Drink and a nosh: Chatham cocktail and cheddar scallion turnovers

Made it to another Friday? Always cause for celebration.


Chatham cocktail
From "Pocket Posh Cocktails" by John Townsley


Ingredients
2 ounces London dry gin

½ ounce (or just a smidge more) Domain de Canton ginger liqueur

½ ounce fresh lemon juice

Method
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Rating: It makes a nice cocktail. If you make it according to the original recipe, it turns out tasting like a gin and tonic in a cocktail glass. While that's a perfectly fine thing, I had expected to get a hint of ginger from that wonderful liqueur, so I tried a version upping the amount of the ginger liqueur by half. But that made it taste pretty much like the liqueur, in which case you might as well just have a shot of it. I settled on 4 teaspoons as a better ratio.

 

Cheddar and scallion turnovers

Adapted from “First Impressions” by Betty Rosbottom

Ingredients

1 package puff pastry, thawed

8 teaspoons honey mustard or other flavored mustard of choice (I used a garlic balsamic mustard)

1 cup grated white cheddar cheese (I used an English cheddar)

½ cup chopped scallions

Beaten egg, optional

Method

Roll a pastry sheet out to a 12-inch square. Cut in half.

Spread one half sheet with half the mustard. Sprinkle with half the cheese and half the scallions. Top with the other half sheet and roll lightly to press it together. Trim to even edges. Cut in four strips lengthwise, then cut each strip into eight pieces. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining sheet and toppings.

(At this point, you can cover them tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to a day. Or to freeze, wrap in plastic wrap and then foil and freeze. Thaw for 24 hours in the refrigerator before baking.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush with beaten egg, if you want a more golden look. Bake for 10 minutes until puffed and golden.

Rating: These are tasty little pop-in-your mouth morsels. More to the point, this is one of those eureka recipes that can change the way you cook. Certainly I’ve long been a fan of puff pastry for its ability to make fast appetizers and desserts seem special. But this is such an endlessly adaptable approach: just slather on the savory spread of choice, sprinkle on a cheese and whatever else strikes your fancy. I’ve got to run out for more puff pastry and try these with some tapenade and feta, for instance. They’re super fast to fix, very hostess-friendly since you can refrigerate them a day ahead or freeze well ahead.

Play along: We didn't manage to catch Valerie June's latest swing through town, but you can swing to "Pushin' Against a Stone" instead.