Miniature tarts...

You've heard my affection towards miniature treats before and it has been awhile since we've done some. For this week's Wednesday Treat Day, we ran with that idea and prepared these individual Cashew Chocolate Tartlets.

The only thing I had forgotten about making miniature goodies like these tartlets is the repetitive nature of them. While I don't mind it that much, I keep thinking how much time I would have saved preparing these if I would break down and buy one of those fancy miniature tart shapers/stampers out there!

The crust was the most laborious portion as I had to press the lightly sweetened pliable dough into 36(!) miniature muffin cups. You may want to check the size of your muffin tin before you start - if the wells hold less than 2 tablespoons of water, you may end up with 42 tartlets instead as they are just a touch too small to hold everything.

Once the buttery crusts were formed and baked to a light golden, we laced the bottoms with mini chocolate chips for richness and to form a protective layer against the wet filling. The sweet filling is a combination of confectioners' sugar, butter and Lyle's Golden Syrup - I used the golden syrup as I am quite fond of that sticky burnt-sugar flavor it has. If this is something you don't have or can't find, you could replace with dark (or light) corn syrup or even brown rice syrup. Once those ingredients were combined and brought to a boil, a handful of coarsely chopped cashews are tossed in. If you don't groove on cashews (which happen to be Jeff's favorite), you could use almonds, pecans or even a mixture of your favorite nuts! This mixture is carefully measured into the baked crusts and they head back into the oven to for a quick bake to finish setting the filling. If you do use almonds, I suggest swapping out the vanilla in the dough for almond extract to tie in the two flavors.

While we enjoyed that sweet hidden layer of chocolate, I also loved how the heated sugar-y mixture added a caramelized note to the nuts, giving a rich depth to the filling. The crusts were tender, yet still crisp, which allowed the tartlets to be easily handled without worry of them falling apart.

I know it is not always easy to incorporate whole grains into your daily eats when you may not be used to having them. With our dinner tonight, Polpette with Quinoa, Parmesan and Sage, I'm hoping this may change your mind if you give this recipe a try!

I did have to change one main ingredient with these miniature meat loaves (keeping with the individual theme today!) tonight - the original recipe called for bulgur, which I always have in the pantry. For some reason though, I apparently forgot to refill the jar and found it empty as I reached for it! There was no time to run to the market, so I glanced over the pantry and figured I might as well try the ever-nutritious quinoa! I know that most quinoa supposedly comes pre-rinsed to remove that bitter saponin coating, but I still recommend giving it a good rinse and rub with your fingertips just in case. I skipped this once as I thought why bother if someone else has already done the work, but I was much disappointed when I went to taste it and it was fairly bitter.

Rather than cooking the quinoa in water, the flavor is amped up by using half red wine and a bit of beef broth. A mixture of ground sirloin, hot Italian turkey sausage, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, an egg and fresh sage are smashed together to create the meatloaf. Rather than using breadcrumbs or milk-soaked bread, the cooked and well-drained quinoa is added to act as the binder for these loaves. Since you are using ground beef and turkey, be sure to cook these thoroughly and check their temperature with an instant-read thermometer - you'll want it to reach around 160 to 165.

I have to say that I am a fan of ketchup/tomato topping for meatloaves, but Jeff and I both found the combination of ingredients in this to be so flavorful that we agreed we didn't miss that topping one bit! You could even lighten these a bit and swap out the ground sirloin for ground turkey. Adding that single link of Italian sausage made such a difference, bringing another layer that had you guessing what was so good. The meatloaves were still sturdy enough to slice and hold together, yet retained a good level of moisture so they were not dry. I'd love to make this again into a single large loaf so we could slice it and turn it into meatloaf sandwiches! I'm betting this mixture would also make exquisite meatballs, which in turn could be sauced up for pasta, stuffed into a sub roll or even made tiny to top a pizza!

Recipes
Cashew Chocolate Tartlets
Polpette with Quinoa, Parmesan and Sage