Magnificent Appetizer for a Formal Dinner

Birthday Dinner Menu

This past weekend was my son's 47th birthday, and as usual I made a dinner. It was a fancier type of dinner, with a lovely table setting, three kinds of wine and four courses. And a menu, shown here. 

My son loves fine food, as do I, along with loving to make it. It is a true labor of love, at times, to put together this type of meal, but once it is done and we are enjoying, and everything tastes SO GOOD, then it truly doesn't matter how long it took to prepare, or how many backaches went into the mix. We all enjoyed the meal, which thankfully all turned out great.

My idea for the savory cheesecake tarts I made as part of the appetizer were based on the recipe for little individual Savory Brie & Rosemary Cheesecakes. I made the original recipe in mini cheesecake pans, but for our birthday dinner I wanted something a little bigger than "mini," plus I wanted them in a different shape configuration; wider and less tall. I have some 3½-inch diameter metal rings, originally bought for making English muffins, but to date, I still haven't made any that way! I have used the rings to make buns, keeping them in shape while they bake. This time it seemed they would be the ideal size for my appetizer cheesecakes. 

Rosemary, Brie & Goat Cheese Tarts with Balsamic Roasted Root Vegetables

One thing I had trouble with was the crust. When I made the original recipe, I used all-purpose flour. This time I wanted to try out a gluten free option and something did not work quite properly. I had to add, and revise as I went along. My suggestion would be to use the original recipe, cut in half.

As for the filling for these savory cheesecakes, I altered the original recipe by using Brie, Chevre and cream cheeses, with some Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. This worked out just amazingly good. To top off these appetizers, I made some Oven Roasted Root Vegetables, making about half the amount, more or less. To make them work with the smaller size of Cheesecake, I cut all the vegetable pieces into ¼-inch cubes. The shallots were cut into chunks about the same size as the golden beet, butternut squash, parsnip, and red bell pepper (not a root veg, but added for color). In keeping with the rosemary theme, I added some rosemary to the original balsamic mixture.

Rosemary, Brie & Goat Cheese Tarts with Balsamic Roasted Root Vegetables

Topped off with a rosemary sprig and a large caper berry, these were not only gorgeous, but they tasted as good as they looked. I served a NV Mionetto Prosecco Extra Dry, which paired wonderfully.

The crusts can be made ahead, formed and frozen. The cheesecakes can be made and baked 1 to 2 days ahead with no perceptible deterioration in quality.

Rosemary, Brie & Goat Cheese Tarts

Serves 6

CRUST:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
⅓ cup almond meal
½ cup +2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary

Cut all ingredients together, form into a ball, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough to slightly under a quarter-inch thickness. Whatever size diameter container you will use for baking the cheesecakes is the size you will need to cut out the tart bases. I used 3½-inch rings with no bottoms, using the ring to cut out the base. Set them onto a parchment lined tray or baking sheet and freeze until quite firm, covered well if leaving for more than an hour.

When ready to bake, set the same rings or the tart shells onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cut pieces of parchment that will line the wall of the ring and extend a bit above the top of the ring. Set the frozen crust inside the parchment. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 12 to 13 minutes, or until set and just starting to turn golden. Set aside to cool slightly. Leave oven on.

CHEESECAKE FILLING:
6 ounces Brie cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces Chevre cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces plain Greek yogurt
½ teaspoon sugar
2 pinches salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary
Pinch Aleppo pepper or other chili flakes, optional
½ teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper

Most small Brie rounds come in 8-ounce packages. I remove much of the outer coating of the Brie, leaving about 6 ounces, after trimming.

Using a hand mixer on low speed, beat together the Brie, Chevre, cream cheese and yogurt, just to combine. Add in the sugar, salt, rosemary Aleppo pepper and black pepper, then add in the eggs and yolks. Again, beat on low speed, for as little time as possible, just to make sure all ingredients are properly distributed.

Scoop equal portions of the Brie mixture into the pre-baked tart shells, lined with the parchment. The parchment will allow for easier removal later. Once filled, rap the baking sheet sharply onto a counter surface to eliminate any air bubbles from the filling. Bake the cheese tarts for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheesecakes are mostly set, with just a tiny bit of jiggle in their centers. Set aside to cool. Once baked and cooled, they can be covered and refrigerated until needed, 1 to 2 days.

When serving, preheat oven to 350, uncover the cheesecakes and set the baking sheet in the oven to warm for about 10 minutes or less. If using the rings with no bottoms, use a spatula to lift the entire cheesecake with its ring onto a plate for serving, then lift off the ring and peel away and discard the parchment, leaving a clean outer edge. Top with any garnish desired, although the little cubed vegetables baked in the Balsamic mixture paired heavenly well.

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

Makes 4.5 to 6 cups, depending on vegetable amounts.

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

2 to 4 shallots, 3/4 to 1 cup depending on size, cut into small chunks
1¼ cups butternut squash, in ¼-inch dice
1 large parsnip, peeled, cut in ¼-inch dice
1 medium to large golden beet, cut in ¼-inch dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice

DRESSING:
⅓ cup Balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced finely
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Zahtar, optional
2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Mix all dressing ingredients in a small saucepan to melt and meld flavors. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and add in all the prepped vegetables, then pour in the dressing. Stir well to coat, then bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until they can be easily pierced with the tip pf a knife. These can be made ahead and reheated just before using.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

An Open House and new Appetizers

Yesterday afternoon a realtor here in town held an Open House. I was asked to volunteer some appetizers for this, as one of the "high-end" open houses featuring wine and food. It was a lovely afternoon, and quite a few people came to look through the house and partake of the treats.

Appetizers, clockwise from top left: Squash Prosciutto & Smoked Gouda Quiches, Savory Brie & Rosemary Cheesecakes, Cream Cheese & Tart Cherry Filled Apricots, Blue Cheese Wafers

When approached about this Open House, I started looking through recipes to see what appealed to me. I have a stack of folders at least 5-inches thick with all sorts of recipes I have saved, from online or from magazines, and some are scribbled ideas I had at some point. Looking through these folders for ideas, I found a recipe I had printed from the internet for Camembert Cheesecakes and thought, hmmm, maybe it's finally time to try these. I also came across a recipe my sister used for one of our 50th birthday parties. It is similar to my own Pistachio and Almond Paste Filled Apricots, in that it uses dried apricots and has them stuffed with a filling, but this recipe from A Taste of Home) used far more ingredients. They are really good, but I believe I will stick to my original recipe from here on out. For one, it uses less ingredients, and secondly, my recipe is far easier to make. In a comparison, while both are tasty, I think my original recipe is better. That does not mean these "new ones" aren't good, because they are delicious (just a bit more fuss to make).

Savory Brie & Rosemary Mini-Cheesecakes

The other two recipes I made were variations on some I have made previously. The Blue Cheese Wafers are a variation on my Savory Blue Cheese Coins with Apricot Jam. In this new version, I used all smoked blue cheese, with no cheddar at all, and almond meal rather than walnuts. For the topping, rather than Apricot Jam, I used the Fig Apricot Preserve I made recently for the little tamales at the "Renaissance Festival." I really love how this Preserve worked on these little savory wafers. The jam in the original recipe tends to bubble up and flow all over the place when baking. This Preserve I had made, is less sweet altogether and it stayed in place, no bubbling and spilling. 

The other recipe variation is the mini quiches. Originally, I got the recipe from a neighbor in Florida, and those, called "Millard's Artichoke Quiches," uses marinated artichoke hearts and cheddar cheese. While they are absolutely fabulous in flavor, I wanted to try something new. In this new version, I eliminated the artichokes and cheddar, then cooked some butternut squash to add in, plus Prosciutto and smoked Gouda cheese. Those were just out of this world!
 

Savory Brie & Rosemary Cheesecakes, served at the Open House

I will put the recipes for these last three items in a future blog or two, but in this one I want to concentrate on the little Savory Brie Cheesecakes. I had found this recipe, called Camembert Cheesecakes, online, some time ago I used the recipe, but with some changes. The first and foremost was the use of Brie instead of Camembert. Our local grocery often carries Camembert, but did not have any this time. Brie it was, then. I doubled the recipe, as I wanted more than just 12, but then found I still had enough cheesecake batter for 6 more, so I made an extra half recipe of crust. This turned out 30 little cheesecakes. And, they were really excellent.

Norpro Mini Cheesecake Pan

I had just recently created a recipe for Roasted Tomato Pickle, and with these relatively bland cheesecakes (though full of flavor, they are mainly cheese), I thought that maybe a little strip of this new tomato condiment would add some zip. Oh boy, did it ever! Honestly, that Roasted Tomato Pickle is one of my most inspired condiments in a long while! As it turned out, while the cheesecakes puffed up beautifully in the oven, they fell into a significant dip in the center, once they cooled. And, as it happened, that little dip was the perfect place to set the piece of tomato. A good thing all around. 

To make these cheesecakes, I used a Norpro brand mini-cheesecake pan (available on Amazon.com and many other places - I am not affiliated with Amazon in any way - just like the ease of ordering!). It has 12 wells with removable bottoms, making for easy release. These turn out a little cheesecake that is smaller than if made in a regular muffin tin, and more straight-sided, but much larger than if made in the little mini-muffin tins. These are about 1¾-inch diameter at the base. I didn't measure, but I have a good eye for dimensions. If you do not have a mini-cheesecake pan, I truly do not know how to say what I would do in a different sized pan. These might work well in a regular muffin tin, with those new smooth-sided muffin papers, but I cannot say how many would come out, or baking times. If you do have a mini-cheesecake pan, then here is a really great, and beautiful recipe to use.

When making these, I wanted to line the wells of the cheesecake tin, to ensure ease of release from the sides. The original recipe says to run a knife around the edges to release, but too often I end up gouging the sides with the knife, making it very unsightly. These were for a special occasion, and looks were important. It may have been easy enough to press the crust into the pans, but I felt that forming the crust dough into a log and chilling it first would make things easier. I figured this way I would slice the log and set the wafer into the cheesecake well, lining the well with parchment paper strips before the crust was pressed to the edges, then press the crust into the edges to bake. This worked very easily and quickly. I used a 2-teaspoon "cookie scoop" and used two scoops of cheesy batter to fill the pans. They puffed up to the top during baking, then fell into a dip in the center. 

I have only one of these mini cheesecake tins, so I made these in batches. With the parchment lining the sides, there was no mess clinging to sides. The crust releases very easily; I just wiped each base plate with a paper towel before re-inserting for the next batch.

Savory Brie & Rosemary Cheesecakes

Makes 30 

Savory Brie & Rosemary Cheesecakes

CRUST:
1¼ sticks butter (10 tablespoons / 141 grams)
½ cup + 2 tablespoons almond meal (2 ounces / 56 grams)
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (5.2 ounces / 176 grams)
½ teaspoon salt, plus a pinch (0.1 ounce / 2 grams)
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (0.05 ounce / 1 gram)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

CHEESECAKE FILLING:
2 (8-ounce / 226 gram) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 (8-ounce / 226 grams) package Brie, at room temperature
2 large eggs 
2 teaspoons (0.10 ounces / 2 grams) minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon (0.05 ounce / 1 gram) Aleppo pepper, optional
½ teaspoon (0.05 ounce / 1 gram) freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (8-ounces / 300 grams) sour cream 

Make the Crust: Place the almond meal flour, rosemary, salt, and pepper into a mixing bowl. Add in the softened butter and cut in with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture starts to come together. Using hands, gather the mixture into a ball, then shape into a log, slightly less in diameter than the diameter of the cheesecake wells. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and chill for about 30 minutes. 

Cut strips of parchment paper to just overlap inside the wells of the pan and to stand just a little taller than the well's height. The pieces should be just about 7 to 8 inches long by about 2-inches wide. You will need 30 altogether. Set these aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once chilled, slice the chilled dough into approximately ¼-inch thick coins. Place the coins into the bottom of the cheesecake pan wells. They should not quite touch the edges of the pan, yet. Set the parchment pieces around the sides of the wells, making sure they reach the bottom of the wells. Now, reach in and press the dough into the edges. This holds the parchment in place. Bake the crusts until set, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow the pan to cool slightly before filling with cheesecake batter.

Make the Cheesecake Batter: Make sure the cheeses are very much at room temperature. If you are not over fond of the Brie rind, trim some of it off. Place the cream cheese and the soft Brie into a large bowl and mix using a hand mixer until most, but not all, of the lumpiness of the Brie is gone. Beat in the eggs, rosemary, Aleppo pepper, black pepper until combined, then add in the sour cream and beat to mix. Scoop about 4 teaspoons of the mixture into each of the parchment lined wells, on top of the baked crusts. Bake the cheesecakes for about 12 minutes, or until set and just barely beginning to brown. 

Remove from oven and allow the pan to cool enough to handle, then press each cheesecake up from the bottom, remove the base plate and set the cheesecakes aside to cool. Repeat with making the cheesecakes until they are all done. Refrigerate the cheesecakes for at least 2 hours before serving. 

For a wonderful topping, make the Roasted Tomato Pickle. Slice pieces of the tomato and curl on top of each cheesecake. Serve chilled. Decorate with more rosemary, if desired.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.