The 5-Ingredient Ina Garten Appetizer I Make on Repeat Through the Holidays

Once I was in my late twenties, my associates and I began a dinner membership that we affectionately known as the Seasonal Soirée. When a brand new season rounded the nook, we might collect at certainly one of our homes, and the host would serve a multi-course dinner whereas the remainder of us introduced the drinks.

Though the frequency of our dinners has since moved from seasonal to one thing nearer to annual, all of us suppose fondly about this particular custom and all the spectacular dinners we collectively cooked through the years.

I’ll at all times bear in mind consuming homemade queso, cilantro rice, and chorizo in my good friend’s West Village walk-up, watching the town beneath from her hearth escape on a vigorous summer season night time. I bear in mind admiring the herb-crusted salmon one other good friend made in her Brooklyn house, which felt so grown up then, and attempting my first negroni alongside ricotta crostinis in Chelsea.

Not all of our dishes have been winners. Endive boats with a questionable apple pie-inspired filling at all times make us chuckle on reflection. Nonetheless, good or unhealthy, the meals took time and care, which was how we confirmed our mutual adoration. 

Why I Love This Ina Garten Appetizer

One specific Seasonal Soirée standout that I nonetheless make on a regular basis is Ina Garten’s Mustard and Gruyère Batons.

This straightforward appetizer consists of Dijon mustard-filled, Grueyère cheese-covered puff pastry sticks. Within the oven, the puff pastry rises into fluffy, golden, crunchy batons which can be satisfying however mild sufficient that you simply and your friends will wish to eat a couple of.

Deceptively simple, they’re layered with taste however mild and versatile sufficient to function an addition to any unfold. Whether or not I make them as a nibble to serve alongside a beer or cocktail, a flaky and savory complement to a cheese plate, or an amuse bouche earlier than a proper meal, these batons are at all times an instantaneous hit. 

That’s the magic of Ina. Her meals is inviting and celebratory however by no means sophisticated. It’s comforting, like an outdated group of associates, and retains you coming again for extra, season after season.

How To Make Ina Garten’s Mustard and Gruyère Batons

After thawing and rolling out a sheet of puff pastry right into a 9 by 13-inch rectangle, brush the decrease half of the pastry with Dijon mustard, and brush a half-inch border with egg wash. Then, fold the plain half over the mustard-coated half and chill the dough for quarter-hour.

Subsequent, slice the rectangle into strips, brush every baton with egg wash, and sprinkle each with shredded Gruyère spiked with a little bit of Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle salt on high, chill once more, after which bake for quarter-hour. After eradicating the batons from the oven and resting them just some minutes, serve and watch them disappear. 

Ideas for Making This Simple Appetizer

• Slicing the batons: While you’re able to slice the pastry into sticks, use a pizza cutter to make them straight. 
• Sprinkling the cheese: Don’t fear if cheese goes all over the place. The lacy cheese bits that crust onto the parchment paper make for scrumptious nibbles, too. I additionally sometimes have leftover cheese, though I coat every baton with as a lot as potential. So, when you don’t have as a lot cheese because the recipe requires, don’t fear.
• Making these your individual: Mess around with your individual additions. I like grinding black pepper over the cheese-covered batons. I’ve additionally added a little bit chopped rosemary on high of the Dijon earlier than folding. As soon as, I unfold a skinny layer of fig jam on the empty half of the puff pastry earlier than folding it over the mustard-covered half. All variations had been scrumptious.
• Make forward: The batons are greatest served heat, however you are able to do many of the work forward of time. The rolled-out, mustard-brushed puff pastry can sit within the fridge for hours, even in a single day, earlier than you’re able to bake. I additionally shred the cheese forward of time. That leaves fast prep work—slicing and sprinkling—adopted by hands-off chilling and baking. You may also shut off the oven and go away them inside to maintain them heat. You may reheat the batons within the oven or toaster oven, however the pastry loses a lot of its fluffiness, so I choose baking them as intently as potential to serving time.