Pinterest Confession and Tomato Cobbler

I have become addicted to Pinterest.  After resisting for some time I got bitten by the Pin It bug and now I have to say I am completely infected by it and loving it.  LOL.  If I read your blog, chances are I've seen a pic to share and I'm happy to do that, I hope it brings you more people looking at your pages.

Recently I tried this recipe I found there and thought I would share it with you.  I made some changes, not least of all because I'm not a blue cheese fan.  So my version is with goat cheese.  If you want the original recipe there is a very pretty picture on my board called "Food Other People Make" I hope you enjoy!

By the way, this was originally a Martha Stewart recipe that was reworked and posted on the blog "Joy the Baker" and now it's been reworked by me.  :)

Tomato Cobbler with Goat Cheese Biscuits

Biscuit Topping:

2 c. Flour
2 T. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Salt
1 T. Sugar
1/2 t. Ground pepper (I used lemon pepper)
6 T. Butter cut in pieces and made very cold.  I never use unsalted butter in biscuits.
1/2 c. Goat cheese, very cold, broken into crumbles
3/4 c. Buttermilk

Just a couple of notes, if you have self-rising flour, you can use that instead of the first three ingredients listed. I freeze butter because I buy my favorite brand it when it's on sale.  A frozen stick can be chopped up pretty easily and makes the biscuits nicely. Also, buttermilk is easy to buy and keep in the fridge.  It doesn't really start tasting like buttermilk until it's been there for a month.  Now, if you're not a big baker or buttermilk user you might be getting grossed out by this idea, but I promise you it will stay there and get better and better for several months.  Three months old is not out of the question, it just gets thicker and more tasty as it waits for you to bake something, I promise you you'll notice a color change when it begins to go bad, I think it's happened to me once with a jug that was six months old. :)

Put flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and pepper into the food processor and give it a whirl.  Add butter pieces and pulse it to get them started incorporating with the flour, when you're almost done, add the goat cheese pieces too and give a few pulses just to cover them with flour mix.  Now, you can add the buttermilk to the food processor if you like, I often do when I'm in a hurry, but I prefer to pour the flour into a bowl and add the milk by hand.  Incorporate it and turn it out onto a floured surface, I did it on a baking sheet, pat it out.  I know people like to cut biscuits into rounds but I don't like having scraps to reform so I cut the biscuits into squares or rectangles and get them all done in the first time the dough is shaped.  Put the biscuits in the fridge which was part of why I did them on a baking sheet in the first place...  easy transport and less mess to clean up!

Tomato Filling:

2 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
2 onions, very large or 3-4 medium size, sliced thin (I prefer mine cut in half first)
3 cloves of garlic
3 packs of cherry or grape tomatoes (I recommend using red, yellow, and size)
1/4 c. coarsely chopped basil
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Set oven for 375 F

Heat oil and butter in an oven safe large sautee pan if you have one, over medium heat.  Add onions and salt and pepper.  Stir them occasionally and let them get caramelized which takes about 20 minutes.  You can begin at a slightly higher temp, just to get them started and giving off moisture, but turn it down as soon as they start to lose shape you want them to get their color from caramelization and not high heat.

While onions are cooking, either cut the tomatoes in half (if you bought cherry tomatoes) or pierce them with a knife (if you're using grape tomatoes).  This decision came to me after getting spurted by hot tomato innards several times when using whole tomatoes the first time I made this recipe.  Oh, I promise you the pretty picture is lovely if you use whole tomatoes, but your table cloth, shirt and chin will be happier if they are given a break.  It takes 5 minutes and the onions are still cooking, so you have the time.  :)  Place in a large bowl with basil, flour, and pepper flakes.  Toss well.

This is delicious even without biscuits!

When the onions are done, add garlic and cook for one more minute.  Turn off the heat (if you use an electric oven, move the pan to a cool burner) and add the balsamic vinegar and stir well.  Add tomatoes mixture.  If you don't have a sautee pan big enough for this dish, you could pour the onions into the tomatoes and then pour the whole mixture into a baking dish.  I liked making this all in one pan.

Next time I will add 2 less biscuits to the pan.

Bake the tomatoes for 25 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven, top it with biscuits.  You may have more biscuits than you need, they can go in the oven on the baking sheet for other snacking.  :)

Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the biscuits are browned and juices are starting to bubble around them.  Trust me when I tell you that it's worth waiting to make sure the biscuits are actually cooked all the way through. :)


 Enjoy!