Spinach Pinwheels

Distractions continue; here is another kitchen therapy session: Spinach Pinwheels. At first it was questionable whether it’d turn out like the picture on the package. I decided to try a recipe that came with my box of pastry sheets, mainly because when I glanced at the ingredient list, I had everything…EVERYTHING the recipe called for (food nerd). A little short in quantity for some ingredients but that’s okay, I like tweaking recipes and subbing ingredients anyways so I ventured out.

 After I had prepped everything, it definitely didn’t look anything like it was suppose to on the package… at least I didn’t think so, if anything it was slightly falling apart. I look at the box: pinwheel, I look at my limp looking blobs…how is that suppose to turn into that?!… Suddenly I felt a moment of defeat, “Just great, another thing in life that’s not working out… the one thing that’s supposed to help me feel better” but then I realized I didn’t even give it a chance. Just because it’s terrible looking now doesn’t mean it’ll be done for….so I doubtfully stuck it into the oven and hope for the best. The first few minutes didn’t give me much hope but as the pastry started to bake, things started to fall into place. End story, they turned out great. 

Life lesson through cooking: just because it looks grim now doesn’t mean it’ll have a grim ending. Never give up, go forward and see what happens, perhaps the end result will surprise you. Life is a horrible player, but it has its moments and gives the best surprises as well. Even in rain, there are sometimes rainbows right? 

Makes 10-12 pinwheels

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of pastry dough (puff pastry sheet)
• 2 cups of spinach, chopped
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 2 bunches of green onion, diced
• ½ cup of Monterey jack cheese
• ¼ cup of parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 egg (optional)
• 1 tbsp water (optional)
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• A pinch of salt

Procedures:

1. Thaw pastry dough according to package
2. In a medium skillet pan, sauté the onions with olive oil and salt until golden brown. Set aside.
3. Cook the spinach in a little bit of water in a small sauce pan, drain, and set aside
4. Mix together green onions, cheeses, and garlic powder.
5. Once the pastry sheet is thawed, mix together egg and water in a small bowl and brush a layer of the mixture onto the pastry sheet.
6. Layer on cheese mixture, spinach, and onions
7. Starting from the side closest to you, begin to roll the pastry sheet as if you were to roll a log, rolling it away from you.
8. Once rolled, cut ½” pieces (about 10-12) and place the cut side face down on a baking sheet. Coat the top of the pinwheels with a thin layer of egg mixture for better browning.
9. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees 

Lighting was pretty terrible for this dish, I didn't get it out of the oven until about 6-7pm which then at that point not matter what I did, everything looked yellow. Yellow lighting in the kitchen doesn't help either, so I attempted to get whatever leftover daylight I could get outside... apparently not a whole lot. Despite that, the pinwheels are far tastier than they look in the pictures. The ingredient list is incredible, if only I were able to include that in the title of the dish but then it'd be like 3 lines long so you'd have just trust me, great appetizer dish!