Recipe developed by Sherry Yard, Executive Pastry Chef, Spago Beverly Hills

Yields: 8 larger side dish portions

1 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (washed, dried, oiled and roasted until just tender)

4 ounces minced onion sautéed in 1 tablespoon butter

2 ounces cheddar cheese, grated

2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

1 ounce grated parmesan cheese

1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled

2 ounces heavy cream

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

egg wash (one beaten egg)

1 package frozen puff pastry sheets

I'll tell you why I love these knishes.  First of all they can be made ahead of time and I'm all about doing everything I can to simplify cooking the day of an event.  So that's number one.  Secondly I love the concept of using them as a side dish for a holiday menu (they would be awesome with a rib roast or a beef tenderloin) plus they double beautifully as a hot hors d'oeuvre.  And lastly they are delicious, absolutely wonderful.  This is one recipe I had to share and actually I can't take credit for it.  I discovered it by doing some work for the Idaho Potato Commission and they are constantly "commissioning/challenging" chefs around the country and the world to come up with their best potato recipes.  This is definitely one of them.

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This picture above depicts the knishes in a larger, dinner portion suitable for an adult.  Basically these knishes are two part:  there's the outside pastry (which is store-bought puff pastry..easy) and then there's the filling that is made with Yukon gold potatoes, sauteed onions, cheddar cheese, blue cheese, Parmesan and even a little goat cheese.  They are assembled ahead of time, brushed with a little egg wash and then baked to golden perfection.

Here are the little guys under construction and below is the sheet of puff pastry rolled out and ready to cut.

I've eaten these right out of the oven (of course they were heavenly) and I've even reheated them the next day in the oven and they were just as wonderful.  What I'm trying to say is you can't go wrong.

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Roast potatoes in 350 degree oven until just tender. Cool until cool enough to handle. In medium bowl, crush potatoes coarsely with your fingers and combine with remaining ingredients through nutmeg. Mix well with rubber spatula or wooden spoon trying to keep potatoes somewhat coarse. Mixture can be made one or two days ahead.

To assemble: take one sheet of pastry and roll out slightly until it measures an 10x15 rectangle. Cut sheet into 6 (5x5 inch) squares. Place a 1/2 cup of filling in each square (this is for the dinner-size portion). Wet corners slightly with water and bring corners of each square to the center of the potatoes and pinch and twist to secure.

Place on parchment lined baking sheet allowing enough room for knishes to puff a little while they bake. Then brush with egg wash and let chill in fridge for 30 minutes. If covered well, knishes can be prepared to this point and held a day ahead. Preheat oven to 400. Bake until puffed and quite golden (about 20-30 minutes).

You can also make appetizer sizes by cutting the pastry in smaller squares and spooning less filling onto each square.