Pillsbury crescent roll recipes - The top 5 crescent roll recipes in America

Pillsbury crescent roll recipes - the top 5 crescent roll recipes in America
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

American convenience is the new French cuisine. Well, not really, but it's still pretty darn tasty. Here are America's top five crescent roll recipes (according to me, America). Get your oven ready 'cause you're not gonna want to miss this.

Greek Spinach Crescent Rolls:
Ever hear of "Spanakopita"? It's the Greek word for spinach pies, and it's OK if you can't pronounce it because I'm going to show you how to make spanakopita with Pillsbury crescent rolls. Sautee a diced onion and two cloves of minced garlic in a pan with a little olive oil until the onions are translucent (about 12 minutes). Then add a bag of fresh baby spinach leaves and wilt them. This will only take about five minute. Set aside and let it cool. Once the spinach mixture is cool enough to handle, wring out the water with your hands and put them into a new bowl. Fill each crescent triangle half full with some spinach mixture and a sprinkle of crumbled feta cheese, then fold the other half of the triangle over and pinch the sides shut. Bake in oven until the rolls are puffy and golden brown.

Smoked Turkey, Boursin Cheese and Cranberry Crescent Rolls:
This one is a family holiday favorite way to enjoy your crescent rolls. Simply fill half of your crescent triangle with smoked turkey, a spoonful of Boursin cheese and a dollop (yes, a dollop) of cranberry sauce. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and enjoy these sweet and savory morels.

Terriyaki Tempura Shrimp Crescent Rolls:
Feeling a little fusion? I know I am. These are a great conversation piece at dinner parties. Simply purchase some ready made tempura shrimp in the frozen seafood section of your local grocery store. Roll a piece of tempura shrimp into a crescent roll, bake and drizzle with terriyaki glaze (found in the Asian food isle) and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Drizzle with Srirachia hot chili sauce or spicy chili mayo (4 parts mayo to 1 part chili paste) for a Japo-American taste sensation.

Breakfast Crescent Rolls:
Layer the following from bottom to top and bake to golden perfection: A crescent roll triangle laid flat, thick cut smoked ham, scrambled eggs, chopped scallions (or chives), a slice of Muenster cheese and another crescent roll triangle. Not a morning person? You will be after you try these.

Argentinian Empanada Crescent Rolls:
If you've ever had the pleasure of having an Argentinian beef empanada, then you know why these are at the top of the list. And if you've never had one, put on your Gaucho hat and get ready to explore the best of South American cooking.  Cook the following in a non-stick skillet: 1/2 cup of shortening, 2 onions chopped, 1 Lb lean ground beef, 2 tbsp of Paprika, 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp of white vinegar, 1/4 cup raisins, 1/2 cup of pitted green olives chopped, 2 hard boiled eggs chopped, salt and pepper to taste. If you can keep from eating this mixture out of the pan, cool it down to room temp and stuff your crescent triangle half full of the mixture, fold over empty half and pinch sides to trap the filling inside the "empanada". Bake, taste, conquer.

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Spaghetti with Yellow Tomato and Bacon

Spaghetti with Yellow Tomato and Bacon

By: Chef Cristian

http://www.tampabaychef.com/

Today I found some beautiful yellow tomatoes at the local farmer's market. They were too ripe for salad, so the farmer sold them to me for $0.50 per pound! Needless to say, I bought a lot. Over-ripe tomatoes are perfect for sauce, and that's just what I did with them.

Yellow tomatoes are less acidic than the red varieties, and I thought they would be perfect with some sugar and the smoky taste of bacon. The sauce turned out rich orange color and tasted great!

Ingredients:
- Spaghetti (I used Dreamfields low carb spaghetti)
- 1/2 Lb of Smoked Bacon Sliced into Lardons (match sticks)
- 1 Small Onion Diced
- Handful of Basil Leaves (or 1 Tbsp of Dried Basil)
- 2 to 3 Lbs of Fresh Yellow Tomato Diced
- Salt and Pepper to taste (This recipe took a lot of salt!)
- Raw Cane Sugar (I used about 3 Tbsp)
- Pinch of Oregano

Method:

1. As with all my recipes, the first step is to prepare all your ingredients so that they are ready to go! This means chopping, slicing, dicing, mixing, portioning all the ingredients.

2. Sautee the bacon and onion in a sauce pan until the bacon is rendered and the onion is translucent. About 10-13 minutes. During this time you want to get your pasta water to a rolling boil and keep it on stand-by.

3. I chopped the tomatoes in a food processor along with 3 cloves of garlic and basil, and then added them to the sauce pan. Add sugar, pepper, salt and oregano and simmer until most of the water from the tomatoes evaporates. I cooked the sauce for an hour.

4. When the sauce has thickened and most of the water has evaporated, check the seasoning and add more salt and sugar if you'd like.

5. Cook your pasta according to package instructions and enjoy with the yellow tomato sauce!

Dijon Crusted Lamb Chops

Dijon Crusted Lamb Chops

By: Chef Cristian

www.tampabaychef.com

These succulent lamb chops have been such a success for me that I feel almost ashamed to give away their secret - which, really, is just their simplicity. Of all the dishes I have ever made, (and as a chef, I have made MANY) these lamb chops have never failed to satisfy my guests, and I continue to receive rave reviews on them regularly.

You can serve this dish as a beautiful appetizer or a stunning main course. And I have have also served these as hot appetizers at cocktail parties with a spicy Dijon dip. The frenched bone makes them very easy to pick up and eat with your hands!

Yield: 4 Portions

Ingredients:

- 2 Racks of Lamb (Frenched - Meaning that the bones have been scraped of meat and skin and are exposed)

- Red Wine (I use Shiraz for this recipe)

-3 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary (bruised - meaning that you hit the plant with the back of a knife to bruise them)

- 4 Cloves Fresh Garlic roughly chopped

- 2 Cups Italian Breadcrumbs

- Dijon or Meaux Mustard (also known as whole grain mustard)

- About 1 cup of Olive Oil (you may need more)

- Horseradish (optional)

Method:

As with all of my recipes, the first step is to prepare all of you ingredients and have them ready to go! This could mean mixing, chopping, pouring, cutting, dicing - you get the idea.

Step 1.

Cut the rack of lamb into individual chops and marinade them in the wine, Rosemary and garlic. Add enough wine so that the chops are covered. I like to use plastic bags to marinate instead of bowls because I find that the marinading liquid is in much closer contact with the meat. Marinade anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours.

Step 2.

In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, Dijon mustard and olive oil. If you like, you can add horseradish to this mixture, but this is up to you. Mix thoroughly. This will be your crust, so make sure that it is moist enough so that when you press the mixture into a spoon with the palm of your hand, it sticks together and doesn't easily crumble apart.

Step 3.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay the individual chops on a baking sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil. Scoop a heaping spoonful (using a regular soup spoon) of the breadcrumb mixture onto a spoon and compact it by squeezing with the palm of your hand around the spoon. Then transfer the crust from the spoon onto one lamb chop and press it into the lamb with your hand so that the top side of the lamb chop has an oval layer of Dijon crust on it. Repeat this for each lamb chop.

Step 4.

Roast lamb in oven for 15-20 minutes (depending on how well done you like your lamb). Take out of the oven and transfer onto a platter, appetizer dish of main course according to how you will be using this versatile dish!

Enjoy!