Cookaholics Bulletin Board

It started with trying to be too clever - pinwheels made with escargot...
Got my comeuppance when my dough disappointed.
Numerous experiments shamed me further, though my collection of 'hockey pucks' & clay pigeon substitutes grew.
So, recommends???
My ideal goal: a baked app featuring light, crunchy dough with DELICIOUS filling.
In case it isn't obvious, this is at the bottom of my cooking experience. I still believe 'snails in a pinwheel' has potential (Mary?), but I'll go sit in my corner licking my wounds until ya show me the way.
- Humbled

Not what you are trying to make wino, but you brought back a very happy memory of my son. When he was about 6, he decided he wanted to make pinwheels out of a cookie book for me. The sitter helped with the measures, etc. but he put it together. It was a mess, but some of the best cookies I've ever had. I don't think he ever tried again, but he does not eat a lot of sweet now. Thanks.

I'd probably go the simple route with store bought puff pastry. Roll escargot with garlic butter and maybe a few bread crumbs just to absorb the liquid. Might be good as a purse shape too just to keep everything contained.

Or, Canadian Living magazine has a pinwheel recipe that has you cut the crust off of white bread, roll it flat with a rolling pin, brush with butter on both sides, fill, roll up and slice into pinwheels. Bake at 375 for ~10 minutes, or freeze and bake a bit longer. Might be good with escargot and garlic butter.

Wino, I too had the puff pastry thought. I've done them with sun dried tomato pesto and ouff pastry and gey turned out great

My favorite flavours are blue cheese and toasted walnut (either with or without fig jam), and homemade pesto, sun dried tomato and feta cheese. I've done the traditional Dijon mustard, prosciutto and gruyere cheese too, but those don't pack enough flavour punch IMO.

I've had commercially made escargot in puff pastry appetizers once. Made me realize that I don't like the escargot part of escargot. I think I like the fact that the garlic butter hides the taste of the snails, but others may disagree. Might also have been low quality product as commercial appetizers don't tend to use top quality ingredients.

I hate to ruin my Euro cred, but I am not a big snail fan. They taste like dirty erasers to me. That said, I did have a tasty tart thing with some other seafood in it. It was a little short pastry shell filled with a garlic custard and something else (crab or something???). Or how about using filo?

Mary

All - What I think I'm after is a good dough recipe.

This started with my trying to use the exact ingredients in the recent million dollar Pillsbury prize - a pinwheel dish - it was AWFUL! So, then I tried to use a basic tea biscuit recipe but the dough (made with pastry flour and shortening) was too dry. I was going to move onto trying it with an all purpose flour or maybe a bread flour but in the interest of time I appealed to y'all.

My interest in the snail thingy was a simple play on the idea of a whirly wheel shape encompassing snail meat because snails have whirly shells..... Similarly, I was going to develop a whole meal on such juxtapositions; one thought was 'tongue in cheeks', etc.

I did a similar meal wherein every dish had the letter 'P' in it; another wherein every dish was a riff on the color black.

These cold winters tend to drive me a little over the loopsy end

Anyway, I was just trying to save time with a dough that in my mind would be light, fluffy, expanding and delicious. If I can't nail that the rest won't help.

I really appreciate your time and but please don't waste more of it on these silly whims...

Many thanks.

What about a cream cheese pastry. And is all of your food going to in a shape reminiscent of its original form? I can only hope that Rocky Mountain oysters are on the menu.

Mary

Puff pastry. Basically, you're making a half palmier.

Amy

If you didn't want to use commercial puff pastry, you could use this cream cheese pastry recipe (from Anna Olson). It bakes up very similarly to pie crust.

1 cup butter, at room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups flour

1. Preheat oven to 375º F.

2. In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add flour and blend until dough comes together. Shape dough into a disc, wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Fill, roll, and slice (or use as pie or tart crust). Chill for 20 minutes before baking.

I'd still go the puff pastry route though. I think the problem with home made biscuits is that they are too dense for this type of thing.