Roasted Red Pepper Panini ~ ~ Classic!

Do you love panini?  Fresh sandwiches?  Healthy sandwiches?  Fast and easy sandwiches?  Hot sandwiches?  Flavorful, new, sandwiches that aren't the same-old, same-old go-to sandwiches?  Anything delicious between two slices of crispy on the outside and soft on the inside artisan bread calls my name!

By now most Americans have fallen in love with Italian panini, basically amped up sandwiches beyond our delicious grilled cheese sammies, but then heated up on a panini press or grilled pan.   However, most Americans don't realize that ONE of these is correctly termed a "panino", (panini is plural for more than one).  But why sweat the small stuff?  Panini literally means 'small breads' in Italian which began their popularity trend here in the States in the 70's and 80's, originating from 'paninoteche' Milanese bars.  How about that for a trivia question?

Now if you don't have a panini press, you can use a grilled skillet and place another heavy pan on top to 'press' the bread into the grills of the skillet.  Half-way through cooking (when you see a golden color and dark grill marks on the bread) you need to turn the panino over and grill the other side, once again with something heavy to press the panino down into the grills.

What you put inside of your bread is totally up to your imagination, but here's a great end of summer recipe for you that I find absolutely marvelous, especially with the dipping herbs in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  For this panino, I used roasted red peppers, so here is a tutorial with photos of how to roast red peppers on my blog:  roasting red peppers!

please click on the link below to read this delicious recipe!

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Wordless Wednesday in the Garden!

ruby red stems of swiss chard in my garden

simply beautiful!

che bella!

.

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Cheese ~ Stuffed Fried Zucchini Blossoms with Fresh Tomato Sauce & Basil Pesto

Oh zucchini!  "A joy in July or a joke in September!"  

Truth is, what would summer be without zucchini and tomatoes fresh from the garden?  Zucchini simply capture the green colors and flavors of summer.  When fried alone, or stuffed and fried, they are marvelous as appetizers or for a mid-morning treat!  A platter of fried or baked stuffed zucchini/squash blossoms is an everyday delight on Italian tables.

And with zucchini comes those beautiful buttery, yellow, golden blossoms that attract bees humming in bliss while stuffing themselves with pollen that blesses them from the interiors of each blossom!

To prepare garden-fresh zucchini/squash blossoms in a delicate veil of crispy batter is comparable to nothing on earth.

Fresh-picked squash blossoms from my garden this morning, ready to prepare in the kitchen!

squash/zucchini/pumpkin blossoms are pretty enough for a delicate bouquet (they won't last longer than a few hours though!)

just a shots (above and below) of how profusely they are growing in just one portion of my garden…. you have to look very closely, because often they grown hidden underneath very large green leaves 

and yes, the plants have outgrown the garden and are well into our backyard now!

Zucchini/squash plants are similar to tomatoes . . . they have blossoms first!  

Let's just call it vegetable garden 'flower power'!  

The difference is that these lovely yellow blossoms are BIG!  Big enough to cut, open, lay flat, stuff, and FRY!  Zucchini blossoms, squash blossoms, pumpkin blossoms . . . whatever you choose to grow and/or call them, are the little beauty delicacies that for years Italians have known that they are completely edible, delicious, and very hard to come by.  Why?  They bloom only in the morning hours of your garden, and they wilt within hours.  The window of time to harvest any squash blossom, to stuff them, and to fry them is very, very small.   

Thus the reason why you'll be hard-pressed to ever find fried zucchini/squash blossoms on menus in the U.S.  Few people know of these outside of the culinary and Italian world.  

Nothing poisonous, OK?  Actually, I don't think there's even a major taste to these blossoms.  They are just the "envelope" or "pouch" in which to stuff and fry.  What you end up tasting is the fried element of the dish as well as the stuffing.  So please don't fear . . . try this . . . it's fun, and so yummy!

  

zucchini/squash blossoms play a little game of 'find me' every morning under the huge plant leaves

 just another shot of a platter of blossoms below showing you how they will CLOSE up within a few hours of harvest.  you have very little time to prepare them to eat.  sure, you can still dunk these in the batter, but they will be round instead of flat . . . the flavor alone will not be changed.

please click on the link below for this delicious recipe!

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A Beautifully Simple Beet Salad

Beets just seem to make salads more beautiful!  Personally, I'm just crazy about beets!  They are just so good for us and so sweet and yummy!  (And if you're trying to reduce your weight, you know how beets naturally assist your body in doing so!)  After a drought of beets in the market, I finally found some beets that suited my standards.

Realizing that they aren't cheap in price, I then headed straight for the local farm co-op to purchase my beet seeds for planting our fall garden now that our tomatoes are all harvested and cleaned out of the beds this week.

Beets can be roasted or boiled and personally, I just haven't been able to taste a huge difference in taste between the two cooking methods, so being a creature of habit and not wanting to make my A/C work harder to cool down an oven-heated kitchen, I just plopped them into a pot of boiling water for this salad.  It's really your choice on how you want to cook your beets.

Usually all I do to prepare beets is to revert to tradition and Italian simplicity . . . and that is to do as little as possible to them:   just chop up some onion, cut up the cooked beets into slices or chunks, and then toss them into a simple Italian vinaigrette.  However, if that's too dull for you, and you prefer a bucket-load of ingredients in your beet salad, there is a plethora of recipes 'out there' in cookbooks and on the Web to select from.  I'll be sharing 4 more recipes soon for you to select from and be your own judge.

I have even explored more elaborate and 'loaded' beet salad recipes and posted them on this blog.  Truth is, they were no more delicious than this recipe.  You can find that recipe at the following link:   Beets With Avocados and Manchego Cheese.

So for this simple, yet classic spring and summertime beet salad recipe, I went beyond my own family cookbooks and referred to fresh cooking guru author and owner of Chez Panisse, Alice Waters and her 2007 "The Art of SImple Food:  Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution".

This woman validates my philosophy for cooking:   simplicity is best!

In her new cookbook, Ms. Waters includes one and ONLY one recipe for a beet salad and it is as follows:


Marinated Beet Salad
adapted from "The Art of Simple Food"

1 pound beets (red, Chioggia, golden, or white)
Freshly cracked sea salt
1 tsp. vinegar (red wine, sherry, or white wine)
Freshly cracked sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1  -  2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 of a sweet Vidalia onion, chopped into chunks (my family's addition)
Good Seasons Italian herbs packet prepared according to directions (my family's addition)
a teaspoon or two of sugar (my family's addition in the event that the beets may not be sweet enough . . . taste, taste, taste)

Wash beets thoroughly.
Place them in a baking dish with a little water to a depth of 1/8".
Sprinkle with salt.
Cover tightly and roast the beets in a 350 degree oven until they can easily be pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on their size.
Remove from oven.
OR:
Boil for the same amount of time as above in a tall pot of boiling water.
Drain when a fork can easily be inserted.
Cut off both ends and remove the skins.
Cut the peeled beets into 1/4" slices or 1/2" cube/chunks.
Add vinegar and olive oil (or in my family's case we use Good Seasons Italian dressing herbs prepared according to the package directions).
At this point, my family recipe adds the chopped onions too.
Salt and pepper to taste.
If beets are not sweet enough, add about a teaspoon of sugar until your preference is satisfied.
Let the beets stand to marinate and absorb the ingredients.
To plate, place the beets on a layer of your favorite variety of fresh lettuce such as arugula and romaine.

AND THAT'S IT!

This is truly the art of simple food, which is what Italian cooking is known for.

The only thing that my family ever added to the recipe above is chopped onions, some Italian herbs, and a little bit of sugar if needed.
It's a preference thing.


Mangia!

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A Fresh Thai Salad and Two Thai Dressings

Many of us with gardens have oodles of fresh veggies to harvest and use in recipes right now  . . . cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, green, red, yellow, orange, and even purple peppers and more!  And even if you don't have a vegetable garden, your local farmers' markets and roadside produce stands are brimming with summer's bounty.  Plus the heat of summer may be compelling you to prepare something without turning on the oven.

This salad is so fresh and healthy, and if you're into the 'raw food' movement, this couldn't be more perfect.  There's not a single moment of cooking with any source of heat for this salad making it spot-on for summer!  The colors in this salad are so pretty and inviting as well.  When tomatoes are so red and peppers are so bright green, it's just such a beautiful sight to see in front of you on the table.

I've provided two Thai dressings to select from for your salad.  I make both dressings because my husband just loves Thai peanut sauces.  Although I enjoy the Thai peanut dressing, I really prefer the the sweet, tart, spicy option that (in my opinion) pairs better with the cucumbers.  But I like to make everyone's tummies happy!  Last year, I developed a dressing for a classic Thai cucumber salad that is quite delightful that you may want to click on this link to check out.

The peanut dressing is adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook, in which Molly Katzen describes it as a "tart, sweet, spicy, peanuty, surprisingly exotic and very much fun to eat" dressing.  Now that's quite a description!

you can also use small romaine leaves to scoop up the salad!

this photo shows the Thai Peanut Dressing drizzled all over.

Fresh Thai Salad

2 cucumbers, peeled, sliced, seeds removed
2 medium garden-fresh tomatoes, sliced and halved
1 green pepper, cored, insides removed, sliced thin
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, sliced thin
1 tsp. minced hot red chili (Thai pepper if you have one and can handle the heat)
1 head Romaine lettuce
2 cups fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and clean
1 cup cilantro or Thai basil, chopped
1 - 2 cups unsalted peanuts, crushed (and if you're like me, use much more)

On salad or dinner plates, place the lettuce leaves in an appealing and attractive manner.
Continue to pile up the remaining vegetables, topping off with the bean sprouts, cilantro/Thai basil, and finishing up with a generous sprinkling of the crushed peanuts.
Pass the dressings around to your guests to select which they prefer to drizzle on salads.

Thai Peanut Dressing

4 Tbsp. rice vinegar (apple cider vinegar is also fine)
6 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup water
1-1/2 Tbsp. lime juice
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. sugar

Blend all ingredients together and serve.
If you want it more 'peanut buttery', then just add more peanut butter until you reach your preference.

Traditional Thai Cucumber Sweet and Spicy Dressing

1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. peanut oil
1-1/2 Tbsp. fish oil (nam pla)
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (this is NOT spicy)
3 Tbsp. minced onion
3 Tbsp. lime juice
3 Tbsp. garden-fresh cilantro/Thai basil, chopped

Blend all ingredients together and serve.
As with the other Thai dressing, play with these ingredients and add more of what you prefer (i.e:  lime juice, or cilantro, or red pepper flakes).

above the salad is dressed with the traditional Thai peanut oil/rice vinegar, lime, sugar, red pepper flake dressing

Mangia!

To plate this lovely salad, I used my Baan Celadon pottery from Chiang Mai, Thailand where I visited for a research project in 2001.  If you like the design and color (I'm crazy about it), you can google it and order it on-line (be prepared for tremendous shipping prices because it is hefty pottery).  The exchange rate for the Thai baht is still excellent for the American dollar, but your savings will even out once you see how much it costs to ship it over here to the States.  For me, it was worth it and because they package it so well, not one piece arrived broken.  I bought a 4-piece place setting set with lots of serving pieces, both large and small.


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Italian Cheesy Tomato Pie with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust!!

With fresh, home-grown tomato season in full gear, we've been harvesting tomatoes by the bushel on a daily basis (that is my husband has done it all lately).  OK, I admit, I do over-plant!  Because you just never know how many plants will make it this far into the summer in these intensely hot last few months.

Sadly I haven't been in my beloved gardens for 3 weeks now since my back surgery . . . and I'm agonizing over it!  My husband just finished canning 21 half pints of salsa (I held the jars for him), plus we've enjoyed oodles of BLT's (bacon, lettuce, and tomato) sammies, and Caprese salad appetizers.  I even tried an Italian Rustic Pie last month (that I saved the extras to re-heat for some alfresco lunches this fall) that was very tasty.

So what's next with all of these tomatoes?

Gazpacho?  Nah, made that last summer for my mom, and although it was quite good, it's not my favorite soup and my husband won't even touch it.

Tomato Basil Bisque?  Sure, I'll make another batch of this incredible soup for those days when we need a good soup to warm the bones.

Marinara sauce?  Maybe, not sure, since we prefer Bolognese over marinara sauce.

It's not a big deal because the amount of recipes to use these gorgeous red orbs are as endless as my harvest of tomatoes.  So today I ultimately decided to create my own ooey, gooey, cheesy version of an Italian flavored tomato pie.

Instead of a store-bought pie crust, I used a 'buttermilk biscuit' pie crust.  And yes, my husband prepared the crust for me which he kindly requested that he be recognized for his contributions.  Recognition given sweetie!  The crust was perfect, light, and flaky!   All I did to amp up the crust a bit was to add a teaspoon of dried Italian seasonings.  Mmmm, it made a nice difference!

This recipe is so fabulous that it's the only tomato pie that I'll ever make again.  And that's a serious statement!

Herbed Buttermilk Biscuit Pie Crust

2 cups flour, plus more for covering the surface to roll dough and also for kneading the crust
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. dried Italian seasonings
6 Tbsp. of butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 cup buttermilk

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, Italian seasonings, and sea salt.
Cut butter into the flour mixture.
With a pastry blender until the mixture is coarse and small pieces of butter remain.
Pour in the buttermilk and stir until incorporated.
On a lightly floured surface, with floured hands, put the ball of dough on the lightly floured surface and sprinkle with a little more flour.
The dough will be quite sticky!
Knead a few times until dough comes together and is not so sticky.
Flatten dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap.
Place in the refrigerator for 1 - 24 hours before rolling out.
After the dough has chilled, place the disk of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out into an 11" circle.
Carefully pick up the dough and place in a 9 or 9-1/2" deep dish pie plate.
Trim any excess dough and blend in when folding and crimping the edges.
Place in a 350 degree oven and par bake for about 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside.

Italian Cheese and Tomato Pie Filling

1 Tbsp. cornmeal
6 garden fresh tomatoes, sliced into 1/2" slices
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise (we prefer Miracle Whip)
1 cup sweet onion (Vidalia), chopped finely
2 Tbsp. fresh garlic, minced (or 2 extra large garlic cloves should do it)
2 tsp. dried oregano
10 - 12 leaves of garden fresh basil
1/2 tsp. Frank's hot sauce
4 strips thick-cut bacon or Italian pancetta, browned, and crumbled
1 cup grated 5 - 6 Italian cheese blend
1/2 cup Parmiggiano Regiano cheese, grated
1/2 cup grated or crumbled fresh Mozzarella di Buffalo
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/3 cup Gruyere cheese
Garden-fresh basil for garnish

Place a double layer of paper towels on a cookie sheet and layer the sliced and cored tomatoes in a single layer.
Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt.
Place another double layer of paper towels over the tomato slices and repeat on another cookie sheet with any remaining sliced tomatoes.
Sprinkle with another 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt.
Cover with double layer of paper towels and let sit for 30 minutes.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP NOT TO ELIMINATE:  The salt draws the moisture out of the tomatoes and helps prevent the tomato pie from being a soggy mess (which many tomato pies are!).
Prepare and bake the buttermilk biscuit pie crust according to directions above.
Sprinkle cornmeal on top of baked buttermilk pie crust.
Mix all grated cheeses together in a bowl.
Remove 1 cup of blended cheeses and set aside for later for final topping.
Layer 1 cup of cheese blend on top of crust.
Layer half of the sliced tomatoes.
With the remaining cheeses, in a large bowl, blend cheese with mayonnaise, chopped onions, minced garlic, hot sauce, oregano and basil, and some salt and pepper.
Layer this cheese-mayo-herb mixture over the first layer of tomato slices, leaving one inch open from the edge of pie so that tomatoes can peek out.
Next place a second layer of tomato slices over the cheese-mayo-herb mixture.
Sprinkle crumbled pancetta or bacon on next.
Sprinkle the saved cheese blend on top that was set aside previously, for the third and last layer of cheese.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 - 40 minutes or until the cheeses are bubbly and golden brown!
For the last 10 minutes, I cover the edges with aluminum foil and turn the oven on broil.
Keep a very close eye on the oven when broiling so the golden brown color is achieved on the cheese, yet does not burn and turn brown/black.
Let the tomato pie set for about 15 - 20 minutes so the cheeses harden a bit; but it's also great all ooey and gooey when served hot!

Serve with garlic-butter bread.

Herb buttermilk biscuit pie crust; I like a more rustic look rather than perfect crimping of the edges

It's imperative to allow the juice to drain out of the tomatoes!

Two layers of beautiful summer colors:  ruby red tomatoes with brilliant green basil

Lots of crumbled, browned pancetta or thick-cut bacon scattered before the last layer of cheese

Three layers of cheesy goodness!

Layering on the Italian cheese love in a wonderfully thick amount

Leaving an inch from the edge without cheese allows the pretty red tomatoes to peek out to tempt the tastebuds!

 If there is any liquid still coming from the tomatoes after you cut into the pie, take a paper towel and soak it up while setting the pie pan on a slight angle so the liquid pools easily for you to soak up.

You must do this so that the biscuit crust does not get soggy.

This slice was cut one day later, so you can see how the cheese sets firmly.

Just look at that thick buttermilk biscuit pie crust  . . . and perfectly flakey from pre-baking!

Three layers of flavorful cheese with two layers of thickly cut tomatoes!
Garnish with crumbled bacon and minced basil leaves.

Jump in and enjoy!

Now that's an Italian Cheese Tomato Pie!

Mangia!

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Summer Salad with Cherries, Prosciutto, Goat Cheese and Balsamico!

Our three horses in the pasture enjoying a summer day on the acreage

Every now and then I come across a recipe that is a complete and wonderful surprise!  And since lately I've been having a love affair with salads that include fresh fruit, whether that be strawberries, dried cranberries, or apples, I've just found another unexpected delicious salad.  This salad is such an epicurean delight, I wanted to make a second helping immediately upon enjoying that last bite on my plate!  I recently discovered two recipes for a fresh greens salad with sweet summer cherries peaking out and beckoning one to taste their magic!   Sam from My Carolina Kitchen and Larry from Big Dude's Eclectic Ramblings inspired the creation of this salad where I simply blended the best of both.  Sam found her recipe on Cooking Light, a resource that has never failed me either, and Larry's recipe originated from the Cooking Channel, my favorite go-to food channel.

From Sam's recipe, I used an arugula - baby spinach bedding for the salad. Following that, I also added the sliced red onions, Rainier cherries, and goat cheese. However I added slivered almonds in place of pistachios, for the simple reason that I just adore slivered almonds in my salads and always have them on hand in the pantry. From Larry's salad with cherries recipe, I added thinly sliced prosciutto and a balsamico vinaigrette.

Simple perfection.

Unbelievably complex and interesting flavors with the gentle sweetness of the cherries combined with the bite of the arugula, the tang of the balsamic, the butteriness of the goat cheese, and the velvety prosciutto.

Oh my goodness, slap me silly . . . incredible!

Sam and Larry, thanks so much for helping me find another keeper-winner recipe for my personal family cookbook. This summer salad with all of its flavorful players is amazing!

Summer Salad with Cherries, Prosciutto, Goat Cheese and Balsamico Vinaigrette

6 cups arugula and baby spinach blend
1/3 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup cherries, pitted and sliced in half (do this just before serving to prevent browning)
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup slivered almonds
3 - 4 oz. prosciutto, sliced in thin ribbons
Serve with Balsamico Vinaigrette

Balsamico Vinaigrette 

1/4 cup balsamico vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. honey
1 clove garlic, minced salt and pepper to taste

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together vinegar, canola and olive oils, mustard, honey, and garlic.
Season with salt and pepper.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mangia!

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Rustic Italian Tomato Pie

In the American South is a popular dish known as "Tomato Pie".  Neither my husband nor I had ever heard of this before living here.  But lately I've seen it featured in Southern Living and on some of the food shows that I've been watching while laid up on the recliner healing my back.  We were really grateful for the kindness extended to us from our friends who are native Southerners when they baked one of these pies to give us this week . . . and that would certainly give my husband a night off from cooking while I'm on the mend from surgery.

A traditional Southern tomato pie

The tomato pie was delicious, but both my husband and I were taken back by the unexpected tangy flavor that resulted from combining mayonnaise and cheddar cheese baked on top of tomatoes and onions.  Really, really good and nothing like we'd ever had before.   We certainly appreciated the gesture, kindness, and friendship that was extended, however the unique taste in this version of tomato pie led me on a path to discover other presentations of tomato pie.  

lots of butter, mayonnaise, and cheese in the Southern pie

here's another photo from "eclectic recipes"

Now that's what I call a cheesy dream of a tomato pie!

From the Northeastern region of the States, I found that there is a thick pizza-focaccia bread based tomato pie that I'd like to make later on.  From the photos, it looks like a thick pizza with an equally thick layer of tomato sauce on top (not sliced tomatoes) and nothing else.  Already I could see a difference in the sub-cultural interpretation of tomato pie!

certainly MORE focus on tomatoes and not cheese!

Meanwhile within the pages of one of my Italian cookbooks, "Vegetables From An Italian Garden", I found a photo and recipe for a 'rustic' tomato pie.  It doesn't look like a pie at all, but since that's what the title stated I set out to try it.

This recipe did not fail my expectations; even my husband ate a whole 'slice'!

photo of the rustic tomato pie in my cookbook

 spread softened butter onto the baking sheet pan

saute' green onions and sprinkle onto bread

generously layer tomato slices and sprinkle herbs on bread

place top piece of bread on,

pour egg/milk mixture all over, 

sprinkle with salt and pepper

place slices of pecorino cheese randomly on bread and
bake in the oven until golden brown

This rustic Italian tomato pie is indeed the opposite of the traditional Southern tomato pie.  The latter has a heaviness to it, maybe due to the all of the mayonnaise, cheese and butter, and the tomatoes seemed a bit lost.  But it had a tangy cheese flavor that cannot be beat . . . and anything with cheese gets my attention quickly!  

For the rustic pie on the other hand, the oregano and basil sang out, there was no greasiness at all, and the tomatoes really stood out.  A wonderful crunch is heard as you bite into the egg/milk baked bread.  I think that this tomato pie truly reflects one of the important principles of Italian cooking:  keep everything simple and don't cover up the flavors, but rather -- enhance them!  I'm so glad to have stumbled upon this recipe and know that it will be made quite often!

And now, I'll just go have a piece of both tomato pies for some fresh summertime tomato bliss!

Rustic Italian Tomato Pie
(adapted from "Vegetables From An Italian Garden")

butter for greasing pan
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 scallions/green onions, finely chopped
12 thin slices good quality Italian whole wheat bread, crusts removed (I left them on)
4 - 5 fresh tomatoes, sliced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
2 jumbo eggs (I doubled this from 1 egg)
1 1/3 cups whole milk (I doubled this from 2/3 cup milk)
8 oz. pecorino cheese, sliced very thin
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spread butter all over a baking sheet with sides.
Heat olive oil in a small pan, add the scallions/green onions and sauté over low heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
Lightly season with salt.
Remove from heat.
Cover the bottom of the buttered pan with half of the bread.
Spoon the scallions/green onions on top of bread.
Place tomato slices on top.
Sprinkle with dried oregano and dried basil.
Cover with remaining bread slices.
Beat eggs with the milk in a bowl; season with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture over the bread.
Cover with pecorino cheese slices.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown.
Do not burn the bread though.
Let cool slightly and then serve on a nice serving dish.

And now here's the recipe for the traditional Southern Tomato Pie


Southern Tomato Pie

1 pre-made pie crust
1 large sweet onion, diced
5 – 6 very fresh, preferably farmer’s market or garden-fresh tomatoes, sliced
(Tip: Slice tomatoes in half first and squeeze out excess juice before slicing to reduce water in the pie)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup sliced fresh Monterey Jack cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place pie crust in pie plate.
Arrange onions in the bottom of the pie in a circular formation.
Then arrange sliced tomatoes, around in a circle, and some in the middle.
Add salt and pepper.
Combine mayonnaise, cheddar cheese and dried Italian seasonings in a small bowl.
Mix well and spoon over tomatoes, leaving about 1 inch gap in between mayo and the edge of the pie so you can still see the tomatoes.
Place sliced cheese on top of mayonnaise layer.
Bake for about 30 minutes, at 350 degrees, or until cheese is golden.


Mangia!


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Wild Rice, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese Frittata ~ Lightened Up!

Spring is just around the corner!   And eggs just symbolize this wonderful season of new life that so many of us are anticipating at this time! 

The focus for this month's theme for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club is my incredibly, irrisistable love of EGGS!  Whenever there is a question about what one must absolutely have in your panty, my response always includes eggs!    

Well, whatever your feelings are about eggs, I know one thing for certain . . . for me, personally I can't live without them.  I can give up beef easily, chicken next, and then maybe pork.  But eggs?  It would be tough to ever give them up!  For this Cooking Light monthly entree recipe, I selected a wonderful Italian recipe in which eggs are delicately seasoned with basil and lemon in a frittata.  The primary focus of this dish is on the contrasting spring flavors of asparagus, green onions, and tomatoes. Wild rice brings an earthy nuttiness to the ensemble and makes this dish a light and complete meal in itself. To top it off the frittata includes creamy goat cheese as well.  It is simply delicious!  Experiment with whatever produce is in season or whatever is your preference, for example fresh peas, prosciutto, or fontina cheese would also be delightful in this Italian frittata.

Please visit Val from "More Than Burnt Toast", the host for this monthly get-together of foodie bloggers in the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club!  On Val's blog you will also find all of the delicious, mouth-watering light 'egg' recipes selected by the other chefs in the group.

Enjoy!

Wild Rice, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese Frittata

2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 large eggs
4 large egg whites
Cooking spray
1 cup (1-inch) slices asparagus (about 1/4 pound)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/2 cup cooked wild rice
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled goat cheese

First, one hour before cooking the frittata, prepare the wild rice according to the package directions (bring 4 cups of water and 1 cup of wild rice to a full boil, reduce to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes; turn off heat and let rice sit for another 30 minutes covered).
Preheat oven broiler.
Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk; set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Coat pan with cooking spray.
Add asparagus and garlic, and sauté 2 minutes.
Add onions, and sauté 1 minute or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Add tomatoes, rice, basil, and rind; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.
Reduce heat to medium.
Pat mixture into an even layer in pan; sprinkle with cheese.
Pour egg mixture over rice mixture; cook 4 minutes or until almost set.
Wrap handle of pan with foil; broil 4 minutes or until golden brown and set.

Cook wild rice (left)

Saute asparagus and garlic (right)

Add sliced onions and sauté (left)

Chop up basil (right)

Add and sauté basil, tomatoes, rise, and lemon (left)

Add the egg mixture (left)

Add in diced goat cheese (left)

Cook on stove on low and then broil in oven (right)

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