Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Ham & Cheese Puff Pastry


Have you every smelled rancid meat? Well O-M-G it is some nasty, nasty stuff! We were all psyched (kids included) to eat some grilled steak fillets, but as soon as T started cutting the steaks... whoa... I thought I would die! The meat actually looked fine, and of course the date on it was good, I can only assume it wasn't refrigerated properly. Normally I'd just chuck it in the trash, but a whole tray of fillets from Costco is seriously expensive, so poor hubby had to treck on back over to Costco to return the meat. Upside, they didn't give him any hassle, but I was left to make something else for dinner.

Run along for a minute, think of something wonderful, then hurry on back so I can talk about my Ham & Cheese Puff Pastry, Ina Garten style. Thankfully I had everything on hand to make this at the last minute, just had to wait a while for the puff pastry to thaw. Word of caution here, make sure to completely thaw your pastry first, if not it's a pain in the whoha to roll out.

I was rushing, so didn't bother to measure my pasty out evenly, it still tastes the same of course, just not as pretty as Ina's... heehee, as if I could ever make anything as pretty as Ina's!


Bottom pastry rolled out, mustard spread out thinly..

Stack it on... I think mine could have used just a tad more ham and cheese..

Oooohhh, aaahhhh..

Mmmmmm.. slice it and serve it..


T will eat anything, except for mustard so I just didn't tell him it was in there, he didn't seem to mind and I actually thought it could have taken a bit more. Seriously, as long as you let your pastry thaw long enough, this is so easy to make, but it sure looks like it was hard work...I'll make sure to add this dish to the appetizer list next time we have company so that they'll all think I'm a Domestic Goddess :

Ham & Cheese Puff Pastry, adapted Ina Garten

1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
¼ pound black forest ham, sliced thin
½ pound Swiss Gruyere cheese, sliced
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbs water, for egg wash

Preheast oven to 425°. Place a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan.

Lay 1 sheet of puff pastry on a floured board and carefully roll it out to 10 by 12 inches. Place it on a sheet pan and brush the center with the mustard, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Place a layer first of ham and then cheese, also leaving a 1-inch border. Brush the border with the egg wash.

Place the second sheet of puff pastry on the floured board and roll it out to 10 by 12inches. Place the second sheet on top of the filled pastry, lining up the edges. Cut the edges straight with a small, sharp knife and press together lightly with a fork. Brush the top with egg wash and cut a few slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 30 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes and serve hot or warm.
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7 comments:

Alisa said...

Love it Angela. Any other ideas other then the mustard...I really dont like any kind of mustard at all and neither does Abran.

Thanks.

Angela [YourEverydayMama] said...

You could do some apricot preserves, maybe even add in some mushrooms. Or do a more dessert style with the preserves, then dust the slices with powdered sugar.

Thinh HATES mustard, but he actually ate 2 big helpings; Dijon is pretty tame stuff, I think I'll make it with a more robust mustard next time, and then make two!

Melissa said...

That looks so good! I make one like that with pie crust and instead of putting mustard inside, I make a honey mustard dipping sauce.
Alisa, you could leave the mustard out and serve with dipping sauces. (whatever you guys like) David likes bbq sauce on EVERYTHING! (ewww) That's what he's choose for sure. You could use ranch or blue cheese dressing, or eat it plain, too!
Angela, I love that you happen to have puff pastry on hand. ;o) Too bad about the steaks. At least you didn't eat them!!!!

Alisa said...

Thanks mamas. I always have puff pastry in my freezer - so I added the other yums to my grocery list for today!! I always use the pastry for sweets - so this is gonna be a nice change! :)

Melissa said...

I bought some puff pastry to keep in my freezer today, lol!!! I think I'm going to use it for tomato goat cheese tart. YUM!

Alisa said...

Melissa - its always a good thing to have on hand :)


Ange-I'm getting ready to make this recipe right now, except I am using Havarti cheese instead. I was thinking another good one would be with fresh figs, proscuitto and goat cheese or brie.
YUM!

Angela [YourEverydayMama] said...

Mmmm... Alisa, I think that sounds awesome (of course anything with Havarti is da bomb)!