A Savory Apple Tart Revives the Party By Jenny Woodward Roasted Apple and Blue Cheese Tart: Melissa Clark serves a sophisticated roasted apple, shallot and blue cheese tart at her holiday cocktail party. The cocktail party season is upon us, and with it a barrage of cheese and crackers in place of dinner. Not that there's anything wrong with cheese and crackers. It's just that after the third party or so, my enthusiasm for even the ripest artisanal cave-aged wedge starts to wane. Roasted apple, shallot and blue cheese tart. Consider this savory apple tart an antidote. It hits all the requisite cheesy, alcohol-sopping notes, but it's more sophisticated and a lot more substantial. In order to make this tart particularly hearty, I fortified the chewy pizza-like crust with three kinds of flour. There's all-purpose for lightness, whole wheat for heft and nuttiness, and cornmeal for sweetness and a slight crunch. The downside is that you need to make the yeasted dough ahead so that it can rise. But that's also the upside if you like to do things in advance, and the dough does very well rising overnight in the refrigerator. Just make sure to bring it to room temperature before trying to flatten it out, or you won't get very far. As for the topping, it's a comforting, mellow jumble of sweet roasted apples and shallots that's scented with thyme and zipped up with pungent blue cheese. Blue-cheese haters fear not; you can substitute another variety just as long as it's pronouncedly stinky. All those gentle, caramelized flavors need something strident to perk them up. Although this tart is best served warm within an hour or two of baking, you can make it in the morning and serve it the same night (reheat it in a 325-degree oven for about 20 minutes). But don't leave it longer than that. By the next morning, both the apples and the crust will have wilted into a sad and rather tired state. Or freeze the unbaked tart, then pop it into the oven while it's still frozen (it will need an extra 20 to 30 minutes). To serve this at a big party, cut the tart into bite-size squares for easy consumption. For a smaller group, serve it like focaccia alongside grilled sausages or baked ham. Its amenable nature means it will fit in well with practically any holiday meal in an elegant and unexpected way. Which is a lot more than you can say about cheese and crackers.