Puff Pastry. It’s elegant yet easy. It’s decadent and versatile. It will make any ingredient feel fancy. Including ground sausage. Trust. And while I STILL can’t smell or taste anything – THANKS COVID- I can tell you that these fun little bites are perfect for the holidays. They’re hearty enough to soak up those festive cocktails you’ll be downing but light enough that they won’t spoil your dinner! Or….if you WANT them to be dinner, just pair them with a salad (harvest apple with gorgonzola, to be exact) like we did. The onion chutney *aka onion jam* was my husband’s creation and totally MAKES this appetizer – so get ready to chop what feels like too many red onions and let that chutney chutnize (??!!) for a few hours on the stove 🙂 Make sure to serve these puffs hot out of the oven and with a spicy brown or dijon mustard on the side.

Ingredients

• 1 lb sage sausage (we used Neese’s Country Sausage)
• 1 box puff pastry (2 sheets)
• 2 TBSP onion chutney – recipe below
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 TBSP black poppy seeds
• Dijon mustard -for dipping

For the Onion Chutney:

• 5 large red onions, peeled and sliced
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 TBSP mustard seeds
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup red wine

In a Dutch oven, add olive oil. Add sliced onions, bay leaves salt and pepper. Cook over LOW heat until onions become translucent and soft – about 25 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 1 hour – until liquid has reduced by half. Chutney should be thick. *THIS KEEPS WELL IN THE FRDIGE IN TIGHTLY SEALED JARS FOR UP TO A MONTH

Instructions

1. Defrost puff pastry. It comes frozen so just let it sit overnight in the fridge -or leave it on the counter for an hour or so before using
2. Mix sausage and onion chutney in a medium sized bowl.
3. Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface -just enough to get creases out of the pastry and make sure it’s uniform in thickness. Cut into 3 even pieces. Repeat with other pastry.
4. Add 1/6 of the sausage mix to each panel of pastry. Roll pastry over sausage mixture and seal edges. Cut each roll into 6 slices.
5. Scramble egg. Brush tops of pastries with egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds
6. Bake in 425 oven for 15-18 minutes
7. Serve immediately with spicy brown or Dijon mustard

Live Cooking Demo

The Cocktail

Red Moon over Manhattan – again, I can’t taste or smell anything- a lingering symptom from my Covid-19 diagnosis on 10/19. I’m all better now but apparently, my senses haven’t caught up. HOPEFULLY they come back soon?! Until then, I’ll just make cocktails for my hubby/producer Ben because at least one of us should enjoy a beverage!!

Cocktail Ingredients:

• 2 oz red wine
• 1/2 oz bourbon
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 3 cocktail cherries (We recommend Luxardo cherries – see video above for my rave review!)

1. Add first 3 ingredients to cocktail shaker and shake! shake! shake!
2. Add a 1/2 tsp cherry juice to cocktail glass and skewer cherries on cocktail pick
3. Pour cocktail in glass

Final Say

Make these. Make these NOW! And be sure to double the batch because they’re going to be a hit at your next cocktail party/holiday get-together! They are best served HOT but can absolutely be made in advance of party time and served at room temp. They are a cinch to throw together – the most labor-intensive part is brushing the tops with the egg wash 🙂 Husband Ben suggest adding MORE bourbon, LESS red wine to the cocktail – so play around to get the right ratios for your liking – add a sprig of rosemary to the glass and you’ve got yourself the most festive cocktail around!