Grilled Cheese? ummm...yeah, but no :)

I really started feeling a bit guilty with my forays into culinary weirdness - all those recipes with soda in it -ick.  So, I decided to take a short break (Culinary weirdness will be back next week - but the over 21 version) and offer you an utterly decadent twist on the american staple - grilled cheese.

The staple of the American household - a myriad of combinations, possibilities, from the plain old white-bread-American-Cheese to fancy combos like sourdough-chopped olives-fresh-mozzarella-roasted-peppers, or anywhere else your imagination takes you.

My daughter and I went to this new place that opened up in Catonsville - it's called Grilled Cheese & Company and they serve...grilled cheese.  We got the "Veggie Delight", but we also got a "dessert" grilled cheese bet you never thought of grilled cheese as a "dessert" food, did you? Well, they did, and it was awesome.  I decided to replicate the recipe for your gustatory pleasure.

Before I give you the ingredients, please throw out ANY notions you have of "eww...but I don't like Brie" because you will *not* taste it.  It melts at a very low temperature, makes everything nice and gooey along with the other stuff in there.  Ben doesn't like Brie, yet he liked this sandwich of course I didn't TELL him it had Brie in it, because I wanted him to try it.  He thought it was "ok", and "not bad",  but Meg and I loved it.  It's almost like a decadent bread pudding but not as custardy - The bread gives a chewy finish to the raspberry/chocolate combo that is held together by the brie and mascarpone.  All I can do is say try it.   I really doubt anyone will say "EWwww..." I think most people will say "Yummmmmmm!"  Unless of course, you don't like grilled cheese...then I think you're outta luck.

Dessert Grilled Cheese - serves 2-4 (printable recipe is HERE)

4 slices of good quality bread Please do NOT use any kind of Wonder bread crap - splurge on a loaf from the bakery - the kind that has a "bite" to it, i.e. is a bit chewy and dense.
Mascarpone cheese just buy the smallest tub you can find.  It's Italian Cream Cheese, but it has a different, milder flavor than our cream cheese, and it's a bit softer.
6 slices of brie cut thin slices (about 1/4" thick) from a wedge, and trim off the end.  See photos.  You can keep the rind on the top and bottom.
2 TBS of Raspberry jam or any other preserves/jam you'd like to use.  Just no jelly. I used Breezy Willow Farms "Chocolate Razzamatazz" and omg is it heaven.  Pick some up if you're local - if you're not, msg me :-)
3 TBS of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Butter.

1.  Spread a thin layer of mascarpone cheese onto one slice of bread.  Top this with the jam, then sprinkle about 10-12 chocolate chips over this (you don't need a lot - they will melt and spread)

2.  Place 3 wedges of brie on the other slice.  Slap those puppies together, and heat your frying pan to medium.  Notice where I trimmed the rind off the brie? at the fat end...

3.  Now...melt a bit of butter in the pan, enough to cover a slice of bread, and put the sandwich in the pan, moving it around, so it sops up the butter.  Cook til' golden brown.  Put sandwich on the spatula, melt some more butter in the pan, spreading it around so it's breadslicesize, then flip sandwich over onto the melted butter, and again, swirl it around to get it coated.  Cook til' golden brown.

4.  Plate, cut in half, and serve.  Serves 4 if you each have a half, 2 if you eat a whole one by yourself.

*To make it look pretty, you can garnish the plate with fresh berries and a mint sprig, and dust the sandwich with some confectioner's sugar...if you can wait that long to eat it.*

A fresh look at an old, musty favorite - mac n' cheese

Everybody loves mac n' cheese.  The problem is, everybody loves THEIR OWN mac n' cheese, or their mom's mac n' cheese.  This can cause mayjah problems when two people decide to become one - because inevitably one will cook their macaroni and cheese, and the other will say "ya know..it's...ok, but it's not as good as <insert name of choice here - usually "mine" or "mom's">" thus starting WWIII and ensuring an uncomfortable night on the living room couch...or two...or three...

I love my mac n' cheese without sauce.  Cook some macaroni, throw in a can of drained fire-roasted tomatoes with garlic, and a stick of cubed cheddar.  Cook until melted and top is sort of crusty.  No one else in my family likes it that way.  Good thing, because that is the only food I can seriously pig out on...you know...where your stomach is saying "STOP!!! PLEASE!!!!" and your brain is cackling maniacally and growling "no...No....NO! MUST...EAT...MORE...it's SO GOOD!!!!! Muahahahaha"  Hubby and kids like mac n' cheese with sauce - hubby is not crazy about mac n' cheese, but he'll eat it - I think it stems from his college years where his diet consisted of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (1$/box) and beer.  Kids are very picky about the sauce.  It can't have eggs in it (southern style), it can't be too pasty, too thick, too thin, too cheesy, or not cheesy enough, and inevitably they never agree. 

I decided to try and come up with a recipe that would please everyone to save me some hassle.  Something healthy, cheesy, with some veggies, flavorful, yet not wallpaper paste.  However, if I called it mac n' cheese, hubby's mouth would be expecting the stuff out of a blue box, and he would say in a disappointed tone "This isn't macaroni and cheese..." so I had to come up with another name (it's one of his quirks).   I haven't thought of one - so I told him it was my take on mac n' cheese, but for grown ups.  He accepted that explanation.

It's easy to make and tasty.  The best part is...EVERYONE in the house liked it!  Yay!! And Bill, it has Durkee's Fried Onion Rings - your favorite, so you have to try it.  Until I think of a name for it, I am just going to call it 21st Century Cheese Bake

Ingredients: (As always, printable recipe HERE)

2 cups medium shell pasta
1 bag baby spinach
1 cup low fat cottage cheese, small curd
4 oz thick sliced applewood smoked bacon, uncured - Trader Joe's has an uncured applewood smoke bacon that is da bomb.  If you can't find uncured, you can get cured, but uncured = no nitrites.  You can also use hickory, maple, whatever you want
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
2 tbs each of flour and butter
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded swiss
2 oz. gorgonzola cheese - you can use bleu cheese if you want - I prefer gorgonzola I think it's creamier and a bit milder.
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. truffle salt to taste- OK...if you don't have truffle salt - get some.  A little goes a LONG way (you will taste the 1/4 tsp in the sauce) and it gives a sort of earthy flavor to what you are cooking without adding any fungi *grins*...It will last you forever.  You may be able to find it at some cooking store, or William Sonoma but honestly? you can get it cheaper online.  It will still be pricey, but you WILL have it for a LONG time, making it worth the while.  Try it on eggs, risotto, pasta...make sure you get Truffle salt with truffles in it, not "flavored" I got mine here and it was about $22 for a 3.5 oz jar.  Again, it will last you a LONG time.  Worth the investment.  You can omit it if you don't have any.
1/2 tsp - 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce to taste
Durkee's Onion Rings for garnish (a small 3 oz. can should be enough)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and place bacon on a sheet pan. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until crisp. Drain on paper towels. When cool, crumble.  Thank you, Ina Garten for turning me on to this method of cooking bacon.  No messy stove top, no spattering, just perfectly done bacon and half the cleanup.  Wow.

2. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Place spinach in colander, you can press it down if need be to fit. Pour hot pasta water into colander over spinach, then just dump the pasta on top of the spinach and drain. The spinach will wilt down considerably between the hot water and the hot pasta.

                                                                    roux


3. Heat butter over low heat until melted. Add flour and cook stirring, for about 2 minutes.  It will get bubbly and thick.   While you are cooking the flour/butter mixture (aka roux), heat 1 1/2 cups of milk in the microwave for a minute or a minute and 30 seconds until warmed but not scalded.

4. Gradually whisk the warmed milk into the roux until combined. Stir til thickened. Use a whisk - it will help prevent lumps.  Once everything is combined you can switch out to a wooden spoon if you want.  It will thicken up slightly.

5. Remove from heat, add all the cheeses, Worcestershire sauce, truffle salt, black pepper and bacon. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Dip a finger in, and determine what you need - more pepper? perfect the way it is? a pinch more truffle salt? More Worcestershire? Don't be afraid to tinker with the seasonings. Toss with the pasta and spinach, mixing well.

6. Place in a 7 x 11 inch baking dish and cook in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. The last 15 minutes of cooking add the Durkee's Onion Rings on top. When done, remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving. If you like your onion rings well done (see the pic) you can put them on at the start of cooking time, but mine were bordering on getting burnt, so hence the suggestion of adding them the last 15 minutes of cooking.

This is a great way to get your veggies if you don't happen to like many veggies *kaffCHRISTINAkaff*, it's easy to make, and ohsoyummy.  Enjoy!!!

Imelda Marcos, you're in my whey!

I am the Imelda Marcos of cheese.  There I said it.  I'm a cheese whiz, a Parmesean queen, a Stilton supplier.  I'm a Bierkase buyer, a Dutch Mimolette doyenne, and a Fresh Mozzarella fanatic.  I nibble on Neufchatel, savor Saint-Andre, and go ga-ga for Goat cheese (or crazy for Chevre - same difference)  What Imelda and I have in common though, is we both have an overabundance.  She has shoes, I have cheese.

I can't go by a cheese section without seeing what's new.  If something looks appealing, I'll buy it - "Oh! that sounds good! I bet it would go great in a [insert dish of choice here]" Ka-CHING! The problem is, I never make that dish the cheese would go great in.  Then it languishes in my refrigerator for God-only-knows-how-long until I clean the fridge out, and notice I could supply the third world with all the penicillin they need from the mold growing on the cheese.

I decided to take out all the unopened packages of cheese and do an inventory.  Here's what I found, and that doesn't even include the opened packages.  You know, the pre-shredded cheeses - right now I have Mexican, Italian, and Italian with herbs, Sharp Cheddar, Parmesean (two containers) and Romano.  Oh, and a package of sliced Muenster. Erm...and an open package of wedge Parmesean for grating...umm..oops I forgot that package of sharp Provolone.  I think that's all of them.  Really.  Honest.  Cross my heart.

OK...here's the list:

1. Gruyere -which is...if you didn't know, an insanely expensive type of Swiss cheese.  I can't even remember why I bought it - for fondue perhaps?
2. Trader Joe's Apple Smoked Garlic Cheddar - I remember my salivating glands going into production when I read the title...I imagined putting it on a burger, eating it with sliced apples, putting it in scrambled eggs...you see the wrapper intact, don't you?
3. Mimolette - I love this cheese.  It's very hard, sweet and nutty, and tastes heavenly grated onto a baked potato, and good in little bites with beer.  You would not want to know how the rind gets its pitted appearance though.  That will be my little secret. It would ruin the romantic appeal of this cheese, trust me.
4. Cheddar - I don't know why I bought this - It's just an aged sharp cheddar from Vermont.  Perhaps for Christmas, and I never put it out?  It's MARCH now, people!!!
5. Andruil Baltic-style Farmer Cheese - I think the term "Baltic" appealed to me. I'm half Estonian.
6. Gorgonzola - I use this instead of Blue Cheese.  I find it creamier, mellower than Blue.  I use it in burgers, and on salads, (although Goat Cheese has recently taken it's place).  Which reminds me...I also have an open log of Goat Cheese in the fridge.  Mea culpa for not mentioning it above.  (Maybe if I sneak it in here, you won't notice)
7. Cranberry Chevre - OMG I love this cheese.  On a plain soda cracker.  Buy it, or wait til I post a recipe. Trader Joe's.
8. Asiago Cheese - This is a type of parmesean.  Not generic.  Nutty.  Yummy.  Good for grating, except I already have one of these open, in addition to two commercially grated containers *sighs* I need help.
9. Swiss - Yes, it's just plain swiss. I think it's left over from the Potatoes Dauphinois that I made at Christmas. Not sure. It could be from the quiche too.
10. Pecorino "Grand Old Man" - It's a cool name. It's in the parmesean/romano family line of cheese. It's made in Italy. I must have been Italian in a past life and yearning for my homeland when I bought this cheese.
11. Stilton with dates and oranges - Stilton alone is a hard cheese to take...it's strong, stinky, and in that "mold is good for you" cheese family (think Blue and Gorgonzola) However, mix it with dates and oranges, and you cut that stinkiness and it's pretty good. Though I would not know, I haven't tried it yet. It SOUNDS really good. This is a white Stilton. There are two types - white and blue. Bet you didn't know that.
12. Muenster - I am on a muenster cheese kick. I eat it for lunch with some roasted cauliflower and dried green beans. Don't knock dried green beans til you've tried them. They are yummy. I know, I'm weird. But it's good.
13. Cracker Barrel Sharp White Cheddar - Hubby likes this cheese. I think it got it for Super Bowl. We never used it.
14. Fig Cake with Almonds - This is not a cheese. However, I am also obsessed with Fig Cake. It's a very hard, dense bread type thingie that tastes really good if you put cream cheese or goat cheese on it. A little goes a long way. However, I usually eat it for a few days then forget about it. It's like fruitcake in that it never goes bad. It could also be a handy weapon if you have an intruder break into your house, so be sure to keep that pointy tip. Those fig cakes can be lethal.
15. Stilton with Dates and Oranges - Sound familiar? It should, because this is also #11. It sounded so good, that I had to buy it again, because I didn't realize I had a wedge from the first time I bought it. Now I have to think about what I can do with this. Perhaps a salad binge is in order.
    

I am taking suggestions as to uses for the above cheeses.  I should really find a 12-step program for Impulsive Cheese Buyers.  Right now though, I guess I'll go eat my lunch.  Two slices of cheese down, many more to go.  BTW...See Cheese #12.

my lunch