Tag: puff pastry

Torah Tarts


Im taking the puff pastry trend and making it Jewish with TORAH TARTS!!! How fun are these for Shavuot?!

Click here to view the reel on Instagram.

Torah Tarts

hot dogs
puff pastry
honey
dijon mustard
egg
sesame seeds

On a parchment-lined baking sheet, put some yellow mustard and dijon directly on the parchment paper. On top of it place 1 hot dog cut lengthwise face down side by side. Top it with a piece of puff pastry, brush it with egg wash and sesame seeds. Bake at 400 degrees until puffed and golden.

Related Recipes:

Shavuos Recipes

Post a Comment

Pizza En Croute

Happy Chanukah!!!!! The holiday of donuts, latkes, fried food, gelt and cheeeeeeesssseeee is here! Does it get any better?

Of course we don’t count calories on Chanukah, because we celebrate the miracle of the oil where a small jug miraculously lasted for 8 whole days and the story of Yehudit who bravely lured a Greek general with wine & cheese and them chopped off his head in his drunken slumber. I mean how can we not honor our history and tradition by filling up on goodies??! You don’t have to ask me twice!

Of course Chanukah is also special to me because I was born on the fifth night, and 16 years ago, I got married on my birthday. I made that choice because I knew that the day held so much blessing and power, and I held onto the belief that it would carry me through my married life with lots of good vibes and the power to illuminate.


I never imagined that life would take me on this unexpected journey. That I would one day become a food writer, and that I would be blessed to carve out this humble space for myself on the web, and on your bookshelf. I feel especially grateful this Chanukah for all the miraculous blessings of the past year. For more success than I could have ever imagined. My heart is so full and I don’t even know how to thank you. So I’ll just keep cooking and sharing what I love, because that’s the only way I know how.

So I made pizza en croute. Because pizza has my heart. And I’m sure it has yours too. I used Makabi’s mini balls because it’s Chanukah after all, and because they’re the perfect size to take the place of brie – as a riff on the classic “brie en croute”.

I top ’em off with whatever I have en hand, and that’s really the best part about these – they’re so easily adaptable. Top the cheese with marinara, ketchup, pesto or olive tapenade and you’ve got yourself a party appetizer that will fly off the table!

Wishing you a CHEESY holiday!!

Pizza En Croute

9 Makabi Cheese mini balls
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup marinara sauce, plus more for dipping
toppings of choice (chopped brocolli, spinach, onions, olives, tomatoes mushrooms….)
1 egg + 1 tbsp water, for eggwash

Method:

Remove cheese from wrappers. Gently roll out the puff pastry and cut into 9 squares. Place cheese balls in the center of each square and top with marinara sauce and toppings of your choice. Pull the 4 corners of each square together and twist closed. Brush with eggwash and bake for 30-40 minutes, until puffed and golden.

Serve warm with marinara sauce for dipping.

TIP: to keep the cheese from oozing out during baking, pinch the openings closed or bake in a cupcake tins, as in this recipe.

NOTE: if desired, you can drizzle vegetables with olive oil and dried herbs such as basil and oregano.

This post was sponsored by Makabi Cheese, all opinions are my own!

Related Recipes:

dried fruit brie bites
parmesan lasagna chips with pizza hummus
broccoli Parmesan poppers
zucchini parmesan chips
3-cheese pull apart buns

Post a Comment

Dried Fruit Brie Bites

I was so excited when the Kosher Connection team challenged us to come up with mini foods for the month of January. With the holiday of Tu B’shvat* coming up, I had the perfect thing in mind – these rich and decadent melt-in-your-mouth little brie bites.

Brie en-croute, or puff-pastry wrapped brie is a classic appetizer which includes a wheel of brie topped with jam (onion and fig jam are popular) and wrapped in puff pastry. It’s usually served on a large platter with crackers, fruit and occasionally nuts. I decided to reinvent the classic appetizer in mini, using an assortment of dried fruits in the spirit of Tu B’shvat.

*Tu B’Shevat, the 15th of Shevat on the Jewish calendar, is the day that marks the beginning of a “New Year” for trees. We mark the day by eating fruit, particularly from the kinds that are singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates.

What’s so great about these puff pastry brie bites is that you can customize them to your liking. Use your favorite combination of dried fruit and jam’s or choose from one of these ideas:

Dried apricots + apricot jam
Medjool dates + silan
Dried figs + fig jam
Dried apples + apple butter
Craisins + cranberry sauce
Dried mango + mango chutney
Sundried tomatoes + tomato jam

You can also try some of my other Tu B’shvat dried fruit recipes:

Tu B’shvat truffles (sugarplums)
Mustard Roasted dried fruits

For more exciting mini food recipes, check out the Kosher Connection link-up below!

Dried Fruit Brie Bites

1 wheel brie, cut into 8 wedges
8 puff pastry squares*
dried fruit of choice
complementary jam of choice
1 egg + 1 tbsp water, beaten

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tray with nonstick spray. Working one at a time, place puff pastry squares into the tin letting the corners hang over the sides. Place a piece of dried fruit at the bottom, add a wedge of brie and top with a spoonful of jam. Fold the corners of the puff pastry over and twist them at the top. Brush the puff pastry with egg wash and bake until golden, approximately 20-25 minutes.

*If you cannot find puff pastry squares, simply roll our a sheet of puff pastry and cut into 4″ x 4″ squares.


Other brie recipes: brie marsala pizza

Post a Comment



Apple & Honey Tart


You’ll never believe how easy this beautiful tart is to make. It only requires 4 ingredients, and the dough isn’t even homemade!  The secret to this scrumptious dessert is puff pastry. I’m a huge fan of puff pastry because as most of you already know, I don’t like to bake, and it comes already prepared in the freezer section of every supermarket. I’ve been known to sneak puff pastry into just about any recipe that calls for a dough, even rugelach and hamantaschen!


Truth be told, I can’t take all the credit for this simple, elegant and delicious dessert. Last year, my wonderful sister-in-laws decided to treat me out to a fun evening at the Kosher Culinary Institute for my birthday. It was a special “date night” class, so my husband joined me in preparing a gourmet meal together with a few other couples. We really enjoyed the evening and I’m sorry to say that I don’t remember exactly what was on the menu. What I do remember is making spaetzle from scratch, whipping up cherry clafoutis for dessert, and what was a mere afterthought of the chef – a version of this apple tart.

For other sweet puff pastry ideas, check out Dina’s apple turnovers or my sweet potato bourekas on kosherstreet.

 

Apple & Honey Tart

1-2 crispy sweet apples, cored and thinly sliced (unpeeled)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup honey
1/2 lemon
powdered sugar, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unfold puff pastry sheet and cut it in half down the center (don’t worry about the creases from the folding, they will disappear during baking). Place the halves on a greased cookie sheet.

Add honey to a microwave-proof bowl and heat in the microwave until warm, about 20 seconds. Brush the puff pastry with the warm honey. Mix the apple slices with lemon juice and place them along the length of the puff pastry, overlapping over each other. Brush the apples with additional honey (warm the honey again, if necessary). Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until pastry has puffed up and is golden brown around the edges.

Drizzle with additional honey and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

This tart cannot be frozen (the apples will turn soggy) but it may be prepared in advance. Just warm it in the oven to crisp up the pastry before serving.

NOTE: Don’t worry if some of the honey syrup leaks off the puff pastry during baking. It will actually help caramelize the puff pastry around the edges. Just remove the puff pastry to a cooling rack as soon as you take it out of the oven.

TIP: Always make sure your puff pastry is cold otherwise it may become difficult to handle. If the dough becomes sticky, just return it to the fridge so that it can firm up again.

VARIATION: Try this tart with other fruits like sliced pears or peaches, or for a delicious dairy option, spread some goat cheese on the puff pastry, and top with figs and honey.

 

1 year ago: honey cake with caramelized apples

Post a Comment

{Guest Post} Apple Turnovers

Hey guys,

Since Chanie’s computer is out of commission, I’m filling in for a day with one of my favorite quick and easy recipes. I love to bake but I don’t always have the time. This recipe uses frozen puff pastry (I love Pepperidge Farm’s), which allows me to cut down on prep, but not taste! I really enjoy these, and I hope you do too!

PS Dont tell Chanie I told you, but she likes to use these ready-to-make frozen apple turnovers. If she ever serves them to you for dessert, just make believe it’s my recipe ;)

Apple Turnovers
from the Balabuste’s Choice

1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg yolk

Filling
4 cortland apples (grated)
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Glaze
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp boiling water
touch of vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat ovent to 350 degrees. Roll out dough and cut into 3×3 inch squares. Combine filling in a saucepan and stir over flame for 20-25 minutes. Cool filling. Place a tbsp of filling into each square. Fold the sides to make a triangle. Brush with egg. Poke edges closed with a fork to prevent sides from opening.  Place on lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 min or until golden brown.

Glaze when cooled.

Post a Comment