Breadstick Black and White

Time to party again! Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness has invited us to a Black and White Party this month. Being so close to San Francisco, when I hear Black and White for a party theme, I think of the Black and White Ball at the beginning of the opera season, and also of tuxedos and white tie and tails, all dripping with elegance and sophistication.

Not being a particularly sophisticated soul, the closest I came in deciding what to cook for the party was that puff pastry is elegant by nature. The idea of slathering the puff pastry dough with garlic infused cream cheese and then sprinkling it with poppy seeds and freshly ground black pepper was my own idea. Twisting the sticks was inspired by a photo in a Martha Stewart book, but it's surely been done many times before.

These came out of the oven flaky and savory and it was truly difficult to photograph them because Sweetie was very happy eating any that were not claimed. The perfect thing to go with them on an icy evening like today's is a nice Irish Coffee combining strong coffee, Irish whiskey and cool whipped cream. Let's party!

Black and White Breadsticks
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2-3 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/4 teaspoon pepper, preferably freshly ground

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Place the cream cheese in s small bowl. Add the garlic powder and work in well, until completely mixed.
Place the thawed dough, unfolded, on a lightly floured work surface. Roll in one direction with a lightly floured rolling pin until the dough is 1/8 inch thick. Spread thinly with the cream cheese mixture, completely covering the puff pastry dough. Sprinkle with the poppy seeds and pepper.
Using a pizza cutter or zig-zag pastry cutter, cut the pastry lengthwise in roughly 1/2 inch strips.
Twist each strip from either end and place twisted pastry strip on parchment paper. If strip starts to unwind, push the ends down to stick to the parchment paper.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Let cool slightly on pan, then serve while warm.

breadsticks
blog party
blogging event
puff pastry
poppy seeds