Puff Pastry Appetizers with Goat Cheese

December 30, 2009  •  Appetizers,

I spent the last two days shopping and cooking for the New Year’s Eve extravaganza dinner I’m throwing for 16 friends tomorrow night – 10 courses to ring in 2010, a tradition I started with 7 courses to ring in 2007. When you plan a meal with this many courses, you need to ensure that each is really a tapas portion, and I like to start with a simple amuse bouche that can be eaten with your fingers in one bite. This puff pastry morsel will be prefect as a starter.You start with puff pastry sheets, which I always buy frozen from Pepperidge Farm. I once made puff pastry in a pastry class at Cook Street – while it was interesting to see how it’s done, I never want to do it again! Roll the dough out just a tiny bit on a lightly floured surface.Here’s the secret step – cut out small pieces with a cookie cutter, then using a smaller cutter, press a ring into the center of the dough, but not cutting all the way through.
After you bake them for about 10-13 minutes, pull them out and notice the ring you cut in the center. Use the tip of a small knife to gently lift this piece of pastry out.You can either save that small piece to top off your appetizer, or what I decided to do for mine is to turn that piece upside down and tuck it back into the shell you’ve now created.Fill the center with some cheese – I used a goat cheese with herbs, but plain goat cheese or brie would also be great.Bake them again until the cheese is warmed through, then top with a small dollop of Green Tomato Relish or fig jam. Don’t know what to serve for appetizers at your party tomorrow night? These are easy and tasty and I promise will be a hit!

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Puff Pastry Appetizers with Goat Cheese
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 1 sheet of Pepperidge Farms puff pastry sheets (1/2 package), thawed
  • 4 ounces goat cheese (or brie)
  • Green Tomato Relish (or fig jam)
Instructions
  1. Cut out 2 inch rounds of puff pastry using a cookie cutter, then gently press a 1 ince round into the center to make a ring, taking care not to cut all the way through the dough. Lay on a Silpat liner or parchment paper on a baking sheet and back at 375 degrees untly just barely golden, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and use the tip of a small knife to carefully remove the "lid" from the center, turn it upside down and press it back into the hole. Fill hole with a small about of cheese and return to the oven to bake for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is warmed through. Remove from oven and top each puff pastry with a small amount of green tomato relish and serve warm.

 

Comments

5 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Juju says:

    Sounds awesome! I love it!

  2. Ciaochowlinda says:

    This is a great idea and so adorable too. I’m always looking for other places to use my fig jam, other than on toast or in a crostata.

  3. ziegen milch says:

    I really love goat cheese desserts, their are awesome. If I have guests, I just make goat cheese deserts and they love it. Are there any other good uses for goat cheese?

    • Bob I says:

      TRY a stuffing a tomato with goat cheese and fried sage. I cook them on the grill while my entree is finishing on the same grill. Usually on a gas grill, put them on the unlit side with the top down. Or you could honestly just nuke them to get the cheese and tomato warm. Great side.

  4. Bob I says:

    Good recipe. The cutting of the filling hole did not work, so I just used a hobbyist knife to cut a hole in the crust and with the top off, push the inside down to make a bigger crater. Goat cheese, fried sage, and minced sun dried tomato. Wife loved them.

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