Wild Mushroom Tartlettes

When I host a get together, I make a point to develop a menu that features food that will satisfy most appetites. While some people can subsist on brats, burgers and hot dogs alone, I can’t. I have to have lighter options to pair with the heavier foods, or else by the end of the party, I feel so bogged down by the weight of what I’ve eaten that I nearly have to roll out of the door. I also try to keep in mind that not everyone eats meat, so I try to have delicious vegetarian options that give non-meat eaters something on the menu that is more substantial than chips and salsa.

These tartlettes were a hit as an appetizer with both the vegetarians and carnivores alike. The mushrooms made these babies substantial, and the prepacked fillo shells made them a snap to assemble. I made the filling the night before the party, so all I had to do was fill the shells and heat them up the next day. Perfect when you want to spend your time with your guests, instead of in the kitchen.

If you wanted to add meat to this dish, a nice touch might be to fry up a couple pieces of bacon in a pan, remove and crumble up the bacon, and cook the mushrooms in the bacon fat, instead of using the better called for in the recipe. Then just add the crumbled bacon in with the mushrooms and serve. That would definitely kick it up a notch.


Wild Mushroom Tartlets Recipe (halved recipe)
By Woman's Day Kitchen from Woman's Day

Recipe Ingredients
1 T bsp butter
3 Tbsp chopped shallots
8 oz sliced assorted wild mushrooms, roughly chopped (8 oz – crimini, shitake, baby bellas and button mushrooms)
2 T bsp dry sherry, white wine or water
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
Pinch each salt and pepper
2 Tbsp reduced-fat cream cheese
15 mini–fillo shells (I used Athens Brand)
Garnish: small thyme sprigs

Recipe Preparation
1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; cover and cook 3 minutes until softened.

2. Stir in mushrooms. Sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in sherry, thyme, salt and pepper until mixture simmers. Simmer 1 minute. Stir in cream cheese until melted.

3. Fill each fillo cup with 1 Tbsp mushrooms. Place on baking sheet. Heat about 5 minutes to heat cups.

Tip: The mushroom filling can be made a day ahead and reheated in the microwave (you may need to stir in a Tbsp or so of water if mixture seems too thick). To have the tartlets ready to bake, fill them up to 2 hours ahead.