I was inspired! Bon Appetit - Tomato Cheddar Pie and Rosemary Grilled Chicken

Early in May the Weekend Cooking series over at Beth Fish Reads had a feature on Bon Appetit. That was inspiring....so much so that we recently made a menu of Bon Appetit's Tomato Cheddar Pie and Rosemary Grilled Chicken. Let's look at the meal with photos first then I will share two lovely and easy recipes with you...at the end.



This prep part is quick and easy.



The wafting aromas of rosemary and charcoal made you instantly ravenous. There is nothing like chicken sizzling away on a charcoal grill.



The tomato cheddar pie looks like a little pizza. You can pick up slices as you would a pizza too. It's messy that way but we don't stand on ceremony here :-)



Here is a link and lovely photo (courtesy of the folks at Bon Appetit) for the recipe for Grilled Rosemary Chicken

And below is the recipe for a summery side dish or light lunch:

Tomato and Cheddar Pie

Ingredients

Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons(3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk

Filling
2 pounds large ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4" slices
2 ½ cupscoarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar (8-9 ounces)
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan (1/2 ounce)
1 scallion, trimmed, chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2tablespoons cornmeal

Use a 9"-diameter glass or ceramic pie dish

Preparation

For the Crust (* If you are in a hurry use the pre-made crust available in your dairy cases at the market)

Whisk first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in butter until coarse meal forms and some small lumps remain. Stir in buttermilk and knead gently with your hands until dough forms. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for 1 hour.

For the Filling
Lay tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with 2 layers of paper towels. Place another 2 layers of paper towels on top of tomatoes. Let stand for 30 minutes to drain.

Preheat oven to 425°. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to an 11" round. Remove top layer of plastic wrap. Invert dough onto pie dish. Carefully peel off plastic wrap.

Toss both cheeses in a medium bowl until evenly incorporated. Reserve 1/4 cup of cheese mixture. Whisk scallion, mayonnaise, dill, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Sprinkle cornmeal evenly over bottom of crust, then top with 1/2 cup cheese mixture. Arrange 1/3 of tomatoes over cheese, overlapping as needed. Spread half of mayonnaise mixture (about 1/3 cup) over. Repeat layering with 1 cup of cheese mixture, 1/2 of remaining tomato slices, and remaining mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese mixture over, then remaining tomato slices. Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup cheese mixture. Fold overhanging crust up and over edges of tomato slices.

Bake pie until crust is golden and cheese is golden brown, 35-40 minutes (check crust halfway and tent with foil if it's getting too dark). It is recommended you allow the pie to sit and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. There wasn’t any question about this – that baby was cut and served after 20 minutes tops! It may not come out in perfect slices if you don’t cool completely but, who cares!

Adding my review to Beth Fish Reads for her Weekend Cooking Series and Cream Puffs in Venice for her roundup of Magazine Monday. These recipes are from Bon Appetit, August 2011 issue.



Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.