I’m getting back to that point in the year where I over-commit myself. That point where I a things like, oh you need a blog post by thus and such a date – of COURSE I CAN DO IT. Then I forget. Or the product I’m reviewing/creating a recipe for arrives in the mail and I’ve totally forgotten what it’s for and the original, magical, wonderful recipe I had planned for said item goes out the window and something entirely new shows up on the table instead. I’m not saying this is uncommon, actually just the opposite – it happens ALL THE TIME. Not because I miss deadlines, though that sometimes happens too, but because I forget to write down my brilliant idea to creatively use whatever I’ve been thinking on. I’ve been getting better, at least a bit – now I email myself or write stuff down on random scraps of paper when I come up with them. I mention this craziness to point out that I am entirely fallible (but don’t tell Kaylee), and because of this last night’s dinner was a cauliflower tart as opposed to the initial goat cheese cheesecake I came up with.

So here we are now. Cauliflower tart and not a goat cheese cheesecake. The cheesecake would have had a pretzel crust and a mustard drizzle. It would have been ultra rich and delicious. But then I did some research – apparently goat cheese cheesecake is bizarre, a little too rich and more like a spreadable warm cheese than anything else. So I came up with something else – this tart. This tart was delicious it was layers of perfect flavor – from the mustard infused tart crust to the maple glazed caramelized onions to the crispy swiss cheese browned and bubbling on the top.

I plotted this tart after a tweet from Stonewall Kitchen saying they were conducting a blogger contest using their mustards. I immediately tweeted them my interest. I asked for the Maine Maple Champagne mustard – as a Maine kid I gravitated to this because it brought me back to my love of Maine, my love of maple, and, of course, my love of mustard.

Mustard and Cauliflower Tart

For the Crust:

• 1/3 cup butter, cold
• 1 cup flour
• 1 Tbs Stonewall Kitchen Maine Maple Champagne Mustard
• 2-3 Tbs Ice water

For the Tart:

• 3 Tbs Stonewall Kitchen Maine Maple Champagne Mustard, separated
• 1 medium onion, sliced into thin half moons
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs good maple syrup (I like grade be best)
• 1 half head of cauliflower, cut into 1 inch florets
• 1 1/2 cup of shredded swiss cheese
• 2 eggs

• In the bowl of a food processor combine the flour and butter. Use the pulse feature and blend 3-4 times. You should be able to see the butter bits in the flour.
• Add the tablespoon of mustard to the butter/flour mixture in the food processor, pulse this for a minute until fully incorporated.
• Add water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough just starts to come together.
• Roll the dough out so it will cover the bottom and sides of a removable bottom tart pan and then line the pan.
• Melt the butter in skillet over medium heat.
• Gently spread the onions out in as thin a layer as possible over the melted butter in the skillet. Allow the onions to sweat over medium heat until they are translucent (about a minute).
• Drizzle the syrup over the onions and allow them to caramelize slowly over a 15-20 minute period, stirring every few minutes.
• While the onions cook preheat your oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
• spread 2 Tbs of mustard on the bottom of the tart.
• Once the onions are fully caramelized spread them over the mustard slicked tart evenly.
• Place the pieces of cauliflower over the tart in a single layer until the onions are covered – this takes about half a head of cauliflower, though you could use more if you liked. Sprinkle the whole thing with the shredded Swiss cheese.
• In a small bowl combine the eggs and remaining tablespoon of mustard. Blend this with a fork, like making scrambled eggs. Pour the egg/mustard mix over the whole tart as evenly as possible (you should get a good swirl).
• Bake the tart for 35-40 minutes, until the cheese is brown and bubbly and the crust if golden on the edges.
• Serve the tart with a light salad and a drizzle of mustard.
• Enjoy!