Help yourselves to seconds, dear readers! In this issue:

• More sheet pan recipes with imagination as an ingredient

• Great new ideas for using melted ice cream

• Focaccia party photos from our reader

• A quote from our culinary royalty and CIA spy

Delicious updates to our three most popular newsletters

We’re giving you more to love about sheet pan cooking, using melted ice cream as an ingredient, and focaccia art that’s pretty enough for framing. These easy recipes are designed to make sitting down at the table more enjoyable, many yielding leftovers that can be frozen for a future meal.

Sheet pan magic: Watch it vanish before your eyes

One of our most popular newsletters yet, sheet pan cooking is bringing out our readers’ creativity. We’re still discovering that the combinations are as endless as the imagination.

Healthier Sheet Pan Tacos (pictured above)

Adapted from Princess Pinky Girl

Serves 12

• 2 tbsp avocado oil, divided

• 1 cup chopped fresh onion

•  2 pounds ground turkey (85% fat recommended)

• 2 packets low-sodium taco seasoning 

• 2 cups shredded cheddar or Colby Jack cheese (add more if desired)

• 16 (8-inch) soft taco flour tortillas

• 3/4 cup store-bought pico de gallo, drained 

Equipment

2 13”x18” rimmed sheet pans

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Lightly coat the bottom and sides of one sheet pan with the avocado oil. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until they are translucent and soft. Transfer the cooked onions to a bowl.

In the same skillet, add the ground turkey and taco seasoning. Brown the meat, breaking it up into crumbles, for 4-5 minutes until it is no longer pink. Return cooked onions to the skillet and mix well.

Place the flour tortillas on the sheet pan so each is overhanging all sides of the sheet tray by at least 2-3 inches. Be sure that there are no gaps or open spaces on the bottom of the pan. Using a slotted spoon, allow any fat to drip from the turkey mixture, and spread it over the tortillas. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly on the top. Then, spoon the pico de gallo over the cheese.

Place the remaining tortillas on top, overlapping them slightly. Fold the overhanging flour tortillas over the top six tortillas, enclosing all the meat and cheese. Brush the remaining oil evenly over the tortillas. 

Place the second 13x18-inch sheet pan on top of the sheet pan with the taco mixture, ensuring that the folded tortillas stay in place. 

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the top sheet pan and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until crispy. Rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

To freeze, cut the food into individual servings, wrap each serving in plastic wrap, place the wrapped servings in freezer bags, and seal the bags.

New sheet pan recipes we love

Shrimp Scampi for One

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake

Chicken With Figs & Bread Salad

Garlic Butter Salmon with Asparagus and Potatoes

Chipotle Meatloaves with Potatoes and Broccoli 

The great melted ice cream redux

Did you catch our issue on melted ice cream as an ingredient for dishes like our foolproof crème brûlée or amazing French toast? Whether you did or not, here are even more ways to be a cook extraordinaire by using melted ice cream. It’s a cook’s new best friend.

Melted Ice Cream Rice Pudding

This recipe was developed by the author after discovering the versatility of melted ice cream as an ingredient. The result is a very creamy pudding with a perfect balance of flavors.

1-3/4 cups melted French vanilla ice cream 

1-1/2 cups water

1 cinnamon stick OR ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/2 cup medium-grain rice

Instructions

In a heavy saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Gradually heat to a boil over a low heat, stirring frequently.

Once the mixture begins to bubble, reduce the heat and simmer the pudding for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is thoroughly cooked. Transfer to a serving bowl and cool before serving.

New melted ice cream recipes we love

Ice Cream Loaf Cake

Melted Ice Cream Strawberry Cake

Chocolate Ice Cream Muffins

Melted Ice Cream Iced Coffee

Melted Ice Cream White Russians

A focaccia feast for your eyes

Have you hosted a focaccia art party yet? Our newsletter inspired reader Karen Y. to give it a try! Take a look at the creations from her focaccia fete… they’re works of art!

Karen planned a meal around her party. “Deli spreads, meats, cheese, and a bowl of clam chowder, the focaccia was food for the right brain, the tummy, and the spirit of companionship.”

She added that it was fun and she’s already planning her next party.

The creation phase

New focaccia DESSERT recipes we love

We’re out to prove that focaccia is merely a canvas for many scrumptious creations, including a sweet treat. Remember that the boxed focaccia mix saves a lot of time!

Sweet Focaccia with Raspberries and Balsamic Glaze 

Editor’s note: Try using chocolate balsamic. It adds a tantalizing layer of flavor and brings out the best of the raspberries.

Cinnamon Roll Focaccia

Chocolate Focaccia Bread

Ridiculously Easy Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Focaccia

Sweet Focaccia with Raspberry Jam

Today’s Fun Fact: Let’s Go Clubbing

This group of retirement-home residents in Brussels aren’t slowing down. The head of “Papy Boom” (a French term referring to the Baby Boom population) organized a series of events for seniors to go out clubbing. It’s common for the party kids to stay out past 2:00 in the morning even if it’s their first time to do it in 40 years.

Read all about it in this New York Times article.

What moment do you want to relive today?