Smoked Salmon Mille-Feuille

Seafood makes a splash at any soirée! Mille-feuille means "thousand leaves" and usually refers to a classic French dessert, which is made with Phyllo dough or the equivalent. Puff pastry rounds give these savroy appetizers their "thousand layers" These look so pretty and they taste scruptious! ;) Recipe in CuisineAtHome, Issue 78, December 2009.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Yields: 60-70 puffs

Ingredients

• FOR THE PASTRY

• 1 (17 1/2ounce) package frozen puff pastry
• 1  egg, beaten
• 1  tablespoon water
• 1  tablespoon  minced fresh dill

• FOR THE FILLING

• 12  ounces cream cheese, softened (1 1/2 pkgs)
• 2  tablespoons capers
• 2  tablespoons  minced fresh dill
• 1  tablespoon  minced lemon zest
• 1  pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional, if you choose white pepper)
• 4  ounces smoked salmon or 4  ounces  hot-smoked salmon, skin removed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Thaw puff pastry according to pkg directions.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 pastry sheet from the center until it's 1/2" wider on all sides.
5. Whisk together egg, water, and the 1 T dill; brush onto rolled pastry sheet.
6. Using 1 1/2 inch round cutter, cut pastry into rounds - transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet. (Puff pastry shrinks as it bakes, so use a cutter one size larger than you want for the finished mille-feuille.).
7. Bake until pastry is golden, 15 minutes, remove from oven and cool on baking sheet on a rack.
8. Repeat rolling, brushing, cutting and baking with second sheet of puff pastry.
9. BEFORE they cool completely, split each one into a top and a bottom.
10. Combine cream cheese, capers (if using), the 2 T dill, crushed red pepper flakes (if using) or white pepper (if using) & zest for filling in a bowl until well blended.
11. Mince (smoked salmon) or flake (hot-smoked salmon) salmon, gently stir into the cream cheese mixture.
12. Transfer filling to a resealable plastic bag; snip of a corner of the bag to form a 1/2-inch opening.
13. *For efficient fillling, line the puffs in rows with their "lids" next to them, then pipe them assembly-line style.
14. Squeeze a mound about (1 teaspoon) of filling onto the "bottoms" of the baked pastry halves; top with remaining pastry halves.
15. MAKE AHEAD:
16. **Make filling up to 2 days ahead and store it in the bag you'll use for piping; bring to room temp before using.
17. ***Wait until a few hours before serving to bake the puffs. so they stay crisp.
18. ****Fill the puffs just before guests arrive.