happy turkey day

We're spending Thanksgiving with friends as we usually do. They have a big family and cook a huge turkey, so there's plenty for the various friends who don't have families of their own to celebrate with (or whose families are too far away). I've spent the morning baking my contributions to the feast—prosciutto and parmesan puff pastry palmiers for an appetizer and a linzer torte for dessert. I'm not crazy about the traditional raspberry jam filling so I substituted cherry preserves. I particularly like Bonne Maman brand preserves and the jars are cute for storing buttons and beads in your craft room, too!



Palmiers with Honey Mustard and Prosciutto

1 sheet puff pastry (the packaged kind is fine)
3 tablespoons honey mustard
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 teaspoons water

Place the puff pastry on a work surface and spread the mustard over the top. Arrange the prosciutto evenly over the mustard to cover all the pastry, and then sprinkle with the Parmesan. Lightly press cheese into the prosciutto with a rolling pin.

Starting on one end, roll up the puff pastry like a jelly roll just to the middle of the dough; then roll up the other side in the same fashion, making two rolls that met in the center. Squeeze the rolls together a bit with your fingers. Using a serrated knife, cut the rolls crosswise into ½-inch slices. Place the slices on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and press lightly with your hands to flatten. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat the egg and water together in a small bowl. Brush the top of each palmier with the egg wash. Bake until puffed and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 20.

Since there will be ten people today (no way will they only want to eat two of these), I doubled the recipe, using the entire package of puff pastry.



Recipe courtesy of The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, Workman Publishing, New York, 1984.