Culinary Maidens

 

Beggar Purses In Elegance

 

 

What a delicate, decadent, rich medium for food presentation! Beggar purses are an infinitely scrumptious platform for endless culinary possibilities. Very similar in diverse function to that of the creme brulee - a means for sweet and savory to shine in both casual or elegant fare. Like the creme brulee, the purses can be tricky for the green-eyed cook, especially when puff pastry is your fabric of construction. Having worked double-hard at these recipes, we are confident that we've worked out the kinks to make these appetizer, entree, or dessert works of art hassle free. You're going to love these!

 

 

Cremini Mushroom & Brie Purse

 

*Read instructions before attempting. Yields 8 purses.

Ingredients: 

• 2 C sliced cremini mushrooms (small portabellos), about 1/4 inch thick
• 1/2 C heavy cream
• 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 T white flour
• 8 oz brie cheese
• 2 T salted butter
• 2 sheets of puff pastry (thaw in fridge for 2-3 hours; do not remove from fridge until ready to use)
• salt & pepper to taste
• medium-sized cupcake liner pan (a cupcake pan is ideal for preventing the purses from expanding too much)
• baking string, cut into 8 five-inch pieces; whole scallions can also be used. (If they're large scallions, remove ends then cut down center starting at green end, until reaching the white end. Splay apart from here to form tie).

 

1. Preheat oven at 400F. Coat cupcake pan with non-stick spray. In the meantime, saute mushrooms with butter on medium heat until tender, 3-5 min. Add flour. Cook 2 min. Then cream. Stir until creamy texture, about 10 min. Add parsley, salt & pepper until reduced to a velvety texture. Remove from heat to cool slightly.
 

 

2. Cut each puff pastry sheet into four equal squares. Be sure to cover pastry with moist towel when resting. Place one square over a cupcake opening, and gently press to bottom so that the pastry coats sides as well. Allow about an inch of overhang.

 

3. Place 1 oz. of cheese at base of pastry then pour in 1/4 cup of the mushroom mix.
 

 

4. Gently gather the corners of the pastry toward the center of the purse, making certain to pinch any sideseems closed. There will be roughly a half-inch pucker of pastry dough at the surface of the purse.  Carefully tie the base of the pucker until dough is snuggly closed. Resist cutting through the dough with the string. This method is important in preventing the purses from busting open. Use scallions if desire.

 

5. An egg wash is not recommended. It will only bake the surface too quickly, yielding a darkened finish, unless you desire more color with shine. Without, offers a slight golden surface. Bake the purses for 15-20 min, until golden in hue. The surface will be crispy and not translucent. It's important to look for these telltale signs that the purse is not raw inside. Bake an additional 5 min if surface appears raw.

 

6. When finished, remove from oven. Allow to cool for only 2-5 min. They should slip out of the cupcake holes with a slight knife-side scrape. Remove baking string, if used. The scallions look pretty as a wilted scarf when serving. Serve purses as an entree with a wild green salad on side.

 

 

 

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Baked Apple & Cream Cheese Purses

 

 

*Yields eight purses

Ingredients:

• 4 machintosh apples, peeled, coared & chopped into small squares
• 2 T salted butter
• 2 T honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 sheets of puff pastry
• 8 frozen, one-inch scoops of cream cheese (use a one-inch melon ball scooper, and freeze for one hour, or overnight).
• medium-sized cupcake pan
• baking string, cut 8 five-inch pieces
• Caramel sauce for garnish
   

1. Preheat oven at 400F. Coat cupcake pan with non-stick spray. In the meantime melt butter on medium heat, add apples until tender, 3-5 min. Then add honey and cinnamon, blend well.

2. Cut each puff pastry sheet into four equal squares. Be sure to cover pastry with moist towel when resting. Place one square over a cupcake opening, and gently press to bottom so that the pastry coats sides as well. Allow about an inch of overhang.  

3. Place one frozen cream cheese at base of pastry then pour in 1/4 cup of the apple mix.

 

4. Gently gather the corners of the pastry toward the center of the purse, making certain to pinch any sideseems closed. There will be roughly a half-inch pucker of pastry dough at the surface of the purse. Carefully tie the base of the pucker until dough is snuggly closed. Resist cutting through the dough with the string. This method is important in preventing the purses from busting open.

5. An egg wash is not recommended. It will only bake the surface too quickly, yielding a darkened finish, unless you prefer more color and shine. Without, offers a slight golden surface. Bake the purses for 15-20 min, until golden in hue. The surface will be crispy and not translucent. It's important to look for these telltale signs that the purse is not raw inside. Bake an additional 5 min if surface appears raw.

6. When finished, remove from oven. Allow to cool for only 2-5 min. They should slip out of the cupcake holes with a slight knife-side scrape. Remove baking string. Serve warm and drizzle with caramel sauce.