Happy Easter everyone! A few day days behind, I know, I know… you’ll get used to it. We had a fantastic Easter with good food and good family and good friends - you know the kind you think of as family.
We had three egg hunts over the weekend. One Saturday with some friends that Jason works with (seems like the bulk of my friends these days, are friends that I poach from his work pool or from Chandler’s school… note to self - “get a life”).  Saturday was all bouncy houses and manic egg hunt with ten million of the neighborhood kids and the girls had a great time.  Then in the afternoon we stopped to see Uncle Monte and wish him a Happy Birthday only to run off to another birthday party for sweet R who celebrated the big 7.
Sunday we woke to find that the Easter Bunny had come into the house to hide eggs full of little sweets (I guess I left the door unlocked *teehee*) and the girls were so excited. We also had RSVP’s with Mr. Bunny to request our main event around 1pm when more friends would be available to seek the sweet treats that only the Easter Bunny can bring.
Ahh the sugar high… To temper said sugar high I prepared a huge meal of Carmelized Onion Tarts, Baked Ham, Stuffed Cornish Hens, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Green Beans and yummy Yeasty Rolls. Great on Sunday, good on Monday, um…Tuesday?? No way!

So today we will feast on Ham and Cheese Savory Tarts or what-to-do-with-leftover-Easter-ham (WTDWLEH) Part I

Blondie’s Ham and Cheese Savory Tarts:

Makes 6 individual tartlettes

The Pastry Dough (adapted from Baking at Home):
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup iced water, or as needed

The Filling:
About 2 cups of leftover Easter ham (but any ham will do), diced
Around 3-4 green onions, whites and green tops, sliced
A bunch of or roughly 1/3 cup parsley, chopped
An obscene amount or 1 cup cheese (I used jack)
These are guidelines, you know? Personally I like mine with extra cheese and extra ham and extra green onions. But I’m American, and so when it comes to tarts and quiche a little doesn’t do allot for me. Allot does allot for me. Just so ya know.

The Custard:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream (I used milk this time)
Salt and Pepper

To make the pastry:
In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and diced cold butter, pulse until you have a nice course texture. Pulse and drizzle ice water, a few tablespoons at a time, until it holds together when you press it into a ball.
Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface, pat together into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.  (Note: I generally make the pastry in the mid afternoon and pull it out when I need it).
When ready to bake; remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and working one at a time, lightly sprinkle with flour and roll out into a 6″ circle about 1/8″ thick. Gently transfer the dough on top of the tartlet pan and press dough to fill. Trim by rolling your pin across the top to cut off the edges.
Repeat with the other pans. Line all the pans with foil or parchment and fill 3/4 full with pie weights, raw beans or uncooked rice. Bake in a 400F oven until the dough is set and the edges look dry, about 20 minutes. Remove liner and weights and bake another 3 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

For the filling: Lower your oven temp to 350F
Quickly saute the green onions to take the raw(ness?) out of them. Remove from heat, toss with chopped parsley, diced ham, fresh cracked pepper to taste. Divide among the 6 tartlets. Top with cheese.

For the custard:
Wisk together the eggs and the milk/cream, season with salt and pepper. Pour into tartlet shells, be careful not to overfill. Bake for 20 minutes or so, watching after about 15 minutes. Serve immediately (though you really can show restraint and not scarf immediately. I hear they are good warm, or even cold, though they never last that long).

 
A note about pastry dough: While I have not tried all doughs, I have tried many and I find that this dough is superior in texture, flavor and ease than the crusts I had while growing up (sorry Mom) and many I have tried in recent years. That being said, you really must be gentle when working with pastry, if you stretch the dough to much, it will shrink when you bake it (trust me, I know). If you overwork the dough then it will be tough (again, trust me). Be gentle, be patient, but work quickly - you must keep it cold -if you are new to pastry and you find that you need more time or your kitchen is bloody hot coz you live in the Desert - chill it again, no big deal. You will be rewarded with light, flaky, buttery, flavorful crusts every time. If you prefer dense, shrunk, hard, lumpy crusts - sadly, I know how to make those, too. *wink*
Another Note: (sorry) our household cannot eat 6 tartlets in one night, so unless I am entertaining, I usually reserve half the uncooked pastry and half the custard in the fridge. Then one night we bake off three quiche/tarts and the next night we have three more with a different filling. I personally love pepper-jack and charred green chilis, but any filling combo can be used.