Monday, November 13, 2017

Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart #BakingBloggers

For a Christmas brunch or a Sunday lunch, this stuffed plum tomato tart with a savory black olive shortcrust is pretty enough to be the star of the meal.

Food Lust People Love: In this Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust, the flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.

Do you ever come across a new ingredient in the grocery store that you just have to buy, even if you have no idea what you will make with it? I do! My most recent purchase was a container of mini plum tomatoes. Talk about cute!

Well, I couldn’t just cut them up and put them into a salad because then, how would you know how cute they were? Right? I decided that the best way to showcase them would be to stuff and bake them. And the best way to get them to stay upright would be to make them part of a tart.

This is a bit fiddly to make since you have to empty the tomatoes in order to fill them, but look at how pretty it turned out? Totally worth the time and, really, not a lot of effort.


Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust

The flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.

Ingredients
For the black olive shortcrust:
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup or 60g shortening
1/2 cup or 40g minced black olives, well drained
3-4 tablespoons cold water

For the plum tomato tart filling:
16 baby plum tomatoes (mine weighed about 1 lb 2 oz or 500g)
1/2 cup or 28g fresh breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic
Small bunch chives (about 15g)
3.5 oz or 100g mozzarella, grated
5-6 small anchovies fillets, drained (for a vegetarian tart, replace these with salty Kalamata olives)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
1/2 cup or 50g finely grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil

Method
Make the pastry dough by lightly combining the shortening with the salt and flour, until you have crumbles. Fork through the minced black olives.


Add the cold water a little at time, mixing it in with a fork, until the pastry can form a ball. You can see my method, without the olives, in detail here: How to make a flaky pie crust.


Wrap the dough in cling film. Chill.


Halve and empty the plum tomatoes, reserving the liquid and flesh you have removed. I used a melon ball scoop, which made this part really easy. Leave the tomato halves to drain cut side down on paper towels.



Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Lightly grease and line your 8 3/4 in or 22cm spring-form tart pan with baking parchment.

To make the stuffed plum tomato filling, mince the garlic, chives and anchovies. Mix them with the grated mozzarella, breadcrumbs and enough of the tomato insides to moisten.


Roll out the chilled olive pastry crust and ease it into the prepared tart pan. Trim the pastry to fit or fold it over and make a decorative edge.


Top with another piece of parchment and baking beads.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Remove the beads and parchment and bake another five. Remove the tart case from the oven and brush the bottom with a little olive oil.

Stuff the tomato halves with the filling and put them cut side up in the tart case, close together so they support each other to stay upright. I piled them all in and then held one at a time to fill, then replaced it in the crust.


Beat your eggs with the milk. Add the Parmesan and a good few grinds of fresh black pepper and mix well.

Carefully pour the egg mixture around the stuffed tomatoes. Give the whole tart another couple of grinds of fresh black pepper.

Food Lust People Love: In this Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust, the flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.


Bake for 35-40 or until the egg is set and the tomatoes are slumping.

Food Lust People Love: In this Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust, the flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.




Cut into slices. Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: In this Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust, the flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.

Today I am joining a group of avid bakers in a new group called Baking Bloggers. Our organizer is Sue from Palatable Pastime and for our inaugural post, she has chosen PIE as the theme. Check out all the other lovely pies and tarts, both sweet and savory, that we are sharing.

Pin it! 

Food Lust People Love: In this Stuffed Plum Tomato Tart with Black Olive Shortcrust, the flavors are Mediterranean, from the red ripe plum tomatoes and the mozzarella and anchovy stuffing, to the black olive shortcrust.
 .

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Buttery Baked Bread Dressing

Beautifully toasted on top, this buttery baked bread dressing is the perfect accompaniment to your holiday meal. Bake it in a casserole dish or use it to stuff a bird.

Food Lust People Love: Beautifully toasted on top, this buttery baked bread dressing is the perfect accompaniment to your holiday meal. Bake it in a casserole dish or use it to stuff a bird.

In my growing up family, bread dressing was not a thing. At least, not that I remember. Being from Louisiana, we ate Cajun rice dressing and then later, when my stepfather became part of the family, cornbread dressing made an appearance because it’s what his mother served for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Her recipe included crunchy chunks of water chestnut, which did nothing to endear me to the dish. The family was so divided on the issue that my grandmother and mother graciously started making half the pan with water chestnuts and half without. I lived in fear of serving myself from the wrong side by accident so the gesture was mostly under-appreciated on my plate. It was the turnip vs. potato in vegetable soup problem all over again.

But even water chestnut haters grow up and have their own families. When I was in charge of the menu, that cornbread stuff was dropped and, in fact, I didn’t often make the rice dressing either. With only four of us eating a meal that already included three starches  - creamed potatoes, sweet potatoes and macaroni and cheese – AND a spicy Cajun corn dish - something had to give.

The family repertoire of holiday dishes remained fairly static until our elder daughter came back from university for Christmas with a new stuffing recipe she’d tried for Thanksgiving and wanted to add to our menu. It was made with white bread and flavored with poultry seasonings.

Buttery Baked Bread Dressing


Since that Christmas several years ago, Baked Bree’s Johnson Stuffing, adapted to use ingredients we can find where we live or usually have on hand (like brown bread instead of white) has become a staple.

Ingredients
1 loaf quality sandwich bread with soft crusts (about 1 lb 5 oz or 600g)
1/2 cup or 113g butter
2 onions, diced
3-4 slim stalks celery, de-stringed and diced finely – 3/4 cup or 90g
Small bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped (7g or about 1/4 cup)
1 cup or 180ml turkey or chicken stock (or use vegetable stock for a vegetarian-friendly dish)
2 tablespoons salt-free poultry seasoning
1/2 -1 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and pepper, to taste

To bake: 1/4 cup or 57g melted butter, plus extra to grease the baking dish

Note: Can’t find poultry seasonings where you live? It’s a challenge in Dubai as well. Make your own following this recipe from The Kitchn.

Method
Cube the bread and set aside and put it in a large mixing bowl.


Put the butter in a large pan with the chopped onion and celery.


Melt the butter over medium heat and cook until the onions and celery are soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Add a good pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper, along with the cayenne and poultry seasoning.


Set your oven to preheat at 350°F or 180°C and butter your favorite large casserole dish.

Pour the buttery celery and onions over the bread cubes in the mixing bowl. Use two spoons like salad tongs to toss and combine.


Sprinkle on the parsley. Add the stock and toss again to combine.


Check for seasoning and stir in more salt and pepper as needed. Depending on the saltiness of your stock, you might not need much (or any) salt.

Pour the mixture into your buttered casserole dish.

Food Lust People Love: Beautifully toasted on top, this buttery baked bread dressing is the perfect accompaniment to your holiday meal. Bake it in a casserole dish or use it to stuff a bird.

Drizzle on the melted butter. Bake in the preheated oven for about half an hour or until the top is golden brown and the whole house smells of Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Food Lust People Love: Beautifully toasted on top, this buttery baked bread dressing is the perfect accompaniment to your holiday meal. Bake it in a casserole dish or use it to stuff a bird.


Enjoy!

Are you looking for a few new casserole dishes to add to your holiday menu? This is the Sunday Supper for you! Many thanks to our event manager Em for her behind the scenes work.

Breakfast Casseroles

Classic Casseroles

Creative Casseroles


Pin this buttery baked bread dressing!

Food Lust People Love: Beautifully toasted on top, this buttery baked bread dressing is the perfect accompaniment to your holiday meal. Bake it in a casserole dish or use it to stuff a bird.
.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

T.R.'s Mulled Cider Martini

Celebrate fall with a spicy seasonal mulled cider martini. Like all good martinis, it’s made 007-style, shaken not stirred.

Food Lust People Love: Celebrate fall with a spicy seasonal mulled cider martini. Like all good martinis, it’s made 007-style, shaken not stirred.

This week my Sunday Supper family is honoring one of our own, T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbly, who lost his battle with cancer this year, not long after winning Blogger of the Year at the Food Wine Conference in May. We are sharing gluten free recipes, some from T.R.’s own blog so make sure to scroll down and check out the list.

T.R. was an absolute hoot, quick to dance and joke, and I honestly believe that he never met a stranger. His infectious laugh would get us all going. I wanted to share one of his recipes today so I started watching his YouTube videos and couldn’t stop laughing, even through my tears. We all miss T.R. so much.

T.R.’s mulled cider 007 martini, or double-o-tini, as he liked to call it, requires two steps if you don’t have mulled cider already. If you do, feel free to skip straight to shaking your martini!

Ingredients
For the mulled cider:
4 1/4 cups or 1L apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons or 12g whole allspice
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons or 14g whole cloves
1/4 cup dark rum
You can read T.R.’s original post on the Wayback Machine.

Method
To make the mulled cider, put the apple cider in a large pot with the cinnamon sticks and spices.

Measure out the dark rum and add it to the cider.

Use a sharp knife to remove the peel from the orange, trying to get as little of the white pith as you can manage. Add the orange peel to the cider as well.
Cover the pot and put it on a low fire to simmer for an hour. Strain to remove the spices and orange peel. This can now be served warm or leave the mulled apple cider to cool then chill to make the double-o-tini.

T.R.’s Mulled Cider Martini


Ingredients
For the mulled cider martini:
Several cubes ice
1 1/2 oz or 45ml cold mulled cider
1 oz or 30ml vodka

Laugh along with T.R. as he shakes his double-o-tini. Written instructions follow.



Method
Add ice to your shaker, along with the mulled cider and vodka. Shake till it gets too cold to hold.  This must be shaken, not stirred! That’s where the 007 comes in.

Pour into a martini glass and garnish, if desired, with a cinnamon stick. (I also added a little orange peel because, why not?)

Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Celebrate fall with a spicy seasonal mulled cider martini. Like all good martinis, it’s made 007-style, shaken not stirred.

Check out all of the gluten free holiday recipes we have for you today!

Sleigh Ride Starters

Seasons Greetings Sides

Making Things Merry Main Dish

Decking the Halls Desserts




Pin it!

Food Lust People Love: Celebrate fall with a spicy seasonal mulled cider martini. Like all good martinis, it’s made 007-style, shaken not stirred.

 .