Holiday Brie en Croute

As I mentioned in my last post the other dish I made for our Christmas Appetizer Feast was baked brie. Normally I just throw a round or wedge of brie onto a sheet of puff pastry, fold it up, put an egg wash on it, and then bake. I had gone to the Pepperidge Farm website for something recently and saw this recipe on the main page. To say the least, it looked freakin' awesome. Since I had planned on doing baked brie anyway, I figured I'd go for this dolled up version!

Holiday Brie en Croute
© 2009 Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved

1 egg
1 tbsp. water
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1/2 cup apricot preserves or seedless raspberry jam
1/3 cup dried cranberry
1/4 cup toasted sliced almond
1 (13- to 16-ounce) Brie cheese round

Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.

Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Spread the preserves on the pastry to within 2 inches of the edge. Sprinkle with the cranberries and almonds. Place the cheese in the center of the pastry. Fold the pastry up over the cheese to cover. Trim the excess pastry and press to seal. Brush the seam with the egg mixture. Place seam-side down onto a baking sheet. Decorate with the pastry scraps, if desired. Brush with the egg mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Let stand for 45 minutes. Serve with crackers.

*****

I made this with apricot preserves because I just thought it sounded better than using raspberry, which is kind of weird because I don't like apricots. I guess I can appreciate their flavor, though. This was warm and gooey and cheesy and oozy...everything awesome that baked brie is supposed to be. There wasn't a whole lot of this left when the night was done. I did have some for lunch the next day; my mom said it was even good cold, so I figured I wouldn't be doing anyone justice if I didn't try it that way to report for myself. And of course she was right, but really my mom and I like just about anything cold, so it wasn't a big surprise.

I had planned on making baked brie for my friend Jen B's baby shower in a few weeks, and I think I might make this version because it was so good. Assuming, of course, that she approves of it.

Picture to come! (I think anyway...I might not have taken a picture...guess I'll find out.)

Mexicali Napoleons

Ahhh...finally! Finally we're done eating leftover pizza from Friday night, and finally I get to try this recipe!! I had a sheet of puff pastry leftover from something, so I checked out puffpastry.com for recipes. There were several that sounded good, but I had just about everything on hand for this one. I've been wanting to make it all week, but I wanted to wait for the husband to be well again.

Mexicali Napoleons
1/2 pkg. Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)
1 can (about 16 oz.) Pace® Traditional Refried Beans
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 tbsp. drained canned chopped green chiles
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped tomato
2 green onions, sliced
1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves

THAW pastry sheet at room temperature 30 min. Preheat oven to 400°F.

UNFOLD pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 strips along fold marks. Cut each strip into 2 rectangles. Place 2" apart on baking sheet. Bake 15 min. or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.

HEAT beans. Split pastries into 2 layers, making 12 layers in all. Spread beans on 6 bottom layers. Top with cheese, chiles and top layers. Spread top layers with sour cream. Sprinkle with tomatoes, green onions and cilantro.

*****

Mmmm...I can't wait to try it! I'm not sure what we're going to have with it, I haven't thought that far ahead yet.

Herbed Chicken in Pastry

This recipe came in a box of puff pastry I bought recently, and it sounded really good. My friend Jen B. tried it a couple weeks ago and said it was awesome, so I'm hoping for good things!!

Herbed Chicken in Pastry
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp. butter OR margarine
1/2 pkg. Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
1 container (4 oz.) garlic & herb spreadable cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Directions
SEASON chicken with salt and pepper if desired. Melt butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned. Remove chicken. Cover and refrigerate 15 min. or up to 24 hours.

THAW pastry sheet at room temperature 30 min. Mix egg and water. Preheat oven to 400°F.

UNFOLD pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll into 14" square and cut into 4 (7") squares. Spread about 2 tbsp. of the cheese spread in center of each square. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp. parsley and top with cooled chicken. Brush edges of squares with egg mixture. Fold each corner to center on top of chicken and seal edges. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. Brush with egg mixture.

BAKE 25 min. or until golden.

*****

My only difference is that I cheaped out when I saw how much the cheese was, so instead I'm using garden vegetable cream cheese. I hope it turns out okay. I just couldn't justify $6 for a container of cheese when the cream cheese was like $1.50.