Summer Vegetable Tian

Not only did this smell AMAZING while it was cooking, it tasted AMAZING as well!! This was such a pleasant surprise since none of us knew anything about what a tian was suppose to taste like. We decided we could have just had this for dinner alone with the crusty bread…seriously. For some reason it made us remember sitting outside in Tuscany eating dinner and taking in the breath taking view…yes, we truly did say all of that at dinner sitting in our kitchen 😂.

So what is a tian? Tian refers both to the pottery dish it is traditionally cooked in, and just the dish itself. (You can also just use a pie plate) It is a mixture of sliced vegetable roasted in olive oil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper for approx 70min at 400 degrees. Our recipe calls for eggplant, tomato, red onion, and zucchini. We like all of those vegetables but had no idea what it would taste like and why we would put it on crusty bread, but I have learned over my many years of baking in this group to trust Dorie and do as she says. 😂😂

My son and husband “devoured” this dish. I was like, do you realize how many vegetables you just ate haha. We finished the whole plate before even eating our chicken. I don’t know what it was exactly with this dish, but it was utterly delicious. I will most definitely make this one again. The guys told me to put it in the rotation haha. I am totally a vegetable girl, so they don’t have to tell me twice 👍

Ladyfingers

Ladyfingers, we are told, are the ultimate companion. They are fine on their own, but they are best alongside something else…and the options are many. Whether it be chocolate or vanilla pastry cream or part of a more dramatic layered trifle with berries, these ladyfingers will make you believe nothing compares to these tender, light, sponge-cake ones you make at home.

After I tasted one plain, I had this exact thought…why would I ever buy sponge-cake for desserts when you can easily make these at home?? Truly, these don’t compare to store bought and the best part is they weren’t difficult or time consuming and very little ingredients are needed!

I am a believer and will make these again! We had ours for dessert in a “make-your-own berry trifle” with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and whip cream. It was 98 degrees at our house today, so this was the perfect summer night treat.

Three-Pepper Burgers

What says summer more than BBQ right?! 😎

Our Friday group is back to normal again (yay) with all of us making the same recipe…Three-Pepper Burgers. The three peppers being roasted red bell pepper, Peppadew peppers, and jalapeño. All three are diced very finely and added to the mixture. I had no idea what a Peppadew pepper was so, for me, when in doubt…I google it!

Peppadew actually refers to the brand name of a South African sweet piquanté pepper. It is sometimes referred to as a sweet red cherry pepper with a simmering spiciness and a touch of sweet. Apparently they can be hard to find because of their popularity…who knew haha! I bought mine online and figured we had to have them for the burger to fully experience the recipe…and I knew my pepper loving son and husband would probably love them…and I was right…with the peppers and the burgers.

To finish off the burger mixture you add into the peppers, chopped basil and parsley, salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese. Gently mix all with the ground beef. Shape into 4 patties and chill for at least 30 minutes. We opted to grill our hamburgers but you can skillet fry them as well.

There are a lot of optional condiments and we used all that were mentioned:

• Avocado mash with salt and lime juice
• Tomato
• Red onion
• Chopped dill pickle
• Lettuce
• Mayonnaise
• Hot sauce
• Ketchup

This is a gourmet burger all the way! Definitely elevated the mid-week dinner for us. We were surprised that the burger wasn’t too spicy, just had a great depth of flavor. I am sure my son and husband could have used more heat, but for me, I was actually able to eat it no problem. I always know the new recipe is a hit when they ask, “how hard was this to make?” because what they are really asking is, “can we have these again??“😂

This is a keeper!

Crème Brûlée Tart

This one was a hit. My Crème Brûlée loving family and parents raved about this tart!

• Wowww that tart is soooo good!

• Tastes just like Crème brûlée but I like how thin the filling is
• Wow- we already ate your Creme Brûlée!!!
• It was so good !!!

I love when a dessert gets reviews like this…especially when it is a pretty easy recipe.

This one does take some planning as the tart needs to chill for 3-8 hours, but also so versatile to make ahead and finish after dinner for entertaining. The only issue I would say, is the tart needs to be eaten after finishing with the sugar topping. It doesn’t really last until the next day…we tried and the last two pieces did get eaten but the sugar doesn’t hold its crispness.

On a side note, not sure if any of you fellow bakers could get the brown sugar through the strainer 😳. That just didn’t work for me…I just ended up scattering the sugar over top before I broiled. Seemed to work fine.

I could see myself making this one again…its a keeper 😃