We had our good friends, Mike, Christa and their baby Paige, over for lunch this weekend. Christa is a vegetarian and in the past I would often prepare two meals, vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Lately, I’ve been finding new ways to keep vegetarian dishes satisfying for both parties which helps me spend less time in the kitchen and more time with our guests. I decided to make caramelized onion, mushroom and goat cheese tarts served with a salad dressed with balsamic vinaigretteand for dessert, vanilla ice cream with strawberry and blueberry flambe. I love caramelized onions…they are so tender and sweet. Add meaty crimini mushrooms, mild goat cheese and aromatic pine nuts and you have perfection. It’s hard to resist all those savory flavors especially when it’s sitting on a crispy and flaky piece of puff pasty. These tarts are such a great dish to serve for a brunch, light lunch or even as an appetizer. The best part is the recipe is super easy.

The caramelized onions are sweet & have almost a jam like consistency. I love the addition of the crunchy pine nuts.