Mini Chicken Pies and Smoked Salmon Pinwheels
I promised some food porn and recipes and I am delivering! These the first two of the four recipes that I made for New Year's Eve. I had decided to do a menu of small plates for the evening so that I could try a lot different things. We had these two dishes before Chicklet went off to bed and I can testify that she enjoyed them both. It's hard to go wrong with smoked salmon and caviar just in general and the pinwheels were a nice salty, creamy, smokey start to the meal. The chicken pies also had a smokey flavor that complemented the salmon while bringing in some crispness.
Aren't the pictures awesome? We took them with my husband's new macro lens that he got for Christmas. Expect to see many more gorgeous pictures of food around here.
Mini Chicken Pies
Smoked Salmon Pinwheels
Mini Chicken Pies
For these, the original recipe called for making the pies in a mini-muffin tin. (If they're made that way, you need to punch out 3 1/2 inch bottom crusts and 2 1/2 top crusts from the pastry; add 2-3 tablespoons of filling to each one; and bake for 15 minutes.) However, I do not own a mini-muffin tin, so I changed them to turnovers. I also decided to sub in a nice summer sausage that I had on hand for the chourico. They were quite lovely with the summer sausage and I definitely plan to make them with Portuguese sausage sometime soon.
1 tsp oil
1/4 lb chourico or linguica, minced
1 med onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c dry white wine
1/4 c chicken stock
1 tbsp flour
1/2 lb dark meat from a rotisserie chicken (about 2 c)
1 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground cloves
salt and pepper, to taste
1 17 oz package puff pastry, thawed
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Fry the chourico, stirring occasionally, until crispy, 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a plate leaving oil behind in skillet.
Add onion to skillet and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Turn up heat to high, add wine, and reduce until it's almost evaporated. Add stock, sprinkle with flour, and cook, stirring continuously, until the liquid thickens. Removes from heat and stir in chourico, chicken, marjoram, nutmeg, and cloves. Season well with salt and pepper. Let cool completely.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400F.
Lightly dust a work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out one pastry sheet from the package into an 12 x 15 rectangle. Keep the pastry well dusted with flour both on top and underneath. Prick it well with a fork. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out 15 3-inch circles. To assemble the pies, set a cup of water nearby. Fill each circle of dough with about 2 tsp of filling. Wet half of each circle with your finger, fold in half, and crimp the edges close with a fork. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Bake the pies until golden brown and puffed, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly and serve.
Smoked Salmon Pinwheels
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp horseradish
1 tsp dried dill (or 2 tsp fresh)
4 oz sliced smoked salmon
1 oz caviar
Combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, horseradish, and dill in a bowl until completely blended.
On a piece of waxed paper, arrange the smoked salmon slices in a rectangle about 3 inches wide and 6 inches long, slightly overlapping each piece. (If the salmon slices are cut irregularly, simply piece them together like a puzzle.)
Spread out cream cheese mixture evenly down the center of the salmon and roll up like a jellyroll.
Refrigerate for 1 hour to firm, then cut into 1/2-inch slices. Place some caviar on each pinwheel and serve.
Aren't the pictures awesome? We took them with my husband's new macro lens that he got for Christmas. Expect to see many more gorgeous pictures of food around here.
Mini Chicken Pies
Smoked Salmon Pinwheels
Mini Chicken Pies
For these, the original recipe called for making the pies in a mini-muffin tin. (If they're made that way, you need to punch out 3 1/2 inch bottom crusts and 2 1/2 top crusts from the pastry; add 2-3 tablespoons of filling to each one; and bake for 15 minutes.) However, I do not own a mini-muffin tin, so I changed them to turnovers. I also decided to sub in a nice summer sausage that I had on hand for the chourico. They were quite lovely with the summer sausage and I definitely plan to make them with Portuguese sausage sometime soon.
1 tsp oil
1/4 lb chourico or linguica, minced
1 med onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c dry white wine
1/4 c chicken stock
1 tbsp flour
1/2 lb dark meat from a rotisserie chicken (about 2 c)
1 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground cloves
salt and pepper, to taste
1 17 oz package puff pastry, thawed
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Fry the chourico, stirring occasionally, until crispy, 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a plate leaving oil behind in skillet.
Add onion to skillet and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Turn up heat to high, add wine, and reduce until it's almost evaporated. Add stock, sprinkle with flour, and cook, stirring continuously, until the liquid thickens. Removes from heat and stir in chourico, chicken, marjoram, nutmeg, and cloves. Season well with salt and pepper. Let cool completely.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400F.
Lightly dust a work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out one pastry sheet from the package into an 12 x 15 rectangle. Keep the pastry well dusted with flour both on top and underneath. Prick it well with a fork. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out 15 3-inch circles. To assemble the pies, set a cup of water nearby. Fill each circle of dough with about 2 tsp of filling. Wet half of each circle with your finger, fold in half, and crimp the edges close with a fork. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Bake the pies until golden brown and puffed, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly and serve.
Smoked Salmon Pinwheels
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp horseradish
1 tsp dried dill (or 2 tsp fresh)
4 oz sliced smoked salmon
1 oz caviar
Combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, horseradish, and dill in a bowl until completely blended.
On a piece of waxed paper, arrange the smoked salmon slices in a rectangle about 3 inches wide and 6 inches long, slightly overlapping each piece. (If the salmon slices are cut irregularly, simply piece them together like a puzzle.)
Spread out cream cheese mixture evenly down the center of the salmon and roll up like a jellyroll.
Refrigerate for 1 hour to firm, then cut into 1/2-inch slices. Place some caviar on each pinwheel and serve.