Beguiling Beyoglu.

Taksim Square and Istikial Street are heart of Pera. The square itself is nothing special. But the street which starts way up high and ends at Galata Tower, near the water, is famous, through I'm not sure for what. It's a pedestrian mall, with shops, restaurants and what else? I stopped at a GAP and almost bought a shirt before I came to my senses. There's a San Fransisco-style red cable car that goes up and down the nearly two-mile street and just seeing it climb the hill toward us  had me humming the Rice-a-Roni jingle for the rest of the day).

Along with the GAP and the "San Francisco treat" cable car are shops selling everything from hookahs to walking canes to couture. We stopped halfway down at a restaurant called Saray (established 1949), because it looked charming and in the window displayed the stickiest, sugar-syrup drippingest Burma baklava I had ever laid my peepers on. The "logs" were stuffed with pistachios and wrapped in what translates into "shredded wheat" (Kadayif) and is sliced into negotiable pieces.

Adina got something off the "milky desserts" section of the menu; keskul, a creamy pudding flavored with almonds and dusted with a bit of finely shredded, unsweetened coconut and, of course, pistachios, as is everything dessert in Turkey. She passed on the Tavuk Gogsu, which apparently is a pudding made with finely chopped chicken breast.

I ate one of my two slices and wrapped the other to go. I carried it down the rest of the road, past the Galata Tower and on to the metro to get back to Sultanahamet. Unable to resist any longer, I ate the burma baklava on the metro and had sugary, sticky fingers the whole way back.

Keskul (Pudding)
Often this is made with cream (half-and-half). My version is simpler and less heavy. Some people add a tablespoon or two of ground almonds to the pudding (add it after the sugar), but this makes the custard less creamy/smooth. 

4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup corn starch or rice flour (more traditional)
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
Ground pistachios, garnish

Heat the milk in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until it just begins to boil. 

combine the cornstarch or rice flour with water in a small bowl and stir to dissolve. 
While whisking the hot almost boiling milk, pour in the starch/water mixture. Continue whisking until the mixture is thickened (like melted ice cream). Reduce heat to low and add the sugar, whisking frequently, until the sugar is dissolved in the pudding and the pudding is thickened. Stir in the almond extract, remove from heat and pour the pudding into serving bowls. Chill until ready to serve. Serve garnished with the ground pistachios (add some finely grated unsweetened coconut to serve it Saray-style).