Recipe: Phyllo Cheese Pastries

Phyllo Cheese Pastries

1 lb muenster cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 lb frozen phyllo dough
2 sticks melted butter

Grate the muenster cheese finely in a food processor or with a hand grater. Add eggs and
parsley and blend well. Remove the phyllo dough from the freezer and gently unroll. With a
sharp knife, slice dough into thirds, lengthwise, so that each is approximately 4" x 12". Re-wrap
two thirds of the dough in plastic and return to the freezer. Tear a large piece of wax paper and
place on counter. Working quickly, take one sheet of phyllo dough and brush liberally with
butter. Top with two more sheets of phyllo, brushing each with butter. Place approximately 1
tbsp of cheese mixture at one end of the buttered sheets, 1 inch from the edge. With your
fingers, roll the dough over the cheese mixture twice. Fold in the edges of the dough and
continue rolling tightly until the end. (Be careful not to tear the dough or roll too loosely,
otherwise the cheese will spill out when baking). Place seam side down on a cookie sheet and
brush tops with butter. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for

approximately 15 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Sausage and Mushroom Phyllo Twists

Ingredients (6 servings)

1/2 lb Pork sausage meat crumbled
1 Minced small onion
1 Minced garlic clove
1 tb Unsalted butter
1/2 lb Mushroom chopped fine
1/2 ts Ground cumin
1 pn Of allspice
1/2 ts Dried crumbled mint
1/4 c Minced fresh parsley leaves
2 oz Cream cheese softened
16 12 inch sheets phyllo stacked between 2 sheets of wax
Paper and covered with damp dish towel
1/4 c Clarified butter
2 tb Fine fresh bread crumbs

Instructions

In a large skillet cook the sausage meat over moderately high heat, stirring and
breaking up any larger pieces, until it is cooked through and browned.
Transfer meat to a fine sieve, and drain. In the skillet, cook the onion and the garlic in
the unsalted butter over moderately low heat until the onion is softened. Add the
mushrooms, and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring until the liquid the
mushrooms give off evaporates. Add the cumin, allspice and the mint and cook the
mixture, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the sausage meat, the parsley, cream cheese, and
salt and pepper to taste, and combine the mixture well. Working quickly to keep the
phyllo from drying out, put 1 sheet of phyllo on a work surface, brush lightly with some
of the clarified butter, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the bread crumbs. Lay
another sheet of phyllo on top of the first sheet and brush lightly with some of the
remaining clarified butter.
Cut the sheets into thirds lengthwise and into quarters crosswise to form 12 squares.
Put a rounded teaspoon of the filling in each square, gather the corners of the phyllo
over the filling, and twist the phyllo gently to seal it. Continue to make hors d'oeuvres
in the same manner with the remaining phyllo, butter, crumbs and filling. Bake the
sausage and mushroom phyllo twists in jelly-roll pans in a preheated oven at 400
degrees for 10-12 minutes,or until phyllo is golden brown.

Brie & Cranberry
Phyllo Packages

2 cups fresh cranberries

grated rind of 1 orange

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

3 or 4 Tblsp. chopped fresh lemon thyme

1 pkg. phyllo dough

2 sticks butter, melted

1 lb. Brie cheese, rind removed and cut into
1/2" squares

Make a cranberry sauce by combining the
cranberries, orange rind, sugar and water in a
small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat
and simmer about 20 minutes or until a little
syrupy. Cool.

Being careful to keep the reserve phyllo dough
covered and moist, take one sheet out and brush
lightly with melted butter. Cut lengthwise into 4
strips and place a square of Brie, a small
spoonful of cranberry sauce and a pinch of thyme
at one end. Fold over 2 or 3 more times, cut
remaining dough giving it a quarter turn. This
way you make sure to seal all the edges as well as
possible. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes or
until golden brown.