I’m not sure what it is about serving a tart that always impresses people.
It probably has something to with the fact that tarts are often beautiful to look at, so if you make one that tastes good, too – you know it’s going to be a hit. Such was the case with this recipe, and the best part is that it was also super-easy to make.
Here’s a super-simple idea to help you use up all of those gorgeous tomatoes at the market right now.
{Not that you needed any help in that area}
There’s something about yellow tomatoes that I just love – they always seem to be extra-firm, even when perfectly ripe. My picky tomato eater – who never ate them until the ripe old age of 34 – is also partial to the yellow variety, so that has to mean something.
The most rewarding thing about cooking is when you start to feel comfortable cooking without a recipe.
Believe me, I’m addicted to recipes. I read cookbooks in bed like novels – it’s true. But lately, I’ve been making due with what’s in my fridge more. When I’m doing really extensive meals and grocery shopping over the weekend, the last thing I want to think about is what I’m going to make for the rest of the week. I usually have some odds and ends leftover, and so I’ve been putting those to use in my weeknight meals. Last night, for example…
I’m pretty excited to share this recipe with you.
For a couple of reasons. First of all, this salad is one you’ll be making again and again. Or at least I will. It’s my ideal starter salad for summer. It’s also from Jaime Oliver, so that’s where the fun begins. I love his food, and I love the way he writes his recipes – like he’s talking to you.
I’m also super-excited to tell you about the cookbook from which I got this recipe. It’s called, “The 150 Best American Recipes: Indispensable Recipes from Legendary Chefs and Undiscovered Cooks.” I swear by this book, so much so that I’ll be posting a separate review on it.
One of the reasons I love this book is that the authors have tested and re-tested every recipe – not only do they let you know what they discovered along the way, but they also provide great tips every cook should know. Such as: Never refrigerate tomatoes. This will destroy their flavor and turn them mealy. Who would’ve thunk it?
Now, I already told you the fun started with the carefree way Jamie writes the recipe, but the real fun is in physically making this salad. That’s right – this is physical. You crush the tomatoes with your very own hands, and you use pitted olives (because they have more flavor!), which you get to smash and de-pit yourself, too. It couldn’t be easier to make in a pinch, no recipe required: All you need to remember is 4 parts cherry tomatoes, to 1 part olives – add a splash of vinegar and olive oil, and toss in handfuls of fresh arugula and basil.
Rustic. Simple. Perfect.
Cherry Tomato Salad with Olives
From The Naked Chef Takes Off by Jamie Oliver
In a large serving bowl, squash the cherry tomatoes with one hand while holding the other over them so they don’t splatter all over everything. Put the olives on a cutting board and gently smash them with a rolling pin, a cup, or even your thumb. Remove the pits and add the olives to the salad bowl.
Drizzle in a little vinegar and grind some pepper on top. Add the oil and toss. Just before serving, “rip in,” as Oliver says, the basil and arugula and toss well.
Serves 6.
What if I told you that something from a can is capable of producing one of the most addicting-ly delicious side dishes you’ll ever taste?
Although I don’t typically cook with canned goods, artichokes are one of my exceptions. If I’m doing them in something like an antipasti, I’ll buy the higher-quality jarred variety, but for a dish like this, canned works best.
Using canned artichokes makes this dish seriously easy. Baking it in a casserole dish does, too. The only prep you’ll need to do is slice a few scallions and grate/shred some cheese – which doesn’t really take much work at all if you use your food processor. It’s not really “some” cheese – it’s a lot of cheese. That coupled with the panko is what makes this dish so sinful and fulfilling. The lemon adds the brightness, and the red pepper flakes and Tabasco give it some kick.
I think it’s a natural fit for serving alongside your favorite summer seafood dish, don’t you?
Lemony Artichokes Au Gratin
from Rebecca Rather’s Pastry Queen Parties
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the bottom of a large gratin dish with a bit of the melted butter. Spread the artichoke hearts evenly over the bottom of the dish and sprinkle with the green onions.
In a bowl, stir together the remaining melted butter, Cajun seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper, lemon juice, and Tabasco. Add the Parmesan, Monterey Jack, and panko; stir to combine. Spoon the mixture evenly over the artichokes.
Bake until the breadcrumb-butter mixture is golden brown and the casserole is hot throughout, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
Makes 8 servings.
DO-AHEAD: Can be assembled up to 1 day ahead, then covered and refrigerated. Bake just before serving.
{I think this dish is best when eaten the same day it’s cooked – I didn’t think the leftovers did it justice}
I bet you’re looking for something to serve with those mango margaritas.
How about a 5-ingredient beer shrimp boil, sinful lemony artichokes au gratin, and this green salad with a super-easy avocado-basil dressing?
{Recipes to come!}
I’m always looking for another use for that last lonely avocado, and that’s how this dressing came to be. I love the flavor of basil with avocado, and so the idea to put them together for this dressing was a no-brainer. It’s so summery and fresh-tasting, but it’s also rich and creamy from the avocado. I almost always serve a simple green salad to balance out a meal, so I’m constantly on the look-out for new dressing ideas.
Because sometimes, I just can’t bare the thought of yet-another vinaigrette.
Avocado-Basil Dressing
Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Add olive oil in a slow stream until you reach desired consistency. You can also thin the dressing with water, if you’re looking to cut calories.
Makes about 1 cup of dressing.
If you thought truffles and tots didn’t go together, think again.
When I was planning this dinner party menu, I knew something truffled was on the agenda. I also knew tater tots were on the agenda. And because the flavor of truffle goes so perfectly with potatoes, the decision to make truffled tots was an easy one.
Fried potatoes + shallots + truffle oil. How can this be a bad idea?
Yes – these require some work. It’s worth it, as I’m sure you can imagine. If you’re using a food processor to shred your potatoes – highly recommend! – it’s really not that bad. You can make little square-shaped tots like I did by pressing the warm, starchy potatoes into a cookie sheet, letting them cool, and then cutting into squares. Or, you can shape the potato mixture into balls with your hands. Either way you go, it’s a win.
Move over, truffled mac ‘n cheese. You’ve got some competition.
Truffled Tater Tots
Adapted from The Standard Spa and Hotel, Miami Beach
Carefully read the directions and complete the processes from start to finish without letting the potatoes get cold. It is the warm starch from the barely cooked potatoes that holds the tater tots together.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Place potatoes on baking pan and cook for 20-25 minutes or until when squeezed the potatoes barely give. Remove from oven and set baking pan on top of oven to keep warm for another 20 minutes. (This will allow the center of the potatoes to barely cook so they will not turn brown after shredding. The goal is to have the potatoes barely cooked but not to the point that they turn to mashed potatoes when grated.)
Peel the potato skin back using a butter knife or vegetable peeler. Try not to remove any of the flesh underneath the skin as it will help bind the tater tots.
Using either a shredder attachment on a food processor or a hand grater, shred the potatoes into a bowl. Then press the shallots through the shredder attachment or if doing by hand, finely dice.
Add the shallots and the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly. The mixture should still be warm and sticky to the touch. At this point, the potatoes can either be pressed into a cookie sheet to a 1-inch thickness or hand formed into balls of the same 1-inch thickness. Wet your hands or rolling pin so the starch will not stick. Once formed allow to cool.
If making squares, cut potatoes that have been pressed into a cookie sheet into 1-inch by 1-inch squares after the potatoes have cooled.
Heat deep fryer or sauté pan with half inch of vegetable oil to medium-high heat and carefully place the tater tots in the oil. Turn the potatoes so all sides are cooked evenly to golden brown. Season lightly with a pinch of truffle salt and serve. Enjoy!
{To increase the truffle flavor, you may also opt to lightly drizzle your cooked tots with truffle oil before salting}
I’ve been holding out on you.
I made this macaroni what feels like an eternity ago. Which is okay in my book – because now I feel like it’s time to make it again.
Macaroni and cheese, if you didn’t know, is probably my favorite food. When people ask me what my last supper would be, mac ‘n cheese is usually part of the meal, whether it be some sort of a truffle rendition or simply classic. It amazes me how many of my absolute favorite dishes haven’t made their way to this blog yet – I need to do something about that, for sure!
And as much as I love mac ‘n cheese, I love any and everything spicy. The hotter, the better. So it’s no surprise that this combo was a total win for me.
I’m pretty sure I served this with skirt steak, which is probably a contender for Daniel’s last supper, and pretty high on my list these days as well.
The buttered croutons make this dish, though you could easily use a panko or regular breadcrumb topping. I doubled the cayenne and added jalapeño chilies for extra heat, and I also used half-and-half instead of the heavy cream in the original recipe in some kind of effort to lighten it up. It was still so crazy-rich – I can’t imagine it would have been any better with the cream.
An unusual thing about this recipe was that it called for more than half of the cheese to be cubed. I opted to change the ratio to half-cubed, half-shredded, and I was very happy with the results. The cubes melt into gooey pockets of heaven that any true cheese-lover will appreciate.
Spicy Mac ‘N Cheese
Adapted from Sunny Anderson
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss together pasta with the cheese cubes and pour into the baking dish. In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, nutmeg, jalapeño, sour cream, egg, and half-and-half. Pour over the pasta and cover with shredded cheeses. Bake uncovered until top is just beginning to brown, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the bread into crouton-sized squares. In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter, add cubes and toast until golden. Sprinkle the bread cubes on top of the macaroni and cheese and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more.
As good as these fries are, I almost feel I should keep them a secret from you.
Because if you’re anything like me, your self-control will have no chance against these fries. Once you learn how easy it is to make these steakhouse/bistro/Houston’s-like french fries in your own home, things may get out of hand – and fast.
Shoestring Bistro-Style Fries
Adapted from Saveur
Pour oil to a depth of 2″ into a large heavy-bottomed dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375°.
Meanwhile, julienne potatoes lengthwise using the narrowest setting of a mandoline with a julienne attachment or by hand with a sharp knife; as you’re going, dump them into a bowl of cold water so that they won’t stick together as they fry in the oil. Drain potatoes, transfer to kitchen or paper towels, and pat dry well.
Working in 4 batches, fry potatoes, stirring constantly with a slotted spoon and maintaining an oil temperature of at least 350° (adding the potatoes will cause the temperature to drop), until potatoes are light golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fried potatoes to paper towels to drain. Season potatoes with plenty of salt while they’re still hot, and serve.
Makes 3 to 4 servings.
I am smitten with this salad.
It’s another great example proving French food doesn’t have to be fattening or overcomplicated.
To start, you won’t find any mayonnaise. The dressing is made by simply pouring white wine and a bit of olive oil over the warm potatoes, and then adding a touch of Dijon along with plenty of fresh herbs and seasonings. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to pour wine over my salad. You’ll feel fabulously French, and you won’t believe the amazing flavor it imparts – just be sure to use a good wine!
The finishing touch of chopped eggs is another reason to love this salad – if you like hard-boiled eggs as much as I do – and I wouldn’t be offended if you opted to add a few Niçoise olives. Though Jacques and Julia suggested serving over a bowl of radicchio leaves, I didn’t because I had enough beautiful purple coloring from the jewel-tone potatoes.
Who knew potato salad could be so elegant? Just leave it to the French.
Jacques’ French Potato Salad
Slightly adapted from Julia Child and Jacques Pépin
Scrub the potatoes and put them, whole, in a saucepan with water to cover by 1/2 inch. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook the potatoes gently until they are just tender and can be pierced with a sharp knife. Drain immediately and let cool slightly. (Scrape the skin from the cooked potatoes, if you want, as soon as they can be handled. For a decorative look with fingerlings, scrape off only a band of skin, about 1/2 inch thick, all around the long sides of the potato.)
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small saute pan. When hot, add the scallions and the onion, toss to coat well, and cook for about a minute over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, toss to mix, and cook for just a few moments, then remove the pan from the heat.
Slice the potatoes while still warm, cutting them crosswise into 1/2-inch sections. Put the pieces in a large mixing bowl, pour the wine and 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil over them, and toss gently to distribute. Add the warm vegetables from the pan, mustard, chives, chopped herbs, salt, and pepper, and gently fold all together, mixing well but not crushing the potatoes. Taste the salad and add more seasonings as you like.
Serve the potatoes warm (no colder than room temperature). Sprinkle chopped egg and parsley over the top.
Serves 4 to 6.
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