Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry

I get a little stuck in the blur of the holiday weekend. I work really hard preparing a feast for Thanksgiving and by the time its shopped for, prepped, eaten and cleaned up; I’m wiped. As in, don’t ask me what there is to eat, because I don’t care and if you make a mess in my clean kitchen, I might have a full on meltdown. Please tell me I’m not along on this.

But here’s the tricky part: after all that work I have a taste for decadent, extravagant food and I don’t want the deliciousness to end. Also, typically I have a houseful of family and friends who do expect to eat more than once while staying at my house. So I need a lineup of fun and easy recipes that are crowd-pleasers but also don’t take a whole lot of bandwidth to produce. Because there’s just only so many dishes one cook can handle.

And lets be honest, the whole weekend is a frenzy of fun activity. Between Thanksgiving festivities, the Apple Cup, turkey trotting, flag footballing and for us, heading up into the woods in search of a Christmas tree, the weekend is packed and deserving of more than just one good meal.

I’m happy to report I’ve got just the thing for when leftovers aren’t going to cut it anymore but you’re still looking for something a little special to eat. These ham and cheese croissants use frozen puff pastry and are jam packed with cheese and ham. The end result is a surprisingly light little melty sandwich perfect for football games, or to dunk in tomato soup after a cold walk through the woods.

I kept this recipe easy with classic ingredients like ham and cheddar cheese, knowing my family would gobble these right up but you could have some fun swapping in flavors and ingredients that appeal to you. Sun dried tomatoes, pesto and mozzarella cheese would be lovely as would cranberry sauce, leftover turkey and a little slice of brie cheese. Have some fun with it and use this recipe as a launchpad for whatever sounds good to you.

Ham and Cheese Croissants

• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator

• 1 egg, beaten

• 2 tablespoons olive oil mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons grainy dijon mustard

• 2/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

• 5 slices black forest or honey ham

• Sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Crack an egg into a small bowl and add one tablespoon water. Using a fork, mix well until the egg and water are well-combined.

Gently unfold the puff pastry and set one aside. Lay the other pastry on the prepared baking sheet, gently pressing it flat and smoothing it out. Lightly brush the one sheet with egg wash and save the remaining egg wash for the top of the croissants.

Combine the mayonnaise and mustard in a small bowl, mixing well to combine. Gently coat the puff pastry with the mustard sauce and then layer on the cheese and ham.

Gently drape the other puff pastry over the first. Cut the croissants into 9 even squares. Use your fingers to firmly press the edges of the pastry down and around the filling so both pieces of puff pastry meet and seal as much as possible.

Spread the croissants out on the tray, leaving a couple inches between each one. Brush the egg wash on the tops of the croissants and sprinkle on the sesame seeds.

Bake in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the croissants are golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbling on the sides. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving warm. Recipe makes 9 square croissants.