Southern Brunch Pastry Puff

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 375°. In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Slowly stir in grits. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cook, covered, 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in the cheese, butter, pesto, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper until blended.
2. 2

   Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage and red pepper over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink and red pepper is tender, 4-6 minutes, breaking up sausage into crumbles; drain.
3. 3

   In a small bowl, whisk 6 of the eggs and the remaining salt and pepper until blended. Return sausage to skillet. Pour in the egg mixture; cook and stir until the eggs are thickened and no liquid egg remains.
4. 4

   Unfold each of the puff pastry sheets onto a 12x10-in. sheet of parchment. Spread grits up to 1/2 in. from the edges. Spoon the sausage mixture over half of the grits on each pastry. Fold pastries over the sausage mixture to enclose; press the edges with a fork to seal. Transfer to a baking sheet.
5. 5

   In a small bowl, whisk remaining egg and water; brush over pastries. If desired, top with additional ground pepper. Bake until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut each pastry into 4 pieces.