So long, farewell, auf weidersehen adieu - October 30th Round-up!

It's hard to believe a whole year has gone by since Deb, Megan, and I said - "Hey, wouldn't it be great to be part of a cooking club where we got to actually choose what we made each week?" and "Somebody should start something like that" and "Why don't we start a group like that?"
Why Tyler Florence? Well, he has a very diverse range of recipes; several books; and a lot of recipes available online. Also, somebody may have thought he was cute.. I can't remember the details now.. but he turned out to be a fabulous choice and provided us all with lots to choose from every week.
By the summer we had questions and requests from some of the charter members, asking if we would be delving into the recipes of any other chefs or cooks. We considered that very carefully, and decided that it would be nice to have a gently evolving roster of chefs to choose from. We set an end date for TFF - at the natural seeming time of one year - and designed a new site not one one chef but on the idea of gradual change.
Our new site, I Heart Cooking Clubs, will feature a roster of cooks and chefs that change up every six months - a fun way to keep things fresh, to examine new styles.

So let's see who showed up for the good-bye party, shall we?

Michelle of Big Black Dogs made her very own Waldorf Chicken Wraps on Homemade Pita Breads.

"This week for Tyler Florence Fridays I made Pita Bread which I've never made before. Tyler's recipe was so simple and it basically fell together with no problems at all. However, I did add 1 tsp Organic Barley Malt Syrup to enhance the rise and taste a little bit and I just love it. I will be using the Organic Barley Malt Syrup in many of breads from now on!"

"This is the final Tyler Florence Fridays and I am sorry to see it close. You see I've never made so many recipes from one chef before and I've come to really respect Tyler....he is absolutely tops in my book. I've posted 27 recipes by Tyler Florence and each of them was excellent. But I've made many more of his recipes that I just did not have time to post or the photos did not turn out or I was just plain too hungry to bother with setting up a photo. I still have a list of Tyler's recipes that I want to try and I will continue to make his recipes when I can."

Megan of My Baking Adventures made Tyler's Chicken and Dumplings.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow :: sniff ::
It seems fitting that comforting, soothing food is in order – and with that in mind, I made Tyler’s Ultimate Chicken and Dumplings. A perfect wintry dish – and to boot, this recipe was a record of firsts for me:
1. The first time I ever made homemade stock.
2. The first time I ever made homemade dumplings.
Ok, I realize that’s only two, but work with me here.
I was proud of myself, because sometimes, I’ll put a lot of work into trying something new, and it flops. Which really gets to me – but this was outstanding, and therefore became another recipe that will go into my repertoire for the winter."

Kim of Stirring the Pot made Tyler's Baked Breakfast Apples with French Toast Crust.
"This recipe is easy to throw together and is a great way to serve breakfast/brunch without a lot of fuss. It smells wonderful baking in the oven! Six medium-sized apples filled my 10" cast iron skillet perfectly. I can never find challah or brioche locally, so I subbed a thick sliced whole wheat bread (I'm trying to lighten things up anyway). It is only fair to say that I don't LOVE cooked apples. That being said, I liked this dish, but probably would not make it again. I think if baked apples are your thing, then this is definitely a recipe worth trying out. I liked the crispiness of the crusty toast when it was first out of the oven. The pecans and cranberries are a great addition. This is great served on it's own, as dessert with a scoop of vanilla, or with a whipped or poured cream over the top."

Joanne of Eats Well With Others made Tyler's Spicy Chicken Coconut Curry this week.

"For my final TFF entry, I decided to make Tyler's Spicy Chicken Coconut Curry. It was filled with incredible amounts of flavor and satisfied my constant craving for Indian food. The only things I changed were to use chicken thighs instead of breasts and to add in some bell pepper and some cauliflower."
"Tyler Florence Fridays was one of the first blog events I ever participated in. I think I first saw it on Sidewalk Shoes, which I had both secretly (pre-blog) and publicly (post-blog) been reading religiously for a few months. Being a huge Food Network fan, I of course knew who Tyler was (my roommate and I commonly referred to him as "the cute one" when we rehashed our most and least favorite FN stars over dinner at least once every two weeks) and had a great admiration for his recipes."

Jess of Black Cat Kitchen made Tyler's Ultimate Flourless Chocolate Cake.
"It’s time to say goodbye to Tyler Florence Fridays and that makes me sad.
Know what makes me happy though? Chocolate cake.
And Tyler’s Ultimate Flourless Chocolate Cake certainly made this farewell party a little less depressing. How can you go wrong with eggs, sugar and chocolate? Impossible, I say.
Decadent. Moist. Melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Thank you, Tyler.
Tyler Florence Fridays may be over, but my love affair with Tyler will continue for a long time to come."

Jenny of All Things Edible made Crepes this week.

"Rather than end with a bang, I thought I would end with something simple and worth keeping in your repertoire: Tyler's basic crepe recipe."
"Crepes are such a worth while item to learn how to make. They are a blank canvas for just about anything you want to fill them with. Smear them with a bit of jam and sprinkle them with icing sugar, and they look impressive. Or saute them in butter sauce and flame them for major wow. Skip the sugar and fill them with chicken and spinach for a fancy main course.
Really, you can do anything you want with them!"

Erin of Erin's Wine Cellar made Tyler's Roast Loin of Pork With Stuffed Baked Apples & Cider Gravy.
"This week I prepared a Going Away Dinner, for my boys grandfather ( he is moving back to Colorado after staying with us for a bit ). I asked him to pick his favorite foods, and I would make him a meal he would not soon forget. He chose Pork Loin for the main course, I always go to Tyler when it comes to creating something memorable & tasty and his recipes have never let me or my guests down. This was No exception to the rule, It was not only Stunning in presentation, it was absolutely Succulent, Savory & Sweet with every bite. This was Tyler`s Roast Loin of Pork With Stuffed Baked Apples & Cider Gravy, A ULTIMATE treasure!! I found this recipe on the Food Network Web site. The pork was center cut & frenched, the apple stuffing is done with cornbread and sage , and the gravy is done with a hard cider; The dish was truly a Flavor explosion mixing all components with each bite. The only real change I did was brining the Pork Loin in Apple Cider/Salt & Seasoning Brine for 12 hrs., and then searing the Pork Loin before Roasting, Making a Beautiful Crust & A Extra Juicy Center. Tyler made Grandpa Glow with excitement last evening while he wiped his plate clean & then asked for seconds, Thank You Tyler!!"

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen made one of her favourites, Borlotti Beans with Woody Herbs.
"This Friday is a little sad for me as it marks the official end of Tyler Florence Fridays. Almost a year ago, it began as an idea; a cooking group with the recipes of a hunky and talented chef and flexibility--being able to select the recipes we wanted to make each week and not have them selected for us.
So what recipe to close this chapter with? I decided to go with a repeat performance of one of my Tyler favorites, his delicious Borlotti Beans with Woody Herbs.
They were as good as I remember--a perfect, comfort food dish with lots of flavor from the finely-chopped carrots, celery, onion and garlic. A delicious dish!"

Chaya of Chaya's Comfy Cook Blog made Tyler's Scalloped Potatoes.

"This is the last week of TTF, Tyler Florence Fridays and the feelings are bittersweet. While, this group lasted for a year, I only started blogging in June and probably found them, a few weeks later. At that, I have had four months to share in the group and have been relatively regular, in my posting. I am not sure how many recipes, I have made, between the two blogs. It could be as much as 15 or perhaps a dozen. I am only starting but I have cooked enough to know that Tyler has a lot to offer."
"He is diverse in his choices. At first, I thought, he was all poultry and meat but I have made his baked goods and salads amongst other recipes. Actually, I have done very few meat recipes. I want to make many of his chicken dishes and hope to do so, in the near future."
"I thought, for the last official posting, I would make a super complicated meat dish but then I thought about it. That is not what Tyler has been in my cooking repertoire. I chose a delicious potato side instead. This is easy and good which is how I have found Tyler Florence to cook."

Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs made Tyler's Lemon Pudding Cakes.

"I've enjoyed participating - however sporadically - in TFF over the past year, and couldn't miss posting in this final week. Funnily enough, this is the first Tyler Florence dish that I ever prepared, his Lemon Pudding Cakes. I baked these last November and the post has been in my drafts folder ever since!"
"On a chilly day last Fall we had another couple over for a casual dinner. I served a hearty beef stew and wanted to finish with something rather light and refreshing; Tyler's recipe for Lemon Pudding Cakes sounded perfect. I love serving individual-portion desserts to company."

And for my last dish, over at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies, I made Tyler's Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Cheese Tortellini.

"Wow. I can't believe it has been a whole year of Tyler Florence Fridays. We have had so much fun exploring this versatile chef's recipes. This is the last official day of the cooking group, but I will definitely be revisiting Tyler's recipes again and again.
For my last submission to the group, I decided to make a dish many of my friends have tried and raved about - his Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Cheese Tortellini.
This was such a fun, simple and delicious dish. The serving style gives it wow factor, and doesn't betray how easy it actually is to put together. I roasted the squash ahead of time, and just re-heated it as I prepared the tortellinis and alfredo-like sauce. Boil, toss, stuff, bake. Nothin' to it. This is also pretty family friendly, I am sure many kids would like it.
I loved how the sage crisped up in the oven, give this one a try soon."

Thanks everyone for making this an awesome year.

I hope you will join us in our new adventures at I Heart Cooking Clubs for more wonderful cooking and sharing!