Meat + Cheese Layered Appetizer

As the Kelis song goes, my appetizers bring all the boys to the yard.  And they're like, better appetizers than yours.  That's right, they're better than yours.  I can teach you, and I do not have to charge.  Please don't be insulted.  I didn't write the song.  And this appetizer really will bring all the boys to the yard.  Meat + cheese + puff pastry = boys in the yard.  Basic math, people.  

I had a little get-together this weekend before Basilica Block Party, and these meaty, cheesy bundles were a huge hit.  The recipe came from an old family friend, and it's incredibly easy to make and would surely take well to substitutions.  The original recipe called for two tubes of crescent rolls, but I'm slightly addicted to puff pastry so I went that route.  If you're not into ham, you could easily substitute turkey.  You could also make it vegetarian by replacing the meats with spinach or eggplant or zucchini.  

Ingredients:

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1/2 lb. thinly sliced salami

1/2 lb. thinly sliced ham

3/4 lb. provolone (or 1/2 lb. thinly sliced from the deli)

1-2 roasted peppers

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

5 eggs

Start out with a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface.  

Roll it out to about 10"x14".  

Place it in a well-greased 9"x13" pan.  

Start the filling with a layer of sliced provolone.  

You could go the deli route and have them thinly slice about 1/2 lb. of provolone for you, but the blocks of cheese were cheaper so I went with that.  It took a little more cheese because I couldn't slice it quite as thin, but I'm not one to complain about a little extra cheese.  

Top the cheese with a layer of ham.

Then a layer of salami.

Scatter some pieces of roasted peppers over the salami.  

You could roast your own peppers, but I opted for a jar of already roasted ones.  

Mix the parmesan with 4 beaten eggs.  Whisk to combine.  

Pour half of the egg mixture over the meat/cheese/peppers. 

Spread it around as best you can.

Repeat the layering.  This time I mixed it up and put the ham and salami on the bottom.  Exciting, huh?

Then the cheese.

Then the eggs and the peppers.

Roll out the second sheet of puff pastry just enough so it will cover the filling and provide a little bit of overlap.  Brush the edges with water and pinch the two pieces of pastry together to seal it.  

Lightly beat the last egg and brush it over the top of the pastry.  Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes covered and then for about 30 more minutes uncovered.  The top should be nicely browned like this and the inside should be set.  There's nothing quite like a browned, flaky crust.  Yum.

Slice into small squares and devour.  This is best served warm, but it works at room temperature, too.

Along with the layered appetizer I whipped up a batch of Pioneer Woman's Bacon-Wrapped Jalepeno Poppers.  Spicy and delicious.  You just can't go wrong with bacon AND cream cheese in one bite.