Ninety-three-year-old Delia Shamy has rewritten a traditional American poem - at least for her loved ones.
Most of us could easily recite the classic " 'Twas the night before Christmas."But in her house, you can forget the sugarplums.
When her 28 great-grandchildren "nestle in," visions of baqlawa and other Lebanese pastries dance in their heads.
No wonder.
Take 2 pounds of flaky filo pastry and pack it with sweet nutmeats. Smother the dough in a pound-and-a-half of butter. Drench the delight in a 6-cup bath of lemony sugar syrup.
Are you kidding? Who wants a sugarplum?
Delia's great-grandchildren prove Pavlov's theory once again.
Jingle a bell, and these kids salivate.
Nothing experimental or shocking, simply anticipation of eating wonderfully rich Lebanese pastries their grandmother traditionally bakes every Christmas.
There's that word again . . . tradition. And, surprisingly, Lebanon has a strong Christmas tradition.
Aimmee Raphael Riley, another Lebanese native who now lives in Las Vegas, recalls the thousands of lights illuminating trees and shops along the city streets in Lebanon at Christmas.
Lebanese Christians place a paper Nativity scene under the Christmas tree, she says.
As in many parts of Lebanon, most of the people in Riley's neighborhood were apartment-dwellers. Therefore, she said, "everyone knew everyone else.
"If someone was alone or in need or poor, we all knew."
All the neighbors would gather money and gifts to give to their needy neighbors, all done anonymously.
The day after Christmas, families visit the homes of their relatives, bringing housewarming gifts and toys for the young children.
Among her Christmas recollections, newly married Riley remembers the Lebanese cookies and pastries.
Her traditions - carried in her heart from Lebanon to the United States - continue.
Many of the richest and lasting Christmas rituals, those that eventually become the very heart of holiday tradition, are food-related.
Traditional holiday pastries are truly "relative" for two Salt Lake sisters - Lee Shamy Daniels and Lillian Shamy Hasna - who, as young girls, watched their mother, Delia Shamy, make baqlawa every Christmas.
That's how it begins.
Delia's daughters continue this traditional "dance," year after year, baking their own brand of "sugarplums" - Lebanese-style.
Shortly after the wishbone is snapped over the Thanksgiving turkey, Lee and Lillian begin planning their holiday bakefest.
They decide how many plates of pastries they'll need to bake for friends and associates. (Before Lee retired from her position as national sales coordinator for KSL, her Christmas baking orders were a tradition as time-consuming as her 9-to-5 job.)
Then come the important calculations.
"Let's see, Greg has to have his plate of baqlawa, and Shauna loves her butter cookies," Lee says.
Grocery orders are planned and calendars marked.
"We get together and cook all morning for the first two or three weeks of the month. That way, we're done," Lee says. "By mid-December we're finished, and we can enjoy the holidays."
Lee describes her Christmas baking routine:
"Lillian comes over here in the morning, and we get that big ol' pan out. Why, I wouldn't get rid of that old pan for all the tea in China!
"I set out all the ingredients on the kitchen table.
" I make Lil mix it. Boy! is she a great mixer! I learned everything from her. She's the expert.
"If she has to go do something, I say, `Just mix my dough and then leave.' Then I'll finish making the pastry after she's mixed it.
"You know what's a pain? The dates. You've got to grind them. But I have an electric machine, thank heaven!
"Then you put a little oil in your hands, and you take some of this and roll it just so. . . .
"Baqlawa takes an hour to layer the filo and an hour to cook. It takes a lot to make them . . . it's tedious work.
Then why do they do it?
"Why, we've always done it," Lee continues.
"Really, I don't know why we've done it.
"It's pastry. It's Christmas. I love it!"
*****
RECIPES
MA 'KARUN KHISHSHAB (LEBANESE MACAROONS)
1 box Softasilk cake flour (or 7 cups flour)
1 1/2 cups cooking oil
1 1/3 cups water
2 teaspoon rose water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons anise seeds, crushed
4 small walnuts, chopped
Macaroon syrup (recipe follows)
2 teaspoons baking powder
Syrup for Lebanese Macaroons:
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon rose water
Prepare syrup; set aside. Mix all ingredients together (except nuts) until dough is somewhat softer than pie dough. Cut dough into finger-size pieces; pat flat using a colander or grater for design.
Place nuts in the center of the flattened dough. Roll dough over gently and pinch ends together to close.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes until slightly browned.
When done, put hot cookies into the cooled syrup for a few seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon. Makes 3 dozen.
- Each serving contains 249 calories, 11 g fat, 39 g carb, 60 mg sodium, 0 cholesterol.
- From Lee Shamy Daniels and Lillian Hasna
- Note: Rose water may be purchased at Robert's Deli, 1071 E. 900 South, Salt Lake.
GHRAYBI (BUTTER COOKIES)
1 box cake flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound plus 1 square clarified butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans
1 box powdered sugar
Thoroughly mix the first five ingredients, slowly adding butter. Mix well until dough feels smooth.
Divide dough into small sections; roll into rope shape (about 1-inch round); cut into 2-inch pieces.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes. Cookies will be slightly brown on the bottom.
When cookies are cooled, roll in powdered sugar. Makes 4 dozen.
- Each cookie contains 205 calories, 11 g fat, 25 g carb, 46 mg sodium, 26 mg cholesterol.
- From Lee Shamy Daniels and Lillian Hasna
- Note: Clarified or drawn butter is merely melted butter with the sediment removed. Melt butter completely over low heat and let stand for a few minutes, allowing the milk solids to settle to the bottom. Skim the butter fat from the top and strain the clear yellow liquid into a container.
MA 'MUL (NUT-FILLED PASTRY)
Dough:
1 cup instant Cream of Wheat
1 pound (2 cups) clarified butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
6 cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon rose water
1 cup cold water
Powdered sugar
Nut filling:
1 pound ground walnuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup clarified butter
Combine the ground walnuts, sugar and clarified butter; toss until evenly coated. Set aside for filling.
Mix 1 cup of the butter with the Cream of Wheat. Cover and let stand for two hours.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Add remaining butter and Cream of Wheat mixture. Add water and rose water; mix thoroughly. (Dough will feel like pie dough.)
Roll dough into sheets 1/4 inch thick. Using a glass, cut into 2-inch circles. Place filling (about 1 tablespoonful) on half of the circle; fold top half over and seal. Cookie will look like a half moon.
Poke holes in top of cookies with a fork.
Bake in 350-degree oven for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Roll cookies in powdered sugar. Makes 3 dozen.
- Each cookie contains 302 calories, 20 g fat, 28 g carb, 189 mg sodium, 34 mg cholesterol.
- From Lee Shamy Daniels and Lillian Hasna
- Note: A variation of this recipe uses 1 pound ground pitted dates instead of nuts. Omit powdered sugar.
BAQLAWA (FILO LAYERED DESSERT)
1 pound walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 pounds clarified butter, melted
2 pounds filo dough
Baqlawa syrup (recipe follows)
Prepare syrup; set aside. Combine nuts, sugar and 1/2 pound clarified butter; toss together until well-coated; set aside.
Butter a 12-by-16-inch pan. Place 1 pound of the filo in the bottom of pan; brush each sheet with butter.
Spread nut mixture over the buttered filo. Butter each of the remaining 1-pound filo sheets; place over nut mixture.
Cut into diamond-shaped pieces. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour until golden brown.
Pour cold syrup over the hot Baqlawa, one section at a time. Recipe may be cut in half and frozen.
Makes 4 dozen.
Baqlawa Syrup:
6 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 teaspoon rose water
Juice of 1 lemon
Mix sugar and water together in a saucepan. Boil for 10-15 minutes. Add lemon juice and rose water; boil for 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
- Each serving contains 293 calories, 19 g fat, 33 g carb, 17 mg sodium, 31 mg cholesterol.
- From Lee Shamy Daniels and Lillian Hasna