Prosciutto and Parmesan Palmiers - An Appetizer You Won't Forget

Palmiers (elephant ears) are relatively easy to make, taste delicious, and make an impressive display.  The recipe below uses prosciutto and parmesan, but there are many other variations you can try - basil and sun-dried tomatoes, turkey with swiss and baby spinach.  Anything that goes well together in a sandwich would work here. 

Ingredients:
1 sheet thawed puff pastry
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
6 slices of prosciutto
1 c. grated parmesan cheese
Flour, for dusting

1. Lightly flour your work surface.  Unfold the puff pastry.
2. Roll the puff pastry out into an approximate 12" square.  To help keep it even, roll from the middle towards the edges.  If the pastry feels like it's starting to stick, gently lift it, place more flour on the work surface and the rolling pin, and turn the pastry. 
3. Dollop the mustard is several places on the pastry.  Using a silicone spatula or the back of a spoon, spreadh the mustard evenly over the pastry. 
4. Lay the prosciutto over the mustard, tearing it into pieces if necessary to create an even layer.
5. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the prosciutto. 
6. Staring with the edge closest to you, being rolling away from you, towards the middle, into a tight log.  If you need help getting it started, use a bench/dough scraper (as mentioned in the post My Favorite Cooking Tools) to lift the dough.  Repeat the rolling with the far edge, rolling towards you. When you're done rolling, you can wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for one to two days, or continue to the next step.
7. Preheat the oven to 375F.
8. Using a sharp knife (serrated would be best), cut the log into 1/2 inch slices.  Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the palmiers are golden brown. 

Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry Crust

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 Tbsp. butter
3 leeks, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. mushrooms, chopped
1/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. milk
3/4 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. Penzey's Northwoods Seasoning (optional)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
cooking spray
salt
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally until chicken is no longer pink. Remove pan from heat and place chicken in baking dish. (I used an 8 X 10 dish. Anything around this size would work.)
3. Heat butter over medium heat in a dutch oven or other large pot.  Saute the leeks and carrots for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  
4. Add the chopped garlic and cook for one minute, or until garlic is fragrant.  
5. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated from them.  
6. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute. 
7. Whisk in the milk and broth.  Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes.  Add the seasoning and parsley.  Season to taste with salt and pepper
8. Stir the vegetable mixture in the baking dish with the chicken.
9. Roll out the puff pastry and drape it over the baking dish, so it hangs over the edges by 1/4 inch.
10. Lightly spray the puff pastry with cooking spray.  Cut several slits so steam can escape.
11. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.  Let sit for five minutes, and serve.

Tarts - They're Not All Sweet

Some people think that tarts are only sweet dishes (lemon tart, pecan tart, etc.) but tarts can be savory too. A tart is basically just an open pie shell with a filling in it.  If you have basic ingredients on hand, you can quickly throw together a tart for dinner.

I like to use puff pastry for my tarts.  Puff pastry is made by repeatedly folding layers of butter in between dough. As the pastry heats in the oven, the butter releases steam, which causes the many layers to puff up.  The result is a buttery, but airy crust.  Frozen puff pastry is available in the freezer section of the grocery store and is really easy to work with - you just need to let it defrost in your refrigerator and keep it cold until you're ready to work with it.

You can use whatever combination of fillings/toppings in your tart.  I typically start with some kind of onion (yellow onion, red onion, leeks, scallions) which I slice, then saute in some butter until they start to caramelize.  That will go on the pastry as a base, and then I add additional ingredients.  Here's some combinations that I've made:

• Leeks, ricotta, salami, and grape tomatoes
• Yellow onion, gruyere, and potato
• Red onion, zucchini, and fontina

The tart gets baked for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees until it's puffed and golden.  If adding any fresh herbs, such as basil or parsley, I wait until the tart is out of the oven, so the herbs stay fresh and vibrant.  

Next time you're at the grocery store, grab some puff pastry, cheese, and vegetables to create your own quick and easy tart for dinner.  Once you make one, you'll see how simple it is and how many different combinations of toppings you can use.  Enjoy!