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demitasse cups.
    M AKES 4 COFFEES
4 tablespoons finely ground espresso, as fine as powdered sugar
4 teaspoons sugar
4 demitasse cups full of cold water (about 1/3 cup)
1. Place coffee, sugar, and water in the coffee pot, and do not stir. Cook over high heat until the sugar starts to melt and the coffee looks shiny, about 3 minutes. The coffee will get hot and the mixture will start to collapse. At this point, remove from the burner and stir the coffee with a spoon. Place the mixture back on the heat. Holding the pot, watch and wait until the coffee is not quite ready to boil, but begins to rise to the top of the pot.
2. Remove from the heat and let it sit for 1 minute, then turn the heat on high and wait for the coffee to rise to the top of the pot again. This should take only 10 to 15 seconds, so make sure to watch the pot carefully. Repeat the process once more, for a third rising.
3. After the third rising, carefully skim a little bit of the foam—or crema —from the top and divide it equally into 4 demitasse cups.

4. Slowly pour the coffee into each cup, equally dividing the coffee. There should be a little crema on the top of each coffee.

5. Sip the coffee to the grounds, turn the cup over onto the saucer, and let the grounds settle. Refer to Ayfer Unsal’s Guide to Reading Fortunes in Your Coffee Grounds (page 29) for interpretation.

Künefe with Champagne-Cardamom Syrup
    Künefe is an eastern Mediterranean dessert that is made with shredded phyllo dough (called kadafi ) and filled with a sweet cheese. It’s baked until golden and crispy and soaked in a sweet syrup.
    I had tasted several different künefes in the United States, but I finally understood what is so special about this dessert when I ordered one at a kebob restaurant called Hamdi, in Istanbul, next to the Egyptian Baazar. Hamdi’s künefe was the best, sweet, caramely, hot, crunchy, toasted cheesecake I had ever tasted. Hamdi used just the right amount of syrup, and the künefe was thin, crisp, and golden brown, with a sweet cheese center. In Turkey, they serve künefe with kaymak —a cream so thick that you can practically cut it—made from buffalo milk.
    Maura Kilpatrick, who has been Oleana’s pastry chef from the day we opened (and whose skills leave me speechless), makes this version of künefe. Maura flavors the syrup with a brilliant cardamom-spiked champagne, and she tops the warm, crispy cheesecake with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and crushed, toasted pistachios.
    S ERVES 12
½ package shredded phyllo (kadafi), about ½ pound
10 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons whole milk
½ pound fresh buffalo mozzarella, grated on the large holes of a box grater
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup whole green cardamom pods
1 (750 ml) bottle sparkling wine (champagne), such as Prosecco
Zest of 2 lemons
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1½ cups sugar
½ cup coarsely ground pistachios
8 tablespoons mascarpone cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Place the phyllo in a food processor and chop finely into ¼-inch shreds, so that it looks like shredded wheat cereal.
3. Place the shredded pastry into a medium mixing bowl and add the butter and milk, stirring to coat the phyllo. Line an 8-inch-square heavy baking dish with half of this mixture.
4. Mix the mozzarella and nutmeg in a small mixing bowl. Spread this mixture onto the phyllo. Top with the remaining shredded mixture. Press the mixture with your hands, so that it becomes compressed or even and packed down. Bake for 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, crush the cardamom by placing the pods in a plastic bag and pounding them lightly with a rolling pin until the pods open and you see the black, oily seeds.
6. Combine the crushed pods, wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a medium-large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
7. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer the mixture for about 40 minutes, until it is slightly thick and