Pumpkin Poppers
Reprinted with permission from Meat on the Side (St. Martin’s Press, 2016).
Yield: 40 to 48 poppers
2 4-ounce links chorizo
1 15-ounce can 100 percent pure pumpkin purée
4 ounces soft goat cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1 pinch ground nutmeg
2 8-ounce cans crescent roll dough
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Remove casing from sausage and add meat to skillet. Cook for about 4 minutes, breaking meat apart into small pieces with a spoon as it cooks. Reduce heat to low, add pumpkin, cheese, and salt, and stir until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in sage, chives, and nutmeg. Transfer filling mixture to a plate and refrigerate to cool slightly while you prepare dough.
Grease 2 mini muffin pans. Unroll dough from 1 can onto a lightly floured surface. With your fingers, pinch together dough along perforations dividing rolls so sheet holds together. Then roll out dough into a rectangle that is about 12 x 18 inches. Using a sharp knife, cut rectangle into 24 squares, making 5 cuts crosswise and 3 cuts lengthwise. Separate squares and place each one into a muffin cup. Repeat this process with the dough from the second can.
Spoon 2 teaspoons filling into center of each square. Fold dough corners over, enclosing filling. Bake poppers until dough is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve hot!
Yield: 40 to 48 poppers
2 4-ounce links chorizo
1 15-ounce can 100 percent pure pumpkin purée
4 ounces soft goat cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1 pinch ground nutmeg
2 8-ounce cans crescent roll dough
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Remove casing from sausage and add meat to skillet. Cook for about 4 minutes, breaking meat apart into small pieces with a spoon as it cooks. Reduce heat to low, add pumpkin, cheese, and salt, and stir until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in sage, chives, and nutmeg. Transfer filling mixture to a plate and refrigerate to cool slightly while you prepare dough.
Grease 2 mini muffin pans. Unroll dough from 1 can onto a lightly floured surface. With your fingers, pinch together dough along perforations dividing rolls so sheet holds together. Then roll out dough into a rectangle that is about 12 x 18 inches. Using a sharp knife, cut rectangle into 24 squares, making 5 cuts crosswise and 3 cuts lengthwise. Separate squares and place each one into a muffin cup. Repeat this process with the dough from the second can.
Spoon 2 teaspoons filling into center of each square. Fold dough corners over, enclosing filling. Bake poppers until dough is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve hot!