a puff-pastry-loving robot

So, what does a robot have to do with savory, little puff pastries?  Well, nothing, really.  Nothing except the simple fact that I've had one thing on my mind these days: the mad rush to finish artwork for an upcoming show.  And much of this recent flurry of art-making has revolved around robots.  So, rather than whip up a more relevant illustration for this post, I decided to take the easy road and turn "Clark the Robot" into "Clark, the Puff-Pastry-Loving Robot."  I don't think he'll mind.  And, I don't think you'll mind either, since he's much more fun to look at than a rushed sketch of an avocado or a slab of puff pastry. 

But, I think that Clark has the right idea anyway.  Puff pastry is amazing stuff.  A few months ago, a friend gave me a tip about the flaky, fabulous, frozen dough.  She insisted that it was easy to work with, delicious, and produced incredible results.  I remember asking her skeptically, "But is it like phyllo dough?" (which I'd given up on years ago).  She promised it was much, much easier.  So, eventually, I found this interesting-sounding recipe and got brave enough to give it a chance. 

And, guess what?  She was right.  If you've never used puff pastry before, it really is easy.  This recipe is probably a less traditional use of the pastry than some, but it is delightful in its unexpected-ness.  Be sure to add a good amount of the tastiest salsa you can find (Trader Joe's has some great ones!), because the avocado and cream cheese are delightful in texture but subtle in flavor.  They need the assertiveness of a good, strong salsa. 

So, whether you try puff pastry with this recipe or with something altogether different, just be sure to try it.  Could a charming, quirky, little robot named Clark really be wrong about this kind of thing?