I had an urge to bake something with plums. It's not quite plum season, I suppose. I bought a giant box of plums at Costco, and waited a week for them to ripen. They were still a bit tart but seemed to go well with the almond flavor. I searched around for a good recipe that didn't look too difficult. Since I love almond, this tart seemed to hit the spot. I did the recipe exactly as called for except swapped out half the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour in the crust. I also made the mistake of not baking it on convection right off the bat. I switched it towards the end. It came out fine but I've learned the hard way that my oven performs much better on convection and also, that it's a little hotter at the back so things should be turned if possible.
Anyway, this was delicious and I'd make it again. I think it would be good with peaches and apples too.
I also made "man pleasing chicken" - basically, baked chicken with dijon mustard, maple syrup, and rice vinegar. The original recipe calls for chicken thighs, and I know they're more flavorful, but the breast is healthier so I went with that. I cooked 5 breasts, cut in half as they were pretty large. Overall about 3 lbs. And I doubled the sauce recipe to accommodate. Served with brown rice and delicious salad and appetizers that the girls brought to Downton Abbey night! It's great to get together with friends who are as excited about food as I am! I'm picking up ideas for recipes too -- lots of creative salads (last night, T's salad had snow peas or sugar snap peas, celery, sunflower seeds, pretty pink radishes. Great crunchy variety and at one out our other get-togethers, we had a delicious nicoise salad and also one with walnuts, lemon vinaigrette, and grapes. And M's herby dip! And A's meze platter with hummus and olives!
I would make the chicken again and would adjust so there is less sweetness and more heat. I'll post an update when I do that.. maybe cayenne pepper. Yum.
Wow, awesome looking food.
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