– by Neil White (on my Kindle) – a really, really interesting book. It’s a memoir about the year the author spent in prison in Louisiana. About his sanctimonious attitude when he arrived there (he was convicted of kiting checks trying to keep his publishing business afloat) and what he learns during his year. But as much as it’s about his life as a prisoner, it’s more about the other residents of the prison – the last remaining lepers (Hansen’s Disease) who are provided for in the facility. Neil White is quite a character and I wondered more than once if he was ever going to “get it,” that he was greedy and egotistical. The book wasn’t published for about 10 years after his release, so at least he didn’t profit immediately by telling tales. The epilogue was so sad – listing the deaths of many of the leprosy patients and some of the inmates he came to call friends. One person at amazon commented that it was not worth reading because the author profited from his incarceration, and that he didn’t appear to have redeemed himself. I disagree – I think he did. If he didn’t, then he knows how to spin a good yarn. I choose to believe he learned a whole lot about himself and where his life took a (wrong) left turn, and that he’s trying to atone for his failings by publishing the book. You decide.
- by P.D. James (on my Kindle) – if I hadn’t read about this book in the Los Angeles Times a week or so ago I’d never have pursued this book. It’s nothing even close to her wealth of books of the mystery genre. But yes, it IS a mystery (not something I normally read) but it takes place about 5 years after Pride and Prejudice leaves off. That was the hook for me. An entertaining read and a way to keep in touch with all the lovable (and not-so) characters from Jane Austen’s classic. It’s not a page-turner in the true mystery-murder style, but it’s fun to read.
– by Judith Ryan Hendricks – I picked up this book at a lending library I use now and then. I have to laugh, though – the collection of books (probably numbering about 350 or so) is divided by paperback and hardback. And then by color. COLOR? I find that so ludicrous. But anyway, the title caught my eye. It’s definitely a novel, about a youngish woman who’s been a baker and a chef, but who is suddenly single. It’s about her struggle to find herself, to find a new rhythm of life. In the telling of the journey some recipes are included (baked goods, including bread-bread), which are available on the 
– by Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) – most everyone who reads blogs knows about Ree – the Pioneer Woman, from Pawhuska, Oklahoma. She’s always entertaining, whimsical and enjoyable to read. A couple of years ago she wrote a memoir of her romance with Ladd, her now husband. I can’t count how many times, as I was reading this, that I was LOLing (Laughing Out Loud). She is such a witty writer and knows how to tell a story. Even though I know she married Ladd and has since had 4 children, I was caught up in her story from the first page. I wrote it up in more detail on
– (on my Kindle) Michael Tucker (from L.A. Law some years ago) and his wife, on a whim almost, buy a home in Umbria. An old, old, old house with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, I think, and a nice terrace (where a lot of living goes on in Italian homes and families). It’s the story of the purchase itself, the friends they meet, the neighbors, how Michael finds the best butcher(s), bakers and candlestick makers. It made me long for another trip to Italy, actually. They enlarge the home, although they’re not there for most of the construction. It’s a similar tale to Frances Mayes’ books and Peter Mayle’s books too, but it’s different. Tucker is a TV star; his wife’s a stage actress. They live on some higher plane than I do, for sure, with lots of friends with connections. But it’s a cute story and I enjoyed it clear to the end.
(Stacy Schiff); 
; and 
.
Will you just trust me on this one? Make it, please. Providing you like tomatoes. And cheese. And fresh corn. And pie crust. Oh, it’s so utterly delicious.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a long time, you may remember that I posted a similar pie two years ago. It was called a Savory Tomato & Gruyere Pie. And, in fact, this one is also savory, also full of tomatoes, and gruyere cheese. But after I made that pie in 2009 I also made another one – a Tomato & Corn Pie in a Biscuit Crust. I particularly liked the corn in the 2nd rendition. But I thought the first one had better taste. So this time I had both recipes handy and decided to make some changes. All for the better, I assure you! I think this recipe has all the best of both recipes in it. If you’d prefer to use the biscuit crust, by all means do so.
I made a short crust tart shell (you can either roll it out and place in the pie plate, or press it in if you’re piecrust-challenged) and put it into my 9-inch pie dish. I sautéed some onion, added the fresh corn cut off the cob, and a little bit of Sriracha sauce. After the pie shell baked for awhile, I spread the bottom of the crust with about 3 ounces of garlic-and-herb Boursin cheese. It’s a protective layer to keep the moist veggies from soaking into the tender, flaky piecrust. And I used Boursin because I didn’t have any cream cheese in the refrigerator. This worked just fine. The pie shell was still fairly warm, so the cheese really softened a lot. Then I poured in the onion-corn mixture and spread it around. Meanwhile, I’d cut up about 2 1/2 cups of fresh heirloom tomatoes. I cored the tomatoes, cut them in wedges, then squeezed the dickens out of them and put them on some paper towels. Then I squeezed them again to get almost all the juice out of them but still keep the pieces intact. Then I cut the tomatoes into pieces and placed them in the pie and sprinkled the top with a small handful of sliced basil. Then I mixed up the Gruyere cheese, mozzarella cheese and mayonnaise (sinful, I know) and dabbed little pieces all over the top of the tart. There isn’t enough to really spread; besides, the mixture is very sticky, so I used my hands and dropped little bits of it all over the top, then used a spatula to sort-of spread it more evenly. There will be a few holes here and there.
That’s it – bake for about 30 minutes – until the cheese is bubbling away. I let it sit for a few minutes (letting it rest for about 10 minutes would be best – it will cut better), slice and serve with a few more bits of fresh basil on top. I made a green salad with some soft butter lettuce and my latest Lemon Sherry Vinegar Salad Dressing. Perfection. My DH raved. And raved. I cut us each one slice for dinner and it was all we could do to keep our forks out of the pie plate to have more. We were good. But I had it for lunch the next day, heated in the microwave for about 45 seconds. More perfection!
printer-friendly PDF – doesn’t include the pie crust
MasterCook 5+ import file (click to run MC or right click to save file)
Tomato Corn Pie
Recipe By: Adapted significantly from Simply Recipes blog
Serving Size: 7-8
NOTES: If using Gruyere, it’s a very salty cheese, so don’t salt
1 whole pie shell — 9 inch unbaked
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 whole yellow or red onion — chopped finely
2 cups fresh corn — cut off the cobs (2-3 ears)
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce — (or more to taste)
2 1/2 cups tomatoes — cut in half horizontally
3 ounces Boursin cheese — at room temperature, garlic flavored
1/4 cup basil — sliced in thin strips
2 1/2 cups grated cheese — a combination of Gruyere and Mozzarella
2/3 cup mayonnaise
Freshly ground black pepper
Basil leaves for garnish
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line the unbaked pie shell with waxed paper and add pie weights, pushing them up the sides if possible. Bake for 10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. Reduce oven temp to 350° and bake for another 5-10 minutes. Remove pie shell from oven. Allow to cool just a couple of minutes and gently remove waxed paper (and pie weights), using the waxed paper as a sling. Set pie shell on a rack while you complete the rest of the pie. You can make the pie shell earlier in the day and let it sit at room temp until you’re ready to continue.
2. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, then drain on paper towels. Again squeeze gently in your hands, too, to get the last bit of juice out, without pulverizing the tomato flesh in the process. Chop the tomatoes into small bite-sized pieces.
3. In a medium saute pan heat canola oil and cook over medium heat until the onion is limp. Turn up the heat and add the corn and continue cooking until the corn has browned just a little bit, at the most 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the hot sauce and stir to mix it well. Set aside.
4. Spread the softened Boursin cheese all over the bottom of the baked pie shell, then gently pour in the onion-corn mixture and spread it around, out to the edges too. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.
5. In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheeses, mayonnaise and freshly ground black pepper. Using your hands (it’s gooey) drop small little clumps of the cheese mixture all over the top of the pie, spreading it out to the edges as much as possible. There will still be a few holes here and there.
6. Bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes, sprinkle top with more chopped basil and serve in wedges.
Per Serving (includes the pie shell): 546 Calories; 46g Fat (71.8% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 631mg Sodium.
If you’d like to try my short crust shell, this is the recipe I use most often (and that isn’t often because I rarely bake pies, but when I do, this is my go-to recipe). It’s one I got from a Joanne Weir cooking class eons ago (probably 10-15 years) and once I saw how easy this was (even for me who is sometimes piecrust-challenged) I’ve made it many, many times. Sometimes I roll it out, other times I use the press-in technique in the recipe.
printer-friendly PDF (short crust only)
MasterCook 5+ import file – click to run MC or right click to save file
Short Crust (Press-In) Tart Shell
Recipe By: Joanne Weir, from one of her cookbooks
Serving Size: 8
NOTES: This is oh-so-good, and easy. This is a very rich, tender and crumbly pastry. It doesn’t act like a traditional piecrust. If using this for a savory filling (like quiche), add only about 1 tsp. of sugar, and eliminate the lemon zest. I have also successfully rolled this out with a rolling pin (for a piecrust, not a tart). Just don’t get the dough too thin or it will fall apart once you try to transfer it to a pie plate.
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar — (if making a dessert)
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest — (if making a dessert)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons ice water — or more as needed
1. Warm butter at room temperature for a maximum of 15 minutes before proceeding.
2. In a food processor fit with a metal blade, mix the flour, sugar and salt with a few pulses. Add lemon zest and butter and pulse until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add about 2 tsp. of water, or up to a maximum of 1 T., just until the dough holds together into a ball. Remove from the processor, flatten into a 6-inch disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
3. Remove pastry from refrigerator and allow to sit out (covered) for about 15-20 minutes before proceeding. Have ready a 9-inch tart shell with removable bottom. Or you may use a traditional pie plate. Take a small piece of pastry, about 1 inch by 3 inches and press it into the side evenly. Continue adding more pieces until you have a solid edge. If the dough is too stiff, press it between your palms to warm it slightly, then make into a kind of rope and press into side of tart shell. Take remaining pastry and press in pieces into bottom of pan and pat out so the pastry is mostly even. Do your best to press the corners so that right angle doesn’t become too deep with dough. Set the shell in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking. Use this time to preheat the oven to 400°.
4. Line the pastry with parchment or waxed paper and scatter dry beans or pie weights into the parchment. Make sure the beans reach up close to the edges. Bake until the top edges are very lightly golden, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights, reduce oven temperature to 375° and continue to bake until the shell is golden brown, another 15-20 minutes.
Per Serving): 204 Calories; 15g Fat (63.7% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 39mg Cholesterol; 19mg Sodium.
Leave a Comment!