Blueberry Danishes

When living at my last apartment near the heart of downtown I would often take advantage of an early rise and walk to one of my favorite coffee shops  to snag a blueberry danish and a piping hot coffee. I'd cram a napkin in my pocket, balance the danish in one hand and carefully hold the coffee in the other to avoid spills, and make my water to the water. Now, no matter where I am, when I find myself with an opportunity to snag a fresh danish and a hot coffee I'm instantly transported to memories of the cool, quiet mornings that I spent walking blissfully around the city.

Somehow, after all those mornings spent making my way to various shops to indulge in a pastry and caffeine, I never tried to recreate it in my own kitchen. Now that I live further from those shops, my indulgences are few and far between. I recently hosted a brunch, and realized this was an opportunity to try my own hand at making a blueberry danish, and I'm sure glad I did. I'm almost afraid to tell you how easy it was to do, because once you know the truth you'll be trying to bribe people to come over for brunch every weekend, just so you can make these delights. I mean, you can make them for yourself, but be warned that you'll probably try to eat them all... they're sinful, to say the least.

Makes 12 danishes

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar +  1 tablespoon for sprinkling
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 quart fresh blueberries  (4 cups)
• 1 package puff pastry, thawed  (I used Tenderflake, 397 grams)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
3. Dust a flat work surface with flour, then roll out half of the package of puff pastry into a large rectangle, about 10x15". You want the pastry to be about 1/8" thick, like the thickness of a kitchen towel. 
4. Cut the pastry in half lengthwise, then into thirds crosswise to make 6 squares. Pierce each piece with a fork randomly around the surface, about 4-6 times. Fold each corner in to make a diamond shape, no need to be perfect with this part - just fold and go! 
5. Place the pastries evenly apart on one baking sheet. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture in the middle of each pastry, then top with a heaping pile of blueberries (about 1/3 cup each). 
6. Repeat steps 3-5 with the remaining puff pastry and bake them all for 15-20 minutes (mine took the full 20 minutes, but every oven is different so I strongly recommend you peek in at the 15 minute mark. The pastry will be puffed and light golden, and you shouldn't see any exposed raw dough from the top. 
7. Remove the danishes from the oven and let them cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. 

Notes: You can change out the blueberries for whatever is fresh or in season, such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches -- any tender fruit will do. If you use a firm fruit like pears or apples I recommend that you slice and cook them down first (you can saute or roast apples/pears beforehand).

Strawberry Tart with Vanilla Cream

Strawberries are the perfect accompaniment to a summer dessert, and this recipe makes for an easy treat so you can spend your evening relaxing on the patio with a cool drink rather than fussing over a dessert inside. The hardest part of the whole recipe is to keep yourself from eating the vanilla cream with a spoon. So as long as you have a little self-control you're all good.

Vanilla Cream

• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

Vanilla Cream Directions:

1. Blend the vanilla, sugar, and cream cheese until smooth. Add more vanilla extract if it is too thick (should not form peaks when stirred). Set aside until you're ready to serve the tart.

StrawberryTart Ingredients:

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed according to directions on the package
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, rinsed and sliced
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Tart Directions:

1. Preheat the oven 400 F. 
2. Beat the egg, cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla with a whisk until smooth and almost pillowy, about 3 minutes.
3. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle about 1/2" thick (roughly 10x16"). Prick the dough with a fork every three inches or so.
4. Blind bake for 4 minutes, then remove the puff pastry from the oven. Spoon and spread the cream cheese mixture over the pastry, leaving about 1 inch border un-touched (like a pizza). Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, until the pastry is golden around the edges.
5. Top with the sliced strawberry wedges and let it cool to room temp before drizzling on the vanilla cream. Use a pizza cutter to slice up the tart into squares before serving, as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Pizza Dip

I first made this dip in university for my boyfriend and his friends, and it was promptly devoured. I'll be honest, I was worried when I made this the first time. My bf doesn't like tomatoes, and I wasn't sure if a pizza dip with very little, uh, pizza sauce was going to be good. It doesn't look the greatest, but don't let that fool you. In fact, once you've tried it you'll secretly hope other people won't want to try it so there's more for you. This is good.

The name is really descriptive, but it's really all you need to know. It's pizza in the form of a dip.

I make it every year for the Superbowl as it seems to go well with chicken wings, beer, and binge eating. Like I said, perfect for game day. This is also not super gourmet, which makes it extremely easy to throw together. It's all about eye-ballin'. Want a more tomato-y sauce? Add more tomato sauce. Want more garlic? I have an idea! Add more Garlic. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Granted, we should be very clear that by making this dip you are essentially throwing out all plans for a nutritious and healthy game time snack.

Seriously, this dip is so filling on its own that the only other thing you might need is a long run to burn off the extra calories.

Ingredients:

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup chopped pepperoni (or salami or any preferred fine, cooked sausage)
• 8-10 white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 brick cream cheese
• 1 small can tomato sauce
• 1 can sliced black olives
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black cracked pepper
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
• Optional: 1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

1. In a medium pan over medium-low heat saute the garlic and onions until translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add the pepperoni and mushrooms. Stirring occasionally, cook until mushrooms release their moisture and begin to brown, about 5-7 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, mix the sour cream, cream cheese and tomato sauce until well blended. Add the pepperoni and mushroom mixture, black olives, green onion, chili flakes and s & p, and mix to combine. Optional: if you're really going for it, you can also mix in 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese at this time.
3. Can be made one day ahead, keep covered and chilled in refrigerator until ready to bake. 
4. Bake in preheated 400 F oven for 20 minutes, or until edges are bubbly. Serve hot with garlic bread, tortilla chip, or dipping veggies.

Now go throw your self-hate and shame out the window, embrace your inner wild child, and go crazy on this dip. Just do us all a favor and reserve a bit of that enthusiasm for the gym later. You'll need it.