Spanokopita Swirls with Skordalia

Spanokopita
Ingredients:
1 pkg puff pastry
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
4 oz feta cheese
4 oz cream cheese (Neufchatel) (room temperature)
1 1/2 c fine chiffonade fresh Spinach
Parmesan cheese for rolling

Instructions Preheat oven to 375 F

Line two baking sheets with foil & parchment on top.

Saute onion in olive oil until clear and just starting to caramelize.  Remove from heat and cool.

Blend cream cheese and feta in a food processor.  Add onion. Set aside.

Coat rolling surface with a light layer of Parmesan cheese.  Layout a sheet of puff pastry dough. Coat lightly to prevent rolling pin from sticking and roll until even - 1/8" - 3/16" thick.

Spread 1/2 of cheese mixture evenly, leaving 1/2" at one edge for sealing later.

Spread 1/2 of spinach evenly, again leaving 1/2" at one edge for sealing.

Start rolling from edge opposite the 1/2" uncoated edge.  Keep the roll tight and even.
Roll until the 1/2" edge is left.  Wet that 1/2" edge with water and finish rolling, sealing the roll.

Repeat for other sheet of pastry.

Place both rolls in the freezer on a tray with the seam edge down for 10-20 minutes.

Remove from freezer and slide into 1/2" thick disks with a serrated knife and place on covered baking sheets.

Bake for 10-20 minutes until pastry puffs and browns.

Skordalia
Ingredients:
4-5 potatoes, peeled and cubed
6-10 cloves of garlic, pressed with a garlic press
1 c olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice


Instructions.
Boil potatoes in water until tender, drain.

Mash with a potato masher or ricer to a coarse texture.

Blend in garlic.

Put mixture in a food processor.  Pulse, slowly adding olive oil and lemon juice.  Mixture should remain coarse, but be well homogenized by pulsing.

Serve warm in a bowl with Spanokopita.

Can be served as a potato side dish as well.

Cremini with Hummus and Feta

24 oz Cremini mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed (save stems)
4 oz Feta
1 lg Yellow onion Caramelized
1 c  red pepper or onion Hummus
Olive oil

Preheat oven on broil. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Chop mushroom stems, saute and cool then blend into hummus.

Coat each mushroom lightly with Olive oil and place on baking sheet.

Spoon 1 t of hummus mixture into each mushroom. Place a small amount of caramelized onion on top. Place a few pieces of Feta cheese on top.

Place baking sheet in the oven to broil for about 5 minutes until cheese browns. Reduce heat and to 375 and bakecfor another 10 minutes until mushrooms are heated through.

Remove and serve.

Puff Pastry Cheese Straws & Sweet-Savory Dipping Sauce

Puff Pastry Cheese Straws

Ingredients
1 pkg Puff Pastry (two sheets)
1/2 c Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Sweet-Savory Sauce

Ingredients
2 c sugar
1 c water
1 c red wine
1 t oregano
1/2 t rosemary
1 t smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare two baking sheets with a layer of  aluminum foil covered by parchment paper.

Thaw puff pastry per package instructions. Separate sheets. Coat counter or table top with parmesan cheese and unfold one sheet of pastry on it. Lightly cover the top of the pastry sheet with more parmesan cheese. Roll out to about 1/8" thickness. With a pizza wheel or long knife, slice the pastry into 1/2" wide strips. Twist each strip 6-8 times, fold in half and place on a baking sheet leaving about 1/2" between each strip.

Bake each sheet for 10-12 minutes until puffed and the cheese is browned. Remove from oven and cool.

In a large saucepan, put sugar in the pan over medium-high heat. Whisk constantly until the sugar melts completely.  Continue heating to caramelize the sugar to a mahogany brown color. Just when the first puffs of smoke start, remove from heat and CAREFULLY add 1/2 c water. THIS WILL BOIL AND SPLATTER THE HOT SUGAR. BE VERY CAREFUL! When you can safely begin whisking again, stir all of the water into the sugar.  Put the pan back on the stove to heat, whisking constantly.  When the mixture returns to a simmer, add the red wine and spices.  Simmer to reduce slightly for 20 minutes or so.

Serve both the pastries and sauce together. To serve, put a couple Cheese Straws on a small plate and drizzle sauce over them.

Bleu Cheese & Pear Puff Pastry Bites

Ingredients

1 lg red onion - sliced into quarters then thin sliced
2 lg Red d'Anjou pears - peeled, cored and diced into 1/4" cubes
1 pkg puff pastry
1 1/2 T fresh thyme leaves
2 T olive oil
4 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
1/2 c + 1/2 c apple wine (I prefer Springgate Vineyard's Golden Apple Wine)

Heat skillet and add olive oil.  Saute onions until browned.  Add thyme and saute until fragrant.

Deglaze with 1/2 c apple wine making sure to scrape browned onion layer from pan.

Add diced pears and blend, heating.

Add other 1/2 c apple wine and gently heat the entire mixture for a few minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool before using.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare two baking sheets adding a layer of parchment paper.

Gently roll out puff pastry per the package instructions.  Cut with a 1 1/2" diameter cutter or suitable cup or glass.  This should yield about 48 circles.  Place circles onto baking sheets.

Put about 1 t of pear/onion mixture on each circle.  Follow by a bit of the crumbled bleu cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puff pastry is cooked through.

Serve and enjoy!

Robin Egg & White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

4 3/4 c white flour
2 t baking soda
2 t salt
4 sticks softened unsalted butter
3 c brown sugar
2 t vanilla extract
4 lg eggs
4 c broken Robin Egg (malted milk) candies pieces
2 c white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375° F. Add parchment paper to at least two baking sheets.

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Gradually beat in flour mixture. 

Gently fold in candie and white chocolate chips by hand

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto baking sheets

Bake for 9 minutes or until golden brown. Do not over bake.

Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Bacon Bleu Cheeseburger Potato Skins

10 lb medium Russet potatoes
1 lb ground beef
1 lb bacon slices
1 c chopped onion
1 c chopped green pepper
1 c Chambourcin or other rich red wine
8 oz bleu cheese
8 oz gouda or other melting cheese

Wash and pierce the potatoes.  Place on a cooking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

While the potatoes bake,  saute onions and peppers in olive oil until soft deglaze with Merlot and cook until the wine is reduced.  Set aside mixture in a bowl and add ground beef to the pan.  Brown beef. When done, add onion & peppers to the mixture.  Set aside to cool.

Crumble bleu cheese into small pieces.  Dice Gouda into small pieces.

Bake or fry bacon until done.  Cool & crumble or chop into pieces.

When potatoes are cool, slice each into thirds lengthwise.  Set aside the middle third - it will not be used for this recipe.  Scoop out all but 1/4" of the potato center from each of the other thirds making a cavity for filling.

Place parchment paper on two baking sheets.  Brush surface with olive oil.  Place potato sections open side down on the paper.  Brush or spray the back sides with olive oil.  Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes until edges begin to brown.  Cool.

To assemble, place a tablespoon of ground meat in the potato cavity.  Sprinkle some of the bleu cheese and gouda pieces on top. Then add some of the bacon pieces.  Repeat for all of the potato skins.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-30 minutes until cheese melts and potatoes heated through.

Chicken, Cremini & Asparagus Alfredo Dip

Ingredients
1 c chopped onions
1 c chopped sweet green pepper
2 T + 2 T olive oil
1/2 t dry rosemary
1 t oregano
2 x 1 c Chamborcin or Merlot
1/2 lb Cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced into 1/8" slices

1/2 large chicken breast cut into 1/2" strips.

4 T unsalted butter
4 T flour
1/2 T dry rosemary
1/2 T oregano
1 1/2 c skim milk
1 c heavy cream
1 1/2 c grated Parmesan (plus more to coat the top of the casserole dish)

Preheat oven to 375.  Butter bottom and sides of a large casserole dish.

Place an oven-safe saute pan on high heat and add olive oil.  Add onions and peppers.  Saute until onions are clear.  Add rosemary and oregano and continue to stir.  Add Chamborcin to deglaze.  Simmer until liquid is evaporated.  Put mixture in a bowl and return saute pan to heat.  Add chicken strips browning on both sides.  Add second cup of Chamborcin, sprinkle with a bit more rosemary and oregano and put the pan in the oven to braise for 30 minutes.

Place a large sauce pan on medium heat. Add 4 T butter and 4 T flour.  Heat and mix to make a rue. Continue to heat until the rue is a pale tan color.  Add skim milk, cream, oregano and rosemary.  Stir with a whisk to blend well.  Continue to whisk and heat until bubbles form on the edges and sauce begins to thicken. Add Parmesan and whisk well heating and whisking until the sauce is creamy and thick.  Remove from heat.

Remove chicken from the oven and remove chicken pieces to a cutting board to cook. (Leave the oven on - we still need it!) Put saute pan back on the stove on high heat and add bowl of onion & pepper mixture.  Reduce liquid until gone again.  Push the vegetable mixture to the side and add the sliced mushrooms.  Suate until mushrooms lose their liquid. Continue to heat and reduce the liquid to a minimum.  Put the vegetable and mushroom mixture into a large bowl and set aside.

On the cutting board, shred all of the cooled chicken into small pieces.  Add this to the large bowl with the vegetables and mushrooms.  Add the Alfredo sauce as well and fold the mixture together.  Now place the mixture in the casserole dish, leveling with the back of a spoon.  Coat the top of the mixture liberally with Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes at 375.