How To Not Feel Guilty About Using Canned Crescent Dough
There's no use denying it any more. I found a way to make the crescent (French: croissant) dough that comes in a pop-apart can delicious enough to justify the fact that the dough comes out of a can and is made with...not butter. By the way, am I the only person who gets startled when the can pops apart like it's some kind of guilty pleasure processed firecracker?
I got the idea from one of the savory crepes at my mom's restaurant — the classic French combination of Gruyère, thinly sliced ham, and duxelles, which is a mixture of chopped mushrooms cooked in butter, white wine and fresh thyme. I ate this frequently, usually with a fried egg on top, on my breaks from making 25 pounds of tandoori chicken. The restaurant was culturally diverse.
Anyway, all you really have to worry about is the duxelles. And by worry I mean sauté a pound of finely chopped mushrooms and a few sprigs of fresh thyme in two tablespoons of butter until just softened, about 2-3 minutes, then add 1/3 cup of white wine, cook until completely evaporated and taste for salt and pepper. Allow to cool, then spread the crescent roll dough lightly with Dijon mustard, top with a thick layer of duxelles at the wider end, layer on ham and Gruyère, roll up and bake.
Other ideas that translate well into crescent rollery:
And there you have it. A reason to go to the refrigerator aisle, besides those little Babybel cheeses I've been obsessed with since I had teeth.
More lunch hacks on Food Republic: