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Monday, April 09, 2012

Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 1



In December, I plowed my way through all seven seasons of "Gilmore Girls." I had forgotten how much I loved that show -- the quick talking, the pop culture references, the quirky townspeople, the grumpy Luke, and the relationship between Lorelai and Rory. One thing that really bothered me though was that Rory only applied to Yale and Harvard, as if it was a given she'd get in. Just because she was smart doesn't make that a given. She only did newspaper, and she wasn't even the editor. And one day hammering walls for Habitat for Humanity doesn't cut it for volunteer work. Sooo unrealistic. As if the show was realistic anyway. Ha!

Remember in Season 6, episode 5, "We've Got Magic to Do," in which Rory and Lorelai are on the outs because she wanted to drop out of school and moved into her grandparents' pool house and worked for the Daughters of the American Revolution and hosted a WWII-themed party? She served salmon tarts. Salmon tarts! I couldn't get the idea out of my head. (Also, did you know Season 6 is the only one that doesn't have English subtitles? Only Spanish and French. My DVD player sometimes makes the sound go in and out, so I like to have subtitles on just to make sure I catch everything. Watching "Gilmore Girls" with Spanish subtitles sure was an interesting experience.)

So recently when I was making my standard Baked Salmon with Lemon Pepper Seasoning, I decided to use the leftovers to make these salmon and dill mini tarts. Add a bit of sour cream and cream cheese to the salmon and baked them in puff pastry with another dollop of sour cream and dill on top.

Serve these as appetizers for a dinner party and they'll go just like that. I liked them best when the puff pastry and salmon filling were still warm, to contrast with the fresh coolness of the sour cream and dill, but they tasted just fine when cooled too.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 2


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts

For 2 dozen mini tarts, you'll need:

Puff pastry
4 oz fillet of Baked Salmon with Lemon Pepper Seasoning and allow to cool
2 oz cream cheese
2 tblsp sour cream

For topping:
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tblsp chopped dill
1 tblsp lemon juice

Make Baked Salmon with Lemon Pepper Seasoning, or whichever method you prefer. Mix in 2 oz of cream cheese and 2 tblsp sour cream. The lemon pepper seasoning should be plenty enough seasoning, but if you need more, taste and adjust if necessary. Set aside.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 3


Cut the puff pastry to fit into a mini cupcake pan.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 4


Spoon the salmon mixture into the little puff pastry shells.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 5


Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden.

In case you don't have a mini cupcake pan, I also cut the puff pastry sheets into roughly 2-inch squares. Just spoon the mixture on top and bake same as above.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 6


Meanwhile, make the topping by adding chopped dill to sour cream and squeezing in about a tblsp of lemon juice.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 7


I put the mixture into a sandwich bag, where I had snipped out a corner to put in a pastry tip, but the dill was too big to squeeze out properly. So it's probably best to just use a spoon for the topping.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 8


After 15 minutes or so, you get this.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 9


Plate. But wait, I'm not done.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 10


Add a dollop of the sour cream and dill on top of each mini tart.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 11


This is what the non-cupcake pan mini tarts looked like.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 12


Still pretty tasty-looking anyway if you want to try the recipe and don't have mini-cupcake pans.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 13


But if you do, then these look and taste much better.


Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts 14


Enjoy!

Some of my other pie and tart recipes:
Apple Crumble Pie
Banh Dua Nuong (Vietnamese Coconut Tartlets)
Cherry Lattice-Crust Pie
Pluot Apple Galette
Pumpkin Pie with Chai Spices
Sour Cream Apple Pie

*****
1 year ago today, sparkling wine and pinot noir tastings at Argyle Winery - Dundee - Oregon.
2 years ago today, Canh Tao/Rong Bien (Vietnamese Seaweed Soup).
3 years ago today, Bamboodles Restaurant - San Gabriel (Closed).
4 years ago today, Angkor Thom: Victory Gate, Bayon Temple, Prasats Suor Prat, Terrace of the Leper King, Terrace of the Elephants, and Phimeanakas - Cambodia.
5 years ago today, Japanese Gobo Root (Burdock) Fries.

7 comments:

  1. These look and sound delicious. They seem like they should be easy to pull together and yet still look quite fancy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If memory serves me correctly, I believe Rory also go into Princeton. But yes, she was pretty sure of herself not to include UConn as a backup. :)

    Those tarts look awesome. I might have to get a mini muffin/cup cake pan just to try this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely idea for easy finger food!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You made me laugh: I discovered Gilmore Girls on regular tv here a few years back. Helped me with my Dutch. Yep, I had subtitles in Dutch, girlfriend! and you have to laugh when colloquialisms get translated...very wrongly.

    But those lovely salmon tartlets, nothing at all wrong with those. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sijeleng,
    Thanks! This was super quick to make, but I kept putting it off forever.

    Thao,
    Yeah, no way would Rory get into those schools in real life. And nothing's wrong with UConn!

    I bought my mini pan from Target for $2.50!

    W&S,
    Thanks!

    Tammy,
    That's how I feel trying to read Harry Potter in Vietnamese. Some translations are hilarious.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh man, these look totally adorable! I love puff pastry. And salmon and dill and sour cream and....

    ReplyDelete

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