More Adventures in Phyllo

As you may have guessed, I haven't been in any restaurants lately. Life's been busy, and we're trying to save money like everyone else, so it just makes more sense to cook at home. Luckily there are plenty of recipes I've wanted to try and I'm busting out all the cookbooks that have gathered dust for so long. Sometimes, though, I like to fly by the seat of my pants and just cook what comes to me. Today was such a day. Inspired by the phyllo dough I had leftover from the baklava, I decided to make savory phyllo cups for dinner. I saw Sandra Lee do it on Semi-Homemade with creamed spinach and feta (ick) but it seemed easy enough to fill them with anything. I scrounged around the cupboards a bit and decided on a mixture of croutons that I ground to crumbs, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and Field Roast Italian sausages. The latter three I chopped pretty fine and tossed with the breadcrumbs. Here's the mixture:


Next, I simply prepped the phyllo by putting together 4 layers (using spray olive oil in between each one), cutting them into squares and shoving them into cupcake molds. Then I just filled them with the mixture, topped with 3 cherry tomatoes a piece and baked them for about 25 minutes. Here they are about to go in the oven:


I knew that would be some savory goodness, so I wanted to serve it with something fresh and light. I sauteed a big bunch of spinach in some olive oil with garlic, lemon, and the artichokes that didn't make it into the filling. Viola! The perfect side. This meal was a winner. If I were to do it again, I would use plain croutons or breadcrumbs. My "Italian Herb" variety brought a little too much salt to the table and kind of overwhelmed the sausage flavor. Still, not bad for a first go!


As much fun as I have cooking, we all know that I'd much rather be waited upon, and I don't have long to wait! I've got plans to hit up Burma Superstar for the first time (I can't believe it either) on Tuesday, and dinner at old favorite Greens on Valentine's Day, so stay tuned. I'm off to see Coraline. I'll review it on Flixster of course. :)