Saturday, February 23, 2013

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, Apple & Gruyere Bites

I love cooking and baking for parties and small get-togethers although sometime's I'm a little too ambitious... especially in the time department. Here's a delicious, quick, and easy recipe I made for +Aaron and his fellow youth group leaders for a meeting we hosted at the house. This dish takes me less than an hour (prep time included) and it looks and tastes elegant, time-consuming and complicated.

Ingredients

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 granny smith apples, cubed into 1/2″ cubes
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 oz. grated gruyere cheese
2 tbsp. chives, minced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 package (1 pound) of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheets with non-stick spray/oil for good measure.

1.  In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil and cook the onions (with 1 tsp. of salt) until they’re golden brown. Remove and set aside in a large bowl. In the same skillet, sauté mushrooms until tender. Remove and set aside in the bowl with the onions.
2. In the same skillet, melt the butter and add in the apples with the sugar. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and add to the large bowl with onions and mushrooms.
3. Add the cheese, chives, and thyme to the bowl and stir to combine the mixture well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
4.  With a pizza cutter, cut the puff pastry into 2-inch squares and place them on non-stick baking sheets. 
5. Using a pastry brush, brush beaten egg on the squares. Using a tablespoon, place filling in the middle of each puff pastry.
6.  Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through and switching the baking sheet on the top rack to the bottom and the bottom to the top, until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.


Pro-Tip: Let the tarts cool a bit before serving, you don’t want people to burn the roofs of their mouths!
Pro-Tip Part Deux: Be careful with you Puff Pastry - if it thaws too much it's very difficult to work with. Check on it often during your prep work!

While this bakes it makes the whole house smell phenomenal... that's why I reserve this recipe for when I'm hosting!

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