Appetizer for a Party

Last night I attended a Pokeno party with friends and needed to bring an appetizer.  My mom had just been telling me about Trisha Yearwood's TV show and an easy app to try.  So I gave the Cherry Tomato Mascarpone Tartlets a shot.  They turned out good served at room temperature but I think they would be even better warm from the oven.  *Also, I used a 3" biscuit cutter and was able to get 10 tartlets from one pie crust.  That was plenty for my small gathering so I saved the extra pie crust for another day.

Cherry Tomato Mascarpone Tartlets

Cherry Tomato Mascarpone Tartlets

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (found in specialty cheese at Publix)
2 Tbs. grated parmesan (I used Kraft parmesan because sometimes it works better than fresh)
1 large egg yolk
salt and pepper
14 oz. pkg refrigerated rolled pie crusts*
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (I cut the stem end off then halved)
1/2 small shallot, very thinly sliced
1 Tbs. fresh thyme, chopped
4 tsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, stir mascarpone, parmesan, yolk, salt and pepper to taste.  Have all other ingredients ready.

Unroll pie crust on a piece of wax paper and cut out 8 to 10 rounds with a biscuit cutter no larger than 4 1/2."    On a work surface, add no more than 1 Tbs. of cheese mixture to center of each pie crust and spread to within 1/4" of edge.  Arrange tomato slices on top of cheese, leaving the 1/4" border.  Fold and crimp the edges of crust just over the cheese but leaving tomatoes uncovered.  Top the tomatoes with shallot and thyme and then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Transfer tarts to prepared pan and bake 20-25 min.  Tomatoes should be wilted and crust should be browned.  Serve warm or at room temperature.