Monday, October 15, 2012

Secret Recipe Club - Tomato Gratin

I'm so jazzed about this club that I was lucky enough to stumble upon via My Danish Kitchen.   Quite frankly if I hadn't read about it there, I would probably never have heard of it.   I don't read a lot of blogs, I don't have time for it.  Mostly I find them by Googling for a recipe and then reading the blog the recipe appeared in.   Which was my luck in finding Gitte's blog.   And she happened to mention the Secret Recipe Club so I read about it, applied and got put on the waiting list.   And in August it happened, I was told I was going to be in Group B.   Yippeee!!!!   And guess what, thanks to the SRC, I now have a load of new recipes and blogs that I go to and get inspiration from.

The SRC is fun, and I hope to be a part of it for a long time to come.   Basically it's a bunch of bloggers who are placed into groups, and assigned another blog to find, make and post a recipe from.   And it's great.   But you can't tell anyone who's blog you were assigned until the reveal date, and then everyone in your group 'reveals' the recipe they made from the blog they were assigned to.    And this month's blog that I was assigned is, drum roll please,  Jane's Adventures in Dinner.

So I went there, and one of the first things I saw was she's a fellow Canadian.  Yes, I know I keep saying I'm a Dane, but I grew up in Canada, land of the Butter Tart, Tortiere, French Fries with Gravy, gotta stop now, I'm not only making myself hungry but homesick as well. sigh.

And it turns out that not only is she a fellow Canadian,  and I seem to recall reading one of her posts where she mentioned Florida, as in living there, which is where I currently live.  She was probably just visiting, but still...  So, one more commonality.   Giggle.  Sorry, I do get carried away. 

Now that I've maundered on, it's time to tell you what I made.   And believe me when I tell you it was hard to choose.   Not only did I want to make something fantastic, which I knew I would from her recipes, I also wanted to make something I could take to one of our many potlucks.    As it turns out, I found several recipes, some of which are bookmarked.    I hate making decisions sometimes, sigh.
Tomato Gratin


But then I saw this recipe and went, alright.  Especially since we were going to a friends house on Saturday for his birthday and I made this to take along.   One of the reasons that this dish caught my eye was because it was vegetarian friendly.   And easy, and fun and just a little different.  I know I can't post this before the reveal day, but I can make it and share it.  Which I did. 
Tomato Gratin  

So simple to make, and really, really tasty.    Basically three ingredients and you're good to go.  I used Stewed Tomatoes with Celery and Onion, the No Salt Added kind.   I had a loaf of stale french bread, and some nice sharp Cheddar in the fridge.

Pour about a tablespoon of EVOO in the bottom of a baking dish, or maybe a little more, whoops.

 Add two cans of Stewed Tomatoes with Celery and Onion, don't drain them.
The olive oil kinda pooled in the corner there, but don't worry, it gets used.




Next add your cubed bread.   I used some French Bread, but I think this would be even better with some crusty artisan bread (which I don't have access to here, unless I want to drive about 30 miles to the good grocery store).   Toss it together, and then don't do like I did, and forget the nice chopped herbs, in my case some parsley and chives, on the counter.

Sprinkle the fresh herbs on top of the tomato bread mixture and then sprinkle it all with some Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese.   Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or so or until the cheese melts














Serve immediately or do as I did, put a piece of foil over top and then wrap it up and take it to a party.
It was very well received.   And I had a few requests for the recipe as well.   I think the next time I make this I will actually use a mixture of cheddar and monterey jack cheese, as I think the Monterey Jack cheese will melt into the tomato mixture a little better.  




Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

12 comments:

  1. Oh this looks very good, no doubt there was none left.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There was very little left and I got tons of compliments on the dish.

      Delete
  2. Hi Sid, you did A GREAT job on your first reveal. What an unusual but tasty looking dish. Oh how I wish I had this recipe when fresh tomatoes were in abundance at the farmers markets. Looking forward to many more reveals with you. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I think this would be totally awesome with fresh tomatoes as well. I know I will be making it again.

      Delete
  3. Very interesting recipe and easy. Could be a nice side dish for almost any meal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's a great side dish, and would complement most meals as well.

      Delete
  4. Huh, never would of thought of this, but sounds good. Welcome to SRC Group B!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It was good, and easy. Just four ingredients, and voila, a great potluck or anytime dish.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This looks delicious! By the way, I'm typically in Group A, but I stepped in to make sure that you weren't a orphan. I really enjoyed exploring your blog today. http://culinary-adventures-with-cam.blogspot.com/2012/10/src-orphan-rescue-sids-sea-palm-cooking.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I want to thank you for stepping in and not letting me be a lonely orphan. And I like your take on the Frikadeller, would never have thought of adding dill to it. May just try that in the future.

      Delete
  7. What a great selection for the SRC! This dish sounds amazing and incredibly easy. Perfect for hectic evenings when comfort food really fills the bill. Welcome and I am glad you are enjoying being part of this blogging family!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Personally, I like easy. And it was totally delicious as well. I had a few requests for the recipe that night, and looks of disbelief when I said how easy it was. I am enjoying the SRC.

      Delete

I love to hear from my readers, so please feel free to drop me a note, let me know if you like something I made, it makes my day.