The first day  of October could not have been prettier weatherwise. So our Gourmet Club started with wine and appetizers out on our hosts’ deck.

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The appetizers for our vegetarian theme included: Mushroom tarts, Hot Broccoli Cheese dip and crackers and Spinach balls.

Moving inside our dinner centered on Vegetables Wellington with wine-soaked mushrooms, Risotto and Kale Salad. Finishing off with a Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Sauce. Delish!

Here’s the recipe for the Vegetables Wellington

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
1 lb asparagus, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium red bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 (5 ounce) packages baby spinach leaves
10 ounces log goat cheese
1 (4 ounce) packages prepared pesto sauce
1 large egg
1 (17 1/3 ounce) packages frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 (16 ounce) jars prepared tomato sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F and coat baking sheet with cooking spray.

Heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. Saute asparagus, bell peppers, and onion 5-10 minutes, until they begin to soften.
Add spinach, remove from heat and stir until the spinach wilts. Cool.

Combine goat cheese and pesto in a small bowl.
Beat egg with 2 tsp water in another small bowl.

Lay 1 sheet of puff pastry onto floured work surface. Cut into 8 rectangles. brush edges of each rectangle with egg. Place 2 Tsp of vegetables into center of each rectangle, and top with pesto-cheese mixture.

Cut 2nd puff pastry sheet into 8 rectangles and stretch to cover each vegetable- and cheese-covered rectangle. Seal tightly with fork or fingers.

Place on prepared baking sheet and brush tops with beaten egg. Chill 10 minutes.

Bake 25 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. Meanwhile heat tomato sauce in saucepan.
To serve, spoon 1/4 cup tomato sauce onto plate, and top with Vegetable Wellington

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