tomato pie

I'm pretty certain tomato pie is an old-fashioned recipe. And there are a few recipes on the web for it. This recipe comes about from my experience, as a child eating heirloom tomatoes with sugar and mayo on them. With summer fast approaching (thank goodness!) that means abundant tomatoes will be here. Heirloom tomatoes are one of my favorite, and Whole Foods has some of the best around. Since I am not a gardener, playing with dirt is so not me. I highly doubt I ever will be a gardener, so thankfully there is a Whole Foods that sells nice, juicy heirloom tomatoes in the summer. Plus I have a few clients that love to share their fast growing summer tomatoes with me.

I have some distant family that is Canadian and spent some of my childhood summers in the Thousand Islands region. I clearly remember summertime dinner being fresh, juicy tomatoes with cracked pepper and sugar (yes sugar), slab of sharp cheddar cheese & mayo, and corn on the cob slathered in butter. No, we weren't poor, it was just the way they did a summer meal from time to time. Man, that was good and fresh. Ever since those summers I've always loved a good tomato and sharp cheddar cheese sandwich with a hint of pepper and mayo.
So my latest creation, or craving, comes from some of those memories. Keep in mind, this pie is very rich and full of fat. A treat of sorts. Best to eat it cold, not hot from the oven, well, unless you're daring. Look at this money shot. This is one pie that tastes perfect when eaten cold; like a tomato & cheese sandwich with crust!




tomato pie
recipe by vanillasugarblog.com (family recipe)
recipe and photographs are copyrighted & are the property of Dawn Finicane.
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1 (9") deep dish pie shell, kept frozen (recipe here) or use pre-made crusts
4-5 lg. tomatoes, thickly cut (heirloom works wonderful in this)
Freshly cracked black pepper
a gentle sprinkling of fine sugar
1 c. good quality mayonnaise (Hellmans)
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup cooked real bacon, chopped fairly small (not the fake stuff please)

I like to keep my deep dish pie crust ready to go and sitting in the freezer till I’m ready to use; it cooks up better that way. I've also used premade pie crust and they work just as fine, but they also need to be kept cold till ready to bake.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, 350 for convection. Slice up the tomatoes in rather thick slices and place them on paper towels to absorb some of the excess moisture.
Get out pie crust from freezer, place sliced tomatoes over crust; do a double layer of sliced tomatoes. Recipe by dawn finicane of vanillakitchen.blogspot.com Then sprinkle with an ever-so-light sprinkling of white sugar, then some freshly cracker black pepper.
In a bowl combine mayonnaise with shredded cheddar cheese, and the chopped up bacon. Spoon over tomatoes; try to get it spread evenly over the tomatoes, but don’t push down.
Bake for about 30 minutes. Mine was done at the 25 minute mark, so best to keep an eye on it at the 20 minute mark.
I let my pie cool down about an hour before slicing into it. It really does taste best when it’s refrigerated and served cold. Serve with a nice glass of white wine.
Note: I love my crust nice and dark brown, if you don’t like it that way then cook it less. This is a really rich pie, so cut the slices smaller than you would an apple or other fruit pie. (not the size I did in the above photo).

steak diane

One of my favorite ways to eat a good steak is either a steak diane or steak bearnaise. Those two sauces are some of the best around, but they have to be made from scratch; that dry stuff in the packets or in the jars, no no! I love going to French restaurants, authentic French restaurants mind you, that make the sauce from scratch; and in some places right in front of you. These are the same places that have no qualms when I ask them for extra sauce, on the side--s'il vous plaît! I am a true sauce junkie. If the sauce is good and is full of flavor then I want more, I want it on the side or I want it slathered on my plate: depending on the meal. I love bearnaise sauce so much that I will put on sunday morning poached eggs. And yes, I have used it on a veggie burger and it was fabulous. I've also used it on hummus rollups.
Are there any other sauce junkies out there? What is your favorite or favorites?

Steak Diane (I have no idea who the original owner of this recipe came from)

2 (6 oz) Filet Mignons (I used sirloin steak this time, worked fine)
1/8 ts salt
1/8 ts freshly ground pepper
2 TB butter
3 ts Dijon mustard
2 TB Shallots, minced
2 TB Butter
2 TB Lemon juice
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 TB Fresh chives, minced
3-4 ts Cognac (use the good stuff)
1 TB Fresh parsley, minced

Season both sides of steak with salt and pepper.
Melt 2 TB butter in a heavy skillet; add steaks and cook approximately 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare; about 2 minutes longer per side for medium.
Remove steaks to serving plate and keep warm.
Add into pan drippings, mustard and shallots. Sauté over medium heat 1 minute.
Then 2 TB butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and chives.
Cook for 2 minutes. Add brandy; pour sauce over steaks.
Sprinkle parsley over the top.
Serves 2.

Serve with thin crispy french fries--a must!

coconut truffles

Are these coconut truffles? Or mini candy bars/bites?
I wasn't sure what to call them.
They do remind me of a Mounds candy bar, but better in taste and texture.
I was trying to re-create a healthier version of a Mounds bar without all the chemicals;.
I just wanted pure high quality dark chocolate and creamy coconut center.
Oh and of course a touch of salt on top with a roasted salted almond.


It's heavenly I tell you, just heavenly.  If you're a big coconut fan, then you simply must make these.
If you like these truffles, come see what else I did with coconut: coconut clusters.
Almost like a truffle....Simple to make. Decadent and addictive.

chocolate coconut truffles
adapted from flagrantdelicia.com
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100 g sweetened coconut flakes (3.5 ounces)
140 g sweetened condensed milk (4.9 ounces)
a pinch of salt
200 g 70% dark chocolate, to coat (7.5 ounces)
Salted, roasted almonds, optional but wonderful.

Cook notes:
I used salted almonds to place on the tops of the bars before they hardened. I also made a batch using dark chocolate and milk chocolate. Loved them both ways. Keep in mind the dough/candy is very sticky so use wet fingers when molding them into a pan or molding/rolling them into balls. I prefer making these into balls or oval shapes instead of bars. But do what you like.
Combine coconut with condensed milk, add a pinch of salt and mix until smooth.
Refrigerate for 20 minutes to harden up. At this point you can: place the mixture into a small pan and cut out bars after they’ve hardened OR you can roll them into oval shapes (like eggs) or balls.
I chose the latter since it’s a lot easier than slicing them into bars. The dough is very sticky so use wet fingers to mold. After you’ve molded them into balls or ovals, place on parchment lined trays and put in fridge for at least an hour before dipping into chocolate. I also found it a lot easier to gently freeze them a bit (like 5-7 minutes before dipping into chocolate).
Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler. Using two forks roll/dip the balls in the chocolate, making sure to coat all sides. Place on a rack and top with an almond or two if desired.

When all are done refrigerate until the chocolate hardens.
Should make about 15 – 18, depending on the size you roll them.

cheesy artichoke bread & spicy hummus

What a wonderful combo! Oh you simply must try this. It was such an excellent combination that I made a meal out of it. I love my hummus and I love to jazz it up sometimes too, I mean one can only take so many hummus wraps and sandwiches. Now the bread idea I got from Smoky Mountain Cafe. I loved the sound of it, never heard of it before, and simply had to try it. I kicked it up a few notches, and turned some things around. The tanginess of the artichoke bread paired so very well with the spicy hummus. I cannot wait to make this again. This is an excellent appetizer for parties. cheesy artichoke bread with hummus print recipe
¼ cup butter 3 garlic cloves, pressed 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 4 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese 1 cup grated parmesan cheese ½ cup sour cream 1 French bread loaf Salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese My changes: for the artichoke bread, I followed the recipe, but used 1/8 cup (maybe a little more) of olive oil instead of the butter, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1 jar 10 or 11 oz. of artichokes, about 3 oz. of mozzarella cheese, and did not use cheddar cheese. For the hummus: I have never written down my hummus recipe, I do it all off the top of my head, but I think everyone knows how to make hummus? I just added in a bit of chili oil to the batch to make it spicy. Trader Joes sells a wonderful Mediterranean Hummus too. If you don't have a recipe for hummus, you can try this one, it looks pretty good. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the artichoke hearts, Mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and sour cream. Stir to blend. Remove from the heat and cool. Slice the bread lengthwise and scoop out some of the center. (Note: You can crumble the pieces of bread and add to the artichoke mixture if you wish.) Spoon the artichoke mixture evenly into the bread shell and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese. Place each half on a baking sheet and cover lightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 5 to 8 minutes or until the cheese melts completely. Cut into slices and serve warm.

raspberry & lemon buttermilk scones

Another one of my baking addictions is scones. I just love to make them, finding new flavors, textures to put inside them. They literally are so versatile; you can add almost anything to them, be it sweet or salty or as I'm more inclined to do--both! Once you get the hang of making scones and understanding the less you knead the better--you'll soon notice you will be a pro at making them. Overmixing and over-kneading is a big no no with scones and biscuits. Can't overwork the dough because the butter starts to get warm, and the gluten in the batter starts to form. But practice makes perfect, and over time I became quite good at making them. With that said, I'm always on the lookout for new recipes, new techniques. This latest scone is from Cooks Illustrated, which I found over at a fellow foodie friends' blog Lick the Bowl Good. She made these gorgeous blueberry & white chocolate scones. I switched it up a notch and made mine with raspberries & lemon zest. I also wanted a 'thinner' scone; I wanted more of a croissant. I used less baking powder and more butter to flour ratio...see my all my changes below.





My changes: I followed the recipe, BUT used 2 ts of lemon zest; did not use white chocolate; used raspberries instead of blueberries; used buttermilk instead of milk; used 10TB of grated butter as opposed to just 8 TB; sprinkled tops with raw, thick sugar before baking; used 1 ts of baking powder as I wanted a thinner scone--more like a croissant texture (as you can see in the photo below). The more butter & using buttermilk will make the scone thinner and not as heavy or thick--in case you're interested.

raspberry-lemon buttermilks scones
adapted from Cooks Illustrated
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10 TB unsalted butter, grated and kept frozen
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for work surface
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 ts baking powder
1/4 ts baking soda
1/2 ts salt
2 ts grated lemon zest

Heavy cream (about 3 tb), optional, for brushing tops of scones before baking
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling to the tops of scones before baking

Adjust an oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Grate the stick of butter on large holes of box grater. Wrap stick of butter where you put your fingers to hold it with some parchment paper.
Place grated butter in freezer until needed.
Place raspberries in freezer until needed. Measure out your 1 cup of buttermilk and refrigerate until needed.
Whisk the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in medium bowl. Add frozen grated butter to flour mixture and toss with spatula until thoroughly coated. Fold in the chilled buttermilk until just combined (do not overmix).
Turn the dough and any floury bits onto a well floured work surface. Lightly flour your hands and the dough.
Knead the dough gently 6-8 times until it just holds together in a ragged ball, adding additional flour as needed to prevent sticking.
Roll dough into approximate 12-inch square.
Then fold dough into thirds like a business letter, using bench scraper or metal spatula to release dough if it sticks to counter top.
Lift short ends of dough and fold into thirds again to form approximate 4-inch square.
Transfer dough to plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer 5 minutes.
Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll again into a 12-inch square.
Sprinkle raspberries evenly over surface of dough, then press down so they are slightly embedded in dough.
Using bench scraper or thin metal spatula, loosen dough from work surface.
Roll up dough, pressing to form tight log, and pinch the seam closed. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12 by 4-inch rectangle.
Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles.
Transfer the scones to parchment-lined baking sheet.
Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.