Winter Root Pastries

Phew! The party is over, the Christmas decorations are coming down, and now I promise to get back to posting delicious, seasonal recipes for two. First, I must share with you the tastiest appetizer I have ever made. It's completely seasonal which makes me very happy! It came from Epicurious, which has never let me down (except for Indian Spiced Mustard Green Pizza... no beuno!). It's from a Bon Appetit Oscar Night Menu - circa 1995. They named the recipe "The Envelope Please", but I won't be calling them that at all. Winter Root Pastry is what I have dubbed them.

This is one of those recipes that is easy to make, but takes a long time. The plan was to roast the vegetables three days before the party, assemble the pastries the day before the party, and bake them as guests arrive. Well, I had a hectic week and the only thing I did before the party was roast the vegetables. Thank God! Because I spent about 2 and half hours assembling and baking these bad boys. I did double the recipe, which meant I had twice as many "envelopes" to make. I started before guests arrived and finished about halfway through the party. It took me longer because I had to stop to make the punch, greet some friends (aka James!), and then I talked to people the whole time while making them. I didn't mind it, but next time I will definitely make ahead of time. Perhaps even freeze them! We'll see.

Notes: I used molasses instead of maple syrup because it's cheaper. I wasn't sure if the vegetables were supposed to be roasted or not, but at 350F it was taking a long time for them to cook. I bumped it up to 400 halfway through to speed up the process. I did not have a pastry brush, and just spooned it onto the phyllo and spread it around.

Do you make recipes in advance? Or just stuff it all into one big cooking marathon?

Winter Root Pastries
(Makes 12)
2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled turnips (about 1 pound)
4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled butternut squash
2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried


2 large onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
12 sheets fresh phyllo pastry or frozen, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss turnips with 2 tablespoons oil on large baking sheet to coat well. Bake 10 minutes. Add squash, sweet potatoes, garlic and thyme to turnips and toss to coat with oil. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Bake until vegetables are tender, turning occasionally with large spatula, about 25 minutes. Transfer vegetables to medium bowl.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions. Cover pan and cook until onions are golden brown, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add onions to vegetables. Mix in parsley, maple syrup and ginger. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool completely.

3. Stir 1/2 cup oil and butter in small bowl to blend. Lightly brush 2 heavy large baking sheets with oil mixture. Place 1 phyllo sheet on work surface with 1 short end at bottom (keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and damp kitchen towel). Lightly brush phyllo sheet with oil mixture; place generous 1/3 cup filling 1 inch from bottom in middle of sheet. Fold right long side over filling, then fold left long side over, forming rectangle about 4 inches wide by 18 inches long. Brush lightly with oil mixture. Using spatula as aid, lift section with filling and fold over snugly so that filling section lies atop next 4 inches of pastry strip. Brush lightly with oil mixture. Continue to fold filling section over until end of phyllo strip is reached, forming 4- to 5-inch square envelope. Brush lightly with oil mixture. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and filling, forming 12 envelopes. Arrange 6 envelopes on each prepared baking sheet. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover tightly and chill.)


4. Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake envelopes uncovered until golden crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer to platter.

Santa's Trail Mix

Sometimes cookies and milk aren't going to cut it for Santa. He's got a lot of places to go and only a limited amount of time. Early on, we noticed that Santa only took a single bite from his cookie. That's not good! Santa, you have to keep your energy up! Kids all over the world are too excited to have you crash from a lack of sugar.

So my mom, the genius that she was - found the perfect recipe. Santa's Trail Mix! It's got everything Santa could need. Let me refer to you the major food groups at the North Pole - Candy,  candy canes, candy corn, and syrup! So for Santa's grab and go snack we have candy galore, with some cinnamon cereal and white chocolate pretzels (just for that touch of saltiness).

This makes a lot! So fill Santa's to-go bag to the top and then dole out the rest to your friends and family.

What will you be leaving for Santa tonight? Cookies? Or are you one of those people who leave  veggies? Share your Santa meals in the comments section!

Santa's Trail Mix
(Makes 16 cups)

1 pkg (16oz) M&M's
1 pkg (15.4g) Chocolate-covered raisins
2 pkg (7 1/2g each) White fudge-covered pretzels
6 c. cinnamon graham cereal

Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container in a cool place.

Bacon-Wrapped Figs Stuffed with Blue Cheese

I work with one of those amazing black women. She isn't Madea, she's Miss Joanne. I love her side glances and belly laughs more than anyone else at work. I love how she has all the gossip because everyone goes to Joanne to bitch and moan. Now I like to think she took a special liking to me after I started bringing cake to work from time to time. And so when I found out she had a fig tree, I offered a trade. I bring her my famous red velvet cake for as many figs as she could give.

Until recently, I never realized figs were so popular with the chef types. In almost every cookbook, there seems to be a recipe that takes the fig to upscale status. That's leaps and bounds above me eating it off the tree in my great grandma's backyard. Figs are one of those fruits that a lot of people have never seen, because I don't think they travel very well. Most mainstream cookbooks utilize dried figs or black mission figs.

After stuffing several fresh figs down my throat, I decided I might try to make something with figs. I had the cookbook Everything Cook for Two loaned from another library. I had just tried a recipe for corn soup which turned out to be a lot like creamed corn. Good, but not what I was wanting. So I figured Bacon Wrapped Figs Stuffed with Blue Cheese was pretty straightforward and wouldn't disappoint me like the soup. I made it as a snack for us one night when neither of us were hungry for dinner. It was so good, I made it again a few days later as an appetizer for dinner.

I used green figs from Miss Joanne's tree.

I kind of like the way they spill their blue cheese guts.

Romance apparently means figs, wine, and puzzles?

Bacon-Wrapped Figs Stuffed with Blue Cheese
(Serves 2)

8 strips bacon
About 8 teaspoons blue cheese
8 ripe green or black figs, trimmed
2 cups baby greens

1. Preheat oven 475F.

2. Bring a small pan of water (about 2 cups) to a boil and blanch the bacon for 2 minutes. (This will eliminate some of the fat and precook the bacon very slightly.) Remove the bacon and place on paper towels to drain.

3. Take about 1 teaspoon of blue cheese and roll into a small cylinder. Insert it in the bottom of one of the figs. (Depending on the ripeness of the fig, you may have to make a small incision in the bottom, but a very ripe fig if soft enough to allow penetration.) Wrap a strip of bacon around the fig and secure it with a tooth pick. Repeat with the remaining figs.

4. Place the wrapped figs in an ovenproof dish. Roast for about 8 minutes or until the bacon begins to crisp and some cheese oozes out. Let cool for 1 minute before serving. Arrange a small pile of greens in the center of each serving plate and top with the hot figs. Any juices and cheese that ooze out will act as a dressing for the greens.