16-18: Lemon Basil Tart

16-18: Lemon Basil Tart

Here’s one I’ve wanted to make for a LONG time, but never got to. I had even intended to do a version of 16-18: Lemon Basil Tart when I worked at the restaurant and was doing tarts every week moonlighting as the pastry chef, but the day I intended to make it, we were short on lemons and basil. Now I finally have a chance, and I even have the big tart pan in which to properly make it.

16-18 Lemon Basil Tart

I didn’t even see until now that they mention that basil is related to mint–it makes sense. In this tart, the basil functions a lot like mint, and gives the tart a “fresh” flavor that just lemon wouldn’t provide. It took me a while to get to it, but it was worth it. 🍋🌿


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9-20: Meat Roly-Poly

9-20: Meat Roly-Poly

Here’s one I’ve made before. In one of my previous entries (6-22: Crispy Chicken Drumsticks), I mentioned doing all the cooking for a family dinner party when I was 12-13 years old with a similarly-aged family friend of mine. 9-20: Meat Roly-Poly is another one of the recipes I remember making for that party.

Another memory from this dinner party: I had just gotten a new CD (Version 2.0 by Garbage) and we were listening to it on my parents’ GIANT 1970s hi-fi stereo system over and over as we spent the day cooking. Gives you an idea of how old I am, and how long I’ve been cooking from this book.


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1-16: Mushrooms Escargot

1-16: Mushrooms Escargot

Here’s another mushroom recipe for you. 1-16: Mushrooms Escargot is similar to the last recipe I did, 2-2: Mushrooms à la Grecque, in that it’s a fancy name for a pretty well-known dish. Simply Delicious does that a LOT. This one is essentially stuffed mushrooms, something most everyone’s familiar with.

1-16 Mushrooms Escargot

This recipe in-and-of itself doesn’t contain or use actual snails, but it’s suggested you can add them if you want. I didn’t go quite that far (although I’m not opposed to the idea), but the mushrooms provide a similar experience that’s not quite as…exotic. 🐌


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2-2: Mushrooms à la Grecque

2-2: Mushrooms à la Grecque

À la Grecque” means “in the Greek way” in French, and 2-2: Mushrooms à la Grecque is a French preparation of vegetables (in this case mushrooms) in a seasoned oil and wine marinade. Simply Delicious considers this a salad, so I guess we’ll go with that description as well.

This is essentially marinated mushrooms, a pretty classic dish. This one’s pretty simple, it holds well, and most people are into it, so it makes a good party dish too. 🍄


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9-33: Teriyaki Meat Loaf

9-33: Teriyaki Meat Loaf

It’s taken me a while to think of something original to say about 9-33: Teriyaki Meat Loaf. Neither component is revolutionary at this point–there’s not too many people left in 2016 that are unaware of either concept, and Asian fusion is nowhere near a new culinary trend. There’s a million versions out there–here’s just a few. I’ve even already covered meatloaf on here before–9-28: Stuffed Meat Loaf.

Simply Delicious’ version of teriyaki is pretty close–usually it’s composed of soy sauce, mirin, and ginger. It was probably more difficult to source mirin in the 1980s, so they used sherry instead. Anyway, after the jump you can read about yet another way to do meat loaf.


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5-39: Asparagus-Clam Quiche

5-39: Asparagus-Clam Quiche

Since there’s been a lot of asparagus around lately, I’ve been trying to get through as many asparagus-related Simply Delicious recipes as I can. 5-39: Asparagus-Clam Quiche doesn’t sound particularly exciting or palatable, but it involves our featured ingredient and we have to cover them all, so onward we go.

5-39 Asparagus-Clam Quiche

Quiche is not a foreign concept for Simply Delicious–check out 5-1: Mushroom & Cheese Pie, 5-7: Quiche Lorraine, or 5-23: Cheese Pie with Tomatoes for a few different takes on the dish.


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9-30: South American Meatballs

9-30: South American Meatballs

There are LOTS of different ways to prepare meatballs–at least 20 according to this Serious Eats piece. So far, the only meatball recipe I’ve covered on here is 9-4: Swedish Meatballs, although 9-44: Wok-Fried Beef Patties are pretty close. A quick Google search brings up albondigas for “South American meatballs”. Prior to 9-30: South American Meatballs, my only experience with either of these concepts is something similar to this recipe that you get at Mexican restaurants. And none of it involves coconut🌴

Coconut is the main thing here–it’s meatballs with coconut all up in there. It’s not a bad taste, just an an acquired one. Paprika is usually associated with Hungarian (European) cuisine, but its origins are in the Americas, brought over during all of that New World/Old World business in the 16th century.


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7-34: Grilled Pork Slices with Garlic

7-34: Grilled Pork Slices with Garlic

Since the last entry was a garlic & beef entry (8-20: Juicy Steak with Garlic Topping), here’s another garlic recipe for you, this time with pork: 7-34: Grilled Pork Slices with Garlic. I used a cast-iron grill pan for this, but you could use a BBQ or even just do a pan-sear if that’s what you’ve got.

This is some serious garlic game–whole cloves, in fact. But they’re right–blanching them does make them pretty mild and yummy. If you’re willing to risk some garlic breath, this recipe is a pretty decent one to check out.


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4-9: Asparagus with Italian Butter Sauce

4-9: Asparagus with Italian Butter Sauce

Late March/early April is right around the time asparagus begins its short season, so if you happen to find yourself with some in the near future, here’s a recipe for you: 4-9: Asparagus with Italian Butter Sauce. I served this as a side dish along with 8-20: Juicy Steak with Garlic Topping.

4-9 Asparagus with Italian Butter Sauce

There’s such a short window of time when asparagus is in season–you start seeing it around March-April, and it’s done around early summer, in June-July. We’ve recently signed back up for our CSA box after a break, and asparagus was waiting for us in the first one.


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7-27: Pork Tenderloin in Creamy Sauce

7-27: Pork Tenderloin in Creamy Sauce

I had mentioned in 7-36: Pork Tenderloin with Curry Sauce that I had an abundance of pork tenderloin due to a Costco sale. As I work my way through the freezer (mostly because I keep adding new things into it), I find myself with another pork tenderloin–this time, we’ll try it as 7-27: Pork Tenderloin in Creamy Sauce.

There’s not a HUGE difference conceptually between this one and 7-36: Pork Tenderloin with Curry Sauce–the major differences are just spices & condiments added to the final sauce. Otherwise, this is another perfectly serviceable weeknight dinner option, or even a decent meal for entertaining.


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