Tomato Pie

In 2001 Craig and I celebrated our first anniversary by going to San Francisco for a week of sightseeing.  On our way back to Seattle, our plane was delayed.  We ended up sitting in the airport for about 4 hours talking with a lady that was from SF but now living in the Seattle area.  The conversation varied from one subject to another, and somewhere in the hours we exchanged emails so she could send us a recipe for tomato pie.  We received the email and made the pie, and it was incredible.  Unfortunately, we lost touch with her, as well as the recipe.  I tried from memory to recreate the recipe, so here is the closest I can come to her recipe.  I’ve made it again, and again and everyone just loves it!  If you love tomatoes, you will want to make this, you will LOVE it!

Having said that, please understand I don't follow recipes (my own too!)  so bear with me on this.  I adjust it EVERY time I make it.

Tomato Pie Recipe

INGREDIENTS
1 9-inch pie shell
1/2 red onion, diced
5 tomatoes, sliced. Lay on paper towels and lightly salt to get as much moisture out. You can also use a salad spinner.
1/4 cup sliced basil (about 8 leaves) or so
2 cups grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, Swiss, Gruyere or Mozarella)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pie shell in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. If you are starting with a frozen crust, you'll need to cook it a little longer. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then line the crust with aluminum foil and pre-bake it for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

 

To get as much moisture as you can out of the sliced tomatoes, using either paper towels or a clean dish towel, lay the tomatoes out and lightly salt. Cover with another paper towel.
 

In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, onion, basil and a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snow ball. 

Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture over the tomatoes. Repeat the layer.
 

Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes.
Serves 6.

A little treat for the people I work with....Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake...yum.

Back in the mid 90's, I worked at the downtown Fred Meyer store (Stadium) , we had a coffee shop in the middle of our store, called Coffee People.  They had the best coffee and this great Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake.  We loved it so much, we started carrying it in the deli.  It was amazing.  

I have never attempted to make it, until today.  I have to say, the house smells so good, and I know that my peeps at work are really going to enjoy this one.  (it's a little messy though!)

Cinnamon-Streusel Coffeecake

Streusel topping

    1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

    ¼ teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)

    1 ½ cups Flour

    1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

    6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

    1 cup brown sugar, light or dark

    1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon

    1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Cake

    ¾ cup butter

    1 teaspoon salt (1 ¼ teaspoons if you use unsalted butter)

    1 ½ cups granulated sugar

    1/3 cup brown sugar

    2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

    2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    3 large eggs

    ¾ cup sour cream or plain yogurt

    1 ¼ cups milk (anything from skim to whole)

    3 ¾ cups Flour

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

2) Make the topping by whisking together the sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, stirring till well combined. Set the topping aside.

3) Make the filling by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Note that the cocoa powder is used strictly for color, not flavor; leave it out if you like. Set it aside.

4) To make the cake: In a large bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, baking powder, and vanilla until well combined and smooth.

5) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

6) In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt and milk till well combined. You don't need to whisk out all the lumps.

7) Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk/sour cream mixture, beating gently to combine.

8) Pour/spread half the batter (a scant 3 cups) into the prepared pan(s), spreading all the way to the edges.

9) Sprinkle the filling evenly atop the batter.

10) Spread the remaining batter atop the filling. Use a table knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter, as though you were making a marble cake. Don't combine filling and batter thoroughly; just swirl the filling through the batter.

11) Sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan.

12) Bake the cake until it's a dark golden brown around the edges; medium-golden with no light patches showing on top, and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes for the 9" x 13" pan. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back.

13) Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve cake right from the pan.

Homemade Tomato Soup

Wanting comfort food, I decided that tomato soup and grilled cheese would fit the bill.   Below is the recipe I made tonight, it was SO GOOD!  A couple of additions I might add are a little cream, blended into the final product.  Enjoy.

Homemade Tomato Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/4 cup chopped celery

2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 sm. can tomato paste

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Crumbled Goat cheese, or Gorgonzola (I also would use feta)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is tender.

2. Add carrot and celery; cook 7 to 9 minutes until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in tomatoes, paste, broth, Worcestershire sauce, salt, thyme, pepper. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Garnish with fresh basil and crumbled cheese.

Baklava

Baklava

Several years ago, I decided that I would make another dish, Spanakopita (I will post the recipe for that later), when I was talking about it at work, a friend said, “oh, you should make baklava, but the last time I tried it, it was so hard.”  So with those words, I put off ever making baklava…..until I hunkered down and decided that I would attempt it.  Butter, filo, butter, filo, cinnamon, sugar, butter, filo, again, again, again…. And whall-ah, it was done….and not so hard.  I have  made it many timse since, and it’s probably one of the easiest and most forgiving desserts I have ever made.

This week, we are catering an event and are working diligently on the prep work and putting together any items we can pre-assemble to make Friday much easier.  Today I made Baklava….here’s the recipe.  It is AMAZING, and SO easy.  A little time consuming, but it will pay off with complements for those who enjoy it.  Seriously it’s all about layering….butter, filo, butter, filo (repeat 4-5 times) filling is a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and nuts, then butter, filo, butter filo, until you run out of filo.  You can add Chocolate for Choc-lava. Easy huh?  For the nuts I use Pecan, as I have a slight allergy to walnuts.  I have used almonds, pecans as well as pistachios.  For the final touch, I always sprinkle chopped pistachios on top.

Baklava

2 cups butter

Filo dough (2 packages)

4 cups nuts, coarsely chopped

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Honey

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine nuts, cup sugar, and ground cinnamon in a large bowl. Unwrap filo and trim to fit an 11'' x 15'' x 2'' baking pan. Cover filo sheets with a damp dish towel.

2. Butter pan. Place 1 sheet of filo in pan; brush with butter. Lay a second sheet of filo over first sheet, brush with butter, repeat 3-4 times,  then evenly sprinkle with 1 cup. nut mixture.  Place 1 sheet of filo on top of nut mixture, brush with butter. Lay a second sheet of filo over first sheet, brush with butter, repeat 3-4 times, Evenly sprinkle with nut mixture. Set aside two sheets of filo for the top, then continue alternating nut mixture with single buttered sheets of filo. Use reserved filo sheets, separated only by butter, to cover baklava.

3. Brush top with butter. Arrange pan so short side faces you. Cut across baklava with a serrated knife at about 2'' intervals. You should have 8 equal strips. Sprinkle top with water, bake until golden, about 30-45 minutes.

4. Remove baklava from oven. Pour honey over entire surface. Tilt pan so syrup reaches all corners, then set baklava aside for 2 hours. Finish cutting baklava on the diagonal for the traditional diamond shape or cut into squares.

Rice....THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE IT!!!

Most people make rice by boiling 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice.  BORING!!!  and sticky.

For traditional rice, you'd measure the rice, and make sure that the water was one knuckle about the rice level.....yup that's right, stick you finger in the water and measure the water level above the rice....Works EVERY time!!!

Tonight's dinner was Green Onion Rice with Herbed Cod and Buttered Dill Carrots.  The most difficult part was boiling the rice....and if that is the most difficult, then you ALL can make this..... 

For this recipe I use Basmati Rice.  I usually measure about 2 cups of the rice and rinse the rice with cold water until water runs clear.  Bring to a boil, and boil for about 10-15 minutes, check rice for doneness. (when you split the rice kernal in half, you will see a dot in the center-Al dente) When rice is done (al dente), pour the rice into a strainer, and rinse with cold water. Put the pan back on the store, and add a small amount of oil (3-4T) and the rinsed rice, in a mound. Sprinkle about 3-4 T water over the rice, and place a folded towel (make sure there is not fabric softener in the towel) over the top of the pot and place the lid on the pot. Allow to steam for about 20 minutes on medium low heat.

Add 1/2 stick of butter to the rice, mix well.  Add 2 bunches of sliced green onions to the rice and mix well.  Serve and enjoy!

These times are approximate, as you know I don't measure, or time. I use my judgment as my gauge.