Tasty Fig-Blue Cheese Appetizer Tarts

 

We had some friends for dinner recently, and I was looking for something easy but tasty to serve as a pre-dinner nibble. I wish I could take credit for these, since they were delicious, but the recipe as I made it came almost straight from the Pillsbury web site. I just changes some of the proportions to use the whole bag of figs.

I assembled these about a half hour before the guests were due to arrive. Then I popped them into the oven as the first guest got there. They are best served warm, but I didn’t mind one of the leftovers with my morning cup of tea, either.

These would make a nice addition to a Super Bowl party. I would bake them ahead and leave them on the baking sheet and then warm them at munchie time.

FIG AND BLUE CHEESE APPETIZER TARTS

4 oz. cream cheese (half an 8-oz. package)
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used gorgonzola)
1/3 cup sweet orange marmalade
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 bag (6 oz) dried mission figs, stems trimmed and coarsely chopped
2 cans Pillsbury crescent roll sheets
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a small bowl, mash together the cream cheese and blue cheese with a fork until well blended. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, mix the marmalade and vinegar over low heat, whisking to blend. Stir in figs. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until figs are softened and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Without unrolling the dough, slice each into 14 slices and place 2" apart on two ungreased baking sheets. Press in the center to make a slight indentation in each one. I used a demi-tasse spoon to put about a teaspoon each of the blue cheese first, then the fig mixture. Sprinkle with the walnuts.

The recipe said to bake 15 to 19 minutes, or until golden brown, but mine were perfect at 11 minutes, and I’m pretty sure the oven is calibrated properly. So watch them after 10 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes then remove from the pans with a spatula. Serve warm. Makes 28 pieces.

Yummy Figs!

Earlier this week, my good friend Michelle Reuter, wife of our church pastor, Lane Reuter, gave me a heads-up about the fig trees on the church grounds. She said the figs were just falling onto the ground and being smashed by cars, or rotting in place. SO after services this morning, I got myself a little bag and gathered these figs. They were so fresh and wonderful. And I had just paid $7.00 for a small box at the Agricenter farmers' market on Saturday.

Once we got home, we had to have a couple each stuffed with blue cheese, wrapped in prosciutto and roasted just until the cheese was a little oozy. Sorry there's no picture, we gobbled them down too quickly.

I was thinking of making fig preserves, but quite frankly, I'm just not a jam-and-jelly eater. So, I thought, how about chutney? I've done a few before but never with figs. I went online looking at recipes but none sounded quite right, and every one that sounded good called for something I didn't have. So I improvised. I wish I'd had fresh ginger, but given the limitations of what I had, I thought the results were more than just acceptable. In fact they were quite good, and I plan on grilling pork tenderloin for dinner tomorrow evening to go with the chutney!

IMPROMPTU FIG CHUTNEY

1-1/2 cups red wine vinegar
1 cup dry red wine (I used a good zinfandel, because that's what I had open)
1-1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup red onion, very finely minced
1 cup golden raisins
2 large lemons, juice and finely grated zest
1 tsp whole mustard seeds
2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
2 lbs fresh figs, rinsed and quartered

In a dutch oven, or wide deep skillet, mix everything except the figs. Simmer until reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Add the figs. It'll look like there's not enough liquid, but the figs exude a lot of liquid, and soon they'll be covered. Simmer, uncovered, until most of the liquid is reduced to a thick syrup, about 45 minutes.

I put them in sterilized jars, sealed to keep, but you can keep this in the fridge for a good while, and I would think it would freeze nicely if you aren't going to use it within a few weeks.