OMG! These were so good! It was the first appetizer to go! I did follow a few of the suggestions: used Gorgonzola instead of bleu cheese & drizzled honey on the top after a few minutes of cooling.
I also added about 2 tablespoons of light cream cheese to balance the Gorgonzola and to make the tart a little creamy. Also, I forgot to add the light cream at first, so I "poured" a drop onto each tart individually after I filled them. This turned out fine. There was quite a bit of mix left after filling the 15 tartletts, so I created my own tartlets by using regular philo dough (sp?) and cutting it into small squares (about 5 or 6 layers). If you make your own, make sure you brush melted butter on the dough so it will turn golden. (I forgot that step.)
Next time, I will dice the pear pieces up smaller & add a piece of walnut to the finished product before drizzling the honey.
The description said it was time-consuming, but I found this to be one of the easiest things I've made in a while. The "work" is in dicing the pear & filling the tarts - not time-consuming at all.
These were fabulous. What a great recipe- this one goes into the favourites file. After reading all the reviews I did tweak the recipe slightly based on personal taste but I think it would have probably been good without changes too just stronger. I like blue cheese but suspected out guests may not be as fond so I wanted to tame it a bit. These changes will make about 30 appetizer tarts as it basically doubles the volume of the recipe. 1. used about 2 -3 ounces of Pear Blue Cheese - that's what I had on hand. 2.added half a brick of cream cheese ( 4 oz) to mellow out and make it melt more and help meld with pears 3. used 2 pears to increase creaminess and pear-iness and diced them in 1/4" dice 4. did not add cream 5. added a carmelized walnut to the top of each tart before popping in the oven (1 cup walnuts to 1/2 cup sugar set to medium in a pan and stir constantly until sugar melts and carmelizes walnuts. turn onto non stick foil until cool) I used regular tart shells - that what I had on hand. (I have never seen pre made phyllo tart shells in my stores). I must confess that I think I ate more of these than our company. I am going to make them again later this week. They were delicious.
I couldn't find premade phylo shells and didn't have time to make some so I used pie crust instead. I cut store bought crust into approx. 2 inch squares and pressed them into mini tart pans. I baked the pie crust for a little less time than the package called for then I put the filling into the hot pie crust and put it back into the oven for 5 more minutes. They came out bubbly and delicious and were gone within minutes at my party!
Good recipe...even better when I topped them with a little piece of a candied walnut and a drop of honey! MMM! Everyone commented on how unique they were not the typical appetizer. Excellent with a glass of wine!
I used this recipe for my daughters wedding reception. It was fabulous. I was concerned that the blue cheese might be overpowering so I used gorgonzola instead much milder and the flavors blended wonderfully. There were none left!!
This was a great hit at a party I took them to. The key to greater success is to keep the tartlets warm. I did not have a warming plate. Also I may try a granny smith apple because I felt the pear was not tart enough to offset the blue cheese. I will definitely make it again. Thanks!
I make something similar to this; its everybody's party request. I use the phyllo sheets cut into wedges because its cheaper to feed more people I omit the cream and also add a topping of caramelized onions. So good:)
Great Recipe! I brought these for a dinner party over at my in-laws house. My Father-in-law could not stop raving about them! I used an extra 1/2 pear in this and kept everything else the same. Very good and very simple.
these were awesome! served them to my friends at a "purse" party...raves! almost everyone begged for the recipe. i doubled the recipe used a little less than double the blue cheese only used one pear and 2 pkgs of tarts. i heated the tarts first for 5 minutes..then filled and baked. must be a lover of crumbly blue! i might even try adding a bit of apple and some finely chopped walnuts next time!
I enjoyed this recipe however they went mostly untouched at my party.
