A Casserole Twist

I subscribe to Vegetarian Times’ online newsletter, and a few times a week they e-mail out some pretty awesome recipes. I find myself stock-piling them, trying to get through each one as frequently as a I can. A few weeks ago I received a recipe for an Indian Samosa Casserole, and immediately saved it. Samosa’s are newer to me, as I had my first this past fall when a co-worker brought in a bunch to celebrate Diwali (the festival of lights). The first thing that comes to mind when trying to relate them would be to empanadas, pierogies, etc. They’re usually fried, and absolutely delicious. So when I found a recipe for a giant one that didn’t require a pot of hot oil flying throughout my kitchen, I was game.

Having spent the past few days watching countless hours of TV on the couch trying to recover as quickly as possible, I was excited to get back into the kitchen to make something that required some attention. Saving it for a Saturday evening was perfect, since with prep and cook time, this is easily an hour and a half ordeal. It probably would have taken even longer if I decided to make my own pie crust. But I thought it might be best to err on the side of sanity and buy a pre-made crust. I wasn’t opposed to the idea of spending some time in the kitchen, but I didn’t want it to be my entire Saturday, especially since I was finally starting to feel better.

Aside from using my own pie crust, I omitted the mustard seed (fiancé doesn’t like mustard), and used canned peas instead of frozen, and regular sugar instead of agave nectar. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe, and it was really good! We have three quarters of the pie left, so I’m looking forward to having it for lunch/dinner at least one more time.

And in other news, I think I’m finally healed up and ready to get back to running! Unfortunately with the weather lately my first run will likely be on the treadmill. That’s okay, thought, because I’m going to take it slow and make sure there isn’t any pain. Fiancé still has one more week of required couch potato-ness before his ankle is looked at again. So, the Pittsburgh Marathon is out, but I’m 99.9% sure we’ll be signing up for the Philly Marathon that’s in November, followed by going Goofy in January! Fingers crossed 🙂

Indian Samosa Casserole via Vegetarian Times
– Serves 6 –

Ingredients:
Crust:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil

Filling:
1 Tbs. black or yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes, optional
5 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered (1 1/4 lb.)
1 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced (1 cup)
1 medium carrot, diced (1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
2 tsp. agave nectar or sugar
2 Tbs. soymilk

Directions:
To make Crust:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk together flours and salt in bowl. Stir in oil until clumps form. Add 6 to 10 Tbs. cold water, 1 Tbs. at a time, until dough holds together. Shape into ball, cover with damp towel, and set aside.

To make Filling:
2. Stir together mustard seeds, curry, ginger, cumin, and red pepper flakes, if using, in bowl; set aside.
3. Cook potatoes in boiling salted water 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, return to pot, and mash, leaving small chunks.
4. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes, or until carrot is tender. Move onion mixture to side of pan, and add mustard seed mixture in center. Toast 30 seconds. Stir in peas and broth. Fold onion mixture into potato mixture; stir in agave nectar. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread Filling in 9-inch pie pan. Set aside.
5. Roll out Crust dough to 11-inch circle on floured work surface. Cover Filling with dough, pressing down to make sure no air pockets remain. Trim away excess dough, and crimp edges with fingers. Cut X in center to vent steam; brush with soymilk just before baking. Place pie on baking sheet, and bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until crust is golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
6. Frozen cooking instructions: Preheat oven to 375°F. Place casserole on baking sheet, and bake 75 to 90 minutes, or until Filling bubbles and Crust is golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Peanut Butter Chili

Who doesn’t love chili? It’s seriously everything I could want in a bowl… sauteed onions, beans, spice… yum. The different combinations that can be thrown into a big simmering bowl makes chili even more appealing to me. When it comes to spices, there are a ton of directions you can go in too. Only recently did I discover the wonders of adding a dash of cinnamon. I found this recipe on Serious Eats, back on National Peanut Butter Day. So, as you can imagine, there’s peanut butter in it. That’s right, peanut butter in chili!

I wasn’t too sure how this was going to come out – I mean, peanut butter in chili? It smelled amazing, and even though there was a solid amount of peanut butter used in the recipe, the taste was really just a compliment to the other flavors in the dish. I didn’t have tomato paste, and I also didn’t have two cans of kidney beans, so there were some modifications. I used a little less vegetable broth so as to not make it too watery since the tomato paste wasn’t there to thicken it up. Also, I threw in a can of pinto beans to keep the bean numbers the same, and it added a nice variety as well.

This is a pretty quick cooking chili, too. A lot require a solid 45+ minute simmering time, but this one, once all combined, takes 20 minutes with 15 minutes of sautéing required beforehand. So, it’s definitely a chili you can make on a weeknight, which I always appreciate. I decided to make the entire recipe (except I only made enough rice for what I thought we’d eat), and we had five very large servings over the course of three days!

Peanut Butter Chili via Serious Eats
– Serves 6-8 –

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Two (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
One (12-ounce) can tomato paste *I omitted
2 cups vegetable stock *Only used 1 1/2
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (preferably unsweetened) *I used chunky
Two (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained *I did 1 kidney, 1 pinto
One (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
One (15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained
One (15-ounce) can whole sweet corn, rinsed and drained
4 cups cooked white or brown rice (for serving)
1 cup coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese (for serving)

Directions:
1. In large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes.
2. Add diced tomatoes and their liquid, black pepper, salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, and red pepper flakes to pot. Let simmer for 5 minutes and then add tomato paste, vegetable stock, and peanut butter. Stir until tomato paste and peanut butter are well incorporated. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to low and add all beans and corn. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
4. To serve, place a half cup of rice in large bowl and add two ladles of chili. Top with cheddar cheese and chopped scallions.

A Stewy Kind of Day

Since we’ve been getting at least one snow storm a week, I’ve been on a stew kick. The definition of stew is “To cook (food) by simmering or boiling slowly,” which is exactly what these recipes have been. I live in New Jersey, and the past year of weather has been outrageous. Last winter wasn’t SO bad, but I do remember a few pretty solid snow storms. This past summer was unbearable with its sticky, humid days, and the only solace I found was in the fall. Enter winter 2010 – 2011, where as soon as we hit the end of December, the skies have been pouring snow and other wintery precipitation on us like no other. My mom, a school nurse, has already used all of her snow days. And we’re barely into February!

Last week, I went with an Indian stew, Dal. I think I used about 75% of my curry powder stock in one week, but it was well worth it. Since I had made some curry earlier in the week, I had left over sweet potato and cauliflower to add to the mix. I debated adding some chickpeas as well, but decided to save them for another rainy, or in this case snowy, day. The Dal recipe I went off of is from the Student’s Vegetarian Cookbook by Carole Raymond that I got for Christmas. Everything is quick, easy, and affordable. Aside from taking a few minutes to chop up the ingredients, sauté them, and cook the lentils, it’s a pretty no-fuss meal. It’s also really hearty. Just what you need on these cold winter nights!

Veggie Dal
-Serves 4-

Ingredients:
1 cup dried lentils
3 cups water
2 Tbsp oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 cups onion, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower
1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garam masala

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils, water, and 1 cup of chopped onion. Bring the ingredients to a boil; reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
2. While the lentils are cooking, heat the oil in a medium skillet; add the remaining 1 cup onion, garlic, sweet potato, cauliflower, curry and garam masala. Sauté the vegetables on medium or medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the onions are golden, and the veggies are soft, and just beginning to brown, 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable mixture to the cooked lentils, stirring to combine. Heat the lentil mixture for a few minutes longer. Salt to taste.

Chunky Eggplant Quinoa

I love eggplant. It’s one of those vegetables that’s so versatile, and really hearty. Growing up, aside from having eggplant parmigana, I didn’t realize how many possibilities there are. So, I decided to just throw a few things in a pan and hope for the best. Instead of having it over pasta, I thought using quinoa instead would be a nice change of pace. We have tortellini at least once a week, and I don’t want to over do it with the pasta.

This recipe definitely has a slow cooking, involved taste. But it’s actually quite easy! We actually had a little leftover and added it to our typical tortellini dinner later in the week, and it was great. I could definitely see some additions to the stew such as mushrooms, peas, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Chunky Eggplant Quinoa
– Serves 3 –

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced into large chunks
1 can (15.5 oz) diced tomatoes (preferably with herb seasoning)
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 cup quinoa
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
*red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese for serving

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine vinegars in medium bowl, add diced eggplant and make sure they’re fully coated. Place on greased baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes.
3. While the eggplant is cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet. Add onion and garlic, sauté about 5 minutes, until onion is translucent and garlic is starting to brown.
4. Add tomatoes, and simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat.
5. Cook quinoa according to package
6. Add the cooked eggplant to the tomato, onion, and garlic, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, making sure everything is combined.
7. Serve the eggplant mixture over the quinoa, and top with some red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese.

Ladies Who Lunch

Lunch has always been my favorite meal of the day. Growing up, I was never a big breakfast person, and dinner was just an afterthought. But lunch, oh the possibilities! Lunch is smack dab in the middle of your day, perfect for you to incorporate almost anything you want – a late breakfast, or even an early dinner. You can get away with pretty much anything you feel like for lunch. I however, like to stick to typical lunch foods. You know, your sandwich, soup, salad, etc.

Since I work full time, lunch isn’t nearly as glamorous as I wish it could be. By glamorous, I mean all of the different and delicious creations that lend themselves to the mid day meal. If I had it my way, I’d be in the kitchen creating an interesting sandwich, wrap, salad, or other oddball creation daily, with of course leaving room to sample the yummy lunchtime menus from surrounding eateries. Alas, I live a far from glamorous life.

I’ll be honest, a lot of the time I’m just too lazy to think up creative lunches, so I settle for frozen meals. I try my hardest to have them no more than 2 times a week, but sometimes my schedule just doesn’t allow time for me to make my lunch ahead of time. If I have leftovers from dinner, I gladly bring those to work as well. Since my fiancé and I are currently saving for a wedding, we rarely go out for lunch during the work week – I’d say no more than once or twice a month.

After a week of boring frozen meals (the semester just started, so I was swamped with start-up work), I resolved to try something new last week. Enter my veggie wrap! I had it twice for lunch this past week, since the ingredients lent themselves to three full wraps – hello money saver! It’s nothing fancy, but it’s delicious.

Random Veggie Wrap
– Serves 1 –

Ingredients:
1/2 Hass Avocado, sliced
1/4 Cucumber, peeled and sliced
Handful Soybean Sprouts
3 Tbsp Hummus (I used roasted garlic, but any will work)
1 Tbsp Feta (crumbled)
1 Wrap (I used tortilla – but a flavored wrap would be great, too)

Directions:
1. Spread hummus in middle of tortilla
2. Place all other ingredients on top of tortilla
3. Wrap, first by folding over slightly, then turning in the sides, and continuing until all ingredients are covered

Wrap it up

With all of the awesome cookbooks I received for Christmas, they each have had quite a few curry recipes. As you know, I’m trying to expand my curry, and specifically Indian food palate. So, when I saw this West Indian Styled Channa Wrap in my The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook by Kim O’Donnel, I couldn’t wait to make it. I was planning to make this on a Thursday night, but per the usual, I didn’t look at the actual recipe instructions, and realized it took about a half hour to simmer. So, I abandoned ship, but came back on Saturday night to try it as I had just a bit more time on my hands.

This was actually the first time working with fresh ginger. My dad doesn’t like the taste of ginger, so growing up it was never included in any meals we had, let alone in the house. So, up until now my ginger relationship has been solely through sushi. As soon as I peeled it and started slicing, I was in love – it just smells so good!

The recipe calls for madras curry, but I don’t have any. I read online somewhere though that you can simply add some red pepper (cayenne) to regular yellow curry instead. This was too boring for me, so I substituted it with garam masala, the mystery spice I found a few months ago after scouring the Asian food market. Aside from cutting the recipe in half (all the ingredients and cook time) and using 10 inch tortillas instead of 8 (we always have 10 inch in the house, since we’re burrito fiends), I followed the recipe.

If you aren’t a fan of spicy foods, I would omit the hot pepper suggestion. I added a jalapeno, and let me tell you, it was SPICY! The cookbook itself says it’s a 4 out of 5 on their spicy scale, so keep that in mind. But it wasn’t unbearable, and still really enjoyable. If it winds up being a bit too spicy, try and add a little bit of white sugar. It sounds weird, but I promise it works!

West-Indian Style Channa Wrap – via The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook
– Serves 8 –

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups diced onions
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 chile pepper of choice, seeded
1 (2 x 1-inch) hunk fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 Tbsp curry powder (Madras- style)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp salt
2 (15-oz) cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 package of 8-inch whole wheat tortillas

Directions:
1. In a deep skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until slightly softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, chile pepper, and ginger, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the spices and salt, and stir well. You’ll end up with a paste.
2. Add chickpeas, plus enough water to barely cover (at least 3 cups). Bring to a lively simmer, then lower the heat and cook at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid evaporates, 50 to 60 minutes. You’re looking for very soft chickpeas with a thick gravy, not soup.
3. Taste for salt and season accordingly.
4. Place a few tablespoons of channa inside a warmed tortilla. Also great over rice!

Spicy Peanut Baked Tofu

Tofu is a rather new concept to me, only incorporating it into dishes a handful of times. Since my fiancé isn’t wild about it, I usually keep it out of the mix. However, after receiving a ton (ok, not a ton, more like seven) cookbooks for Christmas, and a lot of them being vegetarian themed, I wanted to throw some tofu into the mix. I’ve also seen baked or broiled tofu featured on a lot of my favorite blogs, so I figured I’d give it a shot.

I remember the first time I bought tofu, I knew nothing about it – silk, firm, extra firm – what does it all mean?! I wound up buying silken tofu the first time, and it was pretty much useless for what I wanted to do with it. I eventually wised up, and pretty much only purchase extra firm, which is perfect for baking, broiling, or frying.

When I was at the store on Saturday, I found a very interesting peanut butter flavor – Peanut Butter & Co’s “The Heat is On.” Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like, the label boasts “peanut butter blended with fiery spices.” While I didn’t purchase it, it was definitely the inspiration for the spicy peanut baked tofu. It’s really easy, and paired with some stir-fry veggies, and maybe over rice or noodles, it’s the perfect weeknight dish. I had mine over noodles with veggies and the left over sauce to make it a full meal.

Spicy Peanut Baked Tofu

Ingredients:
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
2 Tbsp (more or less, depending on desired spice level) Sriracha
8 oz. extra-firm tofu

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees
2. Press tofu for 15-20 minutes between two plates with a something heavy (I used a cookbook) on top, then cut into even cubes
3. While tofu is being pressed, mix all ingredients in a medium sized bowl until combined
4. Place tofu, a few cubes at a time, into the bowl of sauce, using a a spoon to make sure the tofu is evenly coated
5. Once tofu is coated, place it on a greased baking sheet (I like to put foil down and spray that)
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until browned on both sides with a little crisp

Curried Vegetables

On Saturday, I was able to pick up my wedding dress. That’s right, I ordered my dress on January 3rd, and it was ready to be picked up about a week later! Granted, it hasn’t been fitted yet, but still, I’m excited. Now it just has to hang around in my old room at my parent’s for another 7 months and change.

While I was doing wedding related girly things, my fiancé was out shredding the slopes (aka snowboarding). By the time we both got home, we plopped in front of the TV with some chili and spent the night relaxing. We spent most of our time watching TLC, as I of course was first drawn to Say Yes to The Dress. From there, it went on to My Strange Addiction which always grabs my attention, and then the newest show, Extreme Couponing came on. I think it’s safe to say Sunday’s grocery trip was inspired by the show, and we tried to find as many coupons and sales as we could for our weekly grocery trip.

We usually shop at the local ShopRite, since it’s the closest grocery store to us. It just so happened that they’re having their famous can-can sale, so we were able to stock up. It wound up working out perfectly, since the recipes I was planning on making in the next two weeks included things like black beans, chickpeas, and corn. We bought quite a few cans of our usual favorites, and I felt like I was stocking my pantries like the Extreme Couponers! But it really worked out since I was planning to cook with chickpeas that very night.

Sunday’s dinner came about because I’ve been consistently stumbling upon curry recipes, and they’ve all sounded delicious. Indian food is something I have only cooked a handful of times, and have also only had it from restaurants, etc. less than I’ve made it. Since I’ve been meaning to expand my palate in terms of Indian flavors, I thought I’d give vegetable curry a stab. Since we’re back from vacation and trying to eat better, we had this as our main dish, with a side salad. I could definitely see this paired with some basmati rice, or maybe even noodles. But it was definitely delicious all by itself too!

Vegetable Curry
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
1 cup cauliflower floretts
1 medium sweet potato (peeled and chopped)
1 medium yellow onion (diced)
1 15 oz. can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1/2 cup vegetarian low-sodium vegetable broth
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (not drained)
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
*Dash of hot sauce/paste to taste (optional)
*Plain yogurt for garnish (I use Greek yogurt)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in pan, and add sweet potatoes, cooking 3 minutes.
2. Add onion, cauliflower, chickpeas, curry powder, and garam masala, cooking 1 minute, until vegetables and dry ingredients are mixed well.
3. Add vegetable broth and tomatoes, bringing mixture to a boil. Reduce, and set to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Dinner at Via Napoli in Epcot’s Italy

Our flight down to Orlando was super early – we were up at 3:45a to head to the Philadelphia airport after staying the night at our friend’s. Our flight was at 7a, and we were in sunny Orlando by 9a. We headed right to our hotel, Port Orleans Riverside, via Disney’s Magical Express bus. This seamless process allowed us to check in then head right to Epcot, instead of needing to wait for our bags (they deliver them right to your room!), or find transportation.

We spent our day exploring all of the countries, and riding Test Track, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, and all the other fun rides Epcot has to offer. We also spent some time trying to figure out the race route for Saturday’s Half Marathon. After a full day of exploration, we ended with dinner at Via Napoli in Epcot’s Italy.

Our meal plan offered one quick service meal (meaning counter service similar to a cafeteria with trays) that included a drink, meal, and dessert, a table service meal that also included a drink, meal, and dessert, and one snack per day of your reservation. Let me tell you – it’s A LOT of food! I didn’t ever feel like I didn’t have enough food – it was more than enough!

Dinner was quick – three of us ordered pasta, and our one friend ordered a personal pizza. They noted that the food would be brought out at different times just due to the cooking times, but it was literally a two minute difference – we barely noticed! Our whole meal was complete in about 45 minutes; they weren’t messing around. Even though it was quick, the quality of the food as well as the service, didn’t suffer.

I ordered the eggplant parmigana, which came with a side of spagetti that was essentially a spagetti cake – it was pretty awesome!

For dessert, we all ordered the zeppolis with melted chocolate and whipped cream. They were served in a neat cone, and it felt like they were never ending! Even though I was stuffed from the eggplant and pasta, I couldn’t help myself and eat every single one. They were delicious! I think these cones are awesome, as does my fiancé, and I really want to buy some, but I don’t know where they’re sold – any ideas?

We were all quite full after dinner, and resolved ourselves to one more round of the World Showcase before heading back to our hotel. Our next day was to be jam packed with a trip to ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex to grab our race bibs and goodies, as well as a day at Hollywood Studios.

It’s safe to say I was fed very well this trip, and didn’t spend a second hungry!

A good kind of puff

Each year on Christmas Eve, my fiancé and I head down to his family’s to spend the night and open presents in the morning, before heading back up to my family. This year, I thought it would be appropriate for me to make a quick appetizer that we would be able to bring with us to his cousin’s for Christmas Eve dinner. I don’t remember how I found this recipe, but as soon as I saw gouda on the ingredient list, I was sold.

The ingredient list and recipe itself is straight forward and easy. I accidentally picked up the wrong kind of dough the first time around, but after heading to the store to get something completely different later in the week, I saw what I needed and realized I had originally grabbed the wrong thing. This allowed me to later try the recipe with two different types of dough, which was perfect after Sunday’s 9 mile run in the snow.

We had big plans for Friday – we were to get up at 5:30a, run 6 miles, head to work for a half day, I’d make the pastries while the fiancé finished packing, and we’d head down to his parent’s to first meet up with a friend for coffee, before continuing on to the party. Well, we of course didn’t get up to run thanks to the cold howling winds, but we were able to follow the rest of our plans for the day (for the most part, at least). I tried one of the pastries both right out of the oven as well as room temperature, and they were both really good. When bringing food to parties, I like when it’s something that doesn’t taste best at a certain temperature, because it’s difficult to keep it at that constant level.

Since it’s an apple and cheese puff pastry, I think it could be served as an appetizer or a dessert, depending on your crowd. My fiancé’s family snuck a few from the tray before we even made it out his parent’s door to get to his cousin’s. I knew that I would at least like them since gouda is my favorite cheese, but I was pleased to find everyone that tried it really enjoyed it.

Gouda and Apple Puff Pockets via Pepperidge Farm
– Makes 48 Puffs –

Ingredients:
1 large Granny Smith apple, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons sugar
1 package (17.3 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed
3 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, cut into 48 (1/2-inch) cubes

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the apple, chives and sugar in a medium bowl.
2. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 16×12-inch rectangle. Cut into 12 (4-inch) squares. Cut each pastry square in half diagonally to make 24 triangles. Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet.
3. Place about 1/2 teaspoon apple mixture on the bottom third of the longest side of each pastry triangle. Top each with 1 cheese piece. Brush the 2 bottom corners with water. Fold the bottom corners over the filling and press to seal. Press the bottom edge of the pastry to seal, leaving the top of the pastry open. Place the pastries onto 2 baking sheets.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with additional chopped chives, if desired.

Next time I don’t have to travel with the goodies, I’m making a Gouda en Croute. You know, melty gouda inside a giant puff pastry… Oh yes.