Tonight the creativity bug bit me. I was itching to do something with the box of phyllo pastry dough I bought the other day. I’ve never worked with phyllo dough before so this was new to me. I have to admit I was a little intimidated at first. I guess I had no idea it was so delicate. The directions were intimidating, and made me feel as if I had to work quickly, yet very carefully – like handling a bomb that needed to be disarmed.
Maybe this intimidation came from confusion too. When I bought the dough I was thinking puff pastry, but when I opened the box I realized that’s not what I got. I didn’t really understand that puff pastry and phyllo dough are two different things, and are not really interchangeable. Duh!
It didn’t make a huge difference to me at that point. I was determined to make little bite sized appetizers filled with yummy things. And, that’s just what I did. According to the directions, your fillings should be prepared prior to taking the pastry sheets out of the box, so I busied myself working on that first.
For the fillings, I prepared a multitude of tasty ingredients by dicing them, and lightly sauteing most in butter, or olive oil. The only exception was the bacon. I cooked that fully as you normally would. I prepared ham, onions and green peppers, garlic, fresh diced tomatoes, black olives, pepperoni, and baby spinach. I also prepared some frozen asparagus, and chopped it into small pieces.
Once the food was pre-cooked, I did my concocting. I made a pizza filling with pepperoni, tomatoes, garlic, black olives, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and Italian seasoning. I made a spanakopita type filling with garlic, spinach, feta cheese, and a dash of nutmeg. I mixed it up a bit with the ham and bacon. I used the onions, green peppers, and asparagus with both, creating two different flavors, and topped them off with a little cheddar or jarlsberg cheese (which I had already grated). The prep time for this was time consuming, but necessary.
When working with the dough I tried to follow the directions, but it looked easier than it actually was. I eventually decided to shape them the way I felt most comfortable. Once filled and shaped, I lined the little morsels on the cookie sheet and baked them until they were golden brown. Then, I sampled… then, hubby sampled… then, the verdict…. A great appetizer worth the extra prep time, and the initial intimidation (which eventually passed).
Have you worked with phyllo dough? Have any tips you’d like to share? How about puff pastry? What’s your take on working with that? I’d love to hear from you!
THE JOY OF CAKING 
I don’t think I’ve every worked with phyllo before, maybe once. Thanks for the tips though! I also wanted to thank you for your kind words about my eye ordeal:)
I hardly use phyllo pastry….but I really love its crispy, melting texture.
I have never used phyllo dough, always thought it was way out of my league (at least for now), so thanks for the confidence. That pizza filling sounds delicious!
Ohhh you have made me so hungry!! Most of my experiences with phyllo dough have been unnerving to say the least–it always dries out on me! That being said, I think your plan of having all the fillings completely prepared ahead of time would really help. Thanks for tips!
I meant “Thanks for the tips” Grrr…typos.
I love phyllo dough. I make several desserts with it. Individual ones like my peach cups, turnovers and large tortes. I add half as much butter as I originally learned to use and it’s still great without the huge amount of calories. If you want to watch a short video I did on Phyllo cups it’s at http://carlameine.com/2010/08/phyllo-cups/
Carla
I love using phyllo dough–it make everything looks fancy!
The apps look great!! I worked on Phyllo dough once a few years back, I tried making crab rangoon.. I don’t remember it being horrible-but it wasn’t great either lol