Blue Cheese and Fig Jam Crostini

I realize that for a while there I was posting about crostini ALL THE TIME, and I needed to get ahold of myself.  But it's been a while now, and I can only resist the crostini siren song for so long, and so here I am back again in my crostini groove.  This time with fig jam and blue cheese.  Can you blame me?  I can't blame me.  

So, just to repeat what I have already said a million times before, crostini is as simple as grabbing a loaf of french bread, slicing it on the diagonal into nice thin slices, brushing them with olive oil and baking them until they are just a little crispy.  We're not looking for brown here, except maybe around the edges...just a nice toasty feel.

Cool 'em down, and then all that is left to do is spread them with a little fig jam or chutney (I used jam) and a small slice of your favorite blue cheese.  I had some Maytag blue, but a creamy Gorgonzola would be heaven as well.

And there you are, right there on the crostini highway with me.

Blue Cheese and Fig Jam Crostini, adapted from Real Simple

• 24 thin slices baguette (from 1 small loaf)


• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 3/4 cup fig jam or chutney


• 4 ounces blue cheese, thinly sliced

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush both sides of the bread with the oil. Bake until just crisp, about 10 minutes.


2. Dividing evenly, spread the jam or chutney on the toasted baguette slices and top with the cheese.

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Tuna Cobb Salad Sandwiches

This quick and scrumptious recipe is an ode to three things.  Here they are, in no particular order.

1.  Cobb Salad.  I am SUCH a sucker for Cobb Salad. It's not like it is a rarity or anything - it's actually a frequent player on a lot of menus, but there is something about the combo of blue cheese, avocado, bacon (of course), chopped egg and lettuce that sings some kind of siren song to me.  I love it, and that's all there is to it.

2. Open-faced sandwiches.  I mean, for so many things, this is just such a logical thing.  Why spend your time putting the top of your sandwich over some deliciously messy filling only to have it spill out on to your plate with the first bite?  Open-faced sandwiches, people!  It's the only sensible way to go.

3. Sandwich Night.  Is there anything happier than Sandwich Night, especially on a Monday?  You walk into the kitchen at the end of the day and suddenly you feel wonderfully free!

Okay, now that I have gotten all THAT out of my system, let's get down to it.  This is a quick and different version of cobb salad with a special guest star, and that is tuna fish.  And a surprise twist, which is that that blue cheese is not actual blue cheese (which I sometimes find can take over a cobb salad with it's super-strong taste), but blue cheese salad dressing.  Splurge and use one of the nice ones you can usually find in the refrigerated section of your supermarket - it's worth it for this recipe, and you can always use the leftover as a nice dip.  The tuna and the dressing get mixed up with the usual cast of characters from cobb salad - avocado, chopped egg and (yes!) bacon.  But instead of tossing it all together with lettuce, you lightly toast a couple of English muffins, lay on some chopped lettuce and a slice or two of tomato, and then top with the tuna mixture.

A little ground pepper, and you have a Sandwich Night to be proud of.

 Tuna Cobb Salad Sandwiches, adapted from Betty Crocker's Smart Cook : The Essential Everyday Cookbook 

• 
  
• One 6.5 ounce can tuna, drained
• 4-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs
• 1 avocado, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1/3 cup good quality blue cheese dressing
• Shredded lettuce
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 English muffins, split and toasted
• Fresh ground pepper

1. Mix tuna, bacon, eggs, avocado and dressing.
2.  Place tomato and lettuce on each muffin and top with tuna mixture.  Grind some fresh pepper on top.

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Ham and Cheese Farfalle

Things I have learned from my mother:

1. Kate Middleton isn't the only one who was a beautiful princess on her wedding day.  I grew up with this picture, and I always thought my mother looked like a fairy tale princess.  (Still do!)

2. When having babies, consider having a red-headed girl or a blond boy.  Make sure they either go barefoot or are wearing really sensible shoes, and always dress them in matching outfits.

My brother and I followed this example to the letter.  Exhibit A:

And Exhibit B:

And okay, maybe we had some help from our spouses.  (We may have fallen down on the sensible shoes/same outfit part, although we still have time on that one.  I think they both own black Converse sneakers.)

3. Always make about three times as much food as you are actually going to need for a holiday dinner.  You never know who is going to show up, and this way everyone gets to leave with leftovers.  And even with that, you are still going to have leftovers of your own.  Which is why we were still eating Easter ham many days after the Peeps were all gone, and why this recipe comes in so handy if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

What we are basically talking about here is a macaroni and cheese recipe that has been spiffed up by using pretty farfalle pasta, also known as bowties, and by tossing in some  - you guessed it - leftover ham.  I always cut it into nice little julienne slices to make it just as fancy.  If you want to get all healthy on me you could toss in some peas or some spinach or even some asparagus (that noise you here in the background is the red-headed teenager shouting NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!).  Anyway, while the pasta is cooking, you stir up a simple cheese sauce of butter, flour, milk and shredded cheddar (as always, I love the Cabot cheddar best of all), and when the pasta is cooked, stir everything together.  Sprinkle with a little parmesan and pop it in the oven until it is just a little golden on top.  By the time you are finished eating, you'll wish you had just a little more leftover ham.

Well, there's always next year.  Right, Mom?

Here's the recipe!

Ham and Cheese Farfalle, from Allrecipes.com

8 ounces farfalle (bow tie) pasta 1/4 cup butter 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups milk 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard 2 1/2 cups shredded Colby cheese 4 ounces cooked ham, julienned 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.	Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3.	In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Saute garlic 30 seconds. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until smooth. Pour in milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Stir in mustard and Colby. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and stir in pasta and ham.
4.	Pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
5.	Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbly and golden.

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Steak Skewers with Blue Cheese Dip

This is one of those great recipes that combines super-easy-to-make with super-fun-to-eat.  I don't know about you, but for me, everything is better when it comes on a skewer.  (Corn dog, anyone?  Anyone?) This one involves threading very thin slices of flank steak onto wooden skewers.  Make sure you soak the skewers really well in water before you start assembling them.  There is nothing sadder than watching your skewer go up in flames.

Anyway, once your steak skewers are assembled, give them a good seasoning with balsamic vinegar, coarse salt and fresh ground pepper, and lay them on the grill.  It will take you only a few minutes to cook up these babies, depending on how rare or well-done you like them, and that's it!  The blue cheese dip comes straight out of whatever your favorite fancy refrigerated blue cheese dressing is - I like Marie's Blue Cheese dressing which is usually in the produce section of my supermarket.  Grind a little more pepper into the dressing, sprinkle some fresh parsley over the whole thing, and dinner is served.  Or lunch.  Or a really serious snack....

Steak Skewers with Blue Cheese Dip, adapted from Real Simple

• 1/2 pound flank steak
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup good quality blue cheese dressing
• Chopped parsley
• 16 wooden skewers, thoroughly soaked in water

1. Freeze steak for about 10 minutes (this makes it easier to cut).  Slice very thinly against the grain into strips and thread onto soaked skewers

2. Brush with vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

3. Grill over medium high heat until cooked through, 1-2 minutes per side.  

4. Put dressing in a small bowl and sprinkle with parsley.  Serve at once.

Click here for printable recipe

Pasta with Garlic, Blue Cheese and Tomatoes

A few days ago I posted a recipe that included some reminiscing about our recent Vermont vacation, and while you may have thought you were done looking at my vacation pictures...guess what. I held back a few, because I wanted to have enough time to go over a couple of little treasures that I found while we were up there. I promise that this will be at least marginally related to that plate of pasta up there.

One of things we love to do is go exploring around the rambling unpaved roads, because you never know what you are going to find around the next turn. We found a couple of fabulous spots in Castleton, Vermont.The first was Wright Choice Alpacas. Have you ever met an alpaca before? I never had, and how adorable is this?

They are like life-size, walking, talking (they were very talkative) versions of your favorite stuffed animal, and we spent some fun time with Deb who introduced us to the alpacas and then showed us her gorgeous array of things created from their wool. (I'm not sure that is the technical term, so bear with me here. ) I picked out a soft, beautiful green gaiter, which Deb had knitted herself. I love the whole concept of a gaiter. My lovely assistant will demonstrate...

It's open at the top, but it has a little drawstring. So you can leave it open and wear it around your neck, which is probably what I will do most days. My neck gets chilly.

OR, you can pull that drawstring closed, tie it in a bow, and wear it as a hat. Isn't that the best??

When I was able to tear myelf away from the alpacas (I really, really wanted to take one with me), we drove into town to visit the spectacular Farrow Gallery and Studios, which features the glorious sculpture artwork of the late Patrick Farrow and Susan Farrow. Susan was there and gave us a lovely tour of the place, which included everything from giant sculptures to her own framed piece of art made from found Vermont iron, to an amazing display of sculpted jewelry. I knew exactly what I wanted as soon as I saw it.

It is a small pendant shaped into, yes, a clove of garlic. As the card says, among other things, I will now be safe forever from vampires. And of course it got me to thinking...garlic, garlic...which (finally!) brings me to that plate of pasta up there. This is a dish from the Pioneer Woman's website that features three cloves of minced garlic, along with a load of other things near and dear to my heart, such as blue cheese, spinach, tomatoes and a whole lot of pasta. It's a quick and easy recipe that cooks all in one pot (well two, if you count boiling the pasta), and the combo of the blue cheese, the tomato and the spinach is just heaven. Not to mention all that GARLIC.

See, I told you I would string this whole thing together! Here's the recipe.

Pasta with Garlic Blue Cheese and Tomatoes, from The Pioneer Woman

• 1-½ pound Pasta (angel Hair Or Thin Spaghetti), cooked
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole 28-ounce Can Diced Tomatoes, Drained
• Dash Of Sugar
• Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, To Taste
• ¾ cups Crumbled Blue Cheese
• ¾ cups Heavy Cream
• 4 cups Baby Spinach
• Half-and-Half, for thinning
• Extra Blue Cheese Crumbles, For Garnish

Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Pour in drained tomatoes. Add sugar, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste. Coor for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat to low. Stir in crumbled blue cheese. Add cream and stir, then a little splash of half-and-half if sauce is too thick. Cook for a minute or two, tasting and adding more seasonings as needed.

Add spinach to pan. Immediately toss in the cooked and drained pasta. Serve immediately!

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Tomato Blue Cheese Napoleons

Fresh tomatoes, creamy blue cheese, a little home-made remoulade sauce - do I have your attention yet? For some reason, I am on a roll with the side dishes (see my recent post on Lemon Ricotta Potatoes), which is unusual for me, but I am going with the flow here.

For this one you need some great fresh tomatoes, a mild blue cheese, the makings for a quick food processor remoulade sauce that serves as a dressing, and a little lettuce. Once you whiz up the sauce in the food processor, all you have to do is slice up the tomatoes and the cheese, layer them up on a bed of lettuce and drizzle the sauce over the whole thing. Drop a few red onions on the top and you have a very handsome dish that will completely outshine whatever the main course is. In our case, the Southern husband was grilling up some chicken while I made the napoleans. We sliced up the chicken, tossed it on the plates next to the napoleans, drizzled the left-over remolaude sauce on the sliced chicken, and oh my my. Summer tomato season, here we come!

Tomato Blue Cheese Napoleans, adapted from Taste of the South

• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup mustard
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup prepared horseradish
• 2 large eggs
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup olive oil

• 1 small head romaine lettuce, cut into strips
• 2 large tomatoes, cut into four slices
• 8 ounces blue cheese, cut into eight slices
• Shaved red onion

1. Combine first 12 ingredients (celery through salt) in food processor and process until smooth. With processor still running, pour oil through feed tube until emulsified.

2. Divide lettuce among four plates. Top with one slice tomato, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place slice of blue cheese on top, top with another tomato slice. Drizzle with remoulade sauce, top with another slice of blue cheese. Drizzle more remoulade over top of both tomato stack and lettuce. Garnish with red onion. (Leftover remoulade sauce will keep in the fridge, and it makes a great salad dressing, a light sauce for chicken or seafood, and/or a delicious marinade.)

Click here for printable recipe