keep the dough covered at all times while using, because it dries out quickly. Cut the phyllo into 4 strips. (If you want to make smaller tyropitakia, cut into 6 strips.) One strip at a time, brush with the melted butter and place a small dollop of cheese mix in the middle of the top of the strip. Folding the phyllo is like folding a flag, fold the right corner to the left to form a right angle and then upward. Continue folding at right angles until you reach the top and have a triangle. Place the triangles on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on each side.

Steps:

• Remove the filo pastry from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature about 1 hour.
• Make the filling by mashing the feta until it crumbles.
• Add to this the eggs, Emmenthal cheese, ricotta, parsley, mint and pepper and blend well.
• Cut each filo leaf into a strip 6 x 12" (15 x 30 cm).
• Brush each leaf with the melted butter.
• Fold the leaves in half lengthwise making strips 3 x l1" (6 x 30 cm).
• Again brush with butter and place 1 Tbsp.
• of the filling at the bottom of each leaf.
• Fold over to form a triangle (like you were folding a flag) and continue folding until the strip is completed.
• Repeat with each of the strips and place the completed triangles on a well greased cookie sheet.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Brush the tops of each triangle with butter and then with a mixture of the egg yolk and 2 Tbsp of water.
• Sprinkle over with the sesame seeds and bake in a medium oven until the pastries are golden brown and flaky (about 20- 30 minutes).
• Serve hot or cool.
• Yields 16- 24 pastries.

Steps:

• Melt 6 tablespoons butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Gradually pour in the milk, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon. Add the salt and nutmeg, stirring occasionally, until mixture is bubbly and thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Mash the feta cheese with a fork in a bowl and stir in the grated kefalotiri, beaten eggs, and parsley. Pour in the hot white sauce and mix well.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Line the buttered baking dish with a sheet of phyllo dough and brush it with melted butter; keep the remaining phyllo sheets covered with plastic wrap while you work. Repeat with half of the phyllo sheets, brushing each sheet with butter, and letting them come up the sides of the baking dish. Pour in the cheese filling.
• Lay the remaining pastry sheets on top of the filling, brushing each with butter. Brush the top of the last sheet with butter and, with a sharp knife, score the top sheets into strips about 3 inches wide from one end of the baking dish to the other.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden brown and crisp, about 45 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, then cut into squares and serve hot.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the hot milk so that no lumps form. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens enough to coat a metal spoon. Season with salt and white pepper, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
• When the sauce is cooled, stir in the feta cheese, egg yolks, Monterey jack cheese, 3 tablespoons melted butter and parsley.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Cut the sheets of phyllo dough into strips about 3 inches wide. Use one stack at a time, covering the rest with a damp towel to keep them from drying out.
• Lay out one piece of phyllo at a time. Brush with butter, and place about 1 teaspoon of the cheese mixture on one end. Fold one corner up to match the other edge. Continue folding in triangle shape until you reach the end of the strip. Place on a baking sheet, and continue with the remaining strips of dough.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. These can also be prepared ahead of time, and frozen after folding. Bake when ready to serve.