Old is New Again, Making Spring Vegetables, Salads and Oh Gracious, Don't Forget Mother's Cake!

Old is New Again, Making Spring Vegetables, Salads and Oh Gracious, Don't Forget Mother's Cake!

While shopping at an antique store last week, I happened to come across the very popular cookbook, Second Round, Tea Time at the Masters, published back in 1988. I picked it up and took it to the check out and came on home to spend time looking at my find.

I had remembered when I spotted the book that morning that my friend, Ellen Thompson had told me a while back about a recipe for making tomatoes stuffed with asparagus. Sure enough, the recipe was on page 234. So off I went to the store for supplies to get started because quite frankly, I couldn't wait to taste it. I was not disappointed. It was marvelous. So at that time, I decided that I should write this blog on old recipes that are new again and still delicious after all these years.

Another one of those old classic recipes is one that I made last week for a luncheon. It's still just as popular as ever. That's Salad Niçoise. I've been making this salad since before going to Le Cordon Bleu. After seeing it posted on my Facebook page last week, one of my friends said, "who needs flowers for the centerpiece when you have that". I have to admit that it did look pretty. You will find the recipe below.

I've added a few extra recipes below. One of those is a fresh beet salad that has a different twist with feta, red grapes and pecans and just a little drizzle of raspberry vinegar and olive oil. So fresh tasting with just a hint of herbs. And, then I can't forget the perfect cake for the upcoming Easter holiday, My Mother's Hummingbird Cake. It's a wonderful cake with pineapple and bananas and finished off with toasted pecans. We loved it!

We've had such a long, cold winter that maybe it will make us appreciate a beautiful spring. Love and good cooking. Enjoy.

  Love it for Brunch 

Baked Tomatoes with Asparagus Spears

(My version)

4 large tomatoes

16 fresh asparagus spears

1 cup mayonnaise

2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons grated onion

In a bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, mustard and onion.

Cut the tomatoes in half and remove large core at the stem end.

Place tomatoes in a buttered baking dish.

Top each tomato with the cheese mixture.

Top each tomato with 2 asparagus spears, cut two inches longer than the tomato top, and crisscrossed over the cheese.

Sprinkle the top of the asparagus with grated parmesan.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until cheese melts and tomato is heated through.

I put a little olive oil on the plate along with a chiffonade of basil. Then add more freshly grated parmesan to the top of each tomato before serving. Serves 8

Crunchy and Delicious Baked Eggplant

Another of my favorites from Second Round.

Second Round Crisp Baked Eggplant

1 large eggplant, approximately 1 pound

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs, (I used panko)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Slice eggplant crosswise into 1/2-inch slices.

Combine mayonnaise, salt, pepper and onion. Set aside.

Combine panko, Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.

Spread both sides of eggplant slices with mayonnaise mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture.

Place slices on baking sheet.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15-17minutes total, turning each eggplant slice over during the cooking time so that both sides can brown evenly. Cook until golden brown.

This would be an excellent base for Eggplant Parmesan by adding your favorite heated spaghetti sauce to the top, a thick slice of mozzarella cheese over the sauce, and then broiling until the cheese melts.

 

Your friends will love seeing this at your next get together!

 

I have been making Salad Nicoise since going to The Greenbrier, LaVarenne program over 20 years ago. It's one of our absolute favorites. This salad was also a favorite at the large staff parties that I catered for the dean and his wife at the University of Central Florida. This was the star attraction for over one hundred professors and their wives. Instead of the classic tuna that it's usually made with, I would make it with salmon that I had glazed in a mixture of bourbon, brown sugar and soy sauce. The photo above is made with good tuna in oil. The great thing is that you can make it as large or as small as you like.

Salad Nicoise

This is the formula that I use per person.

3 new potatoes - steam until done, chill

3 asparagus spears or 6 haricot vert or whole green beans (see bundled)-steam until tender, dip in ice water, drain, chill until ready to use

green onion stems, steamed

3-4 grape tomatoes

cucumbers, thinly sliced

Nicoise olives, or kalamata olives, pitted

1 cup organic greens

Fresh dill, finely chopped

good quality tuna in oil

Dijon mustard vinaigrette (recipe below)

Bundled: Use the steamed green onion stems to tie the green beans into a bundle.

Assembly: Coat the vegetables separately with a small amount of salad dressing before plating them on the greens. Mound greens onto a large platter. Place the asparagus or green been bundles vertically spaced around the lower bottom. Place the steamed potatoes (cut if large) around the bottom of the platter. Place the tuna at the top, and fill in the rest of the platter with grape tomatoes and olives. Place the sliced cucumbers around the outside edge of the  platter below the potatoes. Sprinkle the finely chopped dill over the salad.

Serve with vinaigrette.

Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup vegetable oil, or olive oil

 Add all of the ingredients shown above into a pint jar. Cover and shake the jar vigorously until the oil has emulsified with the other ingredients. Taste to see if more lemon juice or sugar is needed. Adjust if needed. Makes 1-1/2 cups. Keeps for a week in the fridge.

Beautiful  Beets, Simple and Sensational

I made this salad back in the fall, but beets are again in season and the recipe will be just as good today. In fact, there are some beautiful fresh beets available right now in the local stores and markets.

Fresh Beet Salad with Grapes, Pecans, and Feta

Raspberry, Olive Oil Dressing

On a plate add Bibb lettuce, as many freshly baked, quartered beets as you would like, crumbled feta cheese, red grapes, finely chopped fresh oregano and toasted pecans. Drizzle with raspberry vinegar and olive oil.

To prepare the beets: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Trim the stem to about a half-inch from the beet top. Clean the beets by scrubbing with a soft brush. Rub the beets with olive oil, and place them in individual foil packets. This will allow them to cook for the appropriate amount of time since they will not all be the same size. Bake the beets until tender when pierced in the center with a fork or narrow knife. Remove from the oven when done and allow them to cool. Remove the skin. Refrigerate the beets until ready to use. 

 Hummingbird Cake

You can't end a meal in the South without a dessert. And, this one will make you and your guests leave the table very happy. This is the recipe for my mother's Hummingbird Cake. It's much like a lot of the hummingbird cake recipes you will see, but this one is my mother's so that makes it different.

My Mother's Hummingbird Cake

1 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs, beaten

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple (see directions below)
2 bananas, mashed

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Icing: 

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar

Toasted, whole pecans

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add the oil, eggs, vanilla, banana and one cup of the crushed pineapple into a large mixing bowl. (Drain the remaining pineapple, and set aside to put on top of the cake).Add all dry ingredients, mixing until moist. Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans. Divide batter equally among pans. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool on racks.

To prepare icing: Mix cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and mix thoroughly. Spread icing between layers, ice top and sides, then place pecans around the bottom edge and top edge of the cake. Add the remaining crushed pineapple to the top of the cake. If you would not like to add the remaining pineapple to the top of the cake, use an 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple, undrained.

The End!