Apparently these are also known as "strawberry Napoleons", but I've only ever heard them called "mille-feuilles" (lit. "1000 leaves/sheets) which is a reference to the layers of puff pastry used to sandwich the filling.

You can do them with all sorts of different flavours, but I had a recipe for this strawberry and whipped cream version and we had all the ingredients on hand already, so that made it an easy choice. And they were a big hit all 'round! A bit messy to eat, maybe, but nobody seemed to mind that terribly much. They were all devoured in very short order.

I was worried about being short of filling, so I whipped a full cup of cream (even though we didn't have the full 450g of pastry that the recipe called for). In retrospect, I think that 3/4 c. probably would have been sufficient. But no one seemed to mind the extra cream. I also didn't worry too much about making them neat and tidy. And I skipped the dusting of icing sugar. I'm sure it would have been a nice finishing touch on a neatly made set of mille-feuilles, but I wasn't too worried about it for these ones. We just wanted to tuck in and enjoy!

Strawberry Mille-Feuilles

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 375g puff pastry
• 250g strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 3/4 c. heavy (35%) cream

Directions

1. If the pastry is frozen, thaw it out.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
3. Roll to a thickness of ~3mm trying to keep it as rectangular as possible. Aim for a shape that is ~20x30cm (or slightly smaller).
4. Trim off any uneven edges and cut the rectangle in half lengthwise (to form two rectangles each a bit under 10cm wide).
5. Cut each piece of dough crosswise into pieces 4-5cm wide.
6. Place the small rectangles of dough onto the prepared baking sheets and prick each one 3-4 times with a fork.
7. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.
8. Meanwhile, toss the strawberries with the sugar and lemon juice and set aside.
9. Once the pastry is puffed and crisp, remove from oven and allow to cool.
10. Meanwhile, beat the cream until soft peaks form.
11. Carefully fold the strawberries and any accumulated juices into the whipped cream.
12. Once the pastry is cool, spoon a generous portion onto half of the pieces, then top with the remaining pieces of pastry.
13. Dust with icing sugar if desired and serve.

My apologies for yet another write-up where I have become very hazy on the actual details and results of the recipe. I checked this one off in my notbook and TF says that it sounds familiar, but I don't actually remember making it. So this write-up is pretty much just a copy of what's in the book since I can't speak to the results or any modifications that we made. I just want to include it here for the sake of completeness.

Spring Vegetable Tart

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 sheet (~250g) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 125g fontina cheese, shredded
• 15-20 thin asparagus spears, trimmed
• 1 small leek, halved and thinly sliced (white part only)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Lay the pastry out on the prepared baking sheet and fold over edges by ~2cm to make a lip (doubling up at the corners). Press lightly to adhere and then prick the centre of the pastry with a fork in several places.
3. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the bottom of the pastry.
4. Place the asparagus spears on top and then sprinkle with leeks.
5. Bake at 190°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with the milk, salt, and pepper.
7. Once the pastry has been in the oven for 15 minutes, pour the egg mixture over the asparagus and leeks and top with the remaining cheese.
8. Bake until eggs are just set and pastry is puffed and golden (10-15 minutes longer).
9. Remove from oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Mana'ousha (Za'atar Flatbread)

I've been itching to try this simple flatbread recipe for weeks now. I finally got the chance today. It ended up being a bit of a last-minute scramble for dinner, but it worked out well in the end. The flatbread, served along side a liver pilaf and some asparagus, made for a satisfying (if not terribly healthy) meal.

Mana'ousha

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 5 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. za'atar
• 400g puff pastry
• 1 tomato, diced
• fresh mint leaves (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
2. Add za'atar to olive oil and stir to combine.
3. Roll out your puff pastry to form a large rectangle of ~45cm by 30cm (18x12").
4. Transfer the pastry to the prepared baking sheet.
5. Pour the za'atar mixture over the pastry and use a pastry brush to evenly spread it over the entire surface, leaving a 1cm (1/2") border around the edge.
6. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 15 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with diced tomato and fresh mint leaves and serve.

Peameal bacon was on sale a couple weeks ago, so I grabbed a big chunk and tossed it into the freezer for future use. I figured that since peameal bacon is pretty close to NZ bacon (ie. not streaky bacon) I'd have a go at making a bacon and egg pie. I ended up with a bit of a soggy bottom. I probably should've partially baked the bottom crust before baking or something. It was still delicious though.

I made the variant listed at the bottom of the page that adds onion, veggies, and chutney. I figured that would make it both a little more interesting and a little more nutritionally balanced. (Still not healthy, but at least there's some veg in there!) I used kale as my veg. I think a bit of garlic would've been nice with the veggies too. I'll add it next time.

I made this with puff pastry as Edmonds calls for either rough puff or store-bought puff pastry. I didn't feel like making my own pastry today, so I just grabbed a package of frozen puff pastry and used that. That being said, I've run into some comments from Kiwis online saying that using anything other than flaky (aka rough puff) pastry for this pie is just wrong. Use at your own risk!

Bacon and Egg Pie

Slightly adapted from Edmonds Cookery Book

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. butter (optional)
• 1 small onion, chopped (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
• 1 c. frozen chopped kale or other vegetables (optional)
• 400-450g puff pastry or rough puff (flaky) pastry
• 250g back bacon, cut into pieces
• 4-6 Tbsp. Tomato & Date Chutney or other chutney (optional)
• 6-8 eggs
• pepper, to taste
• milk or beaten egg

Directions

1. If using veggies, sauté the onion in the butter until softened, then toss in the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the kale and cook until thawed. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F), place a baking sheet in the oven, and grease a 20cm (8") square pan.
3. Roll out half the puff pastry and line the greased tin with it.
4. At this point, I proceeded with the recipe as written. However, this resulted in a soggy bottom. I'd be tempted to try tossing the bottom crust in the oven for a bit at this point (with the caveat that I don't know whether it will actually work or not or whether or not it will actually help with the soggy bottom). Next time I'd prick the bottom with a fork and try baking at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes and then proceed with the recipe as written.
5. Add bacon pieces followed by veggie mixture (if using).
6. Top with the chutney (if using).
7. Crack the eggs and add them in on top of the other ingredients.
8. Prick each yolk with a fork to break it.
9. Sprinkle with pepper.
10. Roll out remaining pastry and cover the pie.
11. Trim edges of pastry. Use the off-cuts to make a pretty design on the top if you wish.
12. Brush the top crust with milk or beaten egg.
13. Cut a few holes/slashes in the top.
14. Place the pie tin on the hot baking sheet¹ and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 40-50 minutes².
15. Serve with ketchup and/or additional chutney (if using).

---

¹ There was no mention of a baking sheet in the original recipe, but I've used this method to help with soggy bottoms on shotrcrust pies. I figure it's at least worth a shot for the puff pastry version. ^Back
2 Edmonds only calls for a 30-minute bake, but it was definitely still underbaked after only half an hour. I baked mine for a good 50 minutes, I think it probably still would've been fine with another 5-10. ^Back

I've been deep in the madness place trying working on kitchen renovation stuff lately and haven't exactly been keeping up with the blog(s). I've hit a bit of a lull for the moment though and figured I really should write this up.

This recipe seemed a bit unusual, but it produced delicious results. I do feel that the soy sauce somewhat overpowered the curry powder though. Next time I think I'd try it with just half the quantity of soy sauce. The original recipe calls for 1/4 c., but I think 2 Tbsp. would be plenty!

Seitan Curry Pot Pie

Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
• 1 delicata or 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small daikon or 6-7 red radishes, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium or 2 small russet (or other floury) potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 250g cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 6-7 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 1-2 bay leaves (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. Madras curry powder
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 2 c. vegetable broth
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 450g seitan, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• 400g puff pastry
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a 12" braising pan or shallow pot.
2. Add onion and apple and cook for 8-10 minutes.
3. Add squash, carrots, radish, potato, mushrooms, garlic, and bay leaves (if using) and cook for another 12-15 minutes.
4. Add ginger, curry powder, and flour and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Whisk cornstarch into broth until smooth.
6. Add broth mixture to vegetable mixture.
7. Stir in soy sauce.
8. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently until thickened.
9. Add seitan and cilantro and mix well.
10. Set aside to cool for 20-30 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
12. Roll out pastry to slightly larger dimensions than the pot.
13. Place the pastry over the pot with ~2cm overhang on all sides.
14. Seal the edges and brush with egg.
15. Cut a few slits in the pastry and transfer the whole assembly to the hot oven.
16. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 18-22 minutes.
17. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake for another 30-45 minutes.

I had a sheet of puff pastry in the freezer and decided that this would be a good way to use it up. The original recipe included instructions for making your own pastry, but I figured that the puff pastry would make a reasonable substitute and I wanted to use it up, so I just went with that. The pastry ended up being very full, but I enjoyed that once it was cooked (even if it did make assembly a little difficult).

Tomato Galette

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country August/September 2019

Ingredients

• 600-700g mixed tomatoes, sliced
• 1 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 1 shallot, sliced thin
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 (400g) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 4 tsp. Roman Mustard or Dijon mustard
• 3/4 c. grated Cheddar
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Toss tomatoes with 1 tsp. salt and transfer to a colander to drain for at least half an hour.
2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 190°C (375°F).
3. Give tomatoes a shake to remove any excess juice.
4. Transfer tomatoes to large bowl and combine with shallot, oil, thyme, garlic, pepper, and 1/4 tsp. salt.
5. Unroll pastry onto baking sheet (leave the parchment paper under it.
6. Spread mustard onto pastry, leaving a 4cm (~1.5") border.
7. Sprinkle Cheddar on top, covering the mustard.
8. Place tomato mixture over cheese.
9. Sprinkle Parmesan on top of tomatoes.
10. Fold pastry border up over the edges of the tomatoes.
11. Brush exposed pastry with egg.
12. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 45-50 minutes.
13. Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before sliding onto wire rack.
14. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes.
15. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

This recipe is lifted straight from the Great British Bake Off. I made it about half size and had to substitute sweet bell peppers for sweet Romano peppers and kale for the spinach, but other than that did it to spec. I do think that spinach (or a kale-spinach mix) would've been nicer than straight kale. The kale ended up being a little tough.

The flavour was good, but I think it could've done with a little more seasoning. Some of that is down to me just not having a good handle on how much salt to add. But I also think that a few more herbs, some onion, and a bit more garlic wouldn't've gone amiss. I think next time I'd add roasted garlic purée to the potatoes and an onion and some savoury to the greens. I think I'd probably also add a mushroom layer.

Kale, Caramelized Garlic, Red Pepper, and Potato Pithivier

Adapted from Brendan Lynch

Ingredients

Potato Layer

• 450g new potatoes
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. roasted garlic purée

Mushroom Layer (Optional)

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 250g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• black pepper

Pepper Layer

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 large red bell peppers, sliced
• 1 fresh red Thai chile pepper, minced
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 Tbsp. sugar

Caramelized Garlic

• 15 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
• 2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon
• 1 tsp. dried savoury (optional)
• 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

Kale/Spinach Layer

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 onions, chopped
• 500g spinach (or 350g kale), chopped
• 1 egg
• 250g soft goat cheese

Everything Else

• 150g shredded Cheddar
• 900g puff pastry
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp. water

Directions

Potato Layer

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until fork tender.
2. Drain and cut into 5mm (1/2") slices.
3. Toss with pepper and garlic purée and set aside.

Mushroom Layer

1. Heat butter over medium heat.
2. Add mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and most of the liquid has cooked off.
3. Season with black pepper to taste.

Pepper Layer

1. Heat oil and butter over medium heat.
2. Add bell pepper and chile and season with salt. Cook until peppers have softened.
3. Add cumin and sugar and cook for another minute or two. Remove from heat and set aside.

Caramelized Garlic

1. Boil garlic for 3 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.
2. Heat oil over medium heat.
3. Add drained garlic and cook for 4 minutes.
4. Add balsamic vinegar and 1 c. of the reserved cooking water. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.
5. Add herbs and sugar and cook until liquid is mostly gone and sauce resembles a runny caramel. Remove from heat and set aside.

Spinach/Kale Layer

1. Melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook until it has softened and begun to brown.
3. Add greens and a little more of the reserved garlic cooking water. Cover and cook until greens have wilted. Remove from heat.
4. Press out as much liquid as possible. (If you're using kale, there won't be much.)
5. Stir in caramelized garlic mixture.
6. Beat egg.
7. Add goat cheese to egg and mix well.
8. Stir goat cheese mixture into spinach/kale mixture. Set aside.

Assembly

1. Roll out your pastry. You will need either one 13" and one 14" round or two 9" round and two 10" rounds.
2. Place the smaller round(s) on a parchment lined baking sheet and preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
3. Beat the egg white with the water.
4. Brush the edges of the smaller round(s) with egg wash.
5. Layer potato over the pastry, leaving a 1-1.5" (2.5-3.5cm) border.
6. Sprinkle a little shredded cheese over the potato.
7. Layer mushrooms on top of cheese.
8. Layer the peppers over the mushrooms.
9. Add the spinach/kale mixture on top of the peppers.
10. Put the rest of the shredded cheese on top of the greens.
11. Shape the filling stack into a rounded mound.
12. Place the larger pastry round(s) over everything and crimp the edges of top and bottom rounds together. Trim into classic scalloped shape around the edge if desired.
13. Brush pastry all over with egg wash.
14. Cut a hole in the top of the pithivier to let steam escape.
15. Cut four small slits around the top.
16. Score the sides of the pastry, being careful not to cut all the way through.
17. Chill in the freezer for 5 minutes (or in the fridge for 15).
18. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 25-30 minutes until pastry is well-browned and cooked through.

Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Glazed Mushroom Brie en Croûte

I have a backlog of about half a dozen recipes that I've made in the last week or so and haven't gotten around to writing up yet. I was doing them more-or-less in order. I think I have to jump the queue with this one though. I ended up improvising a bit and I'm afraid that I'll forget what I did if I don't write it down right away.

This recipe ended up being a hybrid of two other recipes I came across online. I wasn't intending to do this. The plan had been to just make the brie en croûte recipe I found on Food52. I didn't realize until I was already mostly done cooking the onions that I'd somehow managed to get the wrong tab open and had actually been following a completely different baked brie recipe on Eipcurious. So, from there I just kind of improvised to merge the two recipes into something delicious.

Onion and Mushroom Brie en Croûte

Ingredients

Onions

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 4 onions, sliced
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• few grinds black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. dry white wine
• 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

Mushrooms

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 227g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. dry white wine
• 1 tsp. light soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Everything Else

• 454g puff pastry, divided
• 2 small (4-5"/10-13cm) wheels of brie
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat.
2. Add onions and cook until softened.
3. Add thyme and salt, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, stirring often, until nicely brown and caramelized. This will take about half an hour.
4. Add pepper and cook for another minute or so.
5. Add wine, stir and cook for another minute.
6. Stir in sugar and cook for a further 2 minutes.
7. Remove onions from pan and set aside.
8. Increase heat to medium and add remaining butter to pan.
9. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook until mushrooms release their liquid.
10. Pour wine, soy, and vinegar over mushrooms and cook until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are nicely glazed.
11. Preheat oven to 425°F (210°C).
12. My puff pastry came in 2 squares, each one pretty much the perfect size for wrapping one of my wheels of brie. If yours are packaged/portioned differently or if you're making your pastry from scratch, you'll have to roll it out to an appropriate size.
13. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
14. Place a square of pastry on the lined baking sheet.
15. Bisect each wheel of brie horizontally.
16. Place the bottom half of the brie in the centre of the pastry.
17. Spread half the mushrooms over the brie.
18. Spread about a quarter of the onions on top of the mushrooms.
19. Place the top half of the brie over this.
20. Spread another portion (about 1/3 of the remaining onions) on top of the brie.
21. Mix the water with the egg white.
22. Gently pull the pastry up over the brie stack. Brush a little of the egg wash over the corners to help them stick. Press gently to seal.
23. Entire assembly can be frozen at this point for later baking.
24. Brush the outside liberally with more egg wash.
25. Repeat procedure with second portion of pastry and brie, using up the remaining mushrooms and onions.
26. Bake at 425°F (210°C) for 25 minutes.
27. Serve warm on its own or with baguette and/or crackers.