The Busy Hostess Loves Spinach Puffs!

Harry and I love to entertain, that’s not a secret. We enjoy preparing interesting meals that introduce our friends to the world of food as we see it.  Time is often the one thing that keeps people from having dinner parties more often.  We found a way around that.  We do what is called a “Cottage Supper”.  When we invite friends for a “Cottage Supper” its understood that the food will be simple,  interesting and wholesome. They love it!

One of the things that buys the cook a bit of time when company comes, is the appetizer course and we do love our appetizers!  However, we don’t like to fuss a great deal in the preparation. This is where our Spinach Ricotta Puffs hit all the marks.  It’s easy, it can be made ahead and frozen till the guests are in the driveway and it tastes so good.

Here’s the way Two Food Nuts prepare…

Spinach Ricotta Puffs:

• 1 sheet quality frozen puff pastry dough. We use this because you simply can’t make it any better at home and it takes an entire day to make.  We said this was easy right!
• 8oz Ricotta cheese
• 1/2 a package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and pressed to remove the water
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves grated or finely minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Allow the puff pastry to thaw and unroll it. The type we use is PC brand. It comes in a sheet that is rolled and ready to use.  In the meantime, mix the cheese and spinach filling. Place all the ingredients except the puff pastry into a bowl and blend together.

Once the dough is thawed cut it into 9 equal squares. (the dough should measure about 12 inches square when unrolled).  In each of the small squares of dough place an equal portion of the filling. Now gather the corners of the small puff pastry pieces to the center and pinch them together.  At this point you can freeze the pieces, ready for your next party or you can refrigerate them for baking in an hour or two.

Puff pastry dough performs best when cold dough is placed in a hot oven. It causes the layers to really puff.  We use a 400 F oven to cook anything with a puff pastry cover.   In this case you need only 15-20 minutes of baking time. Keep a close eye on the oven at the 15 minute mark to be sure the puffs are not getting too brown.

We love to serve this appetizer when we do an Italian dinner. The flavors of the meal and the appetizers compliment each other nicely.

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