Caramelized Onion, Mushroom (but not) Gruyere Tartlets

 

My girl loves her some mushrooms, so when I saw this as one of the recipes made for Annie's virtual baby shower, I knew it would be the perfect appetizer for my girl's baby shower too.

First, you can see I needed to chop the mushroom a little bit smaller.  Next, you can see there's no cheese on top.  I had to pack up all my stuff to leave by 8:30am to get to the party and set up...  it turns out I didn't do a great job of packing up.  Among other things that got forgotten and/or left behind, I grabbed a container of shredded coconut when I meant to grab a container of shredded Gruyere.  Oy.  As one of the other ladies said, at least I realized my mistake BEFORE adding the "cheese" to the tartlet.  I used beef broth instead of wine/chicken broth, and I had but one sheet of puff pastry.  I used a 3" cookie cutter, and it probably made about 15, especially after using the leftover dough.

As I said, though, I was able to prep the meal ahead of time, so all I had to do was put it together when it was party time.  This is essential for any party host/ess, whether he/she is hosting at home or at the home of someone else. 

They were absolutely delicious.  I pretty much couldn't stop eating them.  Mine didn't come out nearly as gorgeous as Michelle's, but they were very pretty nonetheless (especially since they weren't sitting right next to Michelle's, then I'd have been in trouble) and more importantly, super duper tasty.

These came my way from Michelle at Brown Eyed Baker.

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom & Gruyere Tartlets

Yield: 16 3-inch tartlets
Prep Time: 1 hour | Bake Time: 20 minutes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
16 ounces white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup white wine (can substitute chicken or vegetable broth)
2 sheets puff pastry (thawed according to directions on package)
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (can substitute any variety of Swiss cheese)
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, beaten together (for the egg wash)
Handful of parsley, chopped
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat and add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to caramelize, about 20 minutes.
3. Add the butter to the pan. Once melted, add the mushrooms and saute, stirring occasionally, until they are completely soft and all of the liquid evaporates, about 20 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and the thyme and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to pull up all of the browned bits, and cook until all of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.
6. Unfold the thawed sheets of puff pastry and cut out circles from the dough, placing them evenly spaced on the baking sheets. Using a very sharp knife, make four small scores around the perimeter of the dough, about ¼ to ½-inch from the edge.
7. Top the rounds of puff pastry with a small spoonful of the onion and mushroom mixture, trying to keep the filling within the score marks. Top with the shredded Gruyere cheese. Brush the edges of the dough rounds with the egg wash.
8. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 15 to 25 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
(Recipe adapted from Closet Cooking)