I know that I've been missing a while, but I had a bit of a crazy summer.
My summer included some ribs using a recipe from a famous pitmaster. Here they are before going on the grill.
And here they are after 4 1/2 hours on the grill.
There was really nothing else of interest...except that I have become an official recipe tester for America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country.
So far, I've made a one pan breakfast with sausage, potatoes, and egg in the hole, pork stir fry, meatballs in marinara, and a ricotta chicken. Some were better than others, but all were good.
I went to the grocery store with a plan this week. I had my menu for the week all prepared, I had the weekly ad in hand. I had my list made out in the order of the store.
I came home with almost everything on my list (I forgot lemons and Kaopectate) and didn't stray far off the list. Except, they had puff pastry by one get one free.
And how could I sit here, knowing that in my freezer was a box of nearly endless possibilities. I opened the pantry, looking for inspiration and found some. The results were mini chocolate turnovers and cherry danish.
I thawed the pastry using the instructions on the box before rolling the first sheet out on a floured board to a 12" x 12" square and then cut 16 3" x 3" squares. I placed a square of semisweet chocolate on each before rubbing the two sides with an egg wash and folding it into a triangle. I pressed the edges together and brushed the top with egg washed. Placed them on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked them at 400 degrees until browned.
The other sheet was rolled out to 10" x 10" and cut into 9 squares. I put some cherry pie filling diagonally on each square and placed some egg wash on two corners before folding them to the middle. Brushed the pastry with egg wash and baked at 400 degrees until done.
I drizzled everything with a glaze made from heavy cream, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla.
While they are warm, the gooey chocolate oozes from the center of the flaky pastry. If you grab one that is cold, pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds and you can once again dark chocolate heaven.
Puff pastry is an easy way to make a danish and I've used it before. I made Ina Garten's cream cheese danish years ago. But I had cherry pie filling in the pantry. Couldn't hurt, right?
On another note, I seem to have cured my brown thumb. I have managed to keep a houseplant alive for a year now. I have a tomato plant that is indeterminate. In case you are unfamiliar with the term, it has bloomed again and still has tomatoes at the end of September! And, having seen something on Facebook, I am growing romaine lettuce from the ends of heads I cut to make salad.
So, how you doin.?
