First up on our make ahead party food… Cheddar and Chive Puffs.

This is an amazingly, almost embarrasingly simple appetizer recipe which should most definitely go into your favorites file.  I am doing mine with cheddar cheese and chives because I had them on hand when I created the menu for our party.  But, the beauty of this recipe is that almost any cheese you have in your refrigerator will work.  I often make substitutions in our cooking classes based on what I have on hand.  If I have a small chunk of swiss and another small chunk of cheddar, I will combine them instead of running to the store to buy a large chunk of asiago for a recipe and then find myself with small chunks of swiss, cheddar AND asiago.   I would soon have a small army of cheese ready to do battle for the space in my cold cut drawer.  Not to mention that when a few of the older chunks grow battle weary, they all begin to resemble the same color green which makes them virtually unrecognizable.  

As for the chives, I had some.  You can use green onions or any type of fresh herb you have.  You can also used dried if it’s all you have but as a general rule of thumb, the less ingredients I am using, the more I want the flavors to stand out.  And for me, that means fresh herbs.  So if you have oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil or dill substitute here.

To the recipe at hand.  Roll out a sheet of puff pastry to about a 12 inch square.  If you haven’t worked with puff pastry before, you can find it in the freezer aisle near the pie shells and frozen fruit.  Pepperidge Farm is the brand in our store and it comes two sheets to a package.  Let it thaw in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.  Do not.  I repeat, do not attempt to make puff pastry at home.  I have done it and it is insane.  While those close to me might sometimes question my sanity, I know deep down I am a beautiful shade of normal so I implore you, Pepperidge Farm is your friend.

Roll your new found friend to a 12 inch long piece of dough.  Cut the dough in half so you are left with two 6×12 sheets.  Spread one side with honey mustard (instead of buying honey mustard which you probably won’t use all that often, mix some yellow mustard with some honey), grated cheese and some chopped chives.  Place the second sheet over the top of the sheet with the mustard, cheese and chives.  Press on it with the rolling pin a few back and forth rolls to ensure that when the puff pastry is cut into pieces, everything will stay inside.  Trim the edges and cut the short side into four strips about 1 1/2 inches wide and the long side into 8 strips about 1 1/2 inches wide.   If you cut right you will have 32 squares.  If you cut them in another fashion, you might come up with a different quantity but it all works here at Doable and Delicious. 

Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry in the package. 

Put the puffs,  unbaked, into the freezer.  I use aluminum containers with lids that you can purchase near the foil products in your grocery store.  Label and stash away.  Pat yourself on the back.   First appetizer in the freezer.   Tomorrow, Curried Beef Triangles.

Cheddar and Chive Puffs

2 sheets (1 package) puff pastry

1 cup grated cheese

1/4 cup chopped herbs

3 tbsp. honey mustard (2 tbsp mustard and 1 tbsp honey)

Roll sheets to a 12 inch rectangle.  Cut in half to make two six inch sheets.  Spread one side with honey mustard and sprinkle with herbs and cheese.  Place the cut sheet on top of the sheet filled with mustard, cheese and herbs and gently push to encase the filling.  Cut into 32 squares.  Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes or until puffed and golden.  FREEZE:  Cut and package for freezer.  Defrost before baking.  Bake as above.