Adventures in Puff Pastry

I've tried making pastry once or twice but it wasn't very good. Pastry dishes (pies, turnovers, etc) aren't my favorite desserts so I never cared enough to learn how to make perfect pastry. Nor have I ever explored any pre-made options available in my local grocery store.

But last week I watched an episode of "Ultimate Recipe Showdown" on the Food Network. It was all about desserts and one contestant made "Raspberry Puffs with Goat Cheese and Thyme". Once I saw how good they looked on TV I just had to try them for myself.

So I went to my local Safeway (I get no money from Safeway for this advertising!) and looked for the first ingredient, one sheet of frozen puff pastry. They had only one kind of frozen puff pastry. I purchased it and brought it home.

It's a small box... about 7 inches wide X 3.5 inches high X 1.5 inches deep. That seemed too small for the first instructions in the recipe... Unfold pastry sheet; cut along fold line to make 3 strips... but I had high hopes that the box would yield a beautifully folded sheet of puff pastry just as I saw in my dreams.

Alas, this is what was actually in the box.....

One frozen block of puff pastry which has been perforated down the center. All of you are probably saying "Well of course, ya foodiestudent! That's how frozen puff pastry comes in Canada" but I had no idea and I wasn't sure how to follow the recipe instructions without the pretty sheet I was picturing in the aforementioned dreams.

So I had to do the unthinkable.... read the directions on the box! (gasp!) Basically the box just says break off one half of the pastry block, thaw in the fridge, and roll out into the pretty sheet you've been dreaming about. I'm paraphrasing but you get the idea.

So I did that (it rolled out VERY quickly and easily), cut the resulting sheet in half which looked like this...

I then baked it as per the recipe and cut the pastry in half. Thusly....

I was worried because they appeared a little undercooked inside but I guess that's what they are supposed to look like inside because they tasted fully cooked.

And here is the finished product....

And O... M... G...!!!!! They were SOOOOO good. They were also far too big for these little dessert plates so immediately after this picture was taken they were moved to luncheon plates. About 10 minutes after that Vince & I were patting our stomachs and groaning about how full we were.

The whipped cream was mixed with goat cheese and a touch of vanilla which gave it a wonderful richness and tang. The raspberries were fresh and mixed with a little jam to make the sweet sauce. A little thyme was sprinkled on top which added an interesting flavor to the whole dish. And of course the puff pastry was perfection :)