June 19th Round-Up!

Ah summer... 

Hopefully you are able to get outside and enjoy some beautiful flowers and plants,

Find a place to cool off,

Or a pretty spot to sun yourself in.

Thought I would share a few pictures from a recent trip and short hike at Waimea Falls Park on the North Shore. Hope you are enjoying a bit of summer wherever you are.

We have a pretty full house for Tyler Florence Fridays this week so let's get started.

Since the pros are testing their holiday recipes about this time, Nancy at The Dogs Eat the Crumbs sees nothing wrong in having "Thanksgiving in June". With some leftover Tyler cooked turkey in the freezer and collards, kale and root vegetables still making an appearance in her CSA box, Nancy decided it was the perfect time to try Tyler's Savory Mashed Root Vegetables saying, "I loved the way the savory herbs, the garlic, and seasoning transformed these simple roots into a delicious dish."

Glennis from Can'tbelieveweate and her husband were to busy to go out and celebrate their Anniversary (#27!) so she was looking for a special meal to make at home and turned to Tyler and his Horseradish and Garlic Prime Rib. They both liked the "crunch and nip of the horseradish and garlic" and Glennis says, "What a great recipe! It was easy to follow, easy to reduce, and it made a wonderful anniversary dinner!"

Although her husband thought it was  "crazy" to have hot soup in the really hot weather they have been having, he quickly changed his mind when Natalia of Gatti Fili E Farina served him a bowl of Tyler's Hot and Sour Soup. She says "as soon as he tasted it his doubts disappeared" and he and their friends even fought over the remains of the pot of this delicious soup!

Beth from the Seventh Level of Boredom is happy with the way Tyler Florence Fridays gets her to try new recipes and get out of her cooking rut. A passion for lobster and then seeing Tyler's Garlic and Herb Roasted Lobster recipe in Stirring the Pot and on his site, she decided to cook some for the first time. Driving an hour to get "Friedrich" the lobster, she worked through any qualms, then cooked and served him with some prime rib. Beth says she would definitely do it again--"Why? Because it was SO. DAMNED. GOOD."

We have four new faces at Tyler Florence Fridays this week! Please join us in giving them a warm welcome!

I am happy to introduce Thomas, (our first male participant-yay!) from The GFCF Experience: Adventures in Gluten-Free/Casein Free Living. Thomas adapted Tyler's popular Amaretto Chocolate Brownies, to make them GFCF. The brownies were the pick for Tyler's "Twiterlicious" cooking class last week and Thomas knew he wanted to add them to his GFCF recipe list. He says it was easy to adapt them and the finished result? Thomas says, "all I can say is two words - chocolate heaven."

Welcome Jessica of My Baking Heart who wanted a simple recipe she could take to work for their Friday morning snack selection, so she chose Tyler's Parmesan Honey Crisps as her first TFF recipe. Jessica says that replacing the walnuts with the pecans she had on hand made these crispy treats "Southern" and "What a sub it was, too… these were really yummy and it literally took 5 minutes to put together! Always a plus in my book!"

Heather from Heatherisathome has been following TFF for a couple of months and we are happy she is joining us this week with Tyler's Shrimp Scampi with Linguine as her first pick. Heather made a couple adaptations to the recipe, using dried basil on hand to garnish and reducing the amount of pasta to get a higher shrimp/pasta ratio. She says "I thought this was very, very good. I really liked that it was an easy weeknight meal. Can't wait to try another one of his recipes."  

We also have Tammy from Sassafras Cafe this week with a bright and beautiful version of Tyler's Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries. In this dish she says "lemon curd and fresh berries are paired with lemon cake to create a refreshing and delightful summer dessert." Tammy also notes that, "Fresh berries were the trifle's crowning glory. The simplest component of the trifle, the trio of sweet berries played beautifully against the tartness of lemon and created a dessert worthy of note." Welcome Tammy!

Looking for an easy recipe that could fit into her healthy eating plan, Amanda from Oddball Oven Mitt found that with some whole wheat pasta, Tyler's Cold Sesame Noodles would work just fine. Although she tends to be more of a warm noodle fan and may try it that way next time, Amanda's husband seemed to really like the noodles. She says along with some chicken and veggies, "it would make a great dinner."

Pam from Sidewalk Shoes loved Tyler's California Cobb Salad with Poached Shrimp and Green Goddess Dressing, but she ADORED the dressing. Pam is wondering, "How can something so creamy and so full of herby goodness have not crossed my plate before?" After her dressing raves, Pam also says, "Back to the salad. It was wonderful. The poached shrimp were fabulous. This is how I am going to cook them for any recipe that calls for poached shrimp. Everything wonderful, as usual. Would you expect anything less from Tyler??"

Arlene at The Food of Love has served up a Tyler Florence "Double Header" this week with both his Saltimbocca alla Romana and Crispy Creamy Potato Cake.

Both recipes are available at the Food Network TV site, but Arlene has done some editing and simplifying (Tyler, take note, she'll work cheap) to tempt even the most novice of cooks to try these flavorful dishes with their contrasting textures and sophisticated look.

Missing the great Mexican food she ate while living in Southern California, Megan at My Baking Adventures is constantly on the look-out for good Mexican recipes to try. This week, pressed for time, she adapted her standby Tyler's Chicken Enchiladas into a quick and tasty Chicken Enchilada Casserole. Did it work as a casserole and was it good? Well, Megan says this..."Leftovers? Yeah, right." So you be the judge!

Making the most of the wonderful bounty at the farmer's market lately, Kim from Stirring the Pot, found all the fresh vegetables and the whole wheat baguette she need to make Tyler's Garden Puree Bruschetta. Kim says, "I have been eyeing this recipe for bruschetta ever since I first received this cookbook. I was awed by the color of the puree and knew instantly that I would love this recipe. It was fresh and delicious."

Taking advantage of a cooler day, Michelle from Big Black Dog read the recipe for Tyler's Chicken Parmigiana and knew it would hit the spot. She says, "Even though the recipe seems quite long and involved it was very simple." Michelle also notes, "Tyler's Chicken Parmigiana was a delicious dish. Mr. Tastebuds loved it and said to make sure that I made it again! This is the best compliment I've heard yet!"

Megan picked a great dish for her optional challenge this month and four of us selected it as our choice this week!

Jenny of All Things Edible found Tyler's Summer Rolls with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce to be "a beautifully cool and healthy Asian wrap with a sweet chili sauce." Although she normally adds shrimp to her summer rolls, she stuck with the veggies as Tyler does in his recipe. Jenny also liked the dipping sauce saying "The sauce was nice and spicy, but not too spicy, and matched well with the mildness of the wraps. Plus it was a pretty color, which you'll have to take my word for as I did not take a picture of the sauce. I was too busy eating."

Natashya at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies finds Summer Rolls to be "the perfect summertime dinner. They are relatively easy to make, don't require that you turn on your oven or even your stove-top, and they are infinitely adaptable to what you have on hand." For her version of Tyler's Summer Rolls with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce, Natashya used Napa cabbage, red pepper, cucumber and green onion. Also, she used salted peanuts instead of using unsalted peanuts and adding salt.

Because words like "Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce" really appeal to her, Karen at Something Sweet by Karen was happy to take the challenge this month. She stuck to Tyler's recipe for her version of his Summer Rolls with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce. She notes, "These were the perfect summer dinner. The rolls are full of flavor from the vegetables and fresh herbs. The cellophane noodles are soft while the peanuts give some crunch. The sweet chili sauce gives a nice twist." 

I also made Summer Rolls with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce over at Kahakai Kitchen as my TFF pick this week. I added shrimp and changed up the veggies to what I had on hand and loved how tasty they were--adding the sesame oil and lime juice to the filling gave it a big boost of delicious flavor. 

Finding fresh lychee, seedless cucumber and ginger at the market I also tried Tyler's Cucumber Lychee Sake, a delicious and exotic cocktail. I really enjoyed the combination of flavors in this one and it paired nicely with the rolls for an "Asian Fusion" dinner.

If you haven't done the optional "Megan's Challenge" this month, this pick is getting rave reviews and is perfect for the warmer weather. There is still plenty of time to make these rolls before the end of the month--you can get all the details here. We'll be doing a quick round-up of them at the beginning of next month.

Thanks to everyone who joined us this week and welcome to all of our new participants! Another week of great dishes, which means you all are making it VERY hard for us to pick just one dish to send over to Tyler's site for the week. I know you have all been waiting for this, so without further ado...

This Week's Tyler's Blog Pick Winner 

The post we have selected to be profiled on Tyler's site is from Pam of Sidewalk Shoes. Such a fun post and a beautiful picture of a dish that is just perfect for summer: 

 California Cobb Salad with Poached Shrimp & Green Goddess Dressing. 

Pam's passion and enthusiasm for this dish sold us on it too!

Congratulations Pam, the post should be on Tyler's Blog on Monday and we'll do a separate announcement when the post is up on Tyler's site. 

Have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend!