Grandma's Kitchen Table

Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Dorie - Tomato Tart

      The 54th recipe I made with the Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Dorie group is Tomato Tart and can be found in the Baking with Dorie cookbook on page 322. 

       Ingredients: tomatoes, salt, tart crust (page 347), mustard, honey, basil, cheese, black pepper, and olive oil.

     The group made this in August of 2022 and I’m just getting around to it now as I figured tomato season being upon us, it was time to catch up on the tomato recipes I missed along the way. This one is very easy, assemble everything in the tart shell and bake. It’s a nice side dish, or nice to have a slice of it with a garden salad on the side.

      This is definitely worthy of repeat, looks most impressive for minimal amount of effort. It can be served at room temperature so that’s a wonderful feature when you are taking something for a pitch in. This one was a third of a recipe made in a 6” tart because…well, there is just so much Tomato Tart one can eat when it’s just the two of us, no matter how good it is.

       If you would like to join in, just make it, bake it, and leave a link to your post at the Tuesdays with Dorie website:  click here.  At the website you will find the postings for the current recipe, the list of recipes chosen each month, and some baking chit chat that is definitely helpful as well as fun.  We don’t publish Dorie's recipes here, but you can buy the book and have them ALL at your fingertips. 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Dorie - Double-Corn Tomato Crisp

       The 53rd recipe I made with the Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Dorie group is Double-Corn Tomato Crisp and can be found in the Baking with Dorie cookbook on page 329. 

       Ingredients: tomatoes, corn, onion, olive oil, sherry vinegar, honey, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, fresh herbs, cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and butter.

       The group made this last August and I’m just getting around to it now as I wasn’t really sure I wanted to make this…a ”crisp” to us is traditionally made with fruit, not vegetables. Corn and tomatoes are in season right now so I thought I would make a small recipe of this as sometimes it is good to try something completely new and different. This was one of those times…it is really good. The corn and cornbread tastes are very forward, the tomatoes and onions less so, but still very present. The crumbly cornbread topping went very nicely with it all. Despite my hesitation about making this, it just goes to show that sometimes you go for it with an open mind. Definitely fun and delicious, definitely repeat-worthy in corn and tomato season.

       If you would like to join in, just make it, bake it, and leave a link to your post at the Tuesdays with Dorie website:  click here.  At the website you will find the postings for the current recipe, the list of recipes chosen each month, and some baking chit chat that is definitely helpful as well as fun.  We don’t publish Dorie's recipes here, but you can buy the book and have them ALL at your fingertips. 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Dorie - Parfait-Layered Vacherin

      The 52nd recipe I made with the Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Dorie group is Parfait-Layered Vacherin and can be found in the Baking with Dorie cookbook on page 239. 

       Ingredients: cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, meringue snackers (page 233: sugar, confectioners’ sugar, egg whites, white vinegar, vanilla), caramel sauce (page 370: sugar, water, corn syrup, cream, salt, butter, and vanilla), and almonds.

       When I saw the photo for this recipe in the book, my first thought was, “Yikes,” as I didn’t know if I could actually make this, it looked and sounded a bit complicated and time consuming. And it was a bit time consuming if you make all the parts from scratch (Dorie gives you some shortcuts in the Playing Around section of the recipe if you don't want to do that). After reading it through, I could see that I had made each of the parts in other recipes, so step-by-step, I set about constructing the Vacherin. It went much faster/easier than I had originally thought. I made a small version in a 4" springform pan, using one-fourth of the recipe measurements.

       The result was delicious…I’m a fan of bland most of the time (lemon being about as dicy as I like to go in desserts). So something all-vanilla with a bit of caramel drizzled about, was perfect for me, being that person who goes to ice cream places and always orders vanilla.  Mark did not enjoy it as he thought the meringues made it too sweet for his taste, so it's not a repeat for him.  He said he would have preferred to just have homemade vanilla ice cream with homemade caramel sauce drizzled over it. I think it would be so pretty at Christmas.

       If you would like to join in, just make it, bake it, and leave a link to your post at the Tuesdays with Dorie website:  click here.  At the website you will find the postings for the current recipe, the list of recipes chosen each month, and some baking chit chat that is definitely helpful as well as fun.  We don’t publish Dorie's recipes here, but you can buy the book and have them ALL at your fingertips. 

Whole30: Garlic Herb Lamb Chops

       The 47th recipe I’ve made for this group is Whole30 Garlic Herb Lamb Chops and can be found at The Wooden Skillet's site online here.

       Ingredients: lamb chops, olive oil, garlic, salt, black pepper, fresh rosemary, lemon zest, and dried oregano. 

       Lamb chops are always a treat around here, they can be a bit expensive, but on the plus side, they are rich and filling so we each only ever eat one small one, making them much more budget-friendly. Another big plus is that they cook very quickly, a thick one can finish up with four minutes on one side and three on the other. The recipe we used had a marinade, which I did use, and a sauce, which I did not use, as the chops are so delicious with just a light marinade (the fresh rosemary was a particularly good match) and nothing more to cover the flavor. I marinated the lamb chops for 5 hours and then added a bit more salt and pepper before cooking them as the amounts seemed small. 

       We kept it simple and served the lamb chops with steamed farm fresh green beans and some leftover boiled potatoes (diced and cooked in a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper). It was a perfect summer evening meal. Definitely worth a repeat. I copied the marinade recipe on a recipe card and taped it inside a kitchen cabinet so I could quickly locate it and use it with lamb, pork, chicken, fish, steak…a very versatile and quick marinade.

       As usual here on this blog, I do not publish recipes that belong to others, respecting their rights as authors. Many times the recipe creators are generous and publish them online, or you can buy the book I that I have cited and have all the recipes at hand. 

Whole30: Citrusy Watermelon Strawberry Shortcakes

      The 46th recipe I’ve made for this group is Citrusy Watermelon Strawberry Shortcakes and can be found in the Whole30 Friends & Family cookbook on page 149.

       Ingredients: coconut milk, vanilla, orange juice, orange zest, strawberries, watermelon, and toasted sliced almonds. 

       When Margaret and I got this new book (our criteria for buying any new cookbook is that it must have at least 25 recipes in it that we would like to make so we feel we get our money’s worth out of it), we each flipped through marking our favorite recipes…this was my first choice as it is summer, and I just loved everything about the looks of this recipe.  It did not disappoint. It took about 20 minutes to put it together, chilled in the refrigerator for about 8 hours, and was a big hit when served, everyone thought it was lovely.  It is very pretty and the addition of the orange in it gives it a wonderful burst of extra flavor. Definitely worthy for a repeat. 

       As usual here on this blog, I do not publish recipes that belong to others, respecting their rights as authors. Many times the recipe creators are generous and publish them online, or you can buy the book I that I have cited and have all the recipes at hand. 

Whole30: Sweet Plantain, Sausage, and Broccoli Breakfast Skillet

      The 45th recipe I’ve made for this group is Sweet Plantain, Sausage, and Broccoli Breakfast Skillet and can be found in the Whole30 Friends & Family cookbook on page 112.  Margaret's post is here.

       Ingredients: chicken broth, broccoli, coconut oil, chicken sausages, plantain, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. (Optional ingredients: cilantro, green onion, Sriracha)

       There is no end to rainy days here this summer, so Margaret chose this recipe from a new W30 Cookbook that we each recently bought…not a new one, but a new one to us...a stovetop or grill top recipe. The recipe states that it is perfect for a camping trip (or hiking, biking, canoeing, or kayaking)…since Margaret and I are both pretty much past these kinds of camping trips, we just made it for supper. 

       It all comes together in about ten minutes and cooks in about the same amount of time, so in less than half an hour, dinner is served.  Mark likes sausage, so this was a big winner for him. I haven't really cooked with plantains, I think maybe once before, so it was a nice change to include one…they taste like a non-sweet banana when cooked, seemed like a nice compliment to the other flavors, and wasn’t difficult to prepare. Definitely can see this as a repeat sometime. 

       As usual here on this blog, I do not publish recipes that belong to others, respecting their rights as authors. Many times the recipe creators are generous and publish them online, or you can buy the book I that I have cited and have all the recipes at hand. 

Whole30: Fajita Chicken and Shrimp with Peppers

      The 44th recipe I’ve made for this group is Fajita Chicken and Shrimp with Peppers and can be found in the Whole30 Fast & Easy cookbook on page 136. 

       Ingredients: olive oil, chili powder, salt, cumin, cayenne, chicken, red, orange, yellow bell peppers, red onion, shrimp, and lime wedges. 

       Another rainy day, another call for the ease and convenience of a sheet pan weeknight supper. I staggered the cooking times at 425 degrees, putting the vegetables in first for 10 minutes, then the chicken for 15 minutes, followed by the shrimp for the last 12 minutes and it all came out just how we liked it. The seasoning was good, maybe next time I will double the amounts of seasonings. All in all, a delicious summer supper on a rainy day, I would make this one again. 

       As usual here on this blog, I do not publish recipes that belong to others, respecting their rights as authors. Many times the recipe creators are generous and publish them online, or you can buy the book I that I have cited and have all the recipes at hand. 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Dorie - Lemony Yogurt Muffins

      The 51st recipe I made with the Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Dorie group is Lemony Yogurt Muffins and can be found in the Baking with Dorie cookbook on page 62. 

       Ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, lemon zest, yogurt, eggs, butter, blueberries, and marmalade.

       It’s lemon week, lemon and blueberries, a favorite combination. The recipe is very easy, and in hardly any time at all, you will have fresh muffins cooling on the baking rack. I made a half recipe which gave me 7 muffins as my standard muffin tin is a tad bit smaller than the usual ones for some odd reason. No complaints, 7 muffins is a nice amount, it’s like getting a bonus. The recipe gave us a choice of finishings so I used marmalade on the tops, making them a bit sticky, but delicious. These are not too sweet, would be even less so without the marmalade on top, so we both appreciated that aspect…and of course, lemony blueberry goodness is always appreciated as well. Definitely worthy of a repeat.

       If you would like to join in, just make it, bake it, and leave a link to your post at the Tuesdays with Dorie website:  click here.  At the website you will find the postings for the current recipe, the list of recipes chosen each month, and some baking chit chat that is definitely helpful as well as fun.  We don’t publish Dorie's recipes here, but you can buy the book and have them ALL at your fingertips. 

Whole30: Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Colcannon

      The 43rd recipe I’ve made for this group is Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Colcannon and can be found in the Whole30 Fast & Easy cookbook on page 62.  Margaret's post is here.

       Ingredients: sweet potato, ghee, Swiss chard, leek, salt, black pepper, and pork chops. 

       These pork chops are good, but the vegetables really shine in this recipe. Such an easy recipe for sweet potatoes, chard, and leek with just salt and pepper and a very small amount of ghee.  The pork chop was a bit large so I cut mine and ate only half...it was all still a very filling meal. I would definitely make this one again.

       As usual here on this blog, I do not publish recipes that belong to others, respecting their rights as authors. Many times the recipe creators are generous and publish them online, or you can buy the book I that I have cited and have all the recipes at hand. 

Whole30: Slow-Cooker Moroccan Chicken

      The 42nd recipe I’ve made for this group is Slow-Cooker Moroccan Chicken and can be found in the Whole30 Fast & Easy cookbook on page 212. Margaret's post is here.

       Ingredients: olive oil, garlic, ginger, paprika, salt, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, onion, chicken, sweet potatoes (I also added some carrot), raisins, and toasted almonds. 

       This was a nice recipe for Sunday cooking, where I just sort of like to have the day for church, family, reading, watching a movie or sports, etc., and not so much cooking anything involved or time-consuming. The slow cooker is good for this type of meal, one just tosses everything in and walks away only needing to return when the food is all cooked and ready to serve. I offered to make some rice or potatoes for Mark to have with the dinner but he thought it was just fine the way it was, so that’s how we served it. The flavors were very nice, nothing too strong, just a nice change of pace from our regularly seasoned food.

       As usual here on this blog, I do not publish recipes that belong to others, respecting their rights as authors. Many times the recipe creators are generous and publish them online, or you can buy the book I that I have cited and have all the recipes at hand.