Today, I will share my third place winning recipe for the Tricolor Tomato Tian. A tian is a French peasant dish consisting of sliced vegetables, overlapped in an earthenware dish, then baked. The vegetables are meant to be the stars of the dish, so no sauces or cheese are added. I thought a tomato tian would be a good entry, with some onion and garlic for flavor. The dish is baked at a high heat for a long time to reduce the water in the tomatoes.

Starting out, the assembly of the elements is so colorful! When I tested the dish, I used three colors of Roma tomatoes which were perfect for the idea.

They baked up beautifully, and the colors were still visible. Such a pretty and appetizing dish!

But, at contest time, I could not find yellow or orange Roma tomatoes, so I used some heirloom tomatoes in three colors purchased at a farmer’s market produce stand. Some liquid is left in this dish, and that is fine for putting on pasta or mopping up with some crusty bread. I layered them up with onion ring halves.

Baked at 425ºF for 90 minutes, the dish is fragrant with roasted tomato and onion aroma. The servings are drizzled with a balsamic glaze that I purchased in the grocery store, salad dressings aisle. I use that on recipes for a bit of extra flavor punch. It is wonderful on cooked spinach and baked chicken, too.

Download a pdf of the recipe – Tricolor Tomato Tian

Back at the exhibition hall, I found a few second place ribbons. One on a quilt and two on crafts entries. My embroidered Santas won a second place ribbon in the Mixed Techniques quilting category.

The Christmas centerpiece arrangement won second in Silk Flower Arrangements.

The embroidered bowl fillers from last year’s Autumn Jubilee won second in Machine Embroidered Items in the Senior Crafts division.

Sunday was the Cattleman’s Beef recipe contest for Classic Comfort Food. I really thought I had some good ideas, but the judges chose my fellow cooking contest buddy Sharon to win with her chili recipe, and another frequent participant, Justin, who got second place for his Sloppy Joe dish. Third was fun to see, as a 15-year-old young lady won for her meatballs on a skewer. So, what did I enter? I actually made two dishes, one was my Slow Cooker Beef Tips recipe that I have shared before. I put it on noodles for the contest.

The other was a variation on a Shepard’s Pie that I called Rancher’s Pie. I made it a month ago in a regular baking dish with ground beef and mixed vegetables to test the recipe and make adjustments. I made it on the stove, then put it in a baking dish using a vegetable mix of green beans, peas, carrots and corn, so colorful! It was still delicious, and will be very warm and filling for a cold day.

Then, remembering the criteria of ‘ease of preparation’, I topped it with tater tots instead of mashed potatoes. It was baked it until the tots were browned and crispy, and the casserole was bubbling. My Sweet Babboo declared this one a keeper. We ate the whole thing in two days.

For the competition, I made it in a cast iron skillet to streamline the prep even more. One skillet for stove top, then baked in the same skillet. We had it for dinner Sunday night, and it won’t last long. Download the recipe – Rancher’s Pie.

I have more cooking contests this week, and I have photography and clothing entries to share next time. It is such a fun week!!

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