May Book Club

Last night was our monthly book club meeting and I hostessed. We had a great time and a great turnout! For dinner we had tomato and goat cheese tarts, tortellini pesto and a huge yummy salad. The tarts were such a big hit (thanks to my sous chef Jenn and my MIL that provided the recipe) here is the recipe.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts
1 pkg (2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted
Olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced onions (2 large onions)
3 large garlic cloves cut into slivers
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves (I used dried)
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 ounces shaved with a peeler (didn't do this bit)
4 ounces garlic and herb goat cheese (I used regular)
1 large tomato cut into 4 slices
3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves (I used freeze dried)

Directions:
Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11 by 11 -inch square. Using a 6-inch wide saucer or other round object as a guide, cut 2 circles from the sheet of puff pastry, discarding the scraps. (I objected greatly to this. This recipe calls for 4 tarts from 2 sheets... I had 8 women coming over so I didn't discard any of the pastry and cut 4 squares from each sheet and continued on...)
Place the pastry on sheet pans lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium to low heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 15- 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are limp and there is almost no moisture left in the pan. Add 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the wine, and the thyme and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from heat.
Using a sharp pairing knife, score a 1/4 inch border around each pastry. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a tablespoon of grated Parmesan on each pastry staying in the border.
Place 1/4 (or the onions divided into however may pastries you have) of the onion mixture on each, again staying in the border. Crumble 1 ounce of the goat cheese on top of the onions. Place a slice of tomato in the center of each tart. Brush the tomato lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper. Finally scatter 4 or 5 shards of the shaved Parmesan cheese on each.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Serve hot or warm.

Super delicious! Wish I took pictures they looked so great.
Ciao
S