Welcome

Welcome to Das Schmeckt!



Here is where I will be recording all of my food-making experiments and adventures. I hope that by keeping tabs on what I'm doing, I'll be able to create tasty variations on all kinds of deliciousness. And, hopefully, they'll all taste good...schmeckt das ganz lecker!



And! To get the ball rolling, we'll start right now!



There is a certain formula I've been using lately. I discovered it in the Washington Post, but it's taken on a life of its own now. The formula goes as follows: tasty stuff+puff pastry folded into a pouch+baked in oven=CRAZY DELICIOUS. The variations are endless, which is why I refer to it as a formula rather than a recipe. I made two versions of these puff pastry treats last night, and both ended up ganz lecker.



SAVORY

Ingredients:

-two sheets puff pastry dough

-one half of a large tomato, chopped fairly small

-fresh basil, diced

-cheese of your choosing, grated. I used sharp cheddar, but mozzarella or another cheese with nice, savory flavor would work just as well.

-garlic salt



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let puff pastry thaw. Cut puff pastry sheets into four even squares each, making eight squares in total. Place a fairly equal amount of tomato, basil, and cheese in the center of each square. Sprinkle garlic salt on top. Fold the pastry together - fold up the corners and pinch together, then pinch the sides together sealing the "pouch." Wetting fingers with water helps seal the dough better, but is not necessary. Place on a slightly greased cookie sheet and bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.



SWEET

Ingredients:

-two sheets puff pastry dough

-four to six strawberries, chopped

-white chocolate chips

-cinnamon sugar



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let puff pastry thaw. Cut puff pastry sheets into four even squares each, making eight squares in total, OR Cut into thirds, making 18 squares total. Place a fairly equal amount of strawberries and white chocolate in the center of each square. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Fold the pastry together - fold up the corners and pinch together, then pinch the sides together sealing the "pouch." Wetting fingers with water helps seal the dough better, but is not necessary. Place on a slightly greased cookie sheet and bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.



Note: The pastries will likely separate slightly during the baking process. This is to be expected, and doesn't effect the taste of the pastries at all.



These pastries are a great side dish/dessert, and can even be the main course of a meal depending on the ingredients. I plan on trying a meat version soon, I'll make sure to record how it turns out. So it's goodbye for now my fellow food-venturers; see you next time, and until then, I hope all your experiements schmeckt lecker!