When good friends e-mailed us several weeks ago to ask if they might spend the night at our house while traveling through New England, we immediately invited them to stay with us. However, after recording the date in my calendar, I realized that the couple's arrival would be two days after I returned from a trans-Atlantic working trip. Aware that I would be jet-lagged, I didn't think I would have the energy to undertake dinner, so a reservation was booked in a nearby restaurant.

Because our guests adore good food and frequently write on culinary subjects, I felt embarrassed about not cooking for them and decided to prepare appetizers to serve with wine beforehand. My inspiration for the evening's hors d'oeuvres came from a recent trip to France where I had sampled some delicious bite-size puff pastry tarts topped with caramelized onions. When I had asked about the recipe, the chef had explained that she had cut small rounds from store-bought pastry and baked them with the filling.

In my own kitchen, I experimented with several versions, finally settling on a savory fig and goat cheese combination in place of the onions. The puff pastry rounds were baked several hours in advance and mounded with a mixture of diced, dried figs simmered in red wine, honey and seasonings of thyme and black pepper. At serving time, I simply reheated the tarts for a few minutes, then garnished them with a dollop of creamy goat cheese. These simple yet chic starters quickly disappeared the night of our guests' visit.

Later in the week, I made the tarts again to take to a cocktail party for new neighbors. I dropped a baking sheet of the savory morsels at the hosts' house early in the day and explained how the tarts should be reheated and garnished. Half-way through the reception, the golden tarts, with their dark fig centers dotted with snowy-white bits of goat cheese, arrived warm from the oven on an attractive tray. I smiled with secret delight, thinking to myself that these appetizers looked as if they had required far more labor than the modest effort I had put into them.

Distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate International, a division of Tribune Media Services.

Savory Fig and Goat Cheese Tarts

Makes 14 to 15 tarts

2 / 3 cup dried Black Mission figs (14 to 15 figs, 3 ounces total)

1 cup dry red wine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

dash of salt

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 sheet puff pastry from 1 (17.3-ounce) package (see Note)

1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

2 to 3 ounces creamy goat cheese

Remove and discard any stems from figs. Quarter figs lengthwise and cut into 1/2 -inch pieces. Set aside.

Bring wine to boil in medium heavy saucepan over high heat. Add figs and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat and let figs steep 15 minutes to soften. Drain figs, reserving wine in which they were soaked.

In same saucepan, heat butter over medium heat until melted and hot. Add figs and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes to coat with butter and soften more. Add reserved wine, honey, thyme, black pepper and salt. Stir to mix. Cook, stirring, until almost all liquid has evaporated and mixture is syrupy, 3 minutes or longer.

Remove from heat. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar. Taste, and if you want a slightly more tart flavor, add remaining 1/2 teaspoon vinegar. (Fig filling can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cool, cover and leave at room temperature. Reheat 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, over low heat to warm.)

When ready to bake tarts, arrange rack at center position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place puff pastry sheet on lightly floured work surface and gently roll over it with rolling pin to smooth out folds in dough and to stretch it about 1/2 inch on all sides. Then, using a 2 1/4 -to-2 1/2 -inch cookie cutter, cut out 14 to 15 rounds and place them, with space around each, on ungreased baking sheet. (Discard dough scraps or save for another use.) Brush tops of pastry rounds with egg and water mixture.

Bake rounds until puffed and golden, 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Using sharp paring knife, make an "X" in center on top of each tart and press down on it to form a small cavity. Fill each tart with some of the fig mixture. (Tarts can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Leave at room temperature. Reheat in preheated 400-degree oven 3 to 5 minutes or longer to warm.). Dot center of filling in each tart with a teardrop of goat cheese. (You will not need to use all of the cheese.) Serve warm.

Note: A 17.3-ounce package of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry contains 2 sheets of puff pastry. These pastry sheets work very well in this recipe.