vegetarian – Page 23 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

Finally, an appetizer from the first section of the book. Another story for you: in my first apartment after I graduated college and moved back home to LA, I threw an 80s Valentine’s Day party, and 1-22: Onion-Potato Diamonds were one of the appetizers I made for it–another was 5-20: Golden Cheese Tartlettes.

Look at them. Something about them just screams 1980s cocktail party to me. This time around, I made them to take to a get-together I was attending, along with 17-36: Grandma’s Spice Cake. Both ended up being big hits.

I don’t know about you, but my grandma is not much of a baker. Or a cook. In fact, if it can’t be cooked in a microwave, she’s really not that interested. However, someone at Simply Delicious must have had a grandma who liked to bake, since they included 17-36: Grandma’s Spice Cake.

I suppose they called it Grandma’s Spice Cake because it’s “old-fashioned”. Regardless of if an actual grandma baked/created this, it’s actually pretty good.

While I was cooking 4-12: Cheesy Sliced Baked Potatoes, I also was working on this recipe–however be careful with this one: it takes a WHILE to make. 🕰

This recipe takes 2+ hours–most of which is just it baking in the oven. Just an FYI. 🙂

Here’s a yummy take on baked potatoes. These have been done before, but I’ve seen them referred to as hasselback potatoes.

Most of the hasselback potato recipes you’ll find don’t have cheese on top, so props to Simply Delicious for thinking outside the potato box. Or bag, as it were.

The other recipe I cooked before I took an extended break (the first being 3-2: New England Clam Chowder) would be these Cheese Sticks. I think this was one of those “burn off leftover ingredients” recipes.

Think of these Cheese Sticks as kind of like big Cheetos. This recipe is Card #15 in Subgroup #5 (Eggs & Cheese), found in Book 1.

This one…was challenging. And it seemed so simple! 4-30: Cheese-Stuffed Potato Croquettes are essentially mozzarella sticks with a mashed potato/panko coating. These turned from a quick snack into a multi-day attempt.

Now, before I scare you off this recipe: it was 100% my fault it went south. I tried to improvise in several places, and it proved to be my downfall each time. Sometimes you can take liberties, and sometimes you can’t.

Here’s how you learn those lessons.

It’s feeling a bit unbalanced around here–we need more from the back of the book. Here’s one from a brand new group: Pies & Cakes. Just in time for the cooler weather, we have 16-47: Orange-Almond Pie.

This came out really well: it tasted great, and you can make it in a toaster oven!

In 13-10: Zucchini Piccata, I had mentioned that I ended up with more zucchini than I could use in that recipe. Here’s what I did with the rest: I made 4-22: Zucchini Pancakes. I’ve made recipes similar to this before, but this one’s pretty standard.

These things are pretty good even if you’re not that into vegetables. Think of it as a healthier version of 4-17: Crispy Potato Pancakes.

Making 4-8: Roasted Peppers with Dressing arose more out of a need to use up peppers more so than a desire to eat the recipe itself. However, that being said–it wasn’t terrible.

The recipe card uses multi-colored peppers, and I used monochromatic ones. While the taste doesn’t vary much, the more colors you use, the more visually appealing it may be.

First of all, ANY mention of 3-8: Gazpacho must immediately be followed with a reference to this episode of the Simpsons.

“It’s tomato soup served ICE cold!”

Yes, Lisa. Yes it is. 🍅

It was the end of summer and we had a ton of tomatoes. It’s a winning combination. 🏆