Foodie Fridays: Puff Pastry Appies

Hi Humble Readers...

Any big plans for the weekend?  Are you doing chores or are you having fun?  So far there's not much on our agenda for the weekend, but that might change if I find some motivation.  Grocery shopping and church (and our annual meeting... ugh) are a given, other than that I don't know yet. 

Last weekend we watched the Oscars.  I LOVE watching the Oscars.  And historically, I try to see as many of the nominated films as possible, particularly in the Best Picture category (this year I only got around to seeing one... bad Mrs. Gamgee!).  And every year I make a variety of appetizers as dinner, so that we can munch as we watch.  

And as much as I love watching the Oscars, I LUUURRRVE me some appetizers.  Originally, when my Beloved and I got married, I wanted our reception to be all appetizers (which my mother quickly vetoed).  When we go out to a 'real' restaurant, I always drool over the appie menu. 

My absolute favourites are chicken wings, but for this year's Oscar night I wanted something new and a little different.  So the menu for the evening included a couple of old stand-bys (nachos and veggies with hummus... both fairly straight forward) and a couple of new-ish ideas. 

First up, I did a variation on some chicken turn-overs that I've made in the past.  This recipe calls for puff pastry, and as I have stated before... pastry makes me nervous.  So nervous, in fact, that I have never attempted to make it myself, I just buy the frozen stuff.  And you know what?  I think that's just fine... it works great and tastes good too. 

Creamy Pesto Chicken Puffs

2 chicken breasts, poached and shredded
2 oz cream cheese (about 1/4 of a brick), softened
1 generous tbsp of basil pesto
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
flour
1 egg, beaten

Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface until it's about one foot square.  Using a sharp knife, cut puff pastry into 16 equal squares.  Combine shredded chicken, cream cheese, and pesto in a bowl, and divide between the squares of pastry.  Carefully fold pastry over filling, corner to corner to create triangles.  You may need to use a touch of water to help the pastry seal together.  Lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush lightly with beaten egg, and bake for 20-22 minutes in a preheated 350F oven until golden brown.

Baked Crab Rangoon Puffs  (adapted from Big Red Kitchen)

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
flour
4 oz cream cheese (about half a brick), softened
1/3 cup mayo
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 can crab meat (about 6 oz, I think)
1 egg, beaten
Sweet Chili Sauce

Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface, to about one foot square.  Using a sharp knife, cut pastry into 20 equally sized squares.  Combine cream cheese, mayo, garlic, and green onion, and blend until smooth.  Gently fold in crab meat.  Transfer mixture to a piping bag (I used a zip-top bag, and cut a corner off), and draw a line of the filling down the center of each pastry square.  Carefully fold pastry over filling as you would fold a burrito (fold in sides, then roll bottom to top.  They were about the size of my pinky finger before baking), and lay out seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Lightly brush with egg, and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 20-22 minutes, until golden.  Serve with sweet chili sauce for dipping. 

I hope you give these a try the next time you need some yummy appies.  They are a little bit fiddly to make because they are so small, but the finished product is worth it!  (And if you do happen to have any left over, they reheat really nicely in the microwave the next day)