Marilla’s Plum Puffs – Anne of Avonlea

“Well, never mind. This day’s done and there’s a new one coming tomorrow, with no mistakes in it yet, as you used to say yourself. Just come downstairs and have your supper. You’ll see if a good cup of tea and those plum puffs I made today won’t hearten you up.”

–Anne of Avonlea, by L.M. Montgomery

These are an almost impossibly easy-yet-delicious dessert.

The jam partially caramelizes into a sweet, gooey layer. Under the folded puff pastry, the fresh plums and jam ooze together, a warm flavorful filling. The slices of plums soften as they bake, and contrast wonderfully with the slight crunchiness of the sugar topping. They’re an amazing and impressive showcase of plummy goodness that’s great as dessert, but also turns out to be a very tasty breakfast, if there are any puffs left uneaten!

Plum Puffs Recipe

Prep: 10 minutes Baking: 15 minutes

Makes 8

Ingredients:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 cup plum preserves
2 plums, cut into 16 slices (each quarter, quartered)
1 egg, beaten, for glazing
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top

Spread out the puff pastry, and cut into 8 equal squares. Spread the plum preserves onto the pastry, the place two slices of plum onto half of each square. Fold one corner over, leaving about 1/2″ of the bottom layer showing. Fold the bottom corner up over the top, and seal with egg. Do the same with each Plum Puff, then brush the top of the pastries with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with a pinch of turbinado sugar.

Line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silpat. Arrange the pastries on the prepared baking sheet, and bake at 375F for 15 minutes. Let cool to at least room temperature before serving.

Meatrolls – Dragonriders of Pern

“Menolly had detoured to the Lower Caverns and shared with him the handful of meatrolls she’d cadged from the cooks.”

–Dragonriders of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey

Thoughts:

These are terrible. A curse, in that, so-easy-to-make addictive sort of way.

I made a single batch, and they were gone in minutes. I couldn’t make out all the words around the mouthfuls, but from the wild gesticulations, and later exhortations to please make them again, they seemed to be a great success with the test subjects.

You can use whatever variety of sausage you like. I happened to have some wild boar sausages handy, and they suited the recipe admirably. If you can get game sausage of any kind, it’s definitely worth a try, as they help defamiliarize the experience. In any case, the resulting combination of puff pastry (how could you go wrong?) and juicy sausage is a long tried and much loved pairing. The outer pastry shell stays flaky, while the inside soaks up some of the flavorful juices from the meat.

This recipe also has the added appeal of making small enough meatrolls that they would be snitchable from the kitchens of castle, fortress, or cottage, as Menolly proved in the books. Double win!

Pernese Meatroll Recipe

Prep: 5 minutes Baking: 20 minutes

Makes 12 rolls (it won’t be enough!)

Ingredients

1 lb. package pork sausagemeat
1 (17.25 ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
1 beaten egg
poppy or sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Unfold the sheets of puff pastry, and cut lengthwise down the middle. Make five more cuts width-wise so you have 12 long pieces total. Divide the sausage meat evenly between the strips of dough, then seal the ends together with a swipe of egg.

Arrange the sausage rolls on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with egg, and sprinkle with seeds. Bake for around 20 minutes, or until they’re puffed up and a nice golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Mushroom Straws

Mushroom. Puff Pastry. Parmesan. Balsamic.

Rich, savory, and delicious, these mushroom straws are an easy snack for parties. Guests will marvel at their deliciousness, never suspecting how simple they were to make. I, for one, ate about half a batch on my own throughout the course of the day. Normally, I would be embarrassed to admit such, but I think you will agree, once you’ve tasted one, that they’re difficult to stop eating.

Puff pastry, in my opinion, is always a win.

But go on to fill it with this savory puree, and it becomes even better. The balsamic, while not quite robust enough to feature in the flavor, helps to round out the woodsy flavor of the mushrooms. The saltiness of the Parm stands out without overpowering the other components, and the pinch of pepper gives just a hint of a bite.

Truly, try these out the next time you’re expecting guests, and watch how quickly they go!

Mushroom Straws Recipe

Prep: 5 minutes Baking: 15 minutes

Makes about 40 short straws

Ingredients:

1 box puff pastry (17.3 oz.)
1 shallot
3 Tbs. butter
2 oz. mushrooms
2 tsp. Balsamic vinegar
3 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten, for wash
poppy seeds (optional)

Thaw the puff pastry.

In a pan over medium heat, saute the shallot in butter until it’s soft. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, for a few minutes until the mushrooms are also soft. Remove from heat, and puree the shallots and mushrooms, along with all the butter, and the balsamic, in a food processor.

Preheat the oven to 400F, and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread out your thawed puff pastry. If it is one sheet, cut into even halves. Gently spread the mushroom filling over the whole bottom sheet of pastry, making sure to go straight to the edges. Lay the top half of the pastry over this.

Brush the top of the pastry with a beaten egg, and sprinkle with a few poppy seeds. With a sharp knife, or a pizza cutter, slice the filled dough into strips about 1/2″ wide. Place the strips on the prepared baking sheets, twisting some, if you like, for visual diversity.

Bake the mushroom straws for about 15 minutes, or until they are a rich golden brown. Allow them to cool for a few minutes before serving.