Molly Gilbert is a trained chef and author of the popular Dunk and Crumble blog site. She has the usual posts highlighting a food or recipe, but I find her regular “I Think Thursday” posts, where she lists various hot topics currently on her radar (not necessarily food related) addictively entertaining and interesting. She claims to be a newbie photographer, but she’s clearly proficient in that regard, too.
Sheet Pan Suppers is another entry in the ever-popular one dish/pan dinner genre. The difference is what Gilbert’s culinary background consistently brings to her table. She deconstructs and riffs on traditional recipes with ease and flavorful flair. One example, of which I can’t get enough of, is her recipe for Hearty Ratatouille with Goat Cheese. Her recipe adapts something once rather homey (and homely) into something chic, while retaining the delicious flavor of the classic preparation. The standard ratatouille veggies (eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper), as well as a surprise potato, are sliced and stacked in rows in the sheet pan atop a layer of aromatics and tomato puree, then roasted until tender and pleasingly caramelized. Finished with a melty crumble of goat cheese and torn basil leaves, this is an impressive light entrée or side dish which may be served hot or lukewarm. Excellent with bread for yummy slathering.
I love Niçoise salad, but sometimes my already humid kitchen or my inattentiveness negates my desire to steam the requisite potatoes and beans. Gilbert’s unfussy Warm Tuna Niçoise Salad roasts vinaigrette-coated vegetables and Kalamata olives together (there is no lettuce in her recipe) and garnishes the result with sliced eggs and high-quality jarred or canned tuna lightly touched with more dressing. Excellent.
Honey Orange Shrimp with Baby Bok Choy handily satisfied an Asian cuisine craving one evening. The second time I made it I improvised by adding a sliced sweet potato, an adaptation I shall repeat.
Meat and potatoes are raised to a new level when roasted together in Bruce’s Barbecue Meatloaf & Potatoes. Gilbert uses a simple trick for attaining non-soggy meat and flavorful potatoes in one fell swoop.
Cauliflower Curried Chicken with Apricots and Olives was another roasting revelation, though I substituted dried mission figs for the apricots. It was another approachable meal, with more complexity than you’d expect from the time spent and the ingredients therein. So far only one recipe has let me down: Blueberry Cornmeal Muffin Tops. They came together well and baked into tender fruit-studded mounds – no problem there. Unfortunately, I found the 2:1 ratio of cornmeal to flour gritty (though I used fine-to-medium grind cornmeal, as instructed in the recipe) and the corn flavor was overpowering. Next time I’ll reverse the ratio.
I like this book and have turned to it weekly over several months. As in a good relationship, time spent with it is worthwhile and has reliably pleasant results.
First published October 2015
Balsamic Shrimp & Summer Vegetables
Excerpted from Sheet Pan Suppers by Molly Gilbert, Courtesy of University of Texas Press
Sweet and tangy balsamic vinegar really shines paired with a heap of warm-weather vegetables and juicy shrimp. When I can, I like to buy shrimp that have already been peeled and deveined; it saves me both time and a goopy mess in the kitchen. After the shrimp are cleaned and you’ve gotten some basic chopping out of the way, this bright, summery dish comes together in a snap. Letting the peeled shrimp marinate while the vegetables cook is a simple way to amp up the flavor, so don’t skip that step.
Ingredients
- •Olive oil cooking spray
- •2 medium-size zucchini, sliced into ½-inch-thick half-moons
- •1 yellow summer squash, sliced into ½-inch-thick half-moons
- •1 medium-size red or orange bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
- •1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- •1 medium-size red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
- •Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- •¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- •3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- •Juice of 1 lemon
- •1¼ pounds 26/30 count raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
- •½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- •¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves
- •Crusty bread or couscous (cooked according to package directions), for serving
Preparation
Let’s cook:
1. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F with one rack in the center position and another 4 inches from the heat. Mist a sheet pan with cooking spray.Toss the zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, tomatoes, and onion on the prepared pan with ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ cup of the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the vinegar, and the lemon juice. Roast the vegetables on the center rack until softened and beginning to brown at the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the oven.
Meanwhile, place the shrimp in a large bowl. Add ¼ teaspoon salt, the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and the Worcestershire sauce and toss gently. Let the shrimp marinate at room temperature while the vegetables cook.
Set the oven to broil. Scatter the shrimp, with their marinade, over the vegetables in a single layer. Broil on the upper rack until the shrimp tails are charred and the shrimp are just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Scatter the basil over the dish, and enjoy warm, with bread or a side of couscous.
Barbecue Meatloaf & Potato Sheet Pan
Barbecue Meatloaf & Potato Sheet Pan is adapted from from Sheet Pan Suppers by Molly Gilbert, Courtesy of University of Texas Press
This Barbecue Meatloaf & Potato Sheet Pan supper is my dad Bruce’s culinary pride and joy. His repertoire in the kitchen is small but solid; he’s great with cereal, SpaghettiOs, and meatloaf. The recipe is his go-to “special occasion, Dad’s cooking” dinner, and it’s full of all of his favorite things (such as diced onions and barbecue sauce). It’s a smoky, sweet, tangy version of regular (boring?) meatloaf, and it’s fantastic. Dad usually serves his famous loaf with tiny whole roasted potatoes, but using Yukon golds, sliced thin, really brings things to a new level, flavor-wise.
Dad bakes his meatloaf right on the pan, but I’ve found that elevating the loaf on a wire rack over the potatoes prevents everything from getting soggy and really perfects the dish. Trust me on this one, Pops.
Ingredients
- •1.1 Kg (2½ pounds/about 4 medium-size) Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
- •59 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
- •2.5 (½ teaspoon) kosher salt
- •5 ml (1 tablespoon) plus 2.5 ml (½ teaspoon) garlic powder
- •.9 Kg (2 pounds) lean ground beef
- •1 large yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)
- •473 ml (2 cups) barbecue sauce
- •118 ml (½ cup) plain dried breadcrumbs
Preparation
Let’s cook:
1. Preheat the oven to 109°C (375°F) with a rack in the center position. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper.Place the potatoes on the prepared pan, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the salt and the ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, and toss to coat. Spread the potatoes in an even layer and set a wire rack on top.
Fold a piece of aluminum foil into a 25 x 15 cm (10 x 6 inch) rectangle and place it in the center of the wire rack. Use a skewer or a fork to poke little holes evenly throughout the rectangle of foil — this will help with heat circulation and keep the meatloaf from steaming in its own fat.
Gently combine the beef, onion, the remaining tablespoon garlic powder, 1½ cups of the barbecue sauce, and the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Without squishing and squeezing too much, form the meat mixture into a loaf on top of the foil rectangle.
Place the pan in the oven. Bake the meatloaf and potatoes for 30 minutes, then brush the top of the loaf with the remaining ½ cup barbecue sauce.
Return the pan to the oven and bake the meatloaf and potatoes until the potatoes are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meatloaf registers 65°C (150°F), about 45 minutes more.
Allow the meatloaf to cool slightly before slicing. Serve with the potatoes.