Mushroom Tart

A beautiful appetizer that I served for Thanksgiving, this dish is easy and full of flavor. I used a mix of Shiitake and Portabella mushrooms.

*Note: a tasty alternative is mushrooms, black truffle oil, white sauce, and Parmesan
--------------------------
Mushroom Tart
*courtesy of Martha Stewart, marthastewart.com*

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 packages (10 ounces each) mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 package (10 ounces) fresh baby spinach
2 ounces soft goat cheese (I used 3), crumbled

Directions:
1. Preheat over to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to a 16-by-10 inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place the pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With a sharp knife, lightly score dough to form a 1-inch border. Using a fork, prick dough inside the border every 1/2 inch. Bake until golden, rotating pan once, about 15 minutes or until tender.

2. Meanwhile, in a small page, toss onion with 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt. Cook over medium heat until onion begins to brown, about 8 minutes. Stir. Continue cooking for 15 minutes until caramelized, stirring every few minutes. Set aside.

3. In a large pan, heat remaining oil. Add mushrooms and cook until tender and all liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Fold in spinach; season with salt and pepper. Cook until wilted, about 2 minutes more. Drain any liquid.

4. Top dough with mushroom-spinach mixture. Scatter onion and goat cheese on top. Bake until cheese is lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

Incredibly Easy Pineapple Cheese Ball

My mom's neighbor brought this over as a Christmas gift along with celery sticks and whole-grain crackers.

I was wary when I heard the ingredients, but one taste and I was hooked. My sister and I fought for every bite and even my dad, a notoriously picky eater, adored it.

A few searches later and here it is...

Consider it for a gift or as something delicious and simple for your next pot luck or party.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pineapple Cheese Ball
*courtesy of Southernfood.about.com*

An appetizer pineapple cheese ball.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper, or mixture of green and red bell pepper
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt, or to taste
• 2 cups chopped pecans, divided

PREPARATION:

Directions for pineapple cheese ball.
Combine cream cheese, drained crushed pineapple, chopped bell pepper, chopped green onion, seasoned salt, and 1 cup chopped pecans. Chill in refrigerator until firm then shape into a ball. Just before serving roll pineapple cheese ball in remaining cup of pecans. Serve pineapple cheese ball with assorted crackers. Pineapple cheese ball makes about 3 cups of cheese spread.