Not long ago, I struck up a conversation with this lady while standing in line at the grocery store. I looked at her purchases and spotted vanilla wafers and cottage cheese. I asked who it was for and she said that it was for her kids. Man oh man, I used to go goobers over nilla wafers with chocolate milk AND cottage cheese with liberal amounts of salt and pepper! well as the story of life goes.. you move on, try new foods but never forget things that you’ve enjoyed. In my odd mind, I consider foods that I haven’t eaten in a while as old friends.

The two canapes that I’m featuring here are from my past and strike up fond memories. We made the bastilla for our HOG events two season ago; and I used to make 50 orders a day of the spring rolls over 10 years ago for a restaurant I worked at..It’s as easy and comforting to make a dish from your past as it is to slip into conversation with a long forgotten chum.

Chef Stephen from HOG nation.. happy cooking!

For the recipe of the Shrimp and Lemongrass Spring Rolls (photo on the right), click here.

“Bastilla”
Chicken, Phyllo, Saffron, Ginger, Cilantro, Almonds and Cinnamon
Makes 30 bastilla

Ingredients
1 pound chicken breasts, skinned and boned
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups water
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 stick cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
¼ teaspoon fresh black pepper
3 eggs
8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
⅔ cup chopped blanched almonds

For the Garnish
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Special Equipment
sheet pans
fine mesh strainer
parchment paper
pastry brush

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large stock pot, add the chicken, water, parsley, cilantro, cinnamon stick, ginger, black pepper and saffron. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Remove chicken from stock and allow to cool enough to handle. Shred the meat into bite-sized pieces. Strain the stock, discarding solids left in the strainer, then bring it to a boil over medium heat. Lightly beat eggs and pour slowly into the stock, stirring until curds form, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, add the chicken and almonds to the stock/egg mixture.
In a small bowl, mix the white sugar and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Remove the phyllo from its box, unwrapping the plastic and unfolding the sheets. Keep the sheets covered with a damp cloth to prevent drying out. Brush one sheet of dough with butter, then place another sheet on top of it. Lay 4 sheets one on top of the other, with butter in between each layer. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the top sheet of phyllo.
With a sharp knife, cut the sheets lengthwise into thirds and cut each length crosswise into fifths, making 15 sections, each approximately 4 x 3 ½ inches in size.
Place a level teaspoon of the filling in the center of each phyllo section. Working with one section at a time, gather the corners of the phyllo over the filling and twist them gently to create a purse-like shape. Transfer the pastries to a parchment lined sheet pan.
Bake the pastries in the lower third of a preheated 375°F oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they are golden.
Sift the powdered sugar-cinnamon mixture over the baked pastries. Serve while still warm.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 10:48 am and is filed under Sides & Snacks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.