Puff Pastry Bites – Gooey Gouda and More

These cheesy and easy four ingredient appetizers will remind you of brie baked ‘en croûte’—which is the French term for anything baked in pastry.  The original recipe I read put the cheese and jam in the unbaked pastry, then baked it.  What a mess! too hot jam, not quite cooked pastry.  Don’t try to short-cut this.

Ingredients:

  • flour, for dusting
  • 1 sheet (about 14 oz) puff pastry, thawed
  • Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 pound Gouda, rind removed, cut into 24 approximately 3/4-inch cubes – room temperature
  • Lingonberry jam ( or raspberry, or apricot, or orange marmalade, or cherry, or, or, or)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425°.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to an approximately 11-by-16-inch rectangle.
  3. Trim edges straight to a 10-by-15-inch rectangle.
  4. With the tines of a fork, prick pastry all over at 1/2-inch intervals.
  5. Cut into twenty-four 2 1/2-inch squares (a 4-by-6 grid).
  6. Press each square into the cup of a mini muffin tin.  (You can freeze them at this point, bag them, and continue when you need them.)
  7. Spoon scant dab of Dijon into bottom of each pastry shell.
  8. Refrigerate until pastry is firm, at least 15 minutes.
  9. Bake until pastry cups are puffed, golden along edges, and beginning to set, about 15 minutes.
  10. Working quickly remove from oven and press a cube of cheese into center of each pastry with the handle of a wooden spoon. (Cheese should depress pastry to reach bottom of cup.)
  11. Continue baking until pastry is golden brown and cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes more.
  12. Let cool in tins a few minutes.
  13. Transfer to a serving tray.
  14. Top with jam.
  15. Serve warm.

Secret Discovery:  I bake them until brown, add the cheese, and set them aside. Then, just before serving, heat the oven, turn it off, and let the puffs sit in the oven until the cheese melts – no burned puffs!

Serves:  Makes 24

Source:  marthastewart.com
Baked, cooled bites can be frozen in an airtight container up to 1 month. Save the jam for later.  Reheat from frozen in a 425° oven until warmed through, about 10 minutes.

And More:
So, you don’t have Gouda, but there is that Brie getting too ripe in the fridge.  Put it in the freezer about 10 minutes to firm up and cut it into cubes.  Leave off the mustard, but the jam works.  So does chutney, fruity spreads, even sundried tomatoes or caramelized onions.  There is always something around.

No puff pastry.  Open a can of Crescent Rolls. Then roll out crescent roll dough and pinch seams together. Cut crescent roll dough into 24 equal-sized squares.  A quick spray of Pam will make these easier to remove from the pan.  That will freeze too.

Where will your imagination take you next!?

 

Crescent Rolls – Yes, You Can freeze Them

Pillsbury Rolls (Crescent) can be frozen baked or unbaked without any danger to the texture, flavor, or taste. The fresh dough can be frozen for about a year and the baked rolls can be frozen for about 2 months for the best quality.

Can you freeze Pillsbury crescent rolls in their cans? No, you shouldn’t. There is usually a warning on the can telling you not to freeze. But some people still do anyway.  More often than not, the cans have been known to explode as they freeze. That’s because the dough contains water, which expands as it freezes.

Do this instead:

Freeing uncooked Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Step 1:  Open the can of Pillsbury rolls (Crescent). Bring out the fresh dough, and separate the roll of dough into single and separate rolls by following the serrated lines made in the dough. Roll each one separately and shape them as you like.

Step 2:  Get a cookie sheet (that will fit in your freezer) and line it with parchment paper, take your unbaked crescent rolls and place them individually on the cookie sheet making sure they are not in contact.  Place the tray of unbaked rolls in the freezer and leave them to freeze until the rolls have frozen solid -overnight.

Step 3: Take your frozen unbaked crescent rolls and transfer them into heavy-duty airtight freezer bags. Don’t stuff the bag full.  Leave about an inch of space. Expel as much air as you can from the bags by pressing them flat before sealing. Label the bags with a sharpie, stating the content of the bags and the date of the freeze.

Freezing Baked Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Step 1: Let the rolls cool down to room temperature.

Step 2: Wrapped each baked rolls separately in several layers of plastic wrap.

Step 3:  Pack the wrapped rolls into airtight freezer bags. Don’t stuff the bags full, expel as much air as you can before you seal. Before placing the bags into the freezer to freeze, don’t forget to label them.

Defrosting Frozen Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Remove them from the freezer and place on baking sheet. Leave them to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Once thawed you can bake as per cooking instructions and add about 5 minutes of extra cooking time to compensate for the cold dough.
To defrost frozen baked rolls, you can reheat them in the oven with the plastic wrap removed. Just place the rolls in the oven till it heats through and through.  You can microwave but quality will be poor.

Source:  Experience

 

Coco’s (and Reuben’s) Sour Cream Dressing

Coco’s Bakery is a subsidiary chain of Shari’s Cafe & Pies and casual dining restaurants operating in the western United States. As of May 2022, the chain operates 25 restaurants in Arizona, and California. It began as The Snack Shop in 1948 in Corona del Mar, California, and had switched owners multiple times.  It was the “go to” place for a quick dinner or great piece of strawberry pie.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 c milk
  • 1 c buttermilk
  • 2 1/4 c mayonnaise
  • 1/4 c cider vinegar
  • 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 Tab garlic salt
  • 1 1/2 sour cream

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients except sour cream in mixing bowl using a wire whisk.
  2. Fold in sour cream, leaving lumps intact.
  3. Refrigerate in a tightly closed container.

Serves: 6 1/2 cups

Source:   Orange County Register

 

Lemon Chive Mayo Dip

Simple, tasty, fast – doesn’t get any better.  Add this to your list of shrimp dipping sauces.  Also works with just about anything you can dip!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 c mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip)
  • 1/4 c sour cream
  • 2 Tab finely chopped or snipped chives
  • 1/4 tsp grated lemon zest
  • 2 Tab fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste

Directions:

  1. Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl.
  2. Refrigerate until used.

Serves:  2-4

Source: Leite’s Culinaria

Marie Rose Dipping Sauce

This delicious and decadent easy shrimp dipping sauce. Sweet and mellow, Marie Rose sauce is so easy to make. Prep takes  5 ingredients –  5 minutes! It’s the perfect dish for relaxed entertaining!  Be extravagant and offer a choice of two or three dips.  Think outside the box!  Serve shrimp, several dipping sauces, a green salad, and good crusty bread and call it dinner.

Ingredients:

  • ½ c mayonnaise
  • 1 tab ketchup (or for a little zing use cocktail sauce)
  • 1 tab lemon juice
  • Dash Tabasco Sauce
  • 1 tsp Brandy – optional secret ingredient!

Directions:

  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
  2. Add a small splash of brandy to taste if you choose to use it.

Serves:  6-8

Source:   Family Food Kitchen

Tricky Blue Cheese Dressing – Make It Last

How to get a salad ready for picnics, potlucks, and other summer flings: prepare the cabbage, carrots, and hardy vegetables. Keep them in a big container or gallon bag. Lettice, tomatoes, cucumbers croutons etc. get prepared the day before. Keep in separate bags. Make the dressing and keep it in a big jar. Then, when needed,  assemble cabbage/lettuce, vegetables, etc., chopped parsley. The parsley doesn’t add a significant flavor, but it does make the salad look like a show-stopper. You could also use ribbons of kale for a modern twist.

The prepared vegetables without dressing will keep for 5 days in a bag. The dressing without blue cheese keeps… well, I can’t say forever, but there’s honestly not one thing in there that shouldn’t keep for a month or two. Keep it in an airtight jar in the fridge. With blue cheese in it, use it within a week.

Dressing Ingredients:

  • 2 c mayonnaise, low-fat is fine, as is swapping half with yogurt
  • 1/4 c  smooth Dijon mustard
  • 3 Tab whole grain mustard
  • 2 Tab apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp celery seed
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 c (6 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

Directions – dressing:

  1. Mix the mayonnaise, mustards, vinegar, celery seed, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
  2. Stir in blue cheese, if using.

Serves:  Around 3 cups

Source:  Actually part of another recipe but a genius way to always have blue cheese dressing.  You can shake for vinaigrette or blend for creamy.  Homemade creamy blue cheese dressing seem to “break” – turn thin and watery – in a couple of days.

Aion Bourbon Splash

Dave tried this at the excellent Cafe Aion in Boulder, Colorado, where it’s called a “Bourbon Splash.” But that general description covers a multitude of drinks, most of which involve lemon (rather than orange) and mint. Dave wrote the restaurant, and Dakota S. provided this recipe, so credit where credit is due. It’s still a bit of a work in progress while he continues to tune the proportions, but what’s here is a fine start.

Ingredients:

  • 1 orange slice
  • 1 splash triple sec
  • 1 dash of bitters*
  • 2 oz bourbon
  • ginger ale

Directions:

  1. Muddle the orange with the triple sec and bitters in a rocks glass.
  2. Fill with ice.
  3. Add bourbon
  4. Fill the remainder of the glass with ginger ale.**

Notes:

*Dakota didn’t specify the bitters. Orange bitters worked nicely, though. Experiment!

**While Dave prefers ginger beer to ginger ale, in this case ordinary Canada Dry blends smoothly with the other flavors.

Summer Breeze

Tried once upon a time, and again at the 4th of July 2022 Margie Gras … with cautionary note.

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz. gin*
  • 1 oz. orange liqueur
  • Juice of ½ squeeze lemon
  • 4 drops of lavender bitters

Shake over ice, strain into glass.

*The gin involved is very prominent in the final result. Using a “mixer” gin will produce less than optimal results. Dave’s initial review of this was a huge happy face, but a retry with a cheap gin made it more of a mild smile.

Source: Mountain Crow

Periodista Cocktail

One of the cocktails we tried at the Mary’s Birthday / “Margie Gras” celebration in Summer 2022, chosen because Margie had picked up a bottle of apricot liqueur she wanted to try. “Periodista” is Spanish for “journalist,” though this seems a bit fussy for the stereotypical newsman slamming back a drink while cynically commenting on the corruption around him. 

Ingredients:

  • 1½ oz. rum*
  • ½ oz. fresh lime juice
  • ¼ oz. apricot liqueur
  • ¼ oz. cointreau
  • 1 tsp. simple syrup

Mix in an iced shaker, shake, and serve in a small cocktail glass.

*A light rum will provide a brighter flavor. A dark rum will create deeper, more nuanced notes. Try it both ways and decide for yourself!