Laurel and Andrew are like two figures in an Andokides pot: always in motion and always Greek. Laurel darts about the kitchen stirring our bubbling pot of syrup and then bounces back to carefully peel pages of filo apart all while twirling her long swath of hair into a precarious bun on top of her head. Andrew, who Laurel likens to Zeus but his golden locks have more of an Alexander the Great vibe to me, doesn't nimbly move from pot to pot, but instead sits at the kitchen table, hammer in hand, pounding away at a bag of walnuts and almonds. We're making Baklava, and Laurel and Andrew, her brother, are showing me how it's done. I manage to destroy several sheets of the filo before I'm relegated to butter patrol. Layer by layer we construct what eventually looks like a buttery block. It's squat and unimpressive, but with a little heat and a prayer it flourishes into a golden brown flurry of Hellenistic goodness. Incidentally, baklava is a child with many parents. If you ask an Iranian about baklava, they'll give you a recipe scented with rosewater, ask a Turk, and it'll come with chopped pistachios and cream, and whoever you ask around the mediterranean, they each came up with it first and theirs is the best. I, however, like Laurel's. It well spiced and infused with orange, and depending on the kind of honey you use it can be very sweet. I actually dialed down the recipe to reflect my palette, so if you like your desserts sweet, feel free to add a little extra sugar and honey. The beauty of this recipe is while labor intensive, it makes more baklava than you can shake a stick at, and is perfect for a large party or to store in the freezer for another day.
Enjoy! 
3 sticks (24 oz) unsalted butter, melted
1 pound filo dough
1 1/2 pounds almonds
1 pound walnuts
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
For the syrup:
2 cups honey
2 cups water
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
3 orange peels
6 whole cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Combine all of the syrup ingredients over medium heat. Let it boil, and turn down to a simmer to let it steep. Preheat oven to 400. Finely chop up the almonds and walnuts, and mix with the spices and sugar. Set aside. Grease a large pan (at least 2 inches deep) with a little butter. Add a layer of filo, covering the entire pan (it's ok if it comes up on the sides) and paint with some butter. Cover with another layer of filo, butter, and repeat a dozen times. Lightly cover the filo with about a 1/4 of the nut mixture. Cover with a layer of filo, butter, and repeat until you run out of nuts. Finish with another dozen layers of filo and butter. Butter the final layer and slice the layers into 2 inch diamonds by running the knife diagonally across the pan one way, and diagonally across the other way. Pop in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a deep golden brown. When out of the oven, cover the whole thing with syrup and let it come to room temperature. Enjoy!
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