A Life, Lived

Sunday Small Bites - Week 19 Montasio-Chickpea Flatbreads

The latest ingredient of the week for the Sunday Small Bites cooking group on slowtravel was chickpeas selected by Kathy.

Chickepeas are a healthy legume . . . they are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fiber and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes. Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated. Leave it to the small bite crew to end our 19 week exploration of appetizers on a healthy note!

I took this to heart and went with a quick and relatively healthy small bite for the week. This recipe was created by Food and Wine chef Grace Parisi.

Here you top store-bought naan or pita (we used whole wheat pita) with chickpeas, montasio (a nutty Italian cheese), green onions, and cayenne pepper. I added a bit more cayenne pepper because we like a bit of a 'bite'. The result was wonderful.

The recipe was originally written for an article entitled 'Impromptu 1-Hour Party' and this recipe sure fits that bill. . . so long as you had the cheese handy!

Montasio-Chickpea Flatbreads

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1 scallion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Coarse salt
1 1/2 cups shredded Montasio, young pecorino or Fontina cheese
Four 12-inch round flatbreads, such as naan or pocketless pita

Preheat the oven to 450° and preheat a griddle.

In a bowl, toss the chickpeas with the scallion, cayenne and 1 tablespoon of olive oil; season with salt. Using a fork, coarsely mash the chickpeas. Stir in the cheese. Spread the mixture over the flatbreads, leaving a 1-inch border.

Brush the griddle with oil and, working in batches, add the flatbreads, cheese side up. Cook over high heat until the bottoms are lightly browned, 2 minutes.

Transfer to baking sheets and bake for 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Transfer to a work surface, cut the flatbreads into wedges and serve hot or warm.

Grilled Eggplant Involtini

The latest ingredient of the week for the Sunday Small Bites cooking group on slowtravel was eggplant selected by Eden. I was happy that she had selected eggplant because it is one of my favourite vegetables. In my mind I always associate eggplants with Italian cuisine - albeit lightly fried in a delicious eggplant parmigiana dish. MMMM 

Given that I'm back on my careful diet routine tomorrow I decided to look for something that was a bit healthy. There would be no eggplant parmigiana on my table. SIGH

After some searching we selected this recipe that we found on the Food and Wine web site. Here thin slices of smoky grilled eggplant is rolled around a filling of creamy fresh ricotta with chives and diced tomato. The roll is tied with chives and served on a splash of tomato sauce for presentation. It was quick, low-fat (we used ricotta made with skim milk), refreshing, and delicious!

We shall definitely be making these again!

Grilled Eggplant Involtini

1 eggplant (about 1 1/4 pounds), sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick
Salt
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
1/2 pound fresh ricotta (1 cup)
2 tablespoons snipped chives, plus 16 whole chives
Freshly ground pepper
1 plum tomato—peeled, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup prepared tomato sauce

Lightly sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and let stand for 15 minutes.

Preheat a grill pan. Blot the eggplant slices dry with paper towels and brush with olive oil. Grill the eggplant over moderate heat, turning once, until tender and lightly charred, about 6 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a platter and let cool.

Working over a bowl, press the ricotta through a sieve. Add the snipped chives and season with salt and pepper. Stir the diced tomato into the filling.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the whole chives and blanch for 10 seconds. Drain and pat dry.

Spread the ricotta filling over the eggplant slices and cut each in half crosswise. Roll the halves lengthwise into small cylinders and tie with the blanched chives. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then serve over s spoon of tomato sauce.

Warm Lentil Dip

The latest ingredient of the week for the Sunday Small Bites cooking group on slowtravel was lentils. Now these wee dried legumes weren't an ingredient that I was even familiar with until last year when I needed them for another cooking challenge posted by Kim.

I whined and complained about having to use lentils - convinced that I'd hate them. Yet I went ahead and made my lentil soup (after being soundly mocked for my anti-lentil behaviour by Paolo). Of course I discovered that I loved them (more mocking from Paolo) and we have made a number of other lentil recipes since then. Thanks kim!

'tis appropriate that lentils were selected as the ingredient of the week just prior to New Years as lentils are a food that represents luck and prosperity in Italy. The annual rite of consuming good luck food for New Year's Day is observed all over the world.  . . . exactly what you consume depends largely on where your ancestors came from and what was available there during the winter.  

In Italy, lentils are eaten as a symbol of good luck and prosperity because they resemble tiny coins.  Tuscans eat lentils with "Cotechino", a large pork sausage.  People in Bologna and Modena eat lentils with "Zampone", the same sausage mixture stuffed into the skin of a pig's foot.  In the Piedmont, little grains of rice symbolize money, so New Year's Day menus feature risotto and for added luck, a plate of beef or chicken would be served with spinach and lentils.  If you would like to add a "good luck" dish to your New Year's Day menu, you should consider cooking up some lentils.

Now I am always looking for more prosperity. Since increased prosperity would mean more money for travel I was pleased as anything to whip up some lentils. I decided to make a dip that is extremely healthy - no added sodium (if you use sodium-free tomatoes) and very little added fat. We discovered that it is also extremely tasty!

Warm Lentil Dip

2/3 cup red lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons grated, fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
14 oz can diced tomatoes (we used 0 sodium)
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh cilantro

Wash the lentils under cold running water and drain well.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook over medium heat for 3 - 4 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add the turmeric, cumin, and lentils. Cook stirring for a minute until the mixture is fragrant. Add the water and the undrained tomatoes to the mixture and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft.

Cool the mixture slightly. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor and process until well combined. Add the cilantro, season, and process until combined.

Makes 2 cups

Sunday Small Bites - Artichokes

The cooks on the slowtravel community forums have been working on a new cooking challenge - instead of each of us preparing the same recipe each week, we are preparing our own appetizer - or Small Bite - that uses a specific main ingredient. So far we have tackled shrimp, crab, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, smoked salmon, pecans, pumpkin, olives, mushrooms, ginger, cranberries, potatoes, and brie. This week Sharon selected our ingredient and she went with artichoke. Not surprising since she leaves near one of the major artichoke growing areas in the US.

Artichokes present a wee bit of a problem for Canadians - they aren't native. Fresh artichokes that one finds in the store aren't very tasty. The bottled ones that are preserved in oil often taste salty. Because of that I don't often use artichoke sin cooking. Then I heard about frozen artichoke hearts! I picked up two bags when I was in the US on the weekend and I was good to go.

I decided to make a tart that I found on the taste.au website. I didn't follow the recipe exactly - modifying it to go with the ingredients I had on hand.

The results were brilliant - by using thawed, ready to use puff pastry sheets (dear lord, when will they bring THESE to Canada????) the tart is on the table in less than 40 minutes. The combination of olive tapenade, artichoke and feta gave this tart such a wonderful taste! Very easy, tasty and quick recipe.

This makes it a 'keeper'.

Olive, Artichoke, and  Feta Tart

1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, just thawed
(1/2 cup) black olive tapenade 
3/4 cup cooked artichoke hearts, drained, quartered 
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1 cup natural (plain) yoghurt
2 eggs, lightly whisked
2 tsp coarsely chopped fresh basil
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Line a fluted tart tins (9 " round or a rectangle tin), with removable bases, with pastry and trim any excess. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until pastry puffs and is golden. Remove from oven. Cover pastry with a clean tea towel and push down on the base with your hands to flatten (be careful as the puff pastry is full of HOT steam!).

Spread base with tapenade. Top with artichokes and feta.

Whisk the yoghurt, egg and basil together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over the artichoke/feta mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until just set.

 Remove from oven. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Sunday Small Bites - Brie

The cooks on the slowtravel community forums have been working on a new cooking challenge - instead of each of us preparing the same recipe each week, we are preparing our own appetizer - or Small Bite - that uses a specific main ingredient. So far we have tackled shrimp, crab, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, smoked salmon, pecans, pumpkin, olives, mushrooms, ginger, cranberries and potatoes. This week Sandi selected our ingredient and she went with brie. There goes the diet!

It was hard to find a brie recipe that I liked. So many of them involved lots of butter, brown, sugar, and other bad stuff. Don't get me wrong - sweet brie appetizers are really, really good but it sure isn't what I should be eating right now.

I had decided to make a brie and apple soup that I planned on serving in shot glasses with apple chips as a garnish. Then we spent the day making 59 dozen cookies. The soup plan went out the window! I needed something quick and easy. Enter these tarts . . .

The original recipe called for prepared phyllo cups - something that is a challenge to find here in Canada. Happily I had a sheet of puff pastry in the fridge so I used that instead. This added significantly to the fat content of the tarts but all things in moderation . . .

The result was excellent. These tasted great and were quick. Another one of those recipes that is far more impressive than the amount of effort needed to get it on the table would warrant.

Brie and Leek Tarts

1 medium leek (white portion only), finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Dash salt and white pepper
Dash ground nutmeg
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2 ounces Brie cheese, rind removed

In a small skillet, saute leek in butter until tender. Add the garlic; cook 1 minute longer.
Stir in the cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.

Cut the sheet of puff pastry into 12 squares. Place a square of pastry into each cup of a small muffin pan. Fold the pastry so that it forms a shell.

Slice cheese into 12 pieces; place one piece in each tart shell. Top each with 1-1/2 teaspoons leek mixture.

Bake at 425° for 10 - 15 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden. Refrigerate leftovers (if there are any!). Yield: 12 appetizers.

Sunday Small Bites - Potatoes

The cooks on the slowtravel community forums have been working on a new cooking challenge - instead of each of us preparing the same recipe each week, we are preparing our own appetizer - or Small Bite - that uses a specific main ingredient. So far we have tackled shrimp, crab, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, smoked salmon, pecans, pumpkin, olives, mushrooms, ginger, and cranberries. This week Maria selected our ingredient and she went with potatoes. There goes the diet! LOL

We restrained ourselves this week and only enjoyed one (yes, one) small bite selection! I was making a short rib ragu for the main course so we looked for a potato small bite recipe that was Italian to fit the 'theme' of the meal.

I found one in David Rocco's cookbook David Rocco's Dolce Vita called Crocchette di Patate (Potato Croquettes) that 'called' out to me. What was not to love? Mashed potatoes, cheese, breaded and then fried. . . .

Don't these look delicious?

The croquettes were easy to make and the taste was incredible. It never ceases to amaze me how a few simple ingredients can be mixed together to produce such delicious results!

Clearly this isn't a traditional Italian recipe as potatoes weren't native to Italy. Mind you, neither was pasta until Marco Polo brought it back from China. However, I have seen these crisp bites with gooey cheese on the menus of many Italian restaurants and even enjoyed them previously in Torino. I suspect that somewhere along the way nonna was looking for a way to use up leftover potatoes and experimented with a potato arancini and the rest was history. With a taste as good as this you know that they would catch on quickly! LOL

So it was a very happy history!

Crocchette di Patate

1.3lb potatoes (600g), peeled
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano cheese (120ml)
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley (120ml)
2 eggs
1 mozzarella ball, cut into thin strips (you can also use taleggio)
1 cup breadcrumbs (240ml)
Sesame seeds
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil for frying

Boil potatoes until fork tender and let cool for 20 minutes. In a large bowl, mash potatoes. For a creamier texture, use a potato ricer.

Add freshly grated parmigiano cheese, chopped parsley, salt and pepper, one egg and mix well until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Grab a handful of mashed potatoes and create logs that are 1 1/2 inch thick by 3 inches long. With your finger, create an indentation in the middle of the log and add a slice of mozzarella. Close up the logs and make sure mozzarella is fully covered. Reshape if necessary.

Dip potato logs in a beaten egg and cover with breadcrumbs. Roll in sesame seeds.

Fry in hot extra virgin olive oil until the potato croquettes are crispy and golden brown.

Let cool on a paper towel and serve warm.

NOTE: These can be shaped into little balls, like arancini for a great cocktail snack.

Next up?

Brie!

MMM

Cranberry-Pear Quesadillas

I've had a few requests for the rest of the cranberry recipes that we made over the weekend. It is someone's lucky day - apparently I am in a mood to please (as compared to my usual contrary mood . . .). Tonight the quesadillas, tomorrow the martini, and on Wednesday the brie tartlets.

I'm on the road again tomorrow so this will fill in the blog posts nicely while I am away! LOL

Poor Paul - there hasn't been a week in the past eight where I haven't been away for a portion of the days.  Mind you, he might enjoy some quality time - AKA peace and quiet.

I digress - back to the quesadillas.

This was Paul's favourite cranberry treat and I can't argue with him. The recipe was from the 2004 Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Appetizer magazine. Above the recipe the authors wrote:

These melt-in-your mouth morsels surprise with their brie and fruit filling, laced with spice and honey. Fun!

Now, I don't know about the fun aspect but I sure do know about the taste. AMAZING! Amazing and simple to make. You know by now that in my goods if a recipe is easy and the end results taste delicious that I shall be keeping that recipe to use again and again.

The recipe calls for brie but I was already making something with brie and I had thinly sliced blue cheese in the fridge  . . . what to do . . . what to do . . . of course I used the blue and the result was excellent. Of course I shall have to try it with brie to see how IT tastes!

If you're looking for a quick appetizer that is different from the rest this might just be for you!

Cranberry-Pear Quesadillas

1 4 1/2 oz round brie cheese, thinly sliced (I used blue cheese instead)
8 6-inch round flour tortillas
1 medium, ripe pear, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
2 - 3 tsp honey
1/4 tsp ground cardamom (or allspice - I used cardamom)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)

Preheat the oven to 300.

Arrange the cheese slices on the tortillas. The cheese should cover one half of each tortilla. Top with pear slices. Drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with cardamom. Top with cranberries and pecans. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Fold the unfilled side of the tortilla over the filled side; press lightly.

In an 10-inch skillet. cook the quesadillas, 2 at a time, over medium heat for 4 - 6 minutes or until he tortillas are light brown and the cheese is melted, turning once.

Remove the quesadillas from the skillet; place on a baking sheet. Keep warm in the oven while cooking the remaining quesadillas.

To serve, cut each quesadilla into 3 wedges. Makes 24 wedges.

Sunday Small Bites - Cranberries

The cooks on the slowtravel community forums have been working on a new cooking challenge - instead of each of us preparing the same recipe each week, we are preparing our own appetizer - or Small Bite - that uses a specific main ingredient. So far we have tackled shrimp, crab, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, smoked salmon, pecans, pumpkin, olives, mushrooms, and ginger. This week Jan selected our ingredient and went with cranberries . . . just in time for American Thanksgiving!

Of course we went a wee bit overboard with our 'small bites'. We ended up with a selection of cranberry appetizers and a cranberry martini. As we sipped the martinis we enjoyed cheese and crackers, a cranberry pistachio pate, cranberry brie tartlets, and cranberry pear and blue cheese quesadillas. I started the pate before I headed off to Ottawa because it needed time to sit in the fridge before you sliced into it, the rest came together VERY quickly in less than an hour.

The pate is a recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens site. I noticed it a few years back and bookmarked it as something to make in the future but never did. With Jan selecting cranberries as the ingredient for the week I looked it up again and decided to finally try it out.

I am glad ended up making the pate because it was easy and the results were wonderful. No, this isn't a smooth pate like the ones that you buy that are full of chicken livers. It is however, a fascinating combinations of flavours. And did I say that it was easy to make? Easy + tasty = a perfect recipe in my books!

I was concerned that the texture would be coarse like a meatloaf and not very 'pate-like' but I was happy to discover that the process of storing it in the refrigerator under weights caused it to compact into a relatively smooth consistency. I did store it in the refrigerator under weights for three days unlike the one day suggested in the recipe.

The recipe suggests serving it with stone ground mustard. I tried it without and it was fine but the mustard sure added yet another layer of flavour when I sampled it with the pate. Even Paul - who is a strange fellow and hates mustard in all its many magnificient forms - enjoyed the mustard with the pate. Go figure . . .

Now to head off and see what the other slow travelers have made for 'Cranberry Week'.

Cranberry Pistachio Pate

Nonstick cooking spray
1 egg
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped shallots or onion
1/2 cup shelled, chopped pistachio nuts
1/3 cup port wine or cranberry juice (I used the port - in case there was any doubt :-) )
1/4 cup half-and-half or light cream
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons dried sage leaves, crushed, or 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground pork
Stone ground mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Lightly spray a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Beat egg in a large mixing bowl. Add cranberries, shallot or onion, pistachio nuts, port wine or cranberry juice, cream, bread crumbs, sage, salt, pepper, and garlic; mix well. Add ground beef and pork. Mix well. Press mixture into prepared pan. Cover tightly with foil. Bakes 1-1/2 hours.

Remove pan from oven. Cool slightly. Uncover; carefully pour off drippings, leaving pate in pan. Cover pate loosely with foil. Place several heavy cans of food in another 9x5x3-inch loaf pan to serve as weights. Place pan on top of the covered pate. Chill overnight.

Remove weighted pan and foil. Loosen sides if necessary. Invert pate onto a serving platter or wrap in plastic wrap and chill for up to 2 days. Cut pate in half lengthwise and then into thin slices. Serve pate with stone ground mustard.

Sunday Small Bites - Ginger

The cooks on the slowtravel community forums have a new challenge - instead of each of us preparing the same recipe each week, we are preparing our own appetizer - or Small Bite - that uses a specific main ingredient. So far we have tackled shrimp, crab, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, smoked salmon, pecans, pumpkin, olives, and mushrooms. This week Palma selected our ingredient. Her pick? Ginger

I LOVE ginger and the market had fresh ginger on sale this week so I went all out (ever the overachiever here).

I made Open Shrimp and Ginger Wontons and served them with a Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce. Remembering Sandi's conversation about martinis I made a Fresh Ginger Martini to serve with the small bites! Then for our main course I made a Lime and Ginger Beef Stir Fry.

Thanks for picking ginger Palma! One really can't get enough of the stuff!

I found the wonton recipe online at the Photo Kitchen Blog which is a great visit because you can see the pictures of what you're making to know if you are on the right track.

Traditional wonton recipes usually call for closed wrappers with the typical half-moon fold. I think this open version is a nice variation. It looks nice because you can see the colorful filling inside, and you can drizzle your dipping sauce into the wonton.

The wontons were quite simple to pull together and tasted WONDERFUL! On the blog they were served with a Tamarind Dipping Sauce but I was out of tamarind. I googled a bit more and combined two recipes I found online to create a my Ginger Soy Dipping Saucewhich was great with these wontons.

Open Shrimp and Ginger Wontons

1/2 lb of shrimp (deveined)
1 pack of wonton wrappers (available at large supermarkets)
2-3 spring onions (green onion)
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
crushed chili pepper
2-3 tablespoons of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon Thai fish sauce

Finely chop the shrimp, the cilantro, the ginger and the spring onion. Combine everything in bowl, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce and some crushed chili, mix well.

Place the wonton skins on a flat working surface. Place a little of the shrimp mixture on each skin (if you use too much the skins will be difficult to close). This needs to be done relatively fast, so the skins don’t dry out. When done, fill a little cup or bowl with some cold water . For each wonton, dip your finger into the water and moisten the edges of the wonton. This will help to glue the skin together at the edges. Then fold and pinch the edges together (by bringing the corners together as if you were wrapping a gift), leaving an opening on top.

In a large fry pan or skillet heat up 2 tablespoons of canola oil, medium heat.

Place the wontons in the pan and fry them for about 2-3 minutes. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and cover the pan closely with a lid. Steam wontons for about 5-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the skins. You may have to add a little more liquid after a few minutes.

Arrange on a plate with the dipping sauce on the side.

Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce

4 tablespoons soy sauce (I used low sodium)
1/4 cup chopped ginger
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons honey

Mix all ingredients in a bowl about 2 hours before serving to allow the flavours to combine.

Sunday Small Bites - Mushrooms

 
The cooks on the slowtravel community forums have a new challenge - instead of each of us preparing the same recipe each week, we are preparing our own appetizer - or Small Bite - that uses a specific main ingredient. So far we have tackled shrimp, crab, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, smoked salmon, pecans, pumpkin, and olives. This week we moved on and gave mushrooms a try - courtesy of Candi.

For our small bite we went with another recipe from the 2008 Better Homes and Gardens Appetizer Recipe Magazine - Saffron-Scented Lamb Mushroom Pastry Puffs. We decided on this one because we liked the sound of the middle eastern flavours + it would allow us to use up some ground lamb that was in the freezer (we're trying to clean out the freezers before the holiday crush).

The result was delicious! It was one of those things that tasted and looked very impressive - yet the amount of work involved in putting them on the table wasn't crazy. Whenever I use puff pastry I always wonder why I don't use it more often - you get such a brilliant result with little effort.

Saffron-Scented Lamb and Mushroom Pastry Puffs

8 oz ground lamb
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, snipped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 hard-cooked egg, peeled, finely chopped
dash saffron threads, (I used about 1/4 tsp) crushed (I  crushed the threads in my hands)
1 package of frozen puff pastry (2 sheets)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water

Pre-heat oven to 400.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large frying pan cook the lamb and onion over medium heat until the meat is brown. Drain the fat from the pan. Stir in mushrooms, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook 5 - 8 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chopped hard boiled eggs and crushed saffron threads. Remove from heat. Cool for about 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface unfold one sheet of puff pastry. Roll it into a 14 inch x 10 inch rectangle. Cut it into rectangles - each about 2 inches x 3 inches.

Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the filling onto each pastry rectangle. The filling should be in the centre of the rectangle - lengthwise. Be sure to leave a small amount of the pastry uncovered at the ends.

In a bowl combine the egg and water. Brush the edges of the pastry rectangles with the egg wash. Roll the rectangles lengthwise in a cigar shape. Press the edges together to seal.

Place on prepared baking sheets. Lightly brush the tops with the egg wash.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the pastries are puffed up and golden brown.

Let stand for 5 minutes prior to serving.

Makes about 35 puffs.

Note: I baked one tray. The other tray went into the freezer. Today I'll remove the frozen puffs from the tray and store them in a zip lock freezer container with the baking directions taped to the underside of the lid. This will allow me to bake them later when I need some sort of small bite without doing a whole lot of work!