294980 Thu Nov 20 12:56:46 -0800 2003 9 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1619690 When making hors d'oeuvres with puff or phyllo pastry, can I make them a few weeks ahead of time and then freeze them? Do I freeze before or after baking? How do I defrost them? Anyone have any great recipes? Thanks Thu Nov 20 12:56:46 -0800 2003 0 baby_tran 1 1619692 I've had great success making hors d'oeuvres ahead and freezing them. Do be sure and freeze BEFORE baking. Then you can pop them right in the oven still frozen. I've made little phyllo turnovers filled with leff-and-goat-cheese mixture (fold them as you would Spanikopita). Also wild mushroom "strudels" -- a sort of dry ragout of wild mushrooms flavored with sherry, rolled up in a sheet of buttered phyllo to make a long log, then sliced on the diagonal inot 1-inch pieces before baking. I don't have precise recipes, because I just make this stuff up as I go along. Thu Nov 20 13:07:00 -0800 2003 1619690 0 GG Mora 2 1619693 Okay, that's too wierd. I meant to type "leek-and-goat-cheese" mixture. I'm sure Jim's a delightful guy and all, but I suspect he'd make a lousy turnover. Thu Nov 20 13:09:06 -0800 2003 1619692 0 GG Mora 3 1619832 that is just too funny. I was wondering what the secret "leff" ingredient was!!! We were rolling on the floor after reading your explaination. Thu Nov 20 22:53:47 -0800 2003 1619693 0 tigerwoman 2 1619870 Follow up question--is freezing the hors dd'oeuvres okay if you are using frozen phyllo/pastry dough to begin with? It means thawing, and re-freezing, and I wonder if that's not bad for the texture. I will admit that I am not one for making my own pastry dough, at least not yet. Fri Nov 21 09:58:12 -0800 2003 1619692 0 Jenae R 3 1619896 It's fine even if you are using frozen dough to begin with. Fri Nov 21 12:00:57 -0800 2003 1619870 0 LittleWave 2 1619944 I've done a similar thing using potato and pea samosa mixture. Pat G. Fri Nov 21 15:30:14 -0800 2003 1619692 0 Pat Goldberg 1 1619696 Another really easy phyllo trick and it freezes really well is chunks of brie and cranberry sauce or blueberry sauce or ... A few years ago the Supermarket sold the brie and cranberry apps in their freezer section. I bought 1 pack to try and then started making my own. If making individual ones is too much trouble take the whole wheel of brie, add the sauce and then wrap the whole thing in phyllo or puff pastry. Freeze and then bake when needed. Some phyllo packages have recipe ideas printed right on them. Thu Nov 20 13:15:01 -0800 2003 1619690 0 Morse Cat 1 1619698 A few weeks ahead is not a problem, I do it all the time. Freeze BEFORE baking. Lay out on baking sheet and freeze, then remove, throw into a ziplock bag, and put back in the freezer. To defrost, just place on baking sheet and leave out about an hour. You can prob bake frozen but the dough won't come out as fluffy. Are you looking for fillings ideas? Thu Nov 20 13:17:24 -0800 2003 1619690 0 LittleWave 1 1619701 Another good do-ahead and freeze hors d'ouevre is tiny pate a choux puffs, flavored with cheese and herbs or spices. My preference is Gruyere, black pepper and dry mustard. These I bake off before freezing, then put them in the oven straight out of the freezer to warm/crisp. Very tasty - and if you want to be over the top, you can add an appropriate filling. At my last party, people kept filling them with pate that I had set out with bread. In the case of phyllo or puff dough, definitely bake after freezing. Thu Nov 20 13:39:43 -0800 2003 1619690 0 curiousbaker