Parental Brunch

from our friends at www.AriellePhoto.com

I love all things cheese (you may have noticed.) I think I inherited this love from

my Dad who, like me, enjoys cheese in it's savory or sweet forms. When I learned

my parents were coming for a visit to Midwestia I immediately started planning meals

involving this dairy delicacy. Fast forward to Saturday brunch and this gorgeous and

simple cheese danish. It's like a bit of cheesecake packed into a puffy little parcel.

It's a wonderful recipe for a brunch-it's so simple-and yet pretty enough to be quite

impressive. Perfection! (and my parents loved it!)

Quick and easy cheese danish

(adapted from Ina Garten)

8 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese (Neufchatel cheese)

1/4 up to 1/3 cup sugar (I prefer 1/4...I don't like the cheese to be too sweet)

2 egg yolks, room temperature

2 Tbsp. part skim ricotta cheese

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

zest of 1 lemon

2 sheets (1 box) of puff pastry, defrosted and thawed

1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.