Cheese and Spinach Pie

I was rummaging around in my mother’s old recipe box, as I occasionally find myself doing, and came across one of her handwritten recipes. It was written on the front and back of two 3" x 5” index cards. The fact that my mother had written this out by hand in such length indicated to me that she really liked it. The recipe was for Cheese and Spinach Pie. The recipe called for a homemade double crust piecrust. Nope. Not having it. I don’t make piecrust unless I absolutely have to (a gun is being held to my head, for example), and it seemed to me that using it in this recipe would be way too carb-laden. So I kept the filling as is, and decided to use puff pastry instead. The result was wonderful.

 This is like nothing I have ever experienced before. My friend Alycia (of the Tablescapes at Table/Twenty One blog) asked me if it was more like quiche, or more like spanakopita. Truth be told, it’s not like either one of those things. This is something unique. I enjoyed it as a main dish for dinner one night, and the next day I had it for breakfast. Naturally, it would work well for lunch. It keeps in the refrigerator, for a couple of days, but when you reheat it, make sure you do so in the oven so as not to make the crust soggy.

Cheese and Spinach Pie

3 T. butter
1 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 8-oz. pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 15-oz. container ricotta cheese
¾ c. dried breadcrumbs
1 t. chopped fresh dill (or ½ t. dill weed)
5 large eggs, separated
1 t. salt
Pepper, to taste
One sheet frozen puff pastry

In 4-quartsaucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and garlic in melted butter until tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in spinach, mozzarella, ricotta, breadcrumbs, dill, four egg yolks, and salt.

Beat five egg whites until stiff peaks form. With wire whisk, gently fold egg whites into cheese mixture until well blended; set aside

Preheat oven to 400° F. Roll one sheet of puff pastry into a 12” x 12” square. Place it into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Spoon spinach mixture into the center of the puff pastry, and smooth out. Lift each corner of the puff pastry over the filling to the center until all corners meet. Combine remaining egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water and brush over pastry.

Bake for one hour or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.

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Mrs. Marlowe-Inspired Southland Cheese Rolls

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Those of you who don’t watch the New Zealand police drama called The Brokenwood Mysteries, will not understand the reference to Mrs. Marlowe; those of you who do are smiling right now. If you haven’t seen the series, you must give it a watch. The story takes place in the small town of Brokenwood, a town full of murder, and quirky characters. I seriously could go on and on about this show, I enjoy it so much, but I want focus on Mrs. Marlowe (played by actress Elizabeth McRae), the kindly octogenarian with many talents, who belongs to almost every organization in Brokenwood, attends every public event, engages in gossip, is as good of an interrogator as main character Detective Mike Shepard (Neill Rea) in her zeal for getting information, and is known for her cheese rolls. People will attend events just to get their hands on her cheese rolls.

Mrs. Marlowe sharing her thoughts with Detective Mike Shepard. 

Naturally, I had to find out about these. It turns out they are an actual thing, and I found a recipe for them in Annabel Langbein’s cookbook. The filling is phenomenal, but I had difficulty rolling this up in slices of white bread, and getting it to bake up properly. The other day, I was re-watching the series from beginning to end (there are six series at all) and came upon an episode where someone had made the similar sausage rolls with far less success than Mrs. M. One reason for this, she postulated, was that an egg wash had not been used. According to Mrs. Marlowe, “[An egg wash is] absolutely essential. They get really claggy without one.”  So I tried it again with an egg wash, and mine still turned out, umm, claggy. So, I decided I was going to use puff pastry. Wow! What a difference. I know these are not traditional, but they are really good. They go very well in place of a roll for dinner, along with a soup or salad, or, if you cut them smaller than I did, a tasty snack. 

 

Mrs. Marlowe-Inspired Southland Cheese Rolls

Adapted from Annabel Langbein

 6 oz. evaporated milk

1/2 c. cream

1 small Melissa’s shallot, grated (about 2 T.)

½ t. dry mustard powder

¼ t. white pepper

9 oz. edam cheese, grated

1½ T. dry onion soup mix

1 pkg. frozen puff pastry (2 sheets)

 Place evaporated milk in a pot with cream, onion, mustard powder and pepper. Heat until almost boiling. Remove from heat, add cheese and soup powder and stir until cheese has melted and sauce has thickened. Allow to cool before using (it will thicken further as it cools). This mixture can be made in advance and stored in a container in the fridge for up to a week.

 To bake rolls, preheat oven to 375° and line 2 oven trays with baking paper.

Allow puff pastry to thaw. Place each sheet onto a lightly floured surface and roll flat to seal fold lines. Spread cheese mixture over top of each sheet almost to the edge. Roll up firmly, jelly roll-style, placing seam side down and, with a sharp knife, slice into two-inch sections.  Place seam side down onto baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden (15-20 minutes). Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

 

Accidental Asparagus Tart

This recipe is the result of my having thawed puff pastry sheets, thinking they were actually piecrusts. In order to save room, I'll often take the puff pastry sheets, shells, and piecrusts out of their respective boxes, and pop them into the freezer as it allows me more packing room. Never in the past have I mistaken one for the other, until now. My intention was to make a ham, Gruyere, and asparagus quiche. Instead I ended up making a ham, Gruyere, and asparagus tart.

What a wonderful mistake this turned out to be! This is one of the easiest things you can possibly make, and quite delicious. I sliced diagonally and served it along with a leafy green salad. You could slice it into bigger squares to serve as a main dish, slice into small squares to serve as an appetizer, or do what I did, and serve it with a side of soup or salad. Whatever you decide to do, you need to give this a try. It is easy, and delicious, and looks a whole lot fancier than it is. What more can one ask?

Accidental Asparagus Tart

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

½ pound fresh asparagus, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into 1-1/2” pieces

1 cup cubed ham

6 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Place puff pastry onto a cutting board and slice into two equal portions. Using a sharp knife, cut slices into edges of dough about 1" towards the center, all of the way around.

Top each puff pastry rectangle with shredded cheese, asparagus spears, and ham. Drizzle top of tarts with olive oil and cracked pepper.

 

Using a spatula, carefully place onto Silpat-lined baking sheet (or, you can just build them directly onto the Silpat). Bake for 20-25 minutes until asparagus are tender, and pastry is puffed and golden.

 PRINT RECIPE

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Full Plate Thursday

Home Sweet Home
Weekend Linky Party
Grace at Home
Foodie Friday & Everything Else
Share Your Style

Family Joy Blog Link Party
Simple Saturday Blog Hop
A Bouquet of Talent

Upside-Down Mushroom Tartlets

 Who reads food magazines?  Are you as crazy about them as I am?  Thank goodness I can get most of them free through digital downloads from the local library, as well as a host of others -- including regional publications -- through the Issuu app. Magazines can really stack up and overwhelm if they aren't thinned out occasionally.  Today, instead of doing my fall cleaning, I have been thinning out some old food magazines (which is taking a heck of a lot longer than I'd anticipated because, naturally, I have to read through every one). As it turns out, this is a mouthwatering process. While going through my stack of Everyday Food magazines I found this recipe for Upside-Down Mushroom Tartlets. I had the few ingredients required on hand, and love anything mushroom-y, so had to stop what I was doing and make them. 

What yummy little treats these are!  They can be quartered to serve as an hors d'oeuvre, or served as is alongside a salad or bowl of soup for lunch or dinner. I'll reprint the recipe below, as written, but really, I didn't measure a thing. I also seasoned with Montreal Steak Seasoning (I love that stuff!) instead of just salt and pepper. Yummy!

Upside-Down Mushroom Tartlets

Everyday Food, September 2010

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into six 3-inch rounds

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for muffin pan

1 large shallot, diced small

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, plus more for serving

3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese (2 ounces)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place puff pastry rounds in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate while mushrooms cook. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until soft and browned, 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in thyme and remove skillet from heat.

Lightly oil 6 jumbo muffin cups. Divide mushroom mixture and cheese among cups, then top each with a chilled pastry round. Bake until pastry is golden brown and puffed, about 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.

Run a small knife around cups to loosen tartlets. Place a rimmed baking sheet or large plate over pan and invert to release tartlets. Sprinkle with more thyme. Serve warm.

This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Sunday’s Best

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Churros

 

 You may have been wondering, or perhaps not, just what I served for dessert after yesterday's meal. After a mound of rice and a chili dog, something light is definitely called for. Thank goodness for puffed pastry, another freezer staple that I always have on hand, and seriously panic, when I use up the last box. The inventor of frozen puff pastry is on my “genius” list. Surely this must be the most versatile item that I have in my kitchen. A simple sheet of puff pastry can yield a quick snack, elegant appetizer, be rolled into something sweet or savory, top a pot pie, and make dessert as elegant as a Napoleon, or as simple as today's churros. Thawing a sheet of puff pastry, slicing it, separating the slices, baking it, and then rolling it in melted butter and a mixture of cinnamon and sugar is all it took to make a yummy, light, baked dessert, and made a great little sweet roll for breakfast the next morning. The ability to keep these overnight is huge. Imagine whipping up a basket of these to serve along with a bowl of fruit and freshly brewed coffee the next time you have overnight guests. You'll be a rock star. Tell them that you baked for ages. Your secret is safe with me. 

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Churros

Recipe from Six Sisters’ Stuff

Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen pastry puff sheet, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Unfold and cut puff pastry sheets in half lengthwise, and cut each half crosswise into 1-inch-wide strips. 

 Place strips on a lightly greased parchment paper or Silpat-lined 

baking sheet. 

Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown (mine only took 8 minutes). Meanwhile, combine sugar and cinnamon.  Remove pastry sheets from oven and dip in butter, then roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Let stand on a wire rack 5 minutes or until dry.

Makes 18 churros.

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Sweets for a Saturday

Sugar and Spice

Sunday Sweeties

Salmon Wellington

It’s always a great day in St. Louis, when that doyen of cooking, Helen Fletcher, guests on the local CBS affiliate’s Great Day St. Louis morning program, one that has become a daily addiction.  Her book The New Pastry Cook will make your mouth water with every turn of the page.

When I saw Helen make Salmon Wellington one morning, I knew this was a recipe custom-made for my husband, my live-in salmon chef (he is currently writing a book of salmon recipes of his own creation).  According to Helen, “The recipe for the Salmon Wellington is based on one that Marlene Sorosky, a food writer I have long admired, developed long ago.”  Like Helen, we too admire Sorosky and, also like Helen, we decided to change up her version a bit by using a leek and mushroom filling.  Not that we don’t love artichokes, quite the contrary, but I am passionate about leeks, even going so far as to grow them in the garden every year.  

Below is Helen’s recipe from her wonderful website called The Ardent Cook.  Follow the link to see her very informative step-by-step pictorial on how to put this dish together.  At the bottom of this page is the recipe for the leek filling that we used.

SALMON WELLINGTON

Mushroom Artichoke Filling

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
8 ounce can artichoke quarters, coarsely chopped
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 pound mushrooms
2 tablespoons Maderia
Salt and Pepper to taste

Remove the stems from the mushrooms by cutting or de-stemming.  Slice the mushrooms.  Then coarsely chop.  Set aside.

Melt the butter in the saucepan.  Sauté the onions and artichokes until slightly browned.  Add the mushrooms and Madeira and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid is evaporated.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Remove to a bowl and chill.  Can be made the day before assembly if desired.

Assembly

Line a perfectly flat plate with film with letting it extend on both sides.  Place the salmon on the film. Salt and pepper the fillets.  Divide the filling between the fillets.  Place one portion of filling on top of one fillet, pressing somewhat to compact it and make it fit the entire top of the fillet.  Wrap the film around the salmon and freeze at least overnight.

The puff pastry comes in sheets that are rolled.  Roll the pastry out 18 inches long cut it into two 9” x 9” sheets.

Place one fillet, filling side down, on one piece of the pastry.  If the puff pastry is too big, trim it so not more than 1 inch overlaps when both sides are folded.  Fold one end over the salmon.  Brush excess flour off pastry.  Egg wash the edge of the opposite side. Fold it over to overlap the other.  Brush excess flour off.  Make two cuts in the shape of a triangle on the top piece of puff pastry and remove it so it won’t be so bulky (see the photo).  Egg wash it so it will stick to the other piece. Fold it over.

Repeat with other side and fold over to enclose salmon.  Turn the package over and with a very sharp knife, lightly score the top in a cross hatch design.  Do not go through the pastry.

Glaze the top of the pastry with egg wash.  After glazing all, go back and glaze again.  Freeze overnight.

Baking

DO NOT THAW. It is important these be frozen hard so the salmon doesn’t overcook before the pastry gets done.    Place on a baking sheet in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.  Let rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.  Serve hot.

To make leek filling:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

4 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced

8-ounce package of mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced

Pinch of Old Bay Seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup whipping cream

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks; sauté until tender, about 7 minutes. Set aside.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet and sauté mushrooms until golden.  Add leeks to mushroom mixture, slowly pour in cream and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Old Bay. (Creamed leeks can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

 This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Wild Wednesday

Mini Sausage Pastries

If you’re looking for an appetizer in a hurry (and who isn’t during this very busy holiday season?), then you might want to try these.   I based my recipe on this one that I found in last week’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch, kicking it up a notch with the addition of Dijon mustard.   We’d found ourselves dipping the pastries into mustard, so I figured why not just add it to the pastry and be done with it.   It worked!  The key here is to have a very flavorful, spicy sausage that is a relatively fine grind.   I used the Bob Evans savory sage pork sausage as suggested in the original recipe to find it rather grisly and insipid, so went with our usual Bob Evans 'hot' variety and it worked out much better.

I also made just a third of the recipe, using the remaining two thirds of the puff pastry for Palmiers so I ended up with two delicious appetizers in relatively little time, having assembled the palmiers during the baking process of the sausage pastries.   The jury is still out on whether or not the sausage pastries freeze successfully.   I’ll have to let you know.

Mini Sausage Pastries

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (half of a 17.3-ounce package)

2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 pound spicy pork sausage (your favorite brand)

1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 450° F.  Cut the sheet of dough into 3 equal strips, cutting along the fold lines.  On a floured board, roll each strip into a 4-by-8-inch rectangle.   Brush center of each pastry (running lengthwise) with 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard.   Divide sausage into 3 equal portions.  Roll each portion into an 8-inch log.   Place one log in the center of each dough rectangle, leaving room to seal the dough.  Moisten one long edge of dough with water (you can use a pastry brush for this, or your finger – I chose the latter – fewer dishes to clean), then fold the dough over the sausage, making edges meet.   Flute the edge to seal, leaving ends open.  Cut each log into 10 equal pieces.  Repeat with the remaining sausage and dough.   Transfer sausage rolls to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Score the pastry tops.  Whisk the egg with a fork, then brush across the tops of the rolls.   Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until pastry is golden brown.    Let stand on baking sheet 2 minutes; remove to a cooling rack.   Sausage rolls may be served hot or cold.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Mouthwatering Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Tasty Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Smoked Gouda Cheese Straws

In my continued observance of National Bread Month I turned, this morning, to the cooking magazine produced by our local market and made Smoked Gouda Cheese Straws.  As delicious as they are easy, these can serve the dual purpose of being both a snack and a bread course.  I served them with the Beef Bourguignon that we had for dinner, but of course we had to snack on them as soon as they came out of the oven.  Light, crispy, cheesy, and delicious, they'd go equally well with salad or soup, or a frosty mug of beer while watching your favorite football game. I cut this recipe in half -- easily done -- and went a bit light on the red pepper flakes (although we could have used more).  I also think that during the final step next time I'll brush the pastry with the egg mixture before twisting them rather than after, to get a more even coating of the mixture, and to facilitate twisting.

SMOKED GOUDA CHEESE STRAWS

from Everybody Cooks by Dierberg's Markets

1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed in refrigerator overnight

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

 8 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, shredded (about 2 cups) (divided)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (divided)

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (divided)

Coarse Salt

On lightly floured surface, roll one pastry sheet into 10 x 12-inch rectangle.  

Brush with egg mixture; sprinkle half of each of the Gouda, Parmesan, and red pepper flakes over one half of the pastry.

 Fold pastry in half to enclose filling; firmly roll to 7 x 14-inch rectangle.  

Cut pastry crosswise into 1/2" strips (total of 20 to 22 strips).  Twist strips and place on parchment-lined baking sheet, pressing down ends.  

Brush tops with egg mixture; sprinkle coarse salt over top.  Repeat with remaining pastry sheet and ingredients.  Bake in 400 degree oven until pastry is golden brown and puffed, about 1- to 12 minutes.  Cool completely on wire racks.  Store in airtight container at room temperature.  Makes about 3-1.2 dozen.  These are best the day they are baked.  To crisp leftovers, place on baking sheet in 400 degree oven for 2 to 3 minutes.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Mouthwatering Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Tasty Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday