Lobster Bites with Brie and Champagne Cream

This turned out really well.  I love these puff pastry shells with nearly anything in them, and the combination of lobster, champagne and brie is pretty solid!  This recipe will make about 30 cups, so reduce the ingredients if needed.

Ingredients:

2 packages Athens mini fillo shells (15 per package)
2 tablespoons butter
1  small red onion, finely chopped 
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup champagne
6 ounces Brie cheese, rind removed, cut up
8 ounces fresh or frozen lobster, cooked and cut into chunks
1 package almond slices, toasted (optional)

Directions:
Thaw and bake pastry shells according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan.  Add onion and garlic; cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until tender.  Stir in flour and ground red pepper.  Stir in cream and champagne.  Note - the mixture may appear curdled at first, but will become smooth as it cooks.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly; then add Brie, stirring until melted.  Add lobster last and cook until just heated through.
 
Spoon the mixture into baked pastry shells.  Garnish with toasted almonds, if desired. 


Tips:  Make sure to bake the pastry shells first, otherwise they will become soggy.  Also, the almonds were a pretty and interesting touch, but I also liked the shells without.  The flavor of the brie and lobster together is so intense that it doesn't really need a garnish, so you might want to taste and compare before adding to all.  Enjoy!