Hoppin’ John, Greens & Cornbread

Happy New Year!  Starting the new year with a mess of greens, Hoppin’ John or black-eyed peas and corn bread is a southern tradition said to bring you luck and prosperity in the New Year.  According to tradition you are to have 365 peas (one for each day of the year), yellow corn bread to represent gold and greens to represent folded money in your wallet.  I have to wonder how this tradition really got started because to me this seems like the perfect meal to get you back in form after a night of celebrating, just saying…

Roasted Pear & Gorgonzola Salad

I’m solo this year for Thanksgiving — having just gotten back from 17 days of traipsing across Indochina I’ve more than fulfilled this month’s quota of time zone changes, airports and security checkpoints.

Just because I’m on my own doesn’t mean I won’t be cooking a special meal. It will start with one of my favorite recipes for entertaining from the Neiman Marcus Cookbook, Roasted Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Toasted Walnuts and Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Tomato Tuesday: Fresh & Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Zucchini & Balsamic Vinegar

Today’s Tomato Tuesday, Fresh & Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Zucchini & Balsamic Vinegar, is a fast, easy and delicious salad featuring two of summer’s most prolific vegetables — tomatoes and zucchini.  Simple, colorful and no-cook — perfect for getting in and out of the kitchen quickly during the hot days of summer. The sun-dried or oven-dried tomatoes ( which, as we all know, you can easily make at home) add a sweet, smokey flavor to the salad — don’t leave these out.    The dressing may seem simple initially — balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper — but the secret to flavor is patience.   Let the salad sit at room temperatue for 30 – 60 minutes so the juices of the tomato and the smokeyness of the sun-dried tomato meld with the oil and vinegar.

Tomato Tuesday: Oven-Dried Tomatoes (Tomates confites)

We are in the middle of tomato season and you’re probably starting to wonder just how many fresh tomatoes a person can eat.  Today’s Tomato Tuesday is Oven-Dried Tomatoes, an easy way to preserve some of today’s tomato harvest for the lean tomato-less months ahead.  This recipe is from The Complete Robuchon — recently named by the Guardian as one of The 50 best cookbooks of all time.

Tomato Tuesday: Rosemary Broiled Tomatoes

It’s the peak of tomato season.  If you’re growing your own tomatoes it probably feels like those delicious red globes are coming at you faster than you can cook or eat them.  This week’s Tomato Tuesday, Rosemary Broiled Tomatoes, is a quick and easy way to serve up tomatoes at any meal — try these at breakfast as a side to scrambled eggs.

Tomato Tuesday: Goat Cheese & Tomato Tart Recipe

Even though I’ve been collecting a variety of tomato recipes I can never get enough BLTs.  Feel the same way?  Have a summer brunch potluck or cocktail party planned?  To answer your question, no, even though it could possibly be the best sandwich ever invented (immediately followed, of course, by the BGT) it’s not considered appropriate to bring a dozen BLTs to a ladies’ summer patio brunch.  What’s a bacon and tomato loving girl to do?  Please allow me to introduce you to Mr. Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart complete with a bacon pastry.  Yes, you heard me correctly, bacon pastry.   This savory, smokey, bacon and tomato treat comes from The Junior League of Boca Raton’s Savor the Moment, Entertaining Without Reservations cookbook.

Tomato Tuesday: Homemade Tomato Juice

Generally I’m a reluctant tomato juice drinker, opting for it only when served fortified and with a celery stalk.  This tomato juice recipe may make a sober tomato juice drinker out of me.  It’s rich with a roasted tomato and salty celery flavor.  Wow, if it taste this great straight imagine what a shot of vodka, pickled okra and a dash of Worcestershire will do for it.

Tomato Tuesday: Tomato Soufflé

What would happen if you took your favorite Italian dish — the one with savory tomato, onion, basil, parmesan — and you blew it up?  Well, if you spoke French in this imaginary Italian kitchen perhaps you’d translate “to blow up” into soufflé then voilà you’d have this delicious dish.

Tomato Tuesday: Roasted Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes

I like this roasted heirloom tomatoes dish because it’s colorful, pretty and easy.  It also taste good which is important but its appearance and ease makes it a great side for any party.  I especially love it for brunches.  It goes just as easily with eggs as it does with lunch and let’s face it,  a buffet filled with egg strata, croissants and grilled chicken needs a little kick of color to break up all that brown.

Tomato Tuesday: Real Tomato Ketchup Recipe

Real tomato ketchup, Eddie? Oh, nothing but the best for this Tomato Tuesday.  When I was a child, my mother made and canned homemade ketchup.  I hated it.  It wasn’t the taste, it was the look.  I wanted smooth, shiny and bright red — in other words, I wanted store-bought.   Thankfully my tastes have matured and I have developed an appreciation for things that don’t come in plastic squeeze bottles.