layers – Page 2 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

14-8: Baked Alaska

Jamie Martin Group 14: Hot Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods July 4, 2020July 27, 20201998 dinner, 4th of July, American, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, cake pan, cakes, cognac, cooking class, dessert, egg whites, eggs, fairly easy, favorites, folded, granulated sugar, hot desserts, Hutton house, ice cream, inexpensive, jam/jelly/preserves, layers, liqueur, liquor, meringue, pastry bag, piped, raspberries, revisited, rum, stiff peaks, strawberries, summer, the sims, vegetarian

Today is Independence Day here in the U.S., so let’s do one of my favorite desserts and recipes from this book, 14-8: Baked Alaska. Obviously Simply Delicious didn’t invent this dish–it’s an American dessert that’s existed since Civil War times and is so well known you can even make it as a Sim.

I have a history with this particular version of the dish, however. I first made it as my “showstopper” dessert for a big family dinner I cooked as a teenager (along with a similarly-aged family friend) many years ago.

I also taught about 200 K-8 kids (ages 5-13ish) how to make this recipe and several others as part of an after-school cooking class program that was one of my first teaching-related jobs. I’ve been waiting YEARS to write this one, so now it’s your turn with it.

4-15: Scalloped Onions

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters April 13, 2019October 6, 2020all-purpose flour, basil, black pepper, broccoli, butter, carrots, cheese, chervil, cream sauce, dinner, dried herbs, egg-free, fajitas, fennel, grated, green bell peppers, herbs and spices, layers, paprika, Parmesan, parsley, peeled, red bell peppers, salt, sautéed, scalloped, side dish, sliced, tarragon, thyme, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

“It smells like weird Mexican food in here,” Jamie said as she walked in the door. She wasn’t wrong. The example image sets a rustic farm tone with the watering can, basket of red peppers, and parmesan cheese in the background. The watering can even has onions painted on it. Awesome!

When I saw that it will need reheating before eating, I decided to make this dish in a large rectangle Pyrex. I made this recipe at half size to accommodate the baking dish. I only used two onions because Simply Delicious bases the number of onions on the smaller onions that were available when these recipes were written. Two was more than enough.

15-29: Raspberry-Lemon Parfait

Adam Martin Group 15: Cold Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods February 15, 2019October 29, 2020chilled, cold desserts, creamed, creamy, crème fraîche, dessert, egg yolks, eggs, fairly easy, fairly expensive, folded, frozen, garnish, gluten-free, granulated sugar, grated, layers, lemon juice, lemon peel, lemons, loaf pan, mashed, mason jars, meringue, parfaits, party food, purée, raspberries, sliced, sour cream, summer, untested, vegetarian, whipped, whipping cream, zested

A nice, cool parfait is the perfect dish for summertime. Raspberry and lemon are two of my favorite flavors and they blend together nicely to create this creamy dessert. My version of 15-29: Raspberry-Lemon Parfait will look much different from what you see here, but it is equally as delicious even though it is lactose-free.

The set designer and photographer did a particularly good job of staging the photo for this recipe card. The fresh raspberries and lemon rind really add a nice pop of color. The choice of tablecloth, wine, grapes, and flowers each provide a nice contrast to the yellow and white creamy colors of the dish and the parfait itself.

Editor’s note: This entry was written last summer, but didn’t get posted until now.

12-33: Individual Beef Lasagna

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses April 23, 2018October 27, 2020beef, boiled, broccoli, canola oil, celery, cheese, cream of mushroom, creamy, dinner, dried herbs, fairly easy, fairly expensive, grated, half-and-half, herbs and spices, individual, lasagna, layers, leeks, lunch, melted, milk, mushrooms, olive oil, oregano, parsnips, pasta/noodles, peeled, roast beef, sautéed, sliced, untested, vegetables

Have you ever thought to make individual servings of lasagna? I’ve never thought to make lasagna in single servings and after attempting 12-33: Individual Beef Lasagna, I would not try it again. Join me, won’t you? Watch as I do my best to follow this recipe from deep within the minds of the wacky editors of Simply Delicious.

The example photo looks so elegant. The blue rimmed wine glass is excellent, I wish I had a set of those. The description is not hyperbolic when it says this is a completely new version of lasagna. It’s barely lasagna.

17-44: Homemade Danish Pastries

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods May 29, 2017September 21, 2020all-purpose flour, applesauce, baked goods, breakfast, brunch, butter, cake yeast, chilled, chocolate, creamy, custard, Danish, dark chocolate, dollop, dough, egg wash, eggs, fairly hard, fairly inexpensive, flaky, folded, glazed, granulated sugar, layers, MD2017, melted, milk, Mother's Day, party food, pastry, powdered sugar, proofed, pudding, puff pastry, salt, sliced, untested, vegetarian, yeast

Strap in ladies and gents, this one’s a long one. As part of my Mother’s Day brunch this year (MD2017), I thought I’d raise the bar and attempt some of the harder ones in the book–nothing impresses your mother like showing her you can cook (and bake). My mom LOVES pastries, so I made her 17-44: Homemade Danish Pastries to nosh on while I worked on trying to serve up 5-4: Eggs Benedict. Luckily, these turned out better than my hollandaise sauce attempt did.

Obviously, mine look a bit different than what’s pictured on their card–we’ll get into all the decisions and pitfalls that led to that being the case after the jump.

15-19: Layered Fruit Salad

Jamie Martin Group 15: Cold Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods May 28, 2017July 30, 2020bananas, breakfast, brunch, chilled, cold desserts, dairy-free, dessert, diced, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, frozen, fruit, fruit salad, gluten-free, grapes, kiwis, layers, lunch, MD2017, Mother's Day, orange juice, oranges, party food, peaches, peeled, powdered sugar, raspberries, side dish, sliced, snacks, spring, summer, supreme, untested, vegan, vegetarian

It’s a few weeks after Mother’s Day at this point, but better late than never. This year for Mother’s Day, I took a few Simply Delicious recipes and decided to make a brunch menu out of them for my mom. We usually do lox and bagels at home for our holiday brunch celebrations, but this year I wanted the full Mother’s Day buffet experience–but still at home. It’s not brunch without fruit salad, so the first entry for this grand event (MD2017) is 15-19: Layered Fruit Salad.

But wait a minute, you say! This is from the Cold Desserts category? How can it be for brunch?

It’s fancy fruit salad–I think it’ll be okay either as a dessert or a brunch side dish. Plus, I need to burn off some of these dessert recipes–so many of them require fresh fruit and summer is the best time for that.

16-24: French Chocolate Cake

Jamie Martin Group 16: Pies & Cakes, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods March 18, 2017November 5, 2020all-purpose flour, baked goods, baking powder, butter, cake pan, cakes, candied, chilled, chocolate, cocoa powder, cornstarch, creamed, creamy, decorative, double boiler, egg yolks, eggs, fairly easy, fairly expensive, filling, French, frosted, garnish, glazed, granulated sugar, grapes, icing, layers, marmalade, oranges, party food, powdered sugar, semisweet, sifted, springform pan, unsweetened, untested, vegetarian, wax paper

I recently attended a baby shower for a former co-worker and took it as an opportunity to knock out two more Simply Delicious desserts: 16-39: Apricot Tart and this one, 16-24: French Chocolate Cake. I wanted to bring something fruit/nut and something just plain chocolate, since some people there had nut allergies and others might just want something simple and chocolate.

This was a combination birthday party/baby shower (same person being honored for both), which will hopefully explain the odd decorations on my version of the cake. I’ve spared you pictures of the worst of my decoration choices, but let’s just say I made liberal use of all 4 colors of a grocery store icing kit. I kept meaning to hit a craft store for better cake decorations (or even Amazon), but time got away from me. ⏳

1-18: Club Sandwich

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters February 20, 2017January 28, 2020American, appetizers, bacon, chicken, chili sauce, cooked chicken, dairy-free, dinner, dressing, easy, garnish, green olives, grilled, iceberg lettuce, inexpensive, ketchup, layers, lettuce, lunch, mayonnaise, New York, pan-fried, radicchio, restaurant-style, sandwiches, sliced, spinach, Tabasco sauce, toasted, tomatoes, toothpicks, turkey, untested, vegetables, white bread, whole wheat bread

In honor of Presidents Day today, here’s a classic American dish: 1-18: Club Sandwich. Wikipedia claims the club sandwich (or “clubhouse sandwich”) originated in late 19th century New York. It’s not hard to find one these days, and while the Simply Delicious version is not quite restaurant-sized (usually they’re HUGE), it’s still a hearty lunch or dinner option. 🇺🇸

I have no idea what’s going on with their picture or description of this sandwich–their picture only shows one layer (no middle bread) and the order of ingredients they describe above doesn’t match the recipe. I think I’m sticking with the recipe version.

18-9: Pasta I

Jamie Martin Group 18: Basic Techniques, Section 4: Cooking School January 4, 2017September 30, 2020angel hair, butter, cannelloni, cheese sauce, cooking school, fettuccini, lasagna, layers, mafalde, manicotti, meat sauce, Parmesan, pasta/noodles, spaghetti, spinach, stuffed, tagliatelle, tomato sauce, vegetarian, vermicelli

Simply Delicious dedicates its last few chapters to “Cooking School“, comprised of informational cards on various techniques, ingredients, & basic recipes that any serious cook should learn to master. 18-9: Pasta I is the first in a two-part series about pasta, the second being 18-10: Pasta II. This particular card covers a few different shapes of pasta, including spaghetti, fettuccini, & lasagna. 🍽

18-9: Pasta I only begins to scratch the surface of different types of pasta–there are so many more out there. The important takeaways from this particular set of tips are the different kinds of sauce that go with the various shapes, as well as how to identify some common variances in the shapes. 18-10: Pasta II goes more into the cooking and serving of pasta, as well as listing a few more shape/sauce combinations if you’re looking for a bit more from Simply Delicious on the topic. 📚

5-33: Omelette Stacks with Rice

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 10, 2016October 14, 2020Asian, breakfast, candied, canola oil, chutney, cooked rice, cooked shrimp, dairy-free, dinner, dips, eggs, fairly easy, garlic, ginger, granulated sugar, green onions, ham, inexpensive, julienned, layers, leeks, lunch, minced, omelette, Oriental, rice, salt, Saturday, sautéed, seafood, sesame oil, shellfish, shrimp, smoked ham, soy sauce, stacked, steamed, tamari, untested, vegetable oil, white wine vinegar

Hey there. October’s been a crazy busy month IRL so far, but I’ve got some entries banked that I’ll start posting, so expect some more entries coming soon. This one, 5-33: Omelette Stacks with Rice, was a Saturday morning breakfast a few weeks ago that was born out of an abundance of eggs and leftover cooked rice. 🍚

Simply Delicious suggests serving it as a main course (presumably for lunch or dinner as opposed to breakfast, to which they seem to be drawing a contrast), but you eat it whenever you like. 🌇