Chicken Florentine Puffs

When I first saw this recipe on Food Gawker I thought two things...1st: Wow, that looks really good!...and 2nd: Wow, that looks like a pain-in-the-ass to make! I was right on both accounts. This was very, very tasty, but it's also a pain to make. It's not difficult, it's just time consuming, and I've never liked working with puff pastry (I've never been very good at baking or working with pastry). I will say though, while a bit of an effort, it was absolutely worth it. These were excellent! Even Heath, who usually whines whenever there's spinach in a recipe, really liked it!

Now, my only issue with this was the cooking time and temperature. The original directions said to cook at 300 for 15-18 minutes. Well, after almost 30 minutes at 300 and STILL no browning, I jacked the temp up to 350 and they finally started to brown. In my directions I've altered the oven temp, but am keeping the cook time at 15-18 minutes. All I can say is, make SURE you keep an eye on this while it's cooking. The filling isn't important...since the chicken is already cooked you're basically just heating that, it's the puff pastry that you want to get flaky and golden brown.

Well, Merry Christmas Eve to everyone, and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday! Till next time!

'Chicken Florentine Puffs'

Source: One Lovely Life

Ingredients

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed and rolled out
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
1 (10oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out
1 roasted red pepper, diced (I got mine fro a jar)
4oz cream cheese, softened
1c Gruyere, grated
2-3 Tbsp fresh basil (or 2 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg
1 Tbsp water

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, combine chicken, spinach, red pepper, cream cheese, Gruyere, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss until well combined and cream cheese is completely mixed in. (I found it was easiest to just use my hands, like when you mix up ground beef for burgers).

3. Make an egg wash by beating egg with water.

4. Roll out puff pastry. Slice each sheet into 4 pieces making 8 squares total. Divide filling among the 8 squares, placing the filling in the center. Brush the edge of one half of each pastry with egg wash and fold in half diagonally to form a triangle. Press down the edges with a fork to seal.

5. Brush the top of the each puff with egg wash. Make 2-3 small slits in the top to allow steam to escape during baking.

6. Place puffs on two baking sheets lined with parchment or foil sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake at for 15-18 minutes, or until golden. Keep an eye on them to prevent over-browning or burning.

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