Tomato and Corn Cheesy Pastry Bites

Harlan County winter — gray weeks, fog in the hollows, the kind of cold that gets in your lungs. Worked at the construction company in Lexington this week. The body holds. Most days.

Connie at the vet clinic, four shifts this week. Her back is tired. She does not say so. I see it. Mama is 85. She is the toughest person I have ever known. She still cooks every day in the company house in Evarts.

Biscuits and gravy Sunday morning. Connie's biscuits — buttermilk, lard, cut and rolled. Sausage gravy.

Travis called Tuesday. The landscaping company is busy. He sounds tired in a good way. Amber called from Louisville. Hospital is busy. Floor nurse to charge nurse to nurse manager — she is the most successful Hensley alive.

Earl would have known what to say about that. Earl is not here. I said nothing. I went on.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

The neighbor up the road — Old Roy, eighty-seven, lives alone — had a small heart scare. We took him soup beans Tuesday. Cornbread too. He cried a little when he ate. We all cry over soup beans eventually.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

I sat at the kitchen table Tuesday night working on the recipe project. Mama's soup beans. I cannot get the words right yet.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

Drove to Pineville for parts Wednesday. The hardware store man knew me. We talked about the weather and the price of feed. Forty minutes for a five-minute errand. That is rural Kentucky.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

Connie made jam Saturday afternoon. Wild blackberries from the patch up the hollow. Twelve jars. The pantry is filling for winter.

Connie read aloud from a novel Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench. Some Appalachian writer she had picked up at the library in Whitesburg. The voice was the voice of where we live. We listened together.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

My back was tight after the wood-splitting Saturday. Took an Aleve. Slept eight hours. Got up.

Sunday service at Harlan First Baptist when we go. Pastor preached about Ruth and Boaz. The choir sang. Connie wore her gray dress.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

I sat on the porch with bourbon at sundown Friday. The fog rolled into the hollow the way it has every fog of every year. The porch was the porch. The bourbon was the bourbon.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

Connie’s biscuits are hers alone — buttermilk and lard and forty years of knowing — and I would never try to write that recipe down, not yet. But when Sunday settles in and the wood stove is warm and the house smells like something good is coming, these Tomato and Corn Cheesy Pastry Bites are the kind of thing that fits alongside that feeling. They’re not biscuits and gravy, but they’re honest — quick to put together, good and hot, the sort of thing you set on the kitchen table and eat while the coffee is still working. Some Sundays, that’s exactly right.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 sheet refrigerated puff pastry, thawed
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed if frozen
1/2 cup diced Roma tomatoes, patted dry
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Fresh chives or parsley for garnish, optional

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Prepare the pastry. Unfold the thawed puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll gently to smooth any creases. Cut into 12 equal squares, roughly 3 inches each.
Make the filling. In a small bowl, stir together the softened cream cheese, garlic powder, smoked paprika, a pinch of salt, and black pepper until smooth.
Assemble the bites. Place pastry squares on the prepared baking sheet. Spread a small dollop of the cream cheese mixture in the center of each square, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top each with a pinch of shredded cheddar, a few corn kernels, and several pieces of diced tomato. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
Seal and brush. Fold two opposite corners of each square up toward the center and press gently to hold, or leave open-faced for a tart-style bite. Brush exposed pastry edges with beaten egg.
Bake. Bake for 18–20 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and deep golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbling.
Finish and serve. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh chives or parsley if desired. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Tomato and Corn Cheesy Pastry Bites — Sunday Morning Warmth From Connie’s Kitchen