Vegetable
Individual Potato and Onion Tartes Tatin
These tartlets can be assembled and refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap, three to four hours in advance; bake just before serving.
Tomato Tart
This tart can be made a day ahead and kept at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap. Reheat in a 300°F oven until warmed through.
Sausage and Feta Hand Pies
If you prefer less spice, omit the red pepper flakes. When you make the dough for this recipe, instead of shaping the pieces into disks, pat them into rectangles; this will make the dough easier to roll out and cut into squares.
Easter Pie
This savory Italian pastry is traditionally served on Easter Sunday, but it is delicious any time of year. If you want to drain the ricotta, place it in a sieve lined with cheesecloth for about an hour; discard the liquid before proceeding.
Roasted-Tomato Bread
This bread is also delicious garnished with fresh marjoram or oregano; coarsely chop one-quarter cup herbs, then sprinkle over baked bread.
Pizza Sauce
This sauce can be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for up to one month; let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Thaw frozen sauce completely in the refrigerator.
Pizza Margherita
Keep dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one day; before using, let it come to room temperature. If freezing, dough should be shaped and wrapped well in plastic first. Thaw completely in the refrigerator.
Pissaladière
Pissaladière is a specialty of the southern French town of Nice. Named for pissalat (“salted fish”), this tart always includes anchovies, either whole or puréed, which are spread over the dough before baking.
Carrot-Ginger Cupcakes
An abundance of grated carrots makes these cupcakes moist, while granulated sugar, instead of the traditional brown, keeps them light.
Cornbread
Sautéed corn moistens this cornbread, but you can omit it if you are using the bread in a traditional stuffing. For a spicy variation, add two medium jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped, to the corn before sautéeing.
Pumpkin Bread
If you use miniloaf pans, reduce the baking time to forty-five minutes. This bread is delightful as soon as it cools, but it’s even better the next day, when the flavors have had a chance to develop.
Fennel and Golden-Raisin Scones
The dough for these savory scones gets its unique texture and flavor from a combination of butter and olive oil. It was inspired by a similarly flavored yeast bread sold at Amy’s Bread in New York City.
Green Tomato Mincemeat Pie
There are never any leftovers of this flavorful pie at Mrs. Rowe’s Country Buffet. Because green tomatoes have such a short season, customers have many long months to look forward to this pie, with its robust spice and vinegar essences perfectly mingled with an underlying sweetness. The flavors unfold with every bite. Longtime regular customers know to get to the restaurant early enough to enjoy a slice. If the green tomato season slips by, try tomatillos instead. This pie also works as a side dish with pork chops or chicken.
Mrs. Brown’s Winter Squash Pie
Thanks to Mrs. Brown, mother of longtime Mrs. Rowe’s employee Eric Brown, for this gently flavored pie recipe. It’s a testament to the Southern creative ability to use everything from the garden, not letting anything go to waste.
Spicy Pumpkin Pie
This pie, so deep orange that it’s almost brown, gives off a heavenly scent as it bakes. It’s a warmer, richer twist on the traditional pumpkin pie recipe. If you like, garnish the center of the pie with pecans after it’s baked.
Butternut Squash Pie
This extremely moist pie tastes milky and sweet. The consistency is nothing like pumpkin pie; rather than being a smooth custard, it’s sturdy and textured.
Sweet Potato Pie
Mildred’s grandson Aaron DiGrassie learned to make this pie during his days of cooking at the Excelsior Hotel in Italy. With its sturdy texture and perfect amount of sweetness, this recipe seems like it could have come from any Southern granny’s recipe file.
Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes
Although the flavor might seem unusual for a cupcake, sweet potatoes have long been pureed and baked into desserts, such as sweet potato pie. This playful rendition of a traditional Thanksgiving side dish—complete with mini marshmallows and candied pecans on top—will appeal to anyone who loves the sweet, earthy flavors of root vegetables. Serve the cupcakes as one component of a holiday dessert buffet. If you like, bake and mash the sweet potatoes the day before you make the cupcakes; let cool completely and refrigerate, covered.
Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes
Pumpkin spice cupcakes topped with tiny marzipan pumpkins are an unexpected alternative (or addition) to pie for Thanksgiving, but these treats would also be welcome at a Halloween party or any other fall occasion.