italian chef kitchen designs

(upbeat music) - hey guys, there is nothingbetter than a hot hor d'oeuvre straight from the oven, especially when holiday entertaining. but getting the quantitiesand the timing right of these little morselscan take some doing. but not to worry, today i'mgonna show you three varieties of fancy hor d'oeuvres that you can make from store-bought puff pastry.

they're elegant, they're delicious, and the best part is you can make them all a week ahead of time. let me show you how to put it together. so, first up, i'm gonnashow you how to make a brie and fig jam braid. i love this hor d'oeuvresidea because you can really just set it and forget it. it also looks so beautiful and impressive,

and guests can just walkin and serve themselves. so, if you're having aparty of eight to 12 people, i would actually make two of these braids, because they really arethe first things to go, they're that good. so, you're gonna take acookie sheet that's flat, meaning it doesn't have a rim, because it'll be easierto get off that way, and then we're gonna putdown some parchment paper.

on top of that, you're gonna put your store-bought puff pastry, and in the center panelyou're going to spread two tablespoons of fig jam. and on top of that, you'regoing to add anywhere from three to four slices of brie cheese. and then for the sides, this is where thedecorative part comes in, we are going to slice little strips,

about a half an inch thick, all the way down each side panel. so, do one first, count how many you have and make sure you do the same exact amount on the other side. you'll see why in a minute, and then you're gonna takethe strips and alternating, bring them into the middle tocover that brie and fig jam and you'll start to see abeautiful braid will emerge.

now, if you were making this ahead, what i would do at thispoint is wrap up your braid with your parchmentpaper, cover with foil, and pop in the freezer. then, moments beforeit comes time to bake, you're going to take anegg that's been beaten well to create a little egg wash, and with a pastry brush, youare going to brush your braid just all along the side of it,

and this will give our puffpastry a really nice shine. and then, we're gonna popin the oven at 400 degrees for anywhere from 25 to 30 minutes, just until that puff pastryis nice and golden brown and puffed up. and then once it's done, you're going to slide itoff onto a cutting board. this is what makes thisreally is you wanna make sure that guests have a way to cut into this

and serve themselves. and then, i also like to topwith some chopped walnuts, and then place a decorativeknife on the board as well. and when you cut into it, you will see why this is thefirst one to go at any party. it is so cheesy and delicious, and you've got that sweetnessof the jam underneath and the crunch of the walnut. it's a great flavor combinationfor holiday entertaining

and it looks so impressive too, when it really took hardlyany time to put together. next up, something a little bit heartier, we're going to go to theitalian sausage pinwheels. this is a great hor d'oeuvresthat i like to serve once everybody has arrived, and i usually count on anywhere from two to three pieces per person. you'll get about 20 pieces per log,

so that way you can factorhow many you'll need based on how many guests you're having. so, all you're gonna do isroll out your puff pastry, and then on the short sideyou're gonna take your egg wash and give it a brush,just about an inch or so. this will help seal or rollonce we roll it all up. and then on top of that,we're gonna sprinkle about 2/3 cup of a italian-blend cheese, and then on top of thecheese you're gonna add

3/4 teaspoon of italian seasoning, and then on top of thatyou're going to add two hot italian sausages thathave been cooked and crumbled, and then you're justgonna roll up this log, making sure that you roll ittightly so all of the filling does not pour out. and at this stage, if youwere doing it ahead of time, you would just cover itwith parchment paper, and then a layer of aluminumfoil and pop in your freezer,

and then the day of yourparty i would take it out of the freezer and put itin your fridge to thaw out. and then, when it comes time to bake, you're going to slice your rollinto about half-inch slices, and you'll see you'llhave little pinwheels, and you'll wanna space them out on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and you're gonna pop theseinto the oven at 400 degrees for anywhere from 12 to 15 minutes.

and then, you can placethese on a serving platter and pass them around the room. and you will see, these willalso disappear in a flash. the combination of the gooey cheese and the italian seasoning mixed with that spicy italian sausage makes this such a delicious hor d'oeuvres. you will not be disappointed, i promise. and then finally, i presentyou with the mushroom tartlets.

i love this hor d'oeuvres aswell because there's something so hearty about a mushroom appetizer, mixed with puff pastry andcheese, you cannot go wrong. so, you're gonna take out that store-bought puff pastry again, and the nice thing is it doescome scored into three panels. so, you're gonna cut those three panels just right down the seam, and then you're gonnatake one of those panels

and you're gonna cut it in half, and then cut the halves in half. and what that will do is create four equal-sized little rectangles. then, you're gonna take those rectangles, put them in a mini muffin tin. now, for these hor d'oeuvres, because they're the last one at the party, i typically will just make 12.

also mushrooms, people eitherlove them or hate them, so usually make the leastamount of this kind. for those who lovemushrooms, this is a winner. i'm one of those peoplethat love mushrooms, so i love this hor d'oeuvres. so, you're gonna go aheadand just fit this pastry into your little mini muffin tin, and then you are goingto fill each muffin tin with my special holiday mushroom blend.

now, it's a really simple recipe, i'll leave it for you in the description, but it's essentially justmushrooms, shallots, thyme, and a little bit of worcestershire sauce. and we're gonna fill one teaspoon of the mushroom blend into each cup, and top with a littlesprinkle of italian cheese. that's all you have to do. now, if you were makingthese ahead of time,

you could just wrapthis whole thing in foil and pop it in your freezeruntil you're ready to serve. and then when it comes time to bake, you're gonna put these in a400 degree fahrenheit oven for about 15 minutes, just until that pastryis nice and golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. then, you can take them out andallow them to cool slightly, transfer them to a serving platter,

and then garnish eachone with a little sprig of fresh thyme. and there you have it, anotherfancy elegant hor d'oeuvres that is also as delicious as it is pretty. so, there you have it,three fancy hor d'oeuvres that you can make withstore-bought puff pastry. i hope you guys give this one a try, and let me know what you think, and i will see you back here next week

for another holiday helper. until then, bye.

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