Rippin' Another Blog: Sweetly Serendipity

Who doesn't love a good - and I mean good - side dish?

I've been saying for years that I think it's the sign of a good chef who can lovingly make the side dish as interesting, flavorful, and delectable as the main. 

And you know what? .....Taryn @ Sweetly Serendipity is a pro. Not to mention an awesome super babe. Hey - when a girl can make vegetables taste the way she did, a girl's gotta butter her up. Besides, how else am I gonna talk her into coming to Victoria to cook me dinner?

...Starting this week, "Post from Another Blog" posts are going to be a little different around here. Instead of simply (and separately) picking a recipe from any old blog we felt like, Haydn and I are taking turns choosing a blog from which we will both select a recipe from and see what we come up with. Will we choose the same recipe? Will we choose different ones? The suspense is killing me! Okay, maybe not. But I think it'll be more interesting, yes?

So for this week's blog, we're taking on Taryn. I chose Taryn because I know her from The Secret Recipe Club and after having made her fabulous rice pudding, I felt like the woman and her blog deserved more props because as I said earlier, she's kind of awesome.

And this time around, just as the first, she did not disappoint. I only have 3 words for you: Summer. Vegetable. Gratin.

The crunchyness of the breadcrumby salty Parmesan, sweetness of the caramelized onions, delicateness of the Summer friendly squash, and acidity from the tomatoes made this a highly enjoyable side that I plan on making again. For reals. Thank you Taryn darling!

Summer Vegetable Gratin

(printable recipe) - serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 Lb Zucchini, sliced into 1/4" thick rounds.

1 Lb Yellow Zucchini, sliced into 1/4" thick rounds.

3-4 Large Ripe Tomatoes, sliced 1/4" thick.

2 Medium Onions, halved and sliced thin (approx. 3 cups).

2 Medium Sized Garlic Cloves, minced.

1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme, stemmed and chopped.

6 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

1 Handful Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped or roughly torn.

1 C Panko Crumbs.

1 C Parmesan Cheese, grated.

Coarse Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

What to Do:

Toss the zucchini in a colander with a good helping of salt. Let sit for about 45 minutes and drain well - you may want to pat dry with a tea towel to remove excess moisture. 

In a separate colander (or lay on a towel on the counter) - do the same with the tomatoes. 

As your veggies de-moisturize, heat a couple Tbsp of oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions. Stir well. Turn the heat down to medium-low and slowly caramelize them, stirring every few minutes or so until dark golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F and spray a 9 X 9" baking dish with non-stick spray.

As the oven heats, combine the garlic, 3 Tbsp of oil, a good helping of pepper and thyme in a mixing bowl. Add the zucchini and toss well to coat.

Pour the entire zucchini bowl into the prepared baking dish, topping with the onions and finishing off with the tomatoes, overlapping just slightly.

Place in the oven and bake 40-45 minutes or until the tomatoes are pulling away from the sides of the dish and the edges are just starting to brown.

In a bowl, mix together the panko, parmesan and a Tbsp of oil. Remove the dish from the oven, turn the heat up to 450 degrees and top with this mixture. When the oven is ready, place back inside and allow the top to brown and crust (approx 5-10 minutes). 

Remove from the oven, top with the basil, and serve.

Eat.

What's your favorite part of a meal? Appeteaser? Main? Side? Dessert? The alcohol?

This post is linked up with Cast Party Wednesday; Whole Foods Wednesday; Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways; The Wednesday Fresh Foods Blog Hop; Showcase Your Talent Thursday; Keep it Real Thursdays; Full Plate Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday;

Black Currant Scones

The Lowdown:

I am definitely not a breakfast person. I am definitely not a baking person. In fact, the amount of times I've that eaten a breakfast-style meal (other than the odd omlette) and/or baked can probably be counted using my fingers. Baking to me lacks creativity. Breakfast to me lacks about everything I like. More often than not I'll have a sandwich or last night's leftovers for breakfast. Breakfast and I are not best friends. Perhaps we are merely acquaintances that say hello as we pass by each other, but avoid the unpleasant small-talk.

However, with every rule there is always an exception. Like when a parent "counts to three," but then they add the halves and quarters of seconds to extend the amount of time. If you ask me, it's a great way to teach fractions. But in reality we all know that parents only do it because they have no idea what they'd actually do if they ever reached three. My exception to baking is the scone (pronounced skon). Similarly, my exception to my lack of interest in breakfast is the scone.

Scones and I go way back. No, we didn't ride tandem bicycles together; and when we are seperated I don't get the blues. But the thought of me using somebody else's recipe may strike a bit of discussion with my father. Every Sunday, and most holidays, usually started with scones. Our scones to be exact. That is, until I discovered that I could make a lot of poor decisions on a Saturday night and wake up hungover on a Sunday morning, making me unable to operate an oven. Either way, it was the easiest recipe to find, because the cookbook opened to that page on its own. Not that it mattered, I knew it off by heart. Even still, when I go to visit, we usually end up making them. By we, I mean my little brother, because that's about all he contributes to in the kitchen.

So, a big thanks for {Sweetly} Serendipity's Black Cherry Scones envoking that same feeling that I can almost remember from all those years back. Oh right, I almost forgot to mention. This week, Kristy and I are both re-creating a recipe from the same blog (normally we choose our own separate blog). Obviously, {Sweetly} Serendipity was the blog chosen. You forced me to bake this week Kristy. You win this time. Next time, I think I choose a goat only blog. Oh, how I love power.

The Playlist:

1 cup Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking powder
1/8 tsp Baking soda
4 tbsp Shortening (or butter)
1/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup Sour cream
1 cup Black currants

The Skinny:

1. Preheat oven to 400*.
2. Mix dry goods together in a large mixing bowl. Add shortening and, using a pastry cutter, cut the shortening into the flour mixture until it is the size of rice grains.
3. Mix the sour cream and milk together in a small bowl then add to the flour mixture. Turn using a wooden spoon until a solid ball forms. Add the currants and gently mix them into the dough.
4. Flour a surface and push the ball into a 1.5" thick pizza dough shape. Cut into desired number of pieces (I made 8), then place on a parchment papered baking sheet.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, Chef in Training, 33 Shades of Green, 

Stay Rad - h