Three Christmas appetizers

One pastry, one cream cheese, and some sour cream – just change the additions a bit and you get completely different appetizers. Easy to make because the holidays don’t have to make you crazy. By the way, you will have left over cranberries, which can be used when making a roast.

Ingredients

300 g butter puff pastry (4 sheets)
1 small egg
20 ml milk

Parmesan appetizers:
300 g frozen cranberries
80 g Demerara sugar
60 ml fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 organic orange zest, finely grated
1 sprig rosemary
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
50 g parmesan, finely grated
100 g cream cheese
40 g thick 25% sour cream or crème fraiche

roe appetizers:
100 g cream cheese
1/2 organic lemon zest, finely grated
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper for sprinkling
50 g thick 25% sour cream
1 jar organic fish roe

Roquefort appetizers:
200 g Roquefort 
a few tbsp not too sweet fig jam
small handful walnuts, crumbled
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Prepare

Heat oven to 200°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the egg with milk. Divide two sheets of pastry into 8 squares, cut one in long strips, and the last leave whole. Prick with a fork, brush with egg wash, and bake in the oven 12–14 minutes until golden brown. Remove and cool completely. 

For the Parmesan appetizers, place the cranberries, rosemary, sugar, orange juice and peel, and cinnamon in a pot and mix. Bring to boil on high heat and then turn the heat down low and simmer, with a lid on (the berries burst during boiling and spray everywhere) for about 10 minutes until thick (like jam), but not too thick. Take off the heat and cool completely. In a bowl, stir the cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy. Add the Parmesan and sour cream and mix. Spread or pipe unto the pastry squares. Top with the cranberries and decorate with the rosemary. 

For the roe appetizers, mix the cream cheese with the lemon zest, salt, and pepper and smooth and creamy. Add the sour cream and stir. Spread or pipe on the pastry strips. Top with the roe, grind some pepper on top, and serve. 

On the whole pastry sheet, spread the fig jam, and sprinkle with the cheese and nuts. Cut into triangles and serve. 

Recipe and pictures: Signe Meirane
Camera: Sony Alpha 7s