good use of leftovers: Pea and Slow Cooked Ham Tarts

i found this recipe for Pea and Slow Cooked Ham Tarts, had a ham in the freezer that i had been wanting to use (one that we had brined and smoked ourselves), and decided to adapt the recipe for winter in wisconsin.

the recipe calls for fresh peas, but i used frozen. the downside to this was extra water content, which made the filling wetter than i think it should have been. i probably could have combated this a bit more by blending the filling more; emulsifying the fat in the cream would have done the trick. but it wasn't awful, and the custard still set.

i added some parmesan to the custard because, you know, it was the right thing to do.

the shortcut pastry dough is hands down the best pastry recipe i have ever made. most basic ingredients, minimal handling - and it puffed in the oven beautifully, and was gorgeously buttery. perfect, perfect, perfect. i've been thinking of all sorts of wonderful applications for this. napoleons? pot pies? fruit pies? yes, yes, and yes.

though i wasn't a huge fan of the recommended method for pre-baking the pastry cups: the author if the recipe has you fold them over the backs of muffin tins. maybe i just needed to cut the pastry rounds a little bigger, but they weren't very deep.

i oven roasted some delicata squash "fries" to go with them, and it was a filling and delicious dinner, indeed. as if the ongoing winter here wasn't enough to make me wishing for warm weather, this recipe certainly has me thinking of june peas, which i can eat raw by the pound at their peak freshness (bryan thinks this is a problem and will confiscate the 3 pound bags i buy at the farmer's market and proceed to attempt to devour).

that's it. a simple and delicious dinner i had to share.