Bread Pudding by any other name...

There are so many things I love about Egyptians.  Their humor, their food, their humor, their ability to look like every single nationality and still be called "typically" Egyptian, their analogies for every situation, did I mention their humor?  But most of all, I love the inexplicable names they give things.   Today's inexplicable Egyptian name of the day is ... Um Ali (lit.: the mother of Ali).
I asked every Egyptian I know (that is on my phone's memory anyway) and none of them could explain why this delicious, wonderfully simple and not at all enigmatic dessert has such an enigmatic name.  But delicious it is.  It was a hit at our Eid Brunch and I think it has definitely earned a permanant place in my go-to recipe binder (pictures of this will be forthcoming):

Picture taken from "The Egyptian Kitchen"

Um Ali* 

(very loosely adapted from "My Egyptian Grandmother's Kitchen")

1 package of phyllo dough
Melted Butter
Lots of milk
1 cup of brown sugar
Lots of nuts
Lots of raisins
Whipping Cream

As you can see, these are very scientific measurements.  I had already done my holiday shopping and didn't want to go out again, so I made do with what I had and just eyeballed it, you really can't go wrong with this one.
Put the phyllo on a baking sheet and let it dry out in a medium heat oven.
Break it up into pieces and put it in a large, deep casserole dish.
Pour melted butter over it and put it back in the oven to crisp up again
Meanwhile, heat up milk and sugar until sugar is dissolved.
Also meanwhile, throw your nuts (any kind you like, as long as they are whole or pieces, not ground or crushed) in the oven to toast them
Pull out your now crispy phyllo and pour the milk over it.
Cover the top with toasted nuts and raisins.
Return to oven until the milk is mostly absorbed
Pour whipping cream on top and return to oven to brown the top

As with bread pudding, you can serve this with some more whipping cream of vanilla ice cream.

*My husband wants any of our guests who come over to know that it is actually MUCH harder than this; that, in fact, his wife slaved away ALL day making it.  His exact words were, "WHAT?! You're just going to give away the "recipe", just like that?!"