The Novel Bakers ~ "Gathering in the Garden" ~ Part II

Hello and welcome to the Wednesday installment of The Novel Bakers  where we are featuring the book "Gathering the Garden" written and illustrated  by Shelly Snow and Elaine Husband.




Same old story at my house... 
The summer wildfires made it nearly impossible to capture  garden gathering outdoors this summer,  so I dredged up one from my archives.  
It is from a few years ago. 
Thanks for understanding!






Now, I normally wouldn't serve these three  items together . . . these are just ideas for items you might serve at a gathering in the garden.

First up are Tomato Melts:

Garlic Bread toasted, spread with mayonnaise, a layer of fresh basil, then thinly sliced ripe tomatoes, a generous sprinkling of bacon then a layer of sliced or grated cheese ~ placed on shallow pan and baked in a 450º(F) oven  until the cheese is nice and melty and the  slices are warmed through.
Click here for a printable copy of Tomato Melts.






Next up, Warm Yukon Gold Potato salad:




Though this recipe also calls for bacon, it seems to me that we had  plenty of bacon on the Tomato Cheese Melts, so I substituted sweet red onion to lighten it up a bit (and omitted the mayonnaise.)   I also added a couple of sprigs of fresh tarragon, optional. 






Back to the Tomato Melts ~

Instead of large slices of bread I sliced the bread into narrow diagonal pieces and made them into "boats"





 ~ the basil "sails" are an idea I copied from Mary's inspiring blog:
Home is Where the Boat is
Thank you Mary!! :)






I also made a few  ~



~ Quiche d'Olives and Basil Tomato Tarts ~
Click here for a printable copy of the Quiche d'Olives recipe.

Instead of one large pan of each, I made individual size portions.





I used tiny Nicoise olives in the olive quiche, and cherry/grape tomatoes cut in half for the  Basil Tomato Tarts.
Click here for Basil Tomato Tart.







Using smaller tomatoes and olives worked out perfectly for these small tart pans.

Thank you for stopping by today!


Please come on back on Friday for our "Gathering in the Garden" finale ~




Thank you for any comments you would like to leave ~ they absolutely MAKE my day!  :) :) :)


And please do check out the other Novel Bakers' blogs  to see their creative ideas as interpreted from 'Gathering in the Garden'  :

Home is Where the Boat is
Rattlebridge Farm
A Quiet Life Blog

Caramelized Onion and Jarlsberg Cheese Puff Pastry Squares

Well, it is not a Pissaladière, not exactly a Quiche, I would say it's more of a savory tart.
And very good for a lighter meal (not lighter in calories though!)  It's one of those dishes you can make when the cupboards are practically bare.
If you make it, please note that your proportions of ingredients  will vary, depending upon the dimensions of your pan.  I was going for a rather thin layer of filling, so I chose the shallow tart pan. Here's a brief description of how I put it together:
I placed a sheet of puff pastry in the square tart pan, docked it on the bottom only, and baked blind, until a little over half way done. Then I removed it from the oven and allowed it to cool slightly on a cooling rack.
Meanwhile, I sliced an onion thinly, and caramelized them in a skillet in a little butter and olive oil, cooking slowly so the sugars in the onions turned a beautiful golden brown and the onions were very tender.
Next I "painted" the partially baked crust with a thin layer of Dijon mustard and distributed the onions evenly over the  mustard coated crust, then sprinkled a few fresh thyme leaves,  and a couple of grinds of freshly ground black pepper over.   I added a generous amount of grated Jarlsberg cheese (from Norway), or a Swiss-type cheese over the onions and thyme.
To make the custard, I whisked a couple of eggs with a little half & half  (you can use cream or whole milk)  and carefully poured it over the cheese until it almost reached the top edge of the partially baked pastry crust. The filling will puff up while it bakes, so it's better to  under-fill than over-fill.


I baked it off in a 350ºF preheated oven (center rack) until the cheese was melted and beginning to brown, and the custard filling was just set.
Allow to cool slightly, then cut with a sharp knife, serve up and enjoy while still warm.


Served with a salad of greens and a good vinaigrette, it makes a fine, simple little meal and is budget friendly, too. You can also cut into smaller portions to serve as appetizers.

~*~*~*~*~

Thanks for coming by today friends, please leave me a comment if you have a mind to ~ I really enjoy reading what you have to share.



I'm linking to Foodie Friday. (click)
Happy Thursday, everybody! 
xo~mari

Warm Savory Mini-Cheesecakes with Dressed Baby Greens

Wow! Another brilliant recipe from Jacques Pepin ~ he  explains he tasted something very similar to this in a restaurant while vacationing in the Alsace  region of France. Though there it was served in a pastry crust. 
He used the same idea, but baked the cheesecake mixture in small ramekins, the insides buttered and sprinkled with fresh bread crumbs to facilitate easy removal from the molds.
I adore the contrast in flavors and textures here; the warm, creamy little cheesecakes liven up the simply dressed, crispy greens.



Rich, yet light and tender it was love at  first bite ~ the delicate cheesecake practically melts in your mouth. 
Whipped cream cheese, a little sour cream,  eggs and a few crumbles of blue cheese are the key ingredients.




Merci beaucoup to Chef Pepin for another winner!

I'll definitely be making this recipe again.  And if you try it, I hope you love it as well. :)
A printable copy  can be found on my recipe blog.

Have a wonderful week everyone!
Blessings, Mari xo