Spinach-Cheese Swirls

These little puffs of spinach and cheese were a complete hit. The swirls were buttery, flakey and full of cheese flavors. The vegetarians and non-veggies were all pretty pleased.

Adapted from Pepperidge Farm

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp. water
  • 1/2 cup Laughing Cow cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
  • All-purpose flour
  • 1/8 tsp white pepper
  • 1/8 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets), thawed
  • 1 pkg. (about 10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

Heat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.

Stir the Laughing Cow cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion, pepper and garlic powder in a medium bowl.

Sprinkle the flour on the work surface.  Unfold the pastry sheet on the work surface.  Brush the pastry sheet with the egg mixture.  Top with the cheese mixture and spinach.  Starting at a short side, roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into about 40 (1/2-inch) slices.  Place the slices, cut-side down, onto 2 baking sheets.  Brush the slices with the egg mixture. Freeze swirls for 1 hour or refridgerate for 3 hours.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool for 10 minutes.

For best results, make sure to remove as much liquid as you can from the spinach before adding it to the pastry. If it’s too wet, it may make the pastry soggy.

Hot Crab Dip

When we were little, we went to our parent’s friend’s home and was served hot crab dip. I just remember my siblings and I sheepishly eating bit by bit the whole thing. It has a light creamy crab flavor and a nice texture from the  slightly crisp onions. If you bring this to any party or prepare it as an appetizer, it will be gone in no time.

Adapted from Karen Wians

  • 1/4 C mayonnaise
  • 1/2 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 (6 oz) vacumn pack or can of white crabmeat, drained
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp chive or scallion
  • 1 tsp paprika or 4 dashes of hot sauce
  • the juice of one lemon
  • 4T grated parmesean cheese or cheddar cheese (2T for top and 2T for dip)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a souffle dish. In a bowl, cream mayonnaise and cream cheese together. Stir in crab meat, egg, onion, scallion, and lemon juice. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with crackers (buttery rounds or wheat thins), pretzel chips, slices of french baguette or pita chips. 

IngredientsMix the crab, mayonnaise, softened cream cheese, onion and chiveSprinkle parmesean cheese on topThe bubbled parmesean and hot crab dip.