Mushroom and Roquefort Tarts are the Favorite Dish on the Menu

Mushroom and Roquefort Puff Pastry Tarts At a recent cooking class featuring a menu of Parisian-inspired dishes, my students were most enthusiastic about the simple first course—individual mushroom and Roquefort tarts. There was a fork-tender veal and tomato ragoût as an entree, a vibrant salad of haricots verts, oranges, and Belgian endive in orange vinaigrette, and for dessert a walnut rum gateau with chocolate icing plus homemade vanilla ice cream. Yet, these simple tarts garnered by far the most attention. Continue reading

Quick, Easy, and Delicious Dark Chocolate Tartlets with Dark Chocolate “Perles”

Dark Chocolate Tartles with Chocolate PerlesCHOCOHOLIC! Yes, I’m one of the millions who belong to this club. Give me a dessert menu, and I’ll choose the chocolate creation every time. Look in my kitchen cupboards and you’ll find a shelf dedicated to cooking chocolates– bittersweet, semi-sweet, 60 % to 85 %, cocoa powder. Take a peek in our guest bedroom and you’ll see a bowl of chocolate kisses set out for overnight company. Oh, and when traveling I always tuck a few dark chocolate bars into my hand luggage—so calming during turbulence on bumpy flights!

So as Valentine Day’s approaches, you can imagine my delight in dreaming up new chocolate treats. This year I plan to make dark chocolate tartlets with dark chocolate “perles.” So what are “chocolate “perles” (pearls in French) you may ask? dark chocolate perles from Whole Foods 2

They are petite chocolate balls slightly smaller than pomegranate seeds that add crunch to recipes. I first discovered these morsels in chocolate desserts in Paris. Recently, though, I found Valrhona “perles” in my local Whole Foods, and happily added them to the tartlets.

To keep things simple, I used mini-fillo cups for the tart shells and sprinkled some “perles” in them. A filling Continue reading

Summer Vegetable Galettes

Mid to  late summer is the season for exquisite produce at my local farmers’ market. There are bins at each stand brimming with vegetables in vibrant hues. This irresistible produce was the inspiration for the following recipe for savory vegetable tarts. The tart shells are made with purchased puff pastry sheets that are cut into squares. A creamy spread of goat cheese and Parmesan is smoothed over  Continue reading

Asparagus and Mushroom Tarts

These elegant tarts look as if they take far more expertise to produce than the simple effort that is required. Using purchased puff pastry is what makes them so easy and quick to assemble. Count on 15 minutes to make the filling, and five for cutting out the puff pastry squares. Both the squares and the filling can be prepared several hours ahead so that at serving time you will need only to spoon the asparagus/ mushroom melange onto the pastries, and then bake them for 20 minutes. Serve the tarts as a first course or offer then with a green salad for a summer lunch or light supper.

Continue reading