Tomato Tarts For Two!

So, you think I can't cook for just the two of us? I didn't either...

Then I tried one of my most favorite recipes and downsized it!

When I put my mind to it….I can do a lot of things! 

Not everything, mind you…but the important stuff I can do! 

Hey…I can grow my own basil!

 Isn't that an accomplishment with our hot summers? 

I think it is!

This is my first summer that I haven't grown green beans, squash, tomatoes, etc…but I just could not leave my basil out! ( or my thyme)
And I'm so thankful that I didn't! 

Who knew I'd be craving tomato pie in September!

Well, I was and I made it! But I finally made it in a version for just the two of us! It was so wonderful and so very easy! I've been making it a lot lately!
 Yes, I am confessing that fact! I love it and more importantly, Jim loves it!

Thought you'd like to see it in stages so I showed you the beginning….with the crust that I cut out like a cookie cutter with my individual tart pans. Gosh I love my tart pans! Big or small..they sure do measure up to everything I ever thought they would be!

Ok…I know they are just tart pans but the fact that they make better crusts than pie pans do and they have removable bottoms…HELLO! You. Make. Me. Happy!

It really is so very simple once you learn to cook for two! You simply cut the recipe in half or in fourths! Ok…that may not be that simple every time…but it certainly is for Tomato Pie or Tomato Tarts for two! And if doesn't work…then by all means send it back with your college age children! Miller literally brings his Yeti back and forth every time he comes home from Auburn! With clean containers that I've sent with him from the weeks before! Yes…he really washes them! Gosh, I'd fill that Yeti with anything he wants these days! Just to hold on to that precious baby boy…oh wait…he's 20! He's practically grown…I'm not quite sure I can part with my last one…what happens then? And why weren't Yeti's around with my oldest son, Mitch? He would've loved that!

Well, I've definitely digressed…so sorry! Here is the recipe and I hope you absolutely love it!

Don't laugh at my sorry attempt at pictures…I'm really trying! I promise! 

Just let me know that you either tried this recipe for two or made it for an entire dinner party in a normal size pie crust!

Bon Appetit!

Tomato Tarts For Two

Ingredients:

Pastry for two individual tart pans. I use a pillsbury all ready pie crust much to my mother's dismay. You can make a homemade pie crust if you want to! 

1 Tablespoon mayo, divided  ( I use light )

1/4 small onion, minced

2/3 C grated swiss cheese, divided

2/3 C grated mozzarella cheese, divided

pepper to taste

1-2 Tablespoons fresh basil

2-3 tomatoes peeled and sliced, saving those parts you don't think you need!

kosher salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil, divided

Parmesan Cheese

*once the tart pans are prepared with the pie crust top each with a half Tablespoon mayo and then sprinkle the onions evenly on both. Add the two cheeses and top with the basil and then bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until cheese is melted. Add the tomatoes filling in the edges with those pieces of tomatoes that didn't look so pretty after you finished slicing them! No one will see them! And the tomatoes make this tart! Hence, the name! Top with a dash of kosher salt and the olive oil. Bake at 350 for at least 30 minutes. Top with grated parmesan cheese. Bake for 5 more minutes. ( I goofed and put the basil on the top but it is more attractive to put it under the tomatoes in my opinion!)

I hope you love this as much as I do! 

Sharon's 50th Birthday Party! Such A Fun Celebration!

I don't know why I'm like this but I am…if I am hosting a party at my house I like for everything to be ready ahead of time. 

Not for the benefit of the guests (although that is something to be considered!) 

But for me…so I can walk around and enjoy it before it's too late!

Are the flowers ok? Is the table set correctly? Are there enough chairs? Is the appetizer ready? Whew….I can relax now!
But I don't ever seem to really relax until the meal comes along!
Then I can sit back and enjoy!

All of the prep work is done and the worrying is over!

The house is straight, the window's cleaned thanks to my angel of a husband and my sweet, sweet friends are here! 

And I'm really trying to do better with the "small touches" that add a lot…I'm not a detailed oriented person so this has taken some practice! 
I was so glad I remembered this antique vase that belonged to Jim's grandmother and I put a few roses in it…I love the morning light on it and I love that it's a family heirloom to me!

Just putting flowers in the powder bath adds such a nice touch!

And I took the liberty of using the antique water jug that Cottage Decorating just borrowed from my shop for their photo shoot and actually used it on the cover of their magazine…it was effective. Not as pretty as their's was but it suited me just fine! You can see that blog post HERE!

A last minute decision to make these "Easy Breezy Raspberry Wine Spritzers" turned out to be a hit! I love it when that happens! I won't tell you how many batches I had to make…but I will say this…I actually had to get out extra glasses! 

Easy Breezy is the way to go!

Then came my favorite part of all…the photos of the guests and the hostesses! Without these girls I could certainly never have pulled this soiree off! Between Lisa Ann's 'Tomato Pies' and Melissa's 'Chocolate Filled Cheesecake' and Sandy's wonderful 'Baby Blue Salad' the meal was a hit!

Just look at this fun group of friends that came to honor Sharon on her 50th birthday! I'm so glad we had such a great turnout and that is strictly a reflection on her! We missed those that couldn't be there but we sure had a wonderful time! 

Sharon and I have been friends for about 32 years…that my friends…is a long and wonderful friendship! I'm so glad our boys are best friends as well!

More friends enjoying the day!

Sharon and Melissa!

Sharon and Peggy!

Sharon and Gina!

"The hostesses with the mostest!"

At this point my sweet friend Jean Anne started doing the photography and I was ever so glad! I love how this picture turned out for some reason! 
An "artistic" view of the spritzer!

The plates have been stacked on the sideboard and the water is in the glasses…
It's almost time to eat!

Thank you , Jean Anne for capturing this! 

Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, White BBQ Sauce and a Horseradish Sauce, Couscous with Roasted Vegetables, Tomato Pie and Baby Blue Salad! Yum! At the request of others I am posting a lot of the recipes at the end of this post if you are interested.

So thankful for all of the hostesses and all of their help!

 Without them I could never have pulled this off!

Jean Anne was being very "artistic" at this point! 
She wanted an action shot! This cheesecake was truly heavenly!

Then it was time to open gifts!

Melissa's handiwork showed up once more in her creative gift wrap! How beautiful! 
And all from "scraps" as she said!

All in all I would say it was a perfect party except for missing those that couldn't be with us today! I think we need to get together more often than just a milestone birthday! It's so much fun and does my heart good when I'm with my friends…or even if I'm with Sharon's friends! 

So thankful for so many blessings and one of the biggest ones is friendships over the years! I love you, Sharon and I hope your birthday has been so very special!

(If you want any of the recipes I will put them at the very end of this!) 

Recipes from the lunch:

Pork Tenderloin

2 pork tenderloins, cleaned and trimmed
Olive oil, Creole Seasoning, Lemon Pepper
Place tenderloins in a baking pan coated with Pam. Rub olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with the Creole Seasoning and Lemon Pepper.
Drizzle over both tenderloins the following: Just eyeball the amounts!
Worchestershire Sauce
Soy Sauce
Pickapeppa Sauce
Honey
serioulsy, you just guess at the amounts. Keep in mind the Pickappepa sauce is a tad spicy. Once you do that, pour about 1/2 C to 3/4 C white wine in the pan and Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. I like it better when I do it the night before and then slice it, put it back in the pan with the juices it has cooked in and then serve it the next day barely re-heated. Especially on Sister Schubert Rolls with either White BBQ sauce or a horseradish mayonnaise.

Tomato Pie

1 pie crust, prebaked for just a few minutes. ( make sure you pierce it with a fork in several places so it won't shrink while cooking. just follow package directions for an unfilled crust)
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1 C shredded swiss cheese
1/2 C chopped, fresh basil
4 large tomatoes, peeled and sliced thin
3 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle the cheeses over the bottom of the slightly baked pie crust. Add the basil and then the tomato slices. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and drizzle the olive oil over the entire pie. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and hot! Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Chocolate Filled Cheesecake

Crust

1/2 C butter, softened

1/3 C sugar

1 C flour

1 T vanilla, divided

2/3 C chopped pecans

Filling

4 pkgs 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 C sugar

4 eggs

1 12 oz package mini chocolate chips ( semi sweet)

whipped cream

Beat butter in mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar and flour. Stir in 1 t vanilla and chopped pecans.  

( I do my pecans pretty fine in a food processor )

Press in the bottom and partially up the sides of a greased 9" springform pan. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until slighty golden. Let Cool while making filling.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy and add 1 1/2 C sugar gradually. Beat well and add eggs one at a time. Beat just until yellow disappears. Do not over beat! Stir in vanilla. Pour 1/2 of the batter over the crust and begin sprinkling the chocolate chips....start at outer edge but do not go to edge of the crust all the way.... begin pouring remaining batter over the chips starting at outer edge and moving towards the center. This helps the chips to stay put and not fall over the sides!

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until set. It will start to brown but don't worry! It's ok... Let cool for several hours. When ready to serve you can either reheat individual pieces or cover the entire cheesecake with foil and  warm on low in the oven. Serve with real whipped cream sweetened with 1/4 C powdered sugar. 

This is truly incredible!!!

Tomato Pie

Ok….I know this is another tomato pie recipe and that I've posted a few before,

 but I must say this one was definitely good enough to deserve it's own post!

And besides that, I've never shown how to peel tomatoes the super easy way! So I thought if you don't know about it already that now you will!

My mother in law showed me this years ago and it works so well and it's fool proof!

All you do is drop the tomato into a pot of boiling water and let it sit for about 30-50 seconds!

Take it out with a slotted spoon, let it cool for a second and thin cut a thin slice and peel away!

The peeling will literally just pull off with your fingers!

And just look at how pretty they look once they are peeled! Now you are ready to slice away!

Another thing I did differently this time was to make this tomato pie in a tart pan with a removable bottom and I must say I will always do it this way for this type of tomato pie from now on!

It was a huge hit and very easy to remove from the pan!

Here it is layered with the cheese, diced onion, fresh basil and pepper to taste

Then it's topped with the fresh, peeled, sliced tomatoes!

I'ts put in the oven with the kosher salt and olive oil drizzled on top!

And it's ready! I added a little extra parmesan cheese to the top a few minutes before it was through baking!

Tomato Tart

1 pillsbury ready to bake pie crust

3-4 large, ripe tomatoes

1-1 1/2 C shredded parmesan cheese

1-1 1/2 C shredded swiss cheese

1 C shredded Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese

2 T chopped, fresh basil

pepper to taste

1/4 small onion diced

2 T olive oil

kosher salt to taste

Unroll pie crust and fit in tart pan that has been sprayed with pam. Top with the cheeses, onion, pepper and fresh basil. Place tomato slices over all, overlapping a little and filling in gaps where needed. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle the kosher salt over the top. Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and add a little more parmesan cheese and return to oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes unless it's getting too brown. Let sit for about 5 minutes before removing the outer part of the tart pan. Slice individual servings. Serves 6-8 slices.

Hope you are having a great week so far!