Versatile Puff Pastry To The Rescue

I keep frozen puff pastry in my freezer, always. It's my no panic emergency, showy chic meal that I haven't even thought of yet. The breakfast, lunch or dinner everyone will rave about and think you spent hours preparing. Go savory...go sweet...puff pastry will save the day in a huge way. Here are a few examples of puff pastry genius. You can take it from here and let your imagination be you guide. Create the oohs and awes of your next brunch, lunch or dinner. You'll want to keep a few in the freezer as well. Enjoy!

Basically you'll need:
1 package of thawed puff pastry. Keep refrigerated until use!
1 egg + a little water for the egg wash (beaten)
And any of the ingredients below, depending on what you want to make.
eggs
bacon
sausage
pats of butter
cheddar, pepper Jack, or Monterrey Jack cheese
cooked potatoes
cooked broccoli
cooked cabbage
Italian sausage
pepperoni
mozzarella cheese
steak
BBQ pulled pork or chicken
assorted fruit jams or preserves , strawberry, blueberry, lemon, etc.
jarred Alfredo sauce
jarred Marinara sauce
mushrooms
brown gravy in a jar
sun dried tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Unfold frozen puff pastry and roll just enough to get the creases out. Cut into desired shapes.Brush dough with egg wash. Sprinkle each piece with cheese of choice, cooked sausage or bacon, and crack an egg on top. Arrange on a baking sheet, reduce heat to 375 degrees F. Bake savories for about 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden and egg whites are set. Serve with a salad for brunch, sausage for breakfast if not added to the pastry or cottage fries for a perfectly gorgeous meal.

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OMG Danish! Hot out of the oven. Roll out puff pastry, again, just enough to get out folds. But don't worry too much because you're going to be cutting the pastry. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut pastry into 2 inch wide strips (the shortest distance across). Twist 3 strips together and shape into a round nest. Place all of the rounds on a baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Fill each nest with your favorite pie filling. Lemon, raspberry, cherry, pineapple, apple or complete pumpkin pie filling. Bake at 400 degrees for about twenty minutes or until golden. They'll think you spent hours creating these insanely delicious treats. : )

How can you go wrong with a more chic answer to the pizza pocket? You can't! Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out puff pastry to remove the fold creases and cut into desired squares or shapes. Dip you finger into a small bowl of water and brush the edges with your finger tip about 1/2 inch all the way around your pastry. Fill with your favorite ingredients such as BBQ pulled pork, chicken Alfredo, Potato and cheese or how about Eggs, bacon or sausage or ham and cheese.  Italian sausage, pepperoni, sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella, cheese in marinara sauce, steak and mushroom...well, the ideas are endless.  Dip finger in water and dampen all edges with water to form a seal. Fill your flaky puff pockets with 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling. Add a top and press the edges together. Use a fork to lightly fuse the bottom and top together. It's just pretty! : ) Remember if you are cutting shapes such as leaves for the fall or hearts for V-day, you may need to use a smaller amount of filling. If it's too much, just remove a bit and seal. Cut a couple of slits in the top for air vents. .Brush with egg wash and refrigerate about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from refrigerator and bake at 400 degrees or until golden.  Wow, yummy posh looking dish in minutes. Serve with salad or chips and enjoy!

Unwrap puff pastry and cut into 2 inch wide strips.Roll strips like you would if you were making a snake : ) Wrap pastry strips around your favorite hot dogs  to create the effect shown in the picture above. You can cut them into 1/3's 1/2's or leave them whole. Brush with egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Great with home fries, potato salad or sweet potato chips. Yum it up and create your own repertoire of puff pastry dishes.

♥ Kit

Kit's Rustic Tomato Tart

For the dough:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
pinch of salt
7 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut in cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream

For the Filling:
4 to 5 tomatoes, peeled and sliced Heirloom are especially delish, I like using cherry, pear, grape tomatoes, and a mix of Roma and slicing tomatoes.

A light handful fresh basil leaves,  rolled and sliced chiffonade. 1/2 cup leeks, cleaned, mixed green and white, sliced 

1 cup mozzarella, shredded, extra for sprinkling on dough
1 cup cheddar, shredded
1 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Add flour and butter into the processor bowl and pulse. Once combined, slowly add the cream while still pulsing the flour mixture, Keep adding the cream until the dough comes together. Remove the dough from the food processor and move to a lightly floured surface. Gently knead the dough a few times until it is smooth and into a ball. Wrap up the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the tomatoes in a colander over a bowl or sink. Sprinkle with salt and drain for 15 to 20 minutes.
Flour surface and roll out cold dough into a circular shape, about 10 inches.

In a skillet on medium heat, add sliced leeks and cook until soft and tender. Remove from pan,cool.

Layer the tomato slices, basil, and leeks in tart. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the shredded cheeses and mayonnaise together. Spread mixture on top of the tomatoes and pull edges of tart over the filling roughly. Place on a sheet pan and bake 35 minutes or until lightly browned and done. Add additional cheese when done if needed and garnish with herbs of choice. Slice and serve warm with a fresh salad.

Detroit Coney Island Hot Dog

My dad was a Chef but at home he cooked regular food. This is about one of the meals I never figured out. We always had a block of Frozen Chili on the house. I vaguely remember my big brother putting in a sauce pan and thawing it out.

When I went into the military and was living on my own I knew what to do when I wanted chili. These bricks are easy to find in any freezer section of the market.

After thawing and bringing the chili to a boil, I found some crackers a bowl, a big spoon and was ready to chow down.

Yuck. What? Why did I ever think this was good? Maybe the brand was wrong? Maybe I didn't pay close attention. I don't know but soon I gave up and found a real recipe for chili. Fail.

Last week I found myself in Detroit/Pontiac MI and had to drive a 7 mile stretch of road called Walton Blvd. It was a busy street but I noticed many restaurants and a good percentage of them were either closed or up for sale. The other thing I noticed was that the names of the open and busy ones were, "The Stuffed Bun,

The Classic Coney Kitchen, Nikko's Koney Kitchen, Bob E's Big Chief (The One With The Toasted Bun)."  It was weird seeing pizza joints closed down while there were nice restaurants dedicated to hot dogs.

I mentioned this to one local and heard more than I ever wanted about the Coney Island Dog and how it was a serious Michigan tradition. I called home and my very wise wife tasked me to go have a Coney and report back. :)

At lunch the next day I stopped at Nikkos. I tasted a Coney and then a Loose Coney. I knew I had to ignore how I felt and think about what this actually was. The Coney was a chili dog, a natural encased hot dog on a fresh bun . The Loose Coney was hot dog bun with seasoned ground beef covered with a layer of thin chili sauce. Both had a strip of yellow mustard for a wisp of acidity and covering of diced sweet onions. Ok, got it. I now know what these guys like and I can now report back, Good.

But how I felt? OMG!!! After years, I finally remember what that brick of frozen chili was about. The memory came back fully and was complete. My brother would boil a pack of hot dogs, then thaw and heat the chili. One day. every couple of weeks we had Chili dogs on Wonder Bread hot dog buns. This is was that brick was for, NOT chili, it was actually chili sauce.

Today I made a Detroit Coney and that first bite brought me back, way back.. It made me realize that my dad had taught my brother (1 year older) how to cook dinner for his 9 and 7 year old brother and sister. This was a bite full of memories. Not just childhood memories but good memories.

I think I now really get the definition of Comfort Food.

The Celebrations of Spring!

Spring is in the air. It's a ways off, but close enough that I can begin to plan for the little celebrations it will bring. I love this time of year. The thought keeps me going through the last of the cold winter days. There is still a crispness in the early morning air and a promise of rain showers that will serve to nurture the tiny new shoots of spring flowers that are beginning to peek from beneath the earth.

 And, there's nothing sweeter than new born baby animals reminding us that there is promise and rebirth and a newness in this world. I love the sounds of birds chirping and working tirelessly on their nest. I'll be working on our spring nest, too and bringing you some fresh ideas for your home and garden.

It's a time to freshen up your grocery list with smart buys,  add new light desserts and easy dinner menus, colorful flower arrangements and table settings.

Marti Gras shows first in March with the colorful celebrations of New Orleans. One of my all time favorite haunts. I want to show you some of the classics dishes of Fat Tuesday and some of the fabulous sights of the Big Easy, my surrogate home away from home.

 My twin daughters birthdays are at the beginning of March. Our most important celebration of the month. I can't wait to show you what I have in mind for the special day. I think they'll love it, too. Ash Wednesday will also fall on my daughters Birthday. I've been looking forward to sharing some of the foods and traditions this holiday.

And last but not least comes St. Patty's day. Just wait until you see what I have in store. The perfect Irish stew and much, much more. And this is just the beginning of spring.  So stay tuned for all the new Kit loves Caz post to come, full of recipes, eye candy and ideas to make your everyday, extraordinary.

Remember to love deeply and enjoy the little things in life. XX Kit~

A Special Wedding and the Cake

In June Caz and I drove to San Francisco for his daughters wedding. I had the honor of making her cake and we also did the food for the wedding. When Constance first told me about the flowers she was using, I was a little skeptical. After all, I'd never seen or even heard of succulents being used at a wedding. So I set out to do a bit of research on the subject and was wowed beyond belief. Not only were they used, but the mixture of delicate succulent plants and white was absolutely elegant. This is the beautiful bride with her cake.

Here's a close up of the cake. The El's on top were playful and fun and turned out just perfect for them. She loves elephants : ).

This is just one example of how many different ideas are out there that you might not think would work for a wedding. Here are some other succulent ideas...

The tables were beautiful, dressed with baskets of succulents. Here are other ideas...

And other cakes...

And more ideas...

So you see, wedding flowers don't have to be traditional. Only limited by your own imagination! Think outside of the box for a beautiful and unique wedding. Constance did and it was amazing!

Fortune Cookie Fun!

Ingredients:

4 egg WHITES 
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour  
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Cooking spray for pan

Utensils you will need:
Bowl
Hand mixer
Sheet pan
Gloves
Coffee mug
Muffin or cupcake pan

Directions:

If you want to include messages or fortunes inside the cookies, they need to measure 3 inches long by about 1/2 wide. I have found many cute fortune cookie pdf's on the internet, so Google to find the perfect inserts for your occasion.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside. 

In the bowl, combine egg whites and sugar. Beat on medium speed just to combine, using an electric mixer. Mix in the flour and salt. Add butter, heavy cream, vanilla  and almond extract. Mix to incorporate all ingredients. This should take no loner than 40 to 50 seconds. you don't want the egg white and cream to whip.

Do NO more than 4 cookies at a time at a time. Once the cookies harden they can't be folded. You will need to work fast. You only have about 10 to 12 seconds to insert message, fold and bend hot cookie so you can finish 4 cookies before they get cool and hard. Use gloves if your hands are sensitive to heat. The cookies will be very warm as you work.

Pour 1 tablespoon of batter onto the baking sheet. Using the back of a spoon in a circular motion, spread into a 5 inch circle. Fill the pan and make sure there is about 2 inches between each circle. Bake cookies until 1/4 to 1/2 inch of edges of the cookies turn golden. 

Remove cookie rounds with a spatula one at a time. Working quickly, add message, fold like a taco and using the edge of a coffee mug, bend the back of the folded cookie over the edge of the cup to form the fortune cookie shape. Place finished cookie in the muffin pan and move to the next cookie quickly.  

You can also add food color to the batter for baby or bridal showers, etc.

Have fun!

More Chinese New Year~Fried Spring Rolls

Makes 2 dozen.

Ingredients:
5 oz of pork minced
5 oz of chicken minced
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger,minced
3 cloves garlic,minced
1 carrot shredded and minced
1 cup of cabbage, chopped until you have finely minced consistency.
4 green onions, sliced very thin and chopped
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar (any vinegar will do)
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
2 tablespoon of soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

20 spring roll wrappers

vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

In a large frying pan or wok, heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the minced meats. Fry until meat is almost brown, then remove to a bowl and set aside. Add more oil if necessary, ginger, garlic and carrot. Cook for 2 minutes and add cabbage. Cook cabbage mixture until soft and mixture is well blended. Add sugar vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce and mix to incorporate. Add meat back in and green onions. Stir well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

At this point you need to heat the oil for deep frying in a fryer or wok. The temperature of the fryer should be 375 degrees F.

Lay egg roll wrappers on a clean surface,  few at a time and place 2 tablespoons of the filling in each. Roll tightly, tucking in sides and sealing with a finger dipped in water.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling in each egg roll. Place some water on the edge of each wrapper so you can seal them easily. Remember, you are not making eggrolls. You are making spring rolls and they should resemble more of a cigar.

Fry no more than 3 at a time until golden and drain on a paper plate.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or eat them plain. YUM!