Canapés and the thin difference between puff pastry and shortbread

Last week I hosted a lab night to warm up out new flat and the task to accomplish was to feed 11 hungry neuroscientists (just to give you a picture, one of them spontaneously compares herself to a truck driver when it comes to food), luckily hungry AND very talented in the kitchen so it was not only because of Silviot that the night was a success :)

Actually, one of the Silviot (me) did her best to sabotage the night misreading the package of frozen puff pastry, that turned out to be frozen shortbread, hence I had to make a great story up about the long-standing italian tradition of using sweet pastry in association with cheese and curry to create a unique combination of flavors in the mouth. Not sure I persuaded them but they still hold me in the lab so it is fine!

I will not describe in details the recipes but I'll give the idea. I made canapes with roasted cauliflower and tahini, canapes with roasted red peppers and dill, red pepper muffins, a sort-of quiche with broccoli besciamella and salmon, S1 made the tuna roll with potatoes and capers and my colleagues made two delicious desserts, a meringue with halva and cream and the balcanic version of the pannacotta. As the queen of aubergines, the main was of course pasta alla norma :)