How to Use Puff Pastry and Creme Fraiche

I use puff pastry to make pot pies. I preheat the oven and defrost the puff pastry per the package instructions. While it’s defrosting, I make the filling (cook chicken chunks, blanch broccoli, sauté mushrooms, add sauce, heat through). If I have crème fraiche, I make the sauce from that (sauté mushrooms with garlic/shallots, deglaze pan with wine/chicken broth, add crème fraiche, cook until reduced). Otherwise, the sauce is cream soup (usually cream of mushroom). I have a deep round casserole pan I lay the puff pastry over. The puff pastry is square while the dish is round so there is plenty of puff pastry hanging over the sides of the pan. Fill the dish with the hot filling and then pull the edges of the puff pastry over the top to cover. Bake at 350°F until pastry is done.

I have not tried this, but it intrigues me: I recently read about how Jamie Oliver (British tv chef) makes lasagna, using creme fraiche as the basis for the cheese sauce. Instead of mixing a white sauce and adding the cheese to it, he uses creme fraiche mixed with the cheeses and some herbs. I do know that creme fraiche is wonderful in sauces and casseroles that need to be baked because the way it is made makes it tolerate heat and cooking better than yogurts or sour cream.

http://www.puffpastry.com/recipes

I like them for appetizers. Thay make wonderful popovers. Just fill, fold and bake. You can get a wheel of brie, wrap and bake for a gorgeous app.

Creme Fraiche is great stirred into pasta sauces and soups. Use the same way you would heavy cream, whipiing cream, or yogurt in recipies.

Put the creme fresh on fresh berries and sprinkle with brown sugar.

Use the creme fraiche in crepes. Top with berries or honey. Mmmmmm!

For the puff pastry, you can make mini pizza rolls. Use red sauce, mozzerella, and chopped (cooked) sausage or pepperoni to fill them. Follow these directions for filling and cooking (though you can bake them if you prefer at 400'F.

Enjoy!

You can do the baked Brie appetizer with the puff pastry! It's just a wheel of brie some all-fruit berry spread and some nuts, wrapped in dough and baked. YUMMY!