Cheese Straws! 5 star recipe for the New Years Eve Party!

Tonight we toast! Cheers to the New Year 2013, with good friends and family! Here's to the start of something new and special!

For this special evening I will give you, hands down one of the easiest appetizers you can make, in time for New Years Eve or New Years Day dinner with family.

Since I discovered this recipe several months ago, I have made it more times than I have fingers on my hands to count.  They come out wonderful EVERY SINGLE time.

 

Cheese Straws 

Recipe credit to Ina Garten

Ingredients

• 2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry (such as Pepperidge Farm), defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
• Flour, for dusting
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 cup finely grated Gruyère cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Roll out each sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured board until it is 10- by 12-inches. 

Julia our Grand daughter, adorable!

Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the surface of the pastry. 

Sprinkle each sheet evenly with 1⁄4 cup of the Parmesan, 1⁄2 cup of the Gruyère, 1⁄2 teaspoon of the fresh thyme, 1⁄2 teaspoon of the salt, and some pepper. With the rolling pin, lightly press the flavorings into the puff pastry. 

Cut each sheet crosswise with a floured knife or pizza wheel into 11 or 12 strips. Twist each strip and lay on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and puffed. Turn each straw and bake for another 2 minutes. Don't over bake or the cheese will burn. Cool and serve at room temperature.

Julia loved helping me make this appetizer and I think she is really interested in the cooking and eating process!! Daddy makes her scrambled eggs, English muffin, fruit and milk every morning, she is squealing with delight!! So happy!

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Need a drink for the New Year? This recipe on the November 21, 2012, blog!

Whew! It’s been quite a year. There were lots of ups and a couple downs. Looking back as the year draws to a close, I’m thinking everything worked out for the best. I had my share of moments when I just had to stop, take a deep breath, and do a little reassemble and reassess. But, overall I can safely say I had the best Summer of my life, (that I can remember), turning 60 was a lot of fun, thanks to Amy, Laura, Holly, Dustin, Wee Bear (my party planners) and about 90 close friends, high school classmates and relatives. Having Grandchildren is a blast! And the blog is taking off better than my best expectations, thanks to YOU! Wee Bear could not be more supportive in all my endeavor's and continues to be my hero, my lifeline, my entertainer and my pal. Life is Good...........

New Years Resolutions:

Strive to stay healthy
Be Good to the Planet
Help more with others
Respect the past, as the past
Learn something new
Explore more in the Great Outdoors 

A toast to my German mentor, Eva Kenly ~ How is the New Year celebrated in Germany?  In Germany people will drop molten lead into cold water and try to tell the future from the shape it made. A heart or ring shape means a wedding, a ship means a journey and a pig means plenty of food in the year ahead! Glückliches Neues Jahr!



News Flash!  New for 2013 we have a Facebook page!  After many, many requests we have a Facebook page!! You have the option to follow on Facebook, just "like" us on Facebook and you will have our blog every time we post, on your Facebook page! Yippee! Use this link to go to our page.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sew-Whats-Cooking-With-Joan/181543315321355~ For those of you who are friends of mine or Amy's, on Facebook, we are no longer going to be posting on our personal Facebook page in a few weeks. So "like" us on Sew whats cooking with Joan Facebook, and you will be all set!  

Good bye 2012! We had a blast!
Cheers to 2013! YIPPPPEEEE!
JJ 

Although Christmas Island is the first to ring in the New Year at 2 AM, Sydney rung it in at 5 AM this morning, Pacific time!

Seattle- we will be watching up close!