I like to eat appetizers for dinner

But I try not to do it when Martell is here, because, let's face it, the man needs more to eat than that. But the other day it was just me and my two year old for dinner and I had some puff pastry dough in my freezer for just such a day. So I made this:

The recipe is from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, but to be honest mostly I just looked a the picture, read the ingredients, and skimmed the rest. So here's what I did:

Thaw the puff pastry. I read that it's better to do it slowly in the fridge, but I just put it out on my counter for about an hour or so. It was a bit tricky unfolding and I don't know if slow thawing would ease that, but I suspect it might. I just didn't plan ahead very well.


Unfold it, Brush one beaten egg all over it. Cut narrow pieces off all the edges, and put it back on top to form a little raised edge. Brush it with the egg too. Grate some parmesan  on top and bake it for around 10 minutes at 425 degrees.


While it's baking, slice a tomato and chop up some basil and grate some mozzarella. The recipe has some overly fussy way of making your tomatoes less juicy so you don't get a soggy crust. It involved salt and paper towels. I don't use paper towels, so I didn't do it. I just seeded my tomatoes and it was fine. I should have added salt to my final product however, since I didn't at this point. It wasn't bad, but it would have been better with a pinch.




Once your pastry comes out of the oven put the mozzarella on top, layer your tomatoes on that. The book has them all perfectly lined up and cute. I just crammed them on there. The more tomatoes the better. Stick it back in the oven and bake it for up to 10 more minutes. Really, all you want to do is melt the cheese and soften those tomatoes up.


When it comes out, sprinkle your basil on top and your done. Admire it, photograph it, stuff your face with it.