Mini Artichoke Turnovers

These cute, little appetizers caught my eye when they appeared in the December issue of Living magazine. They looked like the kind of bite-sized food that would be popular at a party, so I made them for Oscars night. Sadly, I was once again completely wrong about all of my Oscar win predictions, but I was right about these mini turnovers. They’re kind of like everyone’s favorite artichoke dip tucked into pockets of puff pastry. The filling is a bechamel into which parmesan and pecorino are melted before the chopped artichokes are added, and it’s cooled and allowed to set up a bit before it’s used. Even though there are a few steps involved in preparing these, they can be made in stages. Once they’re all assembled, they can sit in the freezer until you’re ready to bake them. The quantities in the original recipe result in about 70 turnovers which is quite a lot. That’s great for a big party, but for a smaller gathering, you might want to cut the recipe in half or leave some in the freezer for another time. And, speaking of that original recipe, I wasn’t able to find it online, so I’ll include it below.

The sauce started with melted butter and minced shallot and garlic. Flour was added, and then white wine was whisked into the roux. Once reduced a bit, milk was whisked into the sauce and when it thickened, the chopped artichoke hearts, shredded parmesan and pecorino, some thyme, and lemon zest were added. I actually made the filling a day in advance, so once it was cool, I stored it in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, I rolled a sheet of puff pastry out to just over 15 inches by 21 inches and cut it into 35 three-inch square pieces. A tablespoon of filling was placed in the center of each square. The pastry was folded over the filling into a triangle and then two corners were folded in to meet in the center making a neat packet. When all 35 were filled, they were placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet and placed in the freezer, and the process was repeated with a second sheet of puff pastry. They were baked straight from the freezer after being brushed with egg wash.

They came out of the oven golden and flakey, looking like ideal partners for cocktails, and the wine, lemon zest, and thyme in the filling gave it more interesting flavor than the stand-by artichoke dip. They were one of the big winners of the night since they were long gone well before best picture was announced.

Mini Artichoke Turnovers
from December 2010 Living
4 tablespoons butter
1 large shallot, minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup whole milk, warmed
salt and pepper
pinch cayenne
3 cups canned artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, and chopped
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 packages all butter, frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten

-Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, and add shallot and garlic and cook for one minute. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about two minutes. Whisk while slowly pouring in the wine and allow to cook until reduced by half, about two minutes. Whisk in milk, bring to a boil, and allow to thicken while stirring. Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne.

-Remove from heat and stir in artichoke hearts, cheeses, thyme, and lemon zest. Let cool completely, and refrigerate until ready to use.

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out puff pastry to a 1/8 inch thickness, about 15 inches by 21 inches, on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 35 3-inch squares.

-Arrange 1 tablespoon artichoke mixture in the center of each square. Brush two perpendicular edges with water, and fold over to form a triangle and press to seal. Brush a corner of the triangle with water and join it to the opposite point to form a little folded-in packet. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour. (Or, freeze for up to two months.)

-Brush turnovers with egg wash. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes.

Ambrosia with White Chocolate Whipped Cream

When you think of Southern food, a few classic dishes like biscuits, chicken and dumplings, pimento cheese, and shrimp and grits always come to mind. A new book called Quick-Fix Southern by Rebecca Lang sets out to make those classics and several new dishes doable when time is lacking. I received a review copy of this book, and in it I found recipes for snacking, picnics, salads, parties, casseroles, and of course, Southern sweets. There are cooking tips like chopping greens into thin ribbons to speed up cooking time or cooking everything for shrimp and grits together in the oven instead of separately on top of the stove to reduce active time. And, there are some classics like fried green tomatoes and okra fritters that don’t take long to prepare anyway. Beyond the Southern classics, there are also dishes like catfish tacos, warm curried fruit, and a key lime martini. When I got to the sweets chapter, I was drawn to the ambrosia since citrus is still in season. It’s a simple salad with supremed ruby red grapefruit and navel oranges, pineapple chunks, and a layer of whipped cream.

In the book, the ambrosia is composed as a trifle, but I served it in individual portions. I also took the liberty of garnishing with pomegranate seeds because I still had a couple of homegrown, tiny pomegranates on hand. I have a dwarf pomegranate shrub which actually produced fruits, albeit very small fruits, this year, and those fruits were packed with delightful seeds. So, to begin making this dessert, fresh pineapple was cut into chunks, and navel oranges and red grapefruits were cut into segments. The fruits were placed in a sieve and allowed to drain. Be sure to save the juice that collects for another use or mix it with a little vodka for a quick cocktail. Next, white chocolate was melted and allowed to cool, and cream was whipped. There was no added sugar as the white chocolate added just enough sweetness to the cream. The whipped cream was whisked into the melted white chocolate in two steps, and then it was time to layer it with the mixed fruits.

Coconut usually makes an appearance in ambrosia, and I missed it here a little. Some freshly grated coconut pieces that had been toasted would have been a nice addition, but that would have made this a slightly more complicated and time-consuming dish. As it was, there were certainly no complaints. The layers of fruit and rich, white chocolate whipped cream made for a Southern-style dessert full of fresh flavors with just enough decadence.

Coconut Cookies

I mentioned my growing collection of different types of flour the other day, and now there’s one more variety in the bin. Coconut flour joined the party as soon as I saw these cookies in Good to the Grain. I bought Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour which is made from ground, organic coconuts, and it has the same sweet, warm smell of fresh coconut. I was thinking this flour would be good in pancakes, and as luck would have it, there’s a buttermilk coconut pancake recipe on the back of the flour package. But, about these cookies, they’re made with just coconut flour and barley flour with no all-purpose or wheat flour included. There’s also coconut milk in them, and each ball of dough was rolled in shredded, unsweetened coconut before being placed on a cookie sheet. Three sources of coconut was a sure sign that Kurt was going to be happy with these. They were tender, cakey cookies full of coconut flavor. Warm from the oven, they were melt-in-your-mouth good, but I also liked them after they’d been refrigerated overnight. I usually don’t go for cold cookies, but these were an exception to the rule. Once cold, they were a little firmer, and for whatever reason, I like shredded coconut when it’s cold.

Making this dough was just a little different from most other cookie recipes. The dry ingredients were sifted together, and those were barley flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Then, eggs were beaten in a stand mixer and then granulated and brown sugars were added and mixed with the eggs. Next, the dry ingredients were added and mixed until combined before room temperature butter was added. I felt a little uncomfortable adding the butter after the dry ingredients, but following the butter, coconut milk and vanilla were added. Last, some of the shredded unsweetened coconut was mixed into the dough which came together just fine. I used a scoop to make balls of dough which were rolled in more shredded coconut, and the cookies baked for about 20 minutes.

When I asked Kurt if he liked the cookies, his response was: of course, they’re made with coconut. So, if you like coconut, you’ll like these cookies. I liked these cookies for the true coconut flavor, for the just-right level of sweetness, and for the tender, cakey texture. Now, I’m off to attempt coconut pancakes and experiment with other ways to use this flour.