It’s official; my chica brunches are now going to happen once a month. We have way too much time to not do them more often and this time around, we had so much fun.

This time it was a bit more special, since my best friend was visiting for the weekend and she got to meet my new set of friends. I also had the plus benefit of having a helping hand in putting it all together.

Here is my recipe for a great chica brunch:

1 – Keep it small; less than 10 is the perfect number.
2 – Have everyone bring a brunch dish. And make a yummy one yourself (see below)
3 – Have great décor to set the mood and start off the conversation. (post coming soon!)
4 – Don’t forget the mimosas (get everyone nice and loosey!)
5 – Make it personal

My original intention was to make a roasted tomato pie. But, then I came across a recipe for an onion tart, which I converted to a Caramelized Onion bites. This stuff is good – so good that I dare you to have left overs.

I will save you the trouble because you will totally lose that bet, the moment you put these down, they are going to fly off the plate.

The best part of this – you can put it together just as fast. Which gives you enough time to concentrate your efforts in other important things – like making sure you enough cold Prosseco to make those mimosas.

CARAMELIZED ONION TART
Adapted from The Modern Baker

1 sheet of prepared puff pastry
4 large onions – chopped
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
8 ounces of Gruyere cheese (or any other cheese that you like)
3 tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme

Roll your puff pastry into a 12x15 inch rectangle. Once its rolled out, straighten the edges and make the corners even and slide it into a prepare pan lined with parchment paper or a silpad. Chill the dough in the refrigerator while preparing the filing.

For the topping. Combine the onions and oil in a wide sauté pan with a lid. Cook, covered, over medium heat until the onions start to sizzle. Lower the heat and cook until the onions become tender and translucent, about 15 minutes. Uncover the onions, increase the heat slightly, and add the sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Continue to cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are richly caramelized – about 20 to 25 minutes. Make sure you keep an eye on them and not let them burn.

Burnt onions = no muy bueno.

Scrape the onions unto a bowl and refrigerate briefly to cool.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and pierce it with the tines of a fork all over. Spread the cool onion mixture evenly over the dough. Scatter the cheese on top, then sprinkle with the thyme. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until 1 hour before serving.

1 hour before serving time. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Bake the tart until the pastry is based and crisp and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

Cool for about 5 minutes, then cut into portions and serve immediately.

Now watch the magic happen.