the puff

I realized, as I sat in front of the t.v. with a beer, a box of crackers, and a jar of peanut butter, that this moment wasn’t one of my finest. I needed a little reminding that my culinary abilities surpass scooping, spreading, and gulping, so I decided to share with you some seriously yum.button treats that I have made.

Some weeks ago, inspired by a formidable sweet tooth, a new cookbook (thanks Mary!) and a particularly rainy day, I tried my hand at homemade puff pastry. Similar to croissant or Danish dough, puff pastry is made so gosh darn delicious because it is lathered, layered, and bundled in butter, and lots of it. Although the process is time consuming, the result is a little crunchy, a little chewy, puffy, flakey, and, trust me, well worth it. If you can spare the time and the patience, I suggest you give the puff a shot. It is versatile, it freezes well, and it’ll impress the pants off your friends. Plus, who can resist the butter?

When I had finished my puff, I used a quarter of the dough to make a trio of danishes to be delivered to a sleeping Joe. The first Danish was filled with sausage, gruyere and brie cheeses, and cracked black pepper. For the second, I tossed raspberries with a sprinkle of sugar and a squirt of fresh lemon juice, and placed them on top of a layer of dark chocolate. The last Danish was filled with a fresh halved pear that had been dressed in lemon juice and nutmeg and rolled in sugar. All three were brushed with an egg wash to crisp up the tops just before baking. The fresh pear proved to be a bit juicy for the pastry dough, and could have improved with a bit of poaching first. The raspberry dark chocolate and savory danishes were both de-lish… good enough to convince Joe to get out of bed and do the damn dishes.

Come Easter, I was in the mood to impress myself again. Thank god, I still had some puff pastry in the freezer. So, while the Easter Chicken was hard at work laying us some fine eggs, I got to work in the kitchen. Instead of danishes, I rolled the puff into sticky buns, layered with cinnamon, sea salt, brown sugar, and another helping of butter. I paired the sweet pastries with a batch of creamy scrambled eggs, seasoned with garlic, red pepper flakes, S&P, and cooked until still a bit runny. I finished the eggs by folding in a liberal helping of ricotta cheese and fresh basil. My reward for all this hard work was getting to watch Joe poke through the garbage for the last of his hidden Easter eggs. We both filled our big fat guts, kissed the Easter Chicken, and then, unceremoniously, headed to work.

yum yum.

logan