Boyous & Borechas

This year for Hanukkah, Amy got a little crazy.  See, earlier that month, we all had breakfast with Auntie Vi (Anthony's Papa's sister).  

She put out a spread for us including some Boyous and Borechas.  Perhaps we should back up the story even further...

What are Boyous and Borechas you ask?  Basically they are savory pastries loved by many people, including various members of the Benezra family.  Boyous are a spinach and feta cheese treat with parmesan over the top while Borechas are potato and parmesan filled pastries with more parmesan over the top.  (Pastels, not featured in this article, are a similar treat filled with meat, so Amy has never had them nor attempted to make them)  All of these pastries are labor intensive and time consuming to make, so it is rare that any member of the family make their own.  (With the exception of Auntie Vi of course, she really enjoys making them and sharing them with her family.)  Certain relatives have found locations that sell these items, but even with sources of ready made Boyous and Borechas, these items are still rare gems.  Anthony once explained to Amy (when she first learned of the magic pastries) that having these delicacies in your possession (typically in a deep freeze hidden in the furthest recesses of your freezer) is like having gold bars.  They are very valuable and relatives will come out of the woodwork to try and get them from you.  

A couple years ago, Auntie Vi invited us over so she could teach Amy how to make Boyous and Borechas.  Amy had every intention of making some of these delicious treats in the future, but time got away from her and it never happened.  But, after that breakfast with Auntie Vi earlier in the month, Amy got a wild hair...

She and Anthony had finished most of their Hanukkah shopping, but one person was harder to buy for than others.  Larry!  What to get for Larry.  We came up with some ideas but found them all to be too lame to follow through on.  So Amy got adventurous and super generous and decided to make Boyous and Borechas for Larry.  She knew it would be a lot of work because she would have to make a double batch of at least one thing so Anthony could keep some, but she also hadn't touched even the recipe for a couple of years, she was rusty at the least and worried her products would come out not so hot.

Amy got all the ingredients and started to work on Thursday before Hanukkah at 2pm.  She didn't sit down until 10pm and there were still some dishes to get done at that point.  Needless to say it was a lot of work, but she wound up with 84 Borechas and 26 Boyous.  And best of all, she now has the experience under her belt so she feels like she can make them a little more often than never or once a year and Anthony will surely enjoy that when the time comes.  

Thank you, Auntie Vi, for inspiring Amy to get her bake on!  The finished product turned out pretty dang good!  While the Boyous weren't really fit to photograph and got put away before we remembered to take photos anyway, the Borechas were something to write home about.  Ooooh, look at those!