by Susie Middleton
If you don’t have fresh thyme, you can use another fresh hardy herb like oregano or rosemary — or leave it out altogether.

Source: Fine Cooking – (issue 66 page 60)

Ingredients:

Directions:

(Serves 8)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12×17-inch rimmed baking sheet or two 9×12-inch rimmed baking sheets with foil. If you have parchment, put a sheet on top of the foil. Coat the pan or pans with 3 Tbs. of the olive oil.

Cut the tomatoes in half through the equator (not through the stem). Arrange the halves, cut side up, on the baking sheet, turning to coat their bottoms with some of the oil. Sprinkle a pinch each of salt and sugar over each half, and drizzle each with a few drops of balsamic vinegar. Arrange the garlic over the halves and top with a generous sprinkling of thyme. Pour the remaining 1 cup olive oil over and around the tomato halves.

Roast in the center of the oven until the tomatoes are concentrated, dark reddish brown (with deep browning around the edges and in places on the pan) and quite collapsed (at least half their original height; they will collapse more as they cool), about 3 hours for very ripe, fleshy tomatoes, about 4 hours for tomatoes that are less ripe or that have a high water content. Let cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes and then serve warm or at room temperature. Be sure to reserve the tomato oil (keep refrigerated for up to a week) to use on its own or in a vinaigrette.

MAKE AHEAD TIPS

To store the tomatoes, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to a couple of months. They’ll continue to release juice during storage.

Plum tomato variation: Substitute plum tomatoes, cut in half through the stem end and seeded. The roasting time will be about 2 hours. Roasted plum tomato halves hold together particularly well; layer them in a terrine or roll them up, stuffed with goat cheese and basil, as an appetizer.

The only secret to roasting tomatoes is not to undercook them. The technique is simple: cut tomatoes in half, spread them in one layer on a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and herbs, and coat generously in olive oil. Roast slowly (for about 3 hours) until the tomatoes are a deep, rich brown and very collapsed. You can certainly use this method on less-than-ripe tomatoes — and they will taste better after roasting — but if you start with really meaty, juicy-ripe tomatoes, the end result will be out of this world.

A dozen delicious ways to use roasted tomatoes

- Make a simple crostini by topping a small piece of grilled bread with a roasted tomato half and a little slivered basil. Or make a bruschetta topping by chopping the tomatoes and folding in the basil.
- For antipasto, arrange a small stack of roasted tomatoes with a few good olives, a slice or two of prosciutto, a piece of really good Parmigiano-Reggiano, some greens, and a piece of crusty bread.
- For an easy hors d’oeuvre, top a crock of warmed goat cheese with chopped roasted tomatoes, a few pine nuts, and a drizzle of pesto. Serve with crackers.
- Make a sandwich of aged Cheddar, crisp bacon, roasted tomato halves, and herbed mayonnaise.
- As a warm side dish for grilled lamb, reheat roasted tomato halves with a little crumbled feta on top. Garnish with fresh mint. Drizzle the lamb with the tomato oil.
- Make a summery spinach or arugula salad by adding fresh chopped roasted tomatoes, corn kernels, and grilled red onions. Toss with Lemon-Sherry Vinaigrette. Add sliced grilled chicken or grilled shrimp to make it a main dish.
- Mix up a quick pasta sauce of roasted tomatoes chopped and mixed with their juices. Or make a richly flavored puttanesca sauce by adding capers, olives, and anchovies to the roasted tomato base.
- Make a bed for grilled steak by overlapping roasted tomato halves. Top with arugula.
- Fill omelets, frittatas, and crepes with finely chopped roasted tomatoes and bold cheeses.

Download recipe in MacGourmet format.

You’ll get questions answered such as :

• Keep It or Toss It?
• I Left Pizza Out Overnight
• Is It Still Safe to Eat?
• Do You Have to Refrigerate Opened Bottles of Mustard and Ketchup?
• Is it OK to Put Hot Food in the Refrigerator?

Definitely check it out :

StillTasty: Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide – Save Money, Eat Better, Help The Environment

“Badener Chräbeli”, “Totebeinli”, “Zimtstärne” and “Brunsli” [see picture] are the ones I picked for this years treat bags – mixed with clementines and peanuts in their shells. Some dried dates would have been good, guess I missed that one. This year I am keeping up with the cleanup of the kitchen and am now ready for the last batch.

Most often you’ll see exclamation points made of ‘how it tastes just like sugar’ and this is where I begin to shake my head. No after-taste? Bah! For a moment I thought that Erythritol could be a substitute for my tea sugar, but after drinking only 1 glass of such sweetened cold Raspberry Leaf tea I know for quite certain, this will be no possible for my breakfast Earl Grey.

How can it be that other people don’t taste it? And even though Erythritol is naturally derived it tastes fake. Is everyone trying to convince themselves that they found the perfect sugar replacement? Are they paid to state things which just are not true? Or have years of Aspartame killed their natural sensors as compared to that, everything will taste like the real deal.

Saying that it tastes ‘like sugar’ is just as bad as stating that after only a few weeks of no cigarettes the cravings will pass. I am over 8 years a non-smoker and I STILL get cravings! And only when I accepted the fact that these statements are far from reality, only then was I able to quit smoking for good.

With replacement sweeteners it seems to be a similar deal. I’ll try it again and will see if I can get used to it. But don’t come my way trying to make me belief it will taste ‘just like sugar‘ because it just won’t.

CLICK. TASTE. REMIX.

Make a Personal Cookbook : Create a TasteBook in just minutes – start with a mix or make it from scratch.

— (Via TasteBook.com » Create cookbooks, search recipes, share recipes).