Shrimp Tarts with Caper Cream Cheese & Cocktail Sauce

One evening many, many years ago I had decided to have some people over for a party and a co-worker (one of my best friends now) had brought something interesting; she opened a block of cream cheese, plopped it on a plate, poured cocktail sauce over it and dumped some bay shrimp on it.  I looked at her and said, what is that?  I’m sure I looked horrified but she assured me that it was popular in the 50’s (it was 1992) and really good, so I slathered that shrimp mixture on a cracker and it was so good.  Forward a couple of decades since that party, ha, ha and I developed this party appetizer while reminiscing on my own entertaining endeavors.  The tangy lemon & caper cream cheese mixture with the sweet & spicy cocktail sauce with the succulent shrimp all in one convenient bite;…a bit more sophisticated and fun way to serve this classic party food.

Ingredients

1- 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened

1 celery rib, diced

2 green onions, chopped

½ of al green bell pepper, diced

2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, divided

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped plus extra sprigs for garnish

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained

3 boxes of mini fillo shells, total of 45 individual tart shells

45 tail off cooked and chilled medium shrimp

Cocktail sauce

1 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons horseradish, or to taste

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Pinch of koshers salt and pepper

Instructions

• In a medium bowl mix together the cream cheese, celery, green onions, bell pepper, 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, zest and lemon juice and dill, mix well until combined. Fold in the capers until well mixed.
• Lay the shrimp on a sheet pan and sprinkle both sides with 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning
• Mix all the cocktail sauce ingredients together in a small bowl
• Place the fillo shells on a sheet pan and fill each one ¾ full of the cream cheese mixture and spoon a small amount of cocktail sauce on that, followed by 1 shrimp each, garnish with a sprig of dill.
• Serve on a platter and enjoy.

Make 45 small tarts, enough for 15- 20 people for an appetizer