Tri-Tip & Caramelized Onion Puff Pastry

460. For a quick, light meal, I needed to come up with something from the ingredients in my fridge.  There were hungry family hanging out and everyone needed a simple pick-me-up.  I had made a tri-tip roast the night before, which turned out delicious with plenty of left overs.  I also had puff pastry in the freezer, cheese and arugula...hmmmmm...what to make.

My daughters and I put our heads together and this is the recipe we developed.  It was so delightfully delicious!!

This Trip-Tip & Caramelized Onion Puff Pastry could be edited to items you might have or flavors you prefer, but I encourage you to follow this recipe to taste the amazing flavors melding together.

You could also cut the puff pastry into rounds or squares or place the small cut pieces into muffin cups and use the same process creating small bite-size appetizers.

• "One of the most impressive yet effortless appetizers you can create is a flat puff pastry tart. With minimal effort required, it’s a simple yet elegant solution for any gathering. All you need to do is chop some vegetables and you’ll be rewarded with a stunning centerpiece that will impress your guests."
  ~ Annonymous

Cherry Cheese Danish

343.  Sunday afternoon calls for fresh ground coffee and cheesy, fruity sweet danish.  

All you need is Puff Pastry sheets, cream cheese and some type of fruit jam, any fruit flavor.

Place one sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut into 9 equal squares.  Cut each square as pictured above.  Brush with egg white/water wash.  Mix 4 oz. cream cheese with 1/4 cup powder sugar and 2 tsp of agave.  Dollop cream cheese into the center of each square.  If using fruit jam, dollop on top of cream cheese.

To create the crossover effect watch this video:

The cross over happens by lifting the clean cut corner up and over the filling to the opposite side. Gently press to seal the dough.  Repeat with the other side.

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle sugar crystals over the dough.

Bake at 400 degrees for 13-15 minutes.

 Cool the danish.  Make a drizzle of 1 cup powdered sugar and a drop of vanilla extract and a few tablespoons of milk, a bit at a time, till a thick drippy consistency results.  Drizzle over the danish.  Let drizzle set then move to a serving platter.  The danish will be crispy on the bottom and sides and soft and cheesy/fruity in the center with an additional crunch from the sugar crystals.

This is perfect for a Sunday afternoon treat.  You know you need this!!

"It often runs in families, " she remarked: "just as a love for pastry does."
~ Lewis Carroll

Gorgonzola Beef Wellingtons

309.  Christmas Dinner, just the thought brings great joy, delight and all sorts of imaginable delicious memories.  Our Christmas Dinner will be very memorable this year. While searching for the perfect main dish, I came across a recipe for individual Beef Wellingtons.  It was in a specialty Christmas Edition of Taste of Home recipes.  The recipe can be found here http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/gorgonzola-beef-wellingtons

The individual steaks were perfect.
I made a change to the recipe and added bacon rendering to the pan instead of butter.  It added a depth of flavor.

The recipe was very easy to follow and ingredients easy to acquire.

I made sure the meat was chilled and the mushrooms room temperature so as not to melt the puff pastry.

Each package was a perfect size for an individual portion.

Simply delightful...

And decorating could be done any way you choose.

They were a show stopper.  And I garnished the platter with fresh thyme from my herb garden.

The 30 minutes was a bit too long and I pulled the wellington's out of the oven after 25 minutes.

Served with fresh brussel sprouts with crumbled bacon and garlic smashed potatoes with sour cream.
"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year long."~Charles Dickens

Gourmet Ham and Cheese Pockets

288.  Here is an easy snack or appetizer you can fill with anything from savory to sweet.

 

It starts with Puff Pastry Sheets.

I roll out one sheet to a large square of 12"x12".  Then cut them into equal squares of 6 or twelve.

In a small bowl mix one egg with about a Tablespoon of water to make egg wash.  Brush the egg wash onto each square.

My filling for these yummy Ham and Cheese Pockets is sharp cheddar cheese, ham cubed or sliced into strips, one scallion (green onion) chopped, salt and pepper, dash of garlic salt, dash of soy sauce.  Mix together.

 Then dollop the filling evenly divided into each of the pastry squares not overfilling. Pull up one corner, brush the outside point with egg wash.

 Continue with each corner brushing four times

Once the filling is completely covered, pinch the center to ensure the pocket will not open in baking.  Brush egg wash over the top and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  I like to use black sesame seeds for contrast and texture.

 Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or till the crust is golden brown.
 Remove from oven and serve hot!  So yummy!

"Hors D'oeuvre:  A ham sandwich cut into forty pieces."

~Jack Benny

Beef Pot Pie

146. Our special Irish dinner was homemade Beef Pot Pie. When I saw this recipe it was a great choice for a St. Patrick's Feast. The original recipe is for Beef and Guinness Pie. It called for Guinness Irish stout...but I just can't stand the smell, taste or even the thought of it. So I substituted with an extra half cup of beef stock. Wow! Who needs the stout? This recipe was outstanding. And it is topped with puff pastry. It was such a beautiful presentation.

To save recipe just click and drag onto desktop or save as image and print.

Special equipment: 4 (14-ounce) deep bowls or ramekins (4 to 5 inches wide) or similar-capacity ovenproof dishes. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Pat beef dry. Stir together flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Add beef, turning to coat, then shake off excess and transfer to a plate. Heat oil in a wide 5 to 6-quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderately high heat until just smoking, then brown meat in 3 batches, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes per batch, transferring to a bowl. Add onion, garlic, and water to pot and cook, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot and stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef with any juices accumulated in bowl, broth, Worcestershire sauce, peppercorns, and thyme and bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven. Braise until beef is very tender and sauce is thickened, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Discard thyme and cool stew completely, uncovered, about 30 minutes. (If stew is warm while assembling pies, it will melt uncooked pastry top.) Put a shallow baking pan on middle rack of oven and increase oven temperature to 425°F. Divide cooled stew among bowls (they won't be completely full). Roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges and cut dough into quarters. Stir together egg and water and brush a 1-inch border of egg wash around each square. Invert 1 square over each bowl and drape, pressing sides lightly to help adhere. Brush pastry tops with some of remaining egg wash and freeze 15 minutes to thoroughly chill dough. Bake pies in preheated shallow baking pan until pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F and bake 5 minutes more to fully cook dough.

"Talk of joy: there may be things better than beef stew and baked potatoes and home-made bread...there may be."

~ David Grayson

Savory Pumpkin Puffs

 10.  Puff pastry is divine!  

I found a recipe for "Savory Pumpkin Puffs" in a Martha Stewart Living Magazine several years ago.  It went into my "need to try" pile of recipes.  So this year was a perfect time to try it.  Although I love working with puff pastry, I encouraged my daughter to make this recipe so she could experience the "divinity factor".

We set the dough out at room temperature and prepared each ingredient and she began the assembly process.  

Savory Pumpkin Puffs

Makes 18-24

parchment paper

flour for dusting paper

1 pkg puff pastry, room temp

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 1/2 Tblsp dijon mustard

1 1/2 cups finely grated Gruyere Cheese

1 cup finely gated Parmesan Cheese

freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Generously flour 2 pieces of parchment paper; on each, roll out an unfolded pastry sheet to form a 15 x 13" rectangle, about 1/16th inch thick.  Refrigerate until firm about 15 min.  Meanwhile, stir the paprika into the melted butter and whisk together.  Remove pastry and brush off excess flour.  Spread a rectangle of pastry with mustard; sprinkle with both cheeses. Season with pepper.

Lay the second pastry rectangle on top covering the cheese.  Lay the parchment paper on top of the stacked pastry; using a rolling pin, roll until smooth and pastry layers are sealed together.  Remove the parchment and brush the top of the pastry with paprika/butter mixture.  Chill until firm, about 30 min.

With a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, cut 18-24 shapes.  

Immediately place the shapes on parchment-lined baking sheet.  Using a sharp knife, score each shape four or five times to make pumpkin ridges.

If you forget to brush the top of the dough before it is cut.. brushing them after cut works out fine.)

Bake until golden, 15-20 min.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Aren't they lovely?   Divine, right?

So after they were finished and we all were munching on the finished product...we came up with a variety of options for this recipe:

Why not a sweet version...jam or fruit filling in the middle, any flavor would do, and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top.  Or...Mexican with taco flavored meat and cheddar cheese and cut them in triangles...

You get the picture...whatever your mind can think up...you can try with puff pastry.

Try this one...you will be delighted and so will your guests!