Girls' Night IN Party Recipes
Asparagus & Avocado Dip
Smoked Trout and Pear Roulade
Gougeres

Asparagus & Avacado Dip

1 pound asparagus
1 avocado – peeled and pit removed
3/4 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons cilantro – chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook the asparagus in boiling, salted water until very tender.  Combine the asparagus with the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree. Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow the flavors to blend.

Serve with raw vegetables or tortilla chips.

Smoked Trout and Pear Roulade

You can make these ahead of time and freeze.  Wrap the roll in plastic wrap and freeze.  Reheat from the frozen state in a 350 degree F oven for 15 minutes, allow to cool and then slice.

1 Bosc pear – peeled, seeded and cut into a fine dice
1/2  pound smoked trout cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons shallots – minced
4 tablespoons cream cheese
4 phyllo dough sheets
1/2  cup butter – melted
2 tablespoons chives - minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Combine the pear, trout, cream cheese, shallots, parsley and lemon juice in a small bowl. Lightly brush each sheet of phyllo with the melted butter and stack them.  Spread the filling on the bottom 1/3 of the phyllo dough.  Roll up like a jelly roll, place on a cookie sheet, seam side down, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool and slice into 3/4" pieces.  Serve at room temperature.

Makes approximately 20 pieces.

Gougeres (cheese puffs)

These tasty little puffs can be made ahead of time and frozen.  Just reheat in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes and serve.

1  cup water
3 ½ ounces unsalted butter (7 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon salt
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (5 ounces)
2 cups Gruyere cheese - coarsely grated
5 large eggs
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees                     

Combine water, butter and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Add flour all at once and stir for 2 minutes to dry out paste. Keep stirring for a few minutes to cool slightly.

Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth. Add cheese.

Place mixture into a pastry bag with a plain tip and pipe 1-1/2 inch diameter mounds onto a parchment lined sheet pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yields approximately 48 - 2" pieces