Leftovers Puff

This is in honor of all the leftovers that seem to linger in the fridge uneaten. Here we had a few pan roasted baby potatoes, plus some leftover chicken and ham. To that I added some copped celery and sauteed them with some red onions and parsley, mixed it all together and wrapped it all in some puff pastry rustically, then baked it following the instructions until it was nice and golden brown.

I'm pretty sure you could fill it with nearly anything and you'd have a really cool new dish.  I think we're going to try:

• Petite green peas
• Roasted turkey
• Shredded skirt steak (with a little chimichurri)
• Cheese (soy cheese in our case, of course)
• Scrambled eggs
• Portobello mushrooms

What can you think of?

Image by MadeForJen

Easy Pastry Dessert

This has to be one of the easiest desserts to make but you can make it look restaurant grade with a little creative garnish.

For the pastry, use sheets of frozen puff pastry (if you're daring, make it from scratch, but store-bought sheets are fine) thawed completely.  Lay a flattened sheet onto parchment and use a chef's knife to cut it into 4 triangles by cutting from one corner to the other in both directions.

Full with, well, anything. Here's some ideas:

• Gently stew apple, pear or plum slices in marsala or cider
• Whole, mixed berries crushed and lightly sugared
• Fig slices
• A good, non-sugared jam (made with fruit juice)
• Pumpkin pie filling

Bake according to the package instructions - usually about 10 minutes at 400 degrees - basically until it's just turning golden on the outside.  Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

Now for garnish. Here I've dusted it with some powdered sugar (put a teaspoon into a tea strainer and gently bump the side). Plate it gently, just off center, and garnish with a couple of berries.  Even a small scoop of ice cream or creme Anglaise is good with it.  Enjoy!