Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Friday Night Dinner Project: Standing-Up Dinner

This week's menu is slightly delayed because....chaos!  But here it is:  Standing-Up Dinner

Caramelized Onion Mini Quiches
Very good.  It turns out that making your own mini tart pastry from scratch is super easy!  It did not take nearly as much time as I thought it would.  I did not have the supplies to do the recommended blind bake, so instead I just baked them empty.  They rose slightly, but I used my handy Pampered Chef Mini Tart Shaper to push them back down and fill them after the pre-bake.
As for the filling, I found the recipe made more than I needed, but maybe you won't have this happen.  I wasn't sure about the Cambozola cheese, since it is a blue veined cheese and I hate blue cheese.  However, it turned out to be just fine because the blue vein in it is very mild.  I'm sure you could use brie instead if you are truly terrified of the blue vein.
These would be amazing to make ahead and freeze for a party.  I have been eating them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.....they are rich and delicious.  (Here is the recipe for Caramelized Onions, but not the mini quiches)

Standing-up Fish Stew
Ever since giving birth to my son I've had a serious aversion to fish and seafood.  I made this stew, which is full of salmon and white fish (I used tilapia) and was hesitant to eat it.  Once I paired it with the homemade Roasted Garlic Aïoli and croutons I found it quite delicious.  I also tried serving it over rice which was also good.  The recipe says it makes 8-10 servings but I would put it closer to 12-14 unless you eat large servings.  This recipe goes a long way - which is good because it contains about $45.00 worth of fish.


Salad Skewers
I had this as just plain old salad because I did not have any skewers on hand.  Because of this, I bought the pearl sized bocconcini cheese.  I just like the way they look.  You can't go wrong with this salad and you cannot possibly mess it up.

Sesame Bread Biscuits
Unfortunately I have no picture or link for these.  I did not actually make them this weekend, but I have made this recipe many times before.  It is so quick and easy to make - a wonderful quick bread recipe.  I have sprinkled these biscuits with sesame seeds, za'atar and brushed them with olive oil.  They are great with toppings or plain served with jam for breakfast.  They are best served straight out of the oven.

Sticky Toffee Cake with Butterscotch Sauce
When my husband saw me boiling the dates for this recipe on the stovetop he said, "that looks disgusting."  He was right.  Now I totally appreciate Bonnie's comment that "some restaurants make the mistake of sticky date cake" and people refuse to try it.  My husband tried it and loved it.  It's a wonderful recipe.  I also sent some to my mother-in-law (not by mail) and she loved them just plain without any of the sauce.  There are delicious and very sweet when served with the sauce.  I highly recommend serving them with French Vanilla ice cream.


And that's a wrap for this week.  Buy the book (Friday Night Dinners) and follow along!!

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