Asian Pear Turnovers and more..

I had a pack of puff pastry and some time the other day, and this is how I spent my afternoon.

Store bought puff pastry is so versatile, so here you'll see me whip up some apple turnovers, and since I only had a bit of apple filling I reached for the asian pear and decided to give it a try.  I peeled and diced it, sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon (use a star anise if you have one, I think it'll work)  and then drizzled with some honey, the results were interesting as it did not soften up like apple does and goes into an apple sauce mush but it stayed firm and took quite a bit to cook through and reach the "clear" stage, then I cooled it and it remained like small pieces of firm yet sweet and plumb morsels of fruit, quite a nice texture. 

The whole process is easy, simply roll out the dough (making sure to do this quickly so it stays chilled) and then top with filling, fold over, pinch the sides, poke a few holes in the top and egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake until golden and layers begin to separate into buttery flake-y goodness. 

With the leftover I made a goat cheese quiche type thing and some pizza ones (sauce, sautéed mushrooms, finely diced green pepper and topped with shredded cheese)

My goat cheese tart was so delicious I hardly managed to get a shot of it.  I mixed goat cheese with some shredded mozarella, lemon zest, black pepper, finely chopped green onion, italian parsley, fresh mint and an egg yolk.