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Caprese Tartlets
Filed under Appetizers, Side Dish - VegetableAug 29I was looking back through my blog earlier, and I’m noticing a theme over the past few weeks. Lots of little bites – not a whole lot of hearty meals. I guess that is to blame on summer, right?? I’ve posted a few soups, and there was a salad and a quesadilla thrown in, but really, I’ve been making a whole lot of appetizers served as dinner, or we’ve been having multiple side dishes for dinner. You get the heat that zaps any motivation to be in the kitchen for very long, combined with all of the great in-season produce that makes for a perfect side dish, and you get light summer dinners. So I apologize if you’ve been wanting something more substantial – I do have a few things coming up!!
But for now, I am still making my way through piles of vegetables that are sitting on my counter. Not wanting anything to go to waste, I have been making great use of lots of tomato recipes these last few days. Seriously – I could do a whole tomato week, but I’ll spare you since I already focused on peaches and corn!!! (But you will be getting almost all tomato recipes this week!)
Here is another winning recipe from Melissa D’Arabian from $10 Dinners. After not loving the first recipe that I made of hers, I’m glad I didn’t give up on her, because everything I’ve made since has been divine. And these little tartlets are no exception. I loved that the shells are made out of plain old white bread. And the flavored cream cheese was so good that I wanted to just eat it by the spoonful! This was such a great spin on a caprese sandwich – and it’s one that I would definitely do again! These would be perfect for a party, or as a side dish – or do what we did and just eat them for dinner!!
from $10 Dinners
Ingredients
- 8 slices white bread
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and pepper
- 2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
- balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
- 8 fresh basil leavesPreheat the oven to 375F.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Remove the crusts from the bread. Using a rolling pin, flatten each slice of bread. Brush both sides with olive oil and press into a muffin tin. (Tip: cut a small slit diagonally down one corner to make it easy to fit into the cup.) Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese with the garlic powder, dried basil, salt and pepper. Mix together until smooth and creamy. Drop about a teaspoon into each cup. Bake the tartlets in the preheated oven until browned, about 12-13 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place a slice of mozzarella in each cup. (I returned mine to the oven again for a minute or two to soften and melt the mozzarella slightly.) Top with a tomato. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and a small drizzle of remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Chiffonade the basil for garnish. Serve warm
Recipe from www.tasteandtellblog.com——————————
More Caprese inspiration:
5 Caprese sandwich ideas from Foodiecrush
Caprese Pizza with Crispy Bacon from Taste and Tell
Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad with Balsamic-Basil Vinaigrette from Picture-Perfect Meals
24 Responses to “Caprese Tartlets”
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kelley said on August 29th, 2011 at 6:33 am
How can you go wrong with cream cheese? I love eating little bites as meals. It’s definitely because of summer!
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I love the little bites too! These look fabulous and I agree, cream cheese makes everything fabulous!
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Rosa said on August 29th, 2011 at 7:10 am
Those must be delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
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A) These are so cute I could pinch them.
B) I love fingery bitey bites. They make feel dainty.
C) I’m going to pick myself up from the floor after fainting and make these!
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Maria said on August 29th, 2011 at 8:00 am
Love this recipe! So fun!
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Kacy said on August 29th, 2011 at 9:43 am
Yum! I made these for New Years last year in Australia and we devoured them! Seriously good eats…thanks for refreshing my memory, I may have to make these for lunch now!
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Tasha said on August 29th, 2011 at 9:50 am
I’m actually loving all the little bites/appetizers you’ve been sharing. Summer is the perfect time for them. And this recipe is possibly my favorite one yet!
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Katrina said on August 29th, 2011 at 10:05 am
Mmm so tasty looking!
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I love these! What an awesome party appetizer idea. So beautiful, too. Great idea.
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Joanne said on August 29th, 2011 at 11:33 am
You know, I actually love having tapas-style meals with lots of appetizers so this has been so much fun! Caprese is my favorite flavor of summer…these look fantastic!
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Oh Deborah! Being positively addicted to perfect portions this is such a great idea! What a perfect snack or a side as well.
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Kristy said on August 29th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
These look fabulous! I have all of the ingredients too. I was planning to make caprese sandwiches on Wednesday for dinner, but I may change it up a bit now!
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newlywed said on August 29th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
I remember seeing this episode and being so curious about those crusts! Then I forgot to try the recipe — I am so grateful to you for sharing! You know we always eat appetizers for dinner … I would just have a few of these and a salad and still feel good about myself
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These look wonderful! I love the little tartlets!
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The Cake said on August 29th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
These look DELICIOUS! I will be making them for an appetizer at my Labor Day dinner party. Thanks!
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Betty said on August 29th, 2011 at 8:32 pm
With the heat we’ve been having and the plentiful summer veggies, this is the type of meal we’ve been subsisting on as well. This would be a quick and easy dinner for hubby and me!
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Deb, these are gorge! Love the idea of little tastes, and so many options too. THX for the mention, you are such good company to be in. XO
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I just love how simple this recipe is… but it looks so elegant! I would have never thought of using bread as a tart crust like that. This is a keeper. I’ll be making this either for our lunch or dinner tonight!
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Ashley said on August 30th, 2011 at 6:30 am
These look incredible. Such a smart idea, caprese anything is always delizioso!
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Mmmmmm, another good one to use as a football party app!
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I like appetizers for dinners.
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Rene said on August 30th, 2011 at 4:53 pm
That is SUCH a great idea! I’m totally filing this away for any late picnics/cooks outs!
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Abby said on September 3rd, 2011 at 3:28 pm
I’m bookmarking this for book club later this month!
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Jules said on September 5th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Oooh yeah! Definitely gonna try these out! Yummy. I hope now that winter is coming we will still enjoy light bite food like you say!
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