My first taste of goat’s cheese was at a tapas restaurant in Chicago
many years ago. The soft, creamy cheese with a fairly mild, salty taste was
topped with pine nuts. At the time, the flavors were so different from what I
was accustomed to eating. During the years since that first introduction, I’ve
become quite fond of the full, rich flavor of goat’s cheese.

One of my favorite ways to
serve goat’s cheese is to spread the room-temperature cheese on a platter and
top it with sliced sundried tomatoes in oil, smashed kalamata olives and
slivers of fresh basil. I drizzle some of the oil from the jar of sundried
tomatoes over the whole platter and serve it with baguette slices. Guests cover
the bread with oil-soaked cheese and then top it with the tomatoes, olives and
basil. The whole thing can be assembled right before guests arrive. It’s not a
concoction I developed myself. Mary Risley, of Tante Marie’s Cooking School
in San Francisco
served it at the first class I ever took from her.

This holiday season I’ve combined
those same ingredients and baked them in tiny little cream cheese tart shells.
In this week’s All About Food newspaper column, I shared a recipe for
Cranberry, Gorgonzola and Walnut Mini-Tarts. The cream cheese dough is exactly
what Ive used to make little cups to hold toasted pine nuts, sundried
tomatoes, kalamata olives and goat’s cheese. The rich custard holds all the
ingredients together in a flaky cream cheese cup.

These little Mediterranean
bites could quickly become another favorite. They’re not just for serving as an
appetizer. They’re delicious with a fresh Greek salad.

Mini-Tarts of Goats Cheese,
Sundried Tomatoes and Olives

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled
  unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 ounces chilled cream
  cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 6 kalamata olives, pits
  removed and each cut into four equal pieces
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/3 cup goats cheese,
  crumbled very fine, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons minced
  sundried tomatoes in oil
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
  or half-and-half

For crust, whirl flour and
salt in a food processor for 5 seconds. Add cubes of butter and cream cheese.
Pulse until moist clumps form. If you are not using a food processor, whisk
flour and salt together in medium-sized mixing bowl. Add cubes of chilled cream
cheese and butter and mix with a pastry cutter or two knives. Use hands to
gather dough. Shape the dough into a six-inch long log. Wrap log of dough in
waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill at least one hour and up to one day.

When ready to prepare
mini-tarts, remove dough from refrigerator and cut log into 24 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball. Press one ball of dough into each cup of two
non-stick 12-cup mini-muffin pans. Put the pans in the freezer for 30 minutes.

To make the custard, put the
egg yolks and whipping cream or half-and-half in a two-cup glass measure. Whisk
together until well blended.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Remove mini-muffin pans from freezer. Place pine nuts in the bottom of each
mini-tart. Put one piece of olive over pine nuts in each cup. Sprinkle with
minced sundried tomatoes. Top with crumbled goats cheese. Carefully pour cream
mixture into each tartlet, being careful not to let it overflow. Place tins in
preheated oven. Bake until pastry is golden brown and filling is slightly
puffed, about 20 minutes. Remove pans from oven and let rest for about 5
minutes. Run a table knife around inside edge of each muffin cup to release
mini-tarts. Gently nudge them from the pan and set on cooling rack or serving
platter. Makes 24 mini-tarts

• These miniature tarts can be
  made ahead and frozen on a tray or baking sheet. When they are completely
  frozen, put them in zip-top freezer bags and store them in the freezer. To
  serve, simply reheat in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes.
• I like to toast pine nuts in a skillet on the stove. Stir the pine nuts as they toast. They will burn quickly. Transfer them immediately to a plate to stop the toasting process. Allow them to cool completely. Always store pine nuts in the refrigerator.