Warm Apple And Apricot Phyllo Purses Food

WARM GOAT CHEESE IN PHYLLO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Unroll the sheets of phyllo dough on a flat surface and cover them with a slightly damp towel. (If the towel is too wet, the dough will get sticky.) Working quickly so the dough doesn't dry out, place one sheet of phyllo on a board, brush lightly with melted butter, and sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs. Place a second sheet of phyllo on top, brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Continue until you have 4 sheets stacked up. Cut the sheets in half crosswise to make 2 almost-squares.
• Cut one of the goat cheeses in half horizontally, making 2 thin discs. Place each disc in the center of one phyllo square. Starting at one corner, fold the phyllo up over the cheese and continue folding and pleating the phyllo around the cheese, as though you're wrapping a round gift that's tied on top. You will end with extra phyllo dough on top; twist the excess into a topknot. Brush the discs all over with melted butter and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Continue with the remaining phyllo dough and 2 goat cheese discs to make 4 additional packages.
• Bake for 20 minutes, until the phyllo is lightly browned. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• While the cheese packages bake, place the salad greens in a large bowl. Whisk the vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Still whisking, slowly add the olive oil, making an emulsion. Toss the salad greens with enough vinaigrette to moisten.
• Distribute the salad among 6 plates and place one warm goat cheese package in the center of each plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

WARM APPLE AND APRICOT PHYLLO PURSES

Steps:

• Soak the apricots and the raisins in the 1 cup of white wine for 2 hours
• Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the wine
• Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F
• In a large skillet, melt the butter over a medium flame
• Add the 1/4 cup of white wine
• Add the apples and the drained apricots and raisins
• Saute for 3 minutes
• Add the juice of 1/2 an orange and 1/2 of the lemon into the skillet and continue sauteeing
• Add the brown sugar, mix well with the fruit
• Sprinkle with cinnamon and remove from the flame
• In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the juice of the remaining 1 1/2 oranges
• Stir vigorously until smooth
• Put the pan of fruit back on the flame
• Slowly add the cornstarch mix to the pan, stirring continuously
• The mixture should start to thicken and caramelize
• You want it to be sticky, not runny
• Remove from the heat
• Unwrap the phyllo dough and lay out the sheets
• Cut the layered stack lengthwise and widthwise to make 4 rectangular quarter-stacks of 12 sheets each stack
• Take one rectangular sheet, brush around the edges with the melted butter
• Lay the next sheet on top, but at an angle
• Continue doing this 4 more times for a pile of 6 sheets, each sheet at an angle to the one below it
• Place a small mound of fruit in the middle
• Top the fruit with a square of chocolate
• Lift one edge toward the middle, gathering and pleating the dough as you go around the pile, pulling the edges to the middle to form a purse
• Make 8 purses this way (8 piles of 6 sheets each)
• Brush and drizzle each purse with melted butter
• Place the purses on a parchment line cookie sheet
• Bake 10 minutes
• Raise the heat to 350 degrees F, and bake another 15 minutes until the purses are golden
• Serve warm
• If you make the sheets in advance, rewarm for a few minutes in the oven to warm the fruit and melt the chocolate

APRICOT PHYLLO NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• Drain yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined sieve or colander set over a bowl, covered and chilled, 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Put stack of phyllo on a work surface and cover stack with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a damp kitchen towel. Stir together butter and oil.
• Arrange 1 phyllo sheet on a large parchment-lined baking sheet, then spread with one fourth of butter mixture using a dampened pastry brush. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Top with 3 more layers in same manner as first with remaining phyllo and butter mixture and 3 teaspoons granulated sugar. Cut stack into 12 rectangles (2 lengthwise cuts, 3 crosswise) and bake in middle of oven until crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack.
• Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into a bowl using a small sharp knife. Stir in drained yogurt, sour cream, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat. Add apricots and sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons granulated sugar. Gently toss until apricots are warm and tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer apricots to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
• Add water and remaining teaspoon brown sugar to skillet and deglaze by boiling over moderately high heat, scraping up brown bits, until reduced by about half. Toss apricots in warm syrup.
• Place 1 phyllo rectangle on a plate and top with 3 apricot pieces and 1 generous tablespoon yogurt mixture. Make 2 more layers with phyllo squares, apricots, and yogurt mixture. Make 3 more napoleons in same manner.

PHYLLO PURSES

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add shallots, and cook over medium heat until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, and cook until they are soft and all the liquid is absorbed, about 7 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool. When cool, fold in the creme fraiche and chervil until combined. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay one sheet of phyllo on a clean work surface. Brush phyllo lightly with melted butter, and top immediately with a second sheet of phyllo. Brush again with butter, and top with a third sheet of phyllo. Repeat with remaining 3 sheets of phyllo. Using a pizza cutter, cut the stack of layered phyllo sheets into 24 four-inch squares.
• Place a teaspoon of mushroom filling in the center of each square. Carefully draw up the sides of the squares and pinch them together to seal in the filling. Place purses on the parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake until the edges are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Tie a chive around each pinched phyllo purse, and top with 1/4 teaspoon caviar. Serve phyllo purses warm.

APRICOT TART WITH PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lay 1 sheet phyllo on a parchment-lined 12-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon butter and brush to coat the entire phyllo sheet.
• Top with another sheet and butter as above. Repeat with 7 more sheets, for a total of 9, buttering as you go. The final, top layer should also be buttered. (The rest of the phyllo can be wrapped and frozen for future use.)
• Dot the top sheet with jam by the teaspoon, then, using a spatula, spread the jam to cover the entire sheet, leaving a 2-inch border.
• Sprinkle a layer of half the chopped pistachios over the jam. Place the apricot wedges, skin-side down, in even rows across the surface, then sprinkle again with remaining pistachios.
• Carefully fold over the edges on all sides of the tart to make a 10-by-16-inch rectangle. Brush folded sides with butter. Sprinkle sugar generously over apricots and folded edges.
• Bake until pastry is golden and apricots begin to color, about 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes, then cut into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MEDITERRANEAN APRICOT PHYLLO BITES

Steps:

• Place almonds and apricots in a food processor; cover and process until finely chopped. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon butter, honey, lemon zest and extract; add almond mixture and stir until blended., Lightly brush one sheet of phyllo with remaining butter; place another sheet of phyllo on top and brush with butter. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Cut the two layered sheets into three 14x3-in. strips., Place 1-1/2 teaspoons filling in lower corner of each strip. Fold dough over filling, forming a triangle. Fold triangle up, then fold triangle over, forming another triangle. Continue folding, like a flag, until you come to the end of the strip. Brush end of dough with butter and press onto triangle to seal. Turn triangle and brush top with melted butter. Repeat., Place triangles on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.