Caramelized Onion Tartlets | Charmed

I'm excited to be joining my friend Kimberly from Coffee and Casseroles today to bring you another of our self-imposed challenges. This month we're creating recipes from a series that I've been meaning to cook from for many, many years - Charmed! We left it up in the air as to which version we'd use (the original or the reboot); both have all sorts of inspiration if you're paying attention.

For my recipe today, I drew inspiration from the original Charmed. So, Piper is an obvious choice when it comes to finding some food scenes, since she is/was a chef. I changed my mind several times when brainstorming (which only means that there will be more Charmed recipe posts in the future), but ultimately took inspiration from Season 3, Episode 7 "Power Outage".

In this episode, tensions run high between the sisters as each one is focused on their own lives and problems, acting with inconsideration...much to the annoyance of the others. The demon Andras takes advantage of the sister's emotions, throwing energy balls at them, turning their anger to rage towards each other and rendering them powerless.

My inspiration is pulled from a scene leading up to all of that wickedness, though. The sisters are supposed to be hosting a homeowners meeting at their house later on, and Piper winds up having to cancel her doctor's appointment to prepare for it because Phoebe and Prue are "too busy".

Fast-forward a bit to a house full of neighborhood people and a frazzled Piper in the kitchen. Leo walks in as she trips over Prue's photography equipment with a tray of onion tartlets in her hand. Leo asks her if she couldn't have made something simpler like chips and dip. To that she exclaims that she "was a chef!" (aka, no - she cannot make chips and dip).

She then offers up the onion tartlets and goat cheese pizza (my other choice for today's post) to the homeowners as vegetarian options. They basically ignore her, as they were deep in debate about yards and fences and such. I, however, wanted to reach in and grab one of everything. It looks like Piper used a pie/pastry crust base, but I chose to go with pre-made phyllo shells to save a little time. Either work beautifully, but I do like the crisp flakiness of the phyllo option.

So, yay - first Charmed inspired recipe is officially posted. I hope to share more in the future, but until then, enjoy this one and don't forget to pop on over to Coffee and Casseroles to see Kimberly's Charmed inspired recipe!

Yield: 2 dozen

Author: Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Caramelized Onion Tartlets

prep time: 10 Mcook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 H & 10 M

Sweet caramelized onions and creamy boursin cheese in crunchy phyllo shells make irresistible appetizers.

ingredients:

• 2 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 2 tablespoons brandy
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary and/or thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
• 24 phyllo shells (found in the freezer section)
• ~12 tablespoons Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese

instructions:

How to cook Caramelized Onion Tartlets

1. Combine sliced onions, butter, brandy, water, herbs, salt, and pepper in a skillet over medium low heat; cover. Cook for 10 minutes.
2. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring from time to time, for another 45 to 50 minutes, turning heat down to low after 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Onions should be deeply caramelized, and will need to be stirred more often during the last 20 minutes or so. Remove from heat.
4. While the onions are caramelizing, preheat the oven to 350° F. Set the phyllo shells on a baking sheet, then slide into hot oven and bake for 5 minutes, or until just golden. 
5. Carefully add ~1/2 teaspoon of Boursin to the bottom of each of the warm phyllo shells, then top each with about 1 teaspoon of caramelized onions.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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