Fried Green Tomatoes!

I have found that folks fall into two basic camps when it comes to fried green tomatoes.  There is the "why would anyone want to fry and then eat a green tomato???" camp.  The teenager is the president of this camp.  Then there is the "fried green tomatoes are one of the reasons life is worth living" camp, and I am the president of this camp.  The New Jersey chapter, anyhow.

So, you start with, yes a green tomato.  These are pretty widely available at farmer's markets in August and September as the tomato crop goes nuts and they start picking green ones that haven't ripened yet.  The green ones are firmer and will stand up to the frying you are about to do without falling apart.

You have to use them pretty soon after you buy them, though, because if they are more mature tomatoes, they will keep on ripening, and your fried green tomatoes will be fried orange-ish tomatoes.  And we're looking for authenticity here!

So, if you are looking for your standard fried green tomato, the basic approach is this: slice those green tomatoes into nice thick slices, dunk them in flour, then egg, then cornmeal, fry them in some canola oil until they are a handsome golden brown, drain 'em on paper towels, sprinkle them with salt, and then dig in.

However.  If you want to go to fried green tomato heaven, you can take things a step further.  After you have your fried green tomatoes all nice and golden, build a stack of tomato, mozzarella cheese, tomato, cheese, tomato.  You can even use a slice of a red one (unfried!) in the center for a little color.  Sprinkle with some grated parmesan, skewer them with a long wooden toothpick so they stay together, and then pop them in the oven until the cheese juuuuust starts to melt.  

Need I say more?  Hurry hurry, before the green tomatoes leave to make room for the pumpkins.

Fried Green Tomatoes,  basic recipe from Real Simple with embellishments from Framed Cooks

• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 pound green tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• Kosher salt

• Sliced mozzarella
• Grated parmesan

1. Place the flour, cornmeal and eggs in separate bowls.  Dip the tomatoes first in the flour, then the eggs, then the cornmeal, pressing gently to help the cornmeal adhere.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Working in batches, cook the tomatoes until golden brown, 1-2 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towel lined sheet and season with salt.
3. These are fine to eat just as is, but if you want to take it step further, preheat the oven to 400.  Make a stack of tomato slice, mozzarella cheese, another tomato, more cheese, one more tomato slice.  (You can use a regular red tomato slice in the middle for color if you like.)  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and stick a toothpick down the middle.  Bake just until the cheese starts to melt, about 2-5 minutes.  If they slide apart don't worry, you can push them back into a stack once they are out of the oven.

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Mini Caprese Bites

My brother and I have been partners in crime for more years than either of us are prepared to admit.  

We fought like cats and dogs when we were growing up, and one of the proudest moments of my life is still the time during a loooooong car ride to Vermont when I tricked him into finishing his McDonalds fries before I finished mine...and then stretching mine out for the remainder of the four hour trip.  ("Boy, these fries are SO good.  I bet you wish you still had some.  Mmmmmmmm.")

You'd think that after that he wouldn't have my back...but he always does.  Through ups and downs, thick and thin.  My bro.  He also gave me one of the great gifts of my life, which is this character, otherwise known as my adorable nephew, otherwise known as the handsomest boy on the planet.

(Okay, I owe my sister-in-law for that too!  Love you, C!)

Anyway, I do have a point with all of this, and here it is: he also turned me on to the best, and I mean the BEST mozzarella cheese I have ever tasted in my life.  The first time I tried it, the Southern husband and I literally stood there in the kitchen and ate the whole hunk of it.  No putting it into lasagna, not even a cracker - I'm not sure we even used a knife, we may have just ripped pieces off of it and guzzled it until it was gone.

And now basically all other mozzarella cheese in the world has been ruined for me, so when decided to make these cute little caprese bites, it involved driving a half hour down and another half hour back to my brother's town to buy a nice big piece of this cheese.  Which did have the extra bonus of getting to hang out with him for a little while, so there was that.

If you are lucky enough to live in the northern New Jersey area and want to experience mozzarella cheese nirvana, it comes from Vito's Bakery (yes, bakery...no idea why and not asking questions) in Secaucus, New Jersey.  They make it fresh there three times daily, and whatever they are doing, I hope they never ever stop.  If you don't, just nab a piece of the best mozzarella cheese you can find.  This is the perfect little nibble to make right now when the cherry tomatoes and basil are at their delicious peak.  All you do is slice the tomatos in half, cut the cheese into tomato size cubes, and spear everything on a toothpick in this order: tomato half, cheese cube, other tomato half, basil leaf.  If you have the tomato half with the stem side on the bottom, it will do a good job of standing upright since it is flatter.

Now mix up some balsamic vinegar with some olive oil and some fresh ground pepper and drizzle it over and around the caprese bites.  And dig in - pop the whole thing in your mouth at once for the perfect sensation of tomato, cheese and basil.  Mmmm, mmm, mmm.  Even better than that last McDonald's french fry.

Mini Caprese Bites, adapted from My Recipes

• 1 pt. cherry tomatoes, halved


• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes


• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil


• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar


• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt


• 1/4 teaspoon pepper


• Fresh basil leaves


• Kosher salt and pepper to taste

• 1. Thread 1 basil leaf, tomato half, 1 piece of cheese, and another tomato half onto toothpicks. Place toothpicks in a shallow serving dish.


• 2. Whisk together oil and next 3 ingredients. Drizzle oil mixture over skewers; sprinkle with basil and salt and pepper to taste.

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Grilled Provolone, Egg and Pancetta Sandwiches

There are grilled cheese sandwiches, and then there are Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  Before the teenager left for college, grilled cheese meant American cheese inside two slices of white bread, fried in a little butter until golden brown.  She's a grilled cheese purist, and hey, that is a perfectly good grilled cheese sandwich.

But here in our newly empty nest we are pushing the boundaries a little, grilled cheese-wise.  The empty nest version uses provolone cheese that has been set on top of thinly sliced sourdough bread and put in a skillet with a little butter until the cheese is melted.

While this is happening, we are cooking up some pancetta (thin round Italian bacon, and if you can't find it, regular bacon will work just fine) until it is just crispy.  While it is draining on paper towels, cook up a couple of fried eggs in that same skillet until they are just set.

Now lay a couple pieces of bacon on top of the melted cheese toast, lay an egg on top, and sprinkle with some grated parmesan cheese and a little basil.  Slice off a bite, making sure to get some of every single ingredient, and chew it up nice and slowly.

Realize that while you miss your teenager like crazy, there are advantages to living in a house where you don't always have to break out the American cheese when you are making grilled cheese for lunch.

Grilled Provolone, Egg and Pancetta Sandwiches, adapted from Bon Appetit

12 slices of pancetta (Italian bacon), or 4 regular bacon slices cut into thirds
2 tablespoons butter
4 slices sourdough bread
8 thin slices provolone cheese
4 large eggs
Parmesan cheese shavings
12 fresh basil leaves 

1. Cook pancetta or bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels. Reserve skillet with drippings.
2. Melt butter in extra-large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 4 bread slices; top each with 2 provolone slices. Sprinkle with black pepper. Cook until cheese melts, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat skillet with drippings over medium heat. Crack eggs into skillet; cook until whites are set but yolks are still runny, 2 to 3 minutes. 

4. Set 6 pancetta slices and 2 eggs atop each of 2 cheese toasts. Top eggs with Parmesan, and basil. Cut sandwiches in half and serve.

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How To Make Fresh Ricotta

Okay, the first thing I have to say is, hang in there with me for a few minutes.  I know you are thinking, make your own cheese?  REALLY?  Here on this blog where I have said about a million times, it's all about getting in and out of the kitchen in 30 minutes or less?  Has she finally eaten one too many piece of bacon and gone off her rocker?  

Hang in there with me while I promise you these three things:

1. If you can boil water, you can make your own ricotta cheese.

2. It will take you less than 15 minutes from start to finish.

3. It will taste so good, you will wonder why on earth it took you so long
to figure out that you should have been making
your own ricotta cheese for the past hundred years.

4. It will take all your willpower not to stand there next to
your bowl of delicious fresh ricotta
and not eat it all in one fell swoop.

Okay, that's four things, and I have no idea what a fell swoop is.  But you get my drift.  Try it with me just once, and I promise you will be hooked for life.  Here's what you do.

Get out your handy strainer and put it in your sink.  Line it with a little cheesecloth, which you can find in your supermarket, sometimes with the baking stuff and sometimes with the laundry stuff, for mysterious reasons.  I usually fold it into a square that has about 3-4 layers until it looks like this.  This will take you two minutes.

Now take a nice heavy saucepan and pour in 4 cups of whole milk, one cup of buttermilk, and 1/3 cup of heavy cream.  Set it on the stove and put the heat on to medium high and bring it to a boil.  In the early going, you may want to clip a candy thermometer on to the pot so you can watch the temperature, because when the temperature gets to about 185 degrees, the curds (the solid part) will have separated from the whey (the liquid part), and it's time to strain it.  If you don't have thermometer don't fret, because you can pretty much see it happening.  The milk mixture will boil, and it will gradually curdle and separate into the solids (the curds) and the watery looking liquid (the whey).  This will take about 10 minutes...sometimes less.  When it does, take the pot off the burner and reach for your handy slotted spoon, and start scooping out the solids, letting the liquid drain off.  Drop the spoonfuls of solids into your strainer.

I like to sprinkle a little coarse salt onto the cheese every couple of spoonfuls or so.  Once you are done, let it drain for about 2 minutes (if you like your ricotta moist) or 5 minutes (if you like it drier).  You can leave it right in the strainer, or you can be like I was when I first made it and hang it dramatically from your kitchen faucet (see picture above).  Taste it after a few minutes...if it's gotten too dry just stir in a tablespoon or two of milk, and if it's too moist for you, let it keep draining.

Fifteen minutes have now passed, and you have made your own ricotta cheese.

And if you are like me, you will never even LOOK at those ricotta containers in the supermarket again.  

Things you can make with your glorious ricotta include...

Summer Lasagna.  A cool lasagna that includes fresh zucchini, sweet little cherry tomatoes, basil from your back yard...and ricotta.

Zucchini Carpaccio.  Almost as fun to pronounce as it is to eat.  Almost.

Or you can cook up some soft scrambled eggs with fresh chives and during the last minute of cooking, swirl in some ricotta.  Heaven.

Or you can just stand there at your kitchen counter and eat it with the closest available spoon.   I may or may not have done this at times.

Happy fresh ricotta.  No fear!

Easy Fresh Ricotta, adapted from the 101 Cookbooks recipe

• 4 cups whole milk
• One cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Coarse salt

1. Line a fine mesh strainer with several folds of cheesecloth and set it in your sink.

2. Combine milk, buttermilk and cream in medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil until cooking thermometer registers 185 degrees...if you don't have a thermometer, keep an eye on it to see when the curds (the solid white parts) are mostly separated from the whey (the cloudy liquid).  This will take about 10 minutes...stir a couple of times during the boiling process.

3. Remove from heat and using a slotted spot, scoop spoonfuls of the curd into the cheesecloth-lined strainer, sprinkling with a little salt every few spoonfuls or so.

4. Let the ricotta drain for about 5 minutes and then taste to check the consistency.  If you like it drier, then let it drain a little more.  If you like it moister, stir in a tablespoon or two of milk.  This ricotta is best used right away, but will keep for a day or two in the fridge. 

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Pasta with Mozzarella Tomatoes

Just about this time of year, you start thinking...what am I going to do with all that basil in my garden?  And what I am going to do with all those gorgeous local tomatoes?

I think I have the answer.  First step: find a big hunk of the best mozzarella cheese you can get your hands on.  The softer and creamier the cheese, the more deliriously happy you are going to be...it's a direct connection.  Creamy cheesiness = happiness.  Next, go get yourself a few of those nice tomatoes...



...and some of that basil.  I have some if you need any!



Okay, here we go.  Cook up some spaghetti, and while it is boiling away, get your tomatoes ready.  Slice them up in nice thick slices, and season them with a little salt and pepper.  Place them on a baking sheet and cover them with some slices of that great mozzarella you found, along with a little parmesan. 

Meanwhile, heat up some olive oil with some chopped garlic and red pepper for a couple minutes...don't let the garlic get too brown.  As soon as it starts smelling like garlic heaven, you're good.  When the pasta has about 2 minutes to go, pop those tomatoes into the broiler until the cheese starts getting gorgeously brown and bubbly. 

Now it's time to put it all together.  Toss the pasta with that delicious garlic oil, some chopped basil, a little more salt and pepper, and then slide those cheesy tomatoes on top.  A few more basil leaves and Parmesan just to send you completely over the edge, and you are all set.  Tomato season, I adore you!

 Pasta with Mozzarella Tomatoes, from Real Simple

• 12 ounces spaghetti
• 3 large beefsteak tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), each cut into 4 thick slices
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for the baking sheet
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce), plus more, shaved, for serving
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 3/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving

1. Heat broiler. Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain and return it to the pot.

2. Meanwhile, arrange the tomato slices in a single layer on a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet. Season with ¼ teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Dividing evenly, cover the slices with the mozzarella and Parmesan. Broil until the cheese is bubbly and golden, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. In a small saucepan, warm the oil with the garlic and red pepper over medium heat until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Add the garlic oil, basil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper to the pasta and toss to combine. Serve topped with the tomatoes, additional basil, and shaved Parmesan.

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Cheddar Topped Cottage Pie

When it comes to cottage pie and shepherd's pie, I'm pretty much a girl who can't say no.  It's not like I don't have multiple recipes for various variations of this recipe.  And during the course of collecting all of these recipes and blogging about them incessantly, I have learned the difference between shepherd's pie (lamb) and cottage pie (beef).  I've made it with and without peas, with sliced potatoes and mashed potatoes.  You'd think I'd be over it by now.

But no.  I ran into this recipe for a cheddar-topped version, and that was all the excuse I needed to put it back on the menu for the one millionth time.  It was a new recipe!  It included cheese!  I had no choice!

So here's what we've got.  The base is a mixture of carrots, celery, onion, thyme, tomato paste and beef.  And since I have learned the correct terminology, I know that this means that what I am making is cottage pie.  The topping is made of mashed potatoes (and I cribbed this recipe from the completely wonderful, always reliable mashed potato recipe from The Pioneer Woman site.  Yukon gold potatoes, cream cheese...you pretty much can't go wrong.)  You spread this glorious mashed potato wonderfulness over the beef mixtures, sprinkle some cheese on top, and you get this:

Delicious, comforting, cheesy cottage pie.  I have no idea why it is called cottage pie, but since it is, and since it includes a good-sized amount of Vermont cheddar cheese, it seems like a good enough reason to show you the closest picture I have to a cottage, which is our beloved Vermont cabin.



So, the next time you want a completely soothing and wonderful comfort food, or want to make something with "cottage" in the title, or (like me) just can't resist recipes that include mashed potatoes...here's your recipe.

Cheddar Topped Cottage Pie, adapted from Everyday Food

• • 4 cups mashed potatoes (either store-bought or homemade.  I like The Pioneer Woman's recipe)
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
  • 6 medium carrots, halved lengthwise, quartered if large, and thinly sliced
  • 6 celery stalks, thinly sliced
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2 pounds ground beef chuck
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar (6 ounces)

1. Heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, onion, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beef; cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 1 cup water; bring to a boil, and simmer 1 minute. Set beef filling aside.
2. Pour beef filling into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Mix one cup of cheese into mashed potatoes.  Drop dollops of mashed potatoes over filling; spread to edges with a spatula. Using a fork, make decorative peaks; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbling rapidly, about 20 minutes (if topping and filling were chilled, increase to 35 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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Egg Sandwich with Spinach, Brie and Maple Bacon

Things I love in life:

1. Bacon

2. The Southern husband

3. Brie

4. English muffins

5. Baby Spinach

6. Noisy, disobedient but lovable dogs

7. Eggs, over easy

8. Noisy, disobedient but lovable teenagers.

Five of these things are part of the sandwich we had for dinner tonight.  (And by the way, don't you love sandwiches-for-dinner night? I do.  Add that to the above list.)

I won't lie to you, this is a messy one to eat, but man, is it worth every single drip and spatter.  You toast up the muffins and while they are still warm, spread on some nice soft Brie.  Yes, on both sides.  Let them sit there while you slather some maple syrup on the bacon and cook it in the oven.  While the bacon is cooking, saute some baby spinach until it is nice and soft, and then cook up some eggs, over easy - as hard or soft as you like.  I like soft, myself.  

Now slide the egg onto the bottom half of the muffin, lay some spinach over the egg, and a couple of maple bacon pieces over the spinach.  Pop the other muffin half on top.  At this point, the heat of everything is going to start turning that cheese into a melty sauce of molten Brie, and you may start to weep a little in anticipation.  This is normal.   Now sit down and get ready to eat the best egg sandwich in the world.

The best!

Egg Sandwich with Spinach, Brie and Maple Bacon

• Two strips bacon, each cut in half
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups baby spinach
• One English muffin, split
• 2 large slices of Brie cheese, softened
• One egg
• 1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Cover baking sheet (use one with sides) with foil and lay bacon on top. Brush with maple syrup.  Bake for 10 minutes or until bacon is done to your liking.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet and saute spinach until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Cover with skillet cover and set aside.

3. Toast English muffin and as soon as it is toasted, spread both sides with cheese.

3. Heat butter in second small skillet over medium heat until melted.  Fry egg until yolk is soft set. Flip and cook another minute longer.

4. Lay egg on bottom of English muffin.  Top with spinach.  Cover spinach with bacon.  Cover with top of English muffin.

Click here for printable recipe

Kentucky Hot Brown!

I think this MAY be the most delicious thing I have ever made, eaten, seen, smelled or otherwise come in any contact with over the course of my entire life.  This, my friends, is called a Kentucky Hot Brown, and my only regret is that I have gotten to the ripe old age of...well, never mind...and this is the first time I have eaten one.  I have a lot of catching up to do.

Here's how this all happened.   Back around Thanksgiving, I found a recipe in the New York Times for a very unusual way of cooking turkey.  I finally got around to making it, and let's just say that it involved a lot of Saran Wrap, a meat thermometer and a steam bath for the turkey,  and the stress of it all took about five years off my life.  But it resulted in some outstanding tasting turkey.  Because of the stress part I am not going to do one of my usual blog posts about it, but if you want to live life on the edge, turkey-wise, you can find the recipe by clicking here. The rest of you can either make your turkey the normal way, or even get some from your friendly neighborhood deli counter - just make sure they slice it thick, about 1/4 inch or so.

Anyhow, as is usually the case with any turkey-cooking, I ended up with a whole lot of leftovers, and I dimly remembered that I had heard of something called a Hot Brown that called for sliced cooked turkey.  Googling ensued.  Soon I found the original recipe for it, which dates back to a dish from the 1920's at the Brown Hotel in Kentucky.  This recipe called for a QUART of heavy cream, and that was enough to stop even me in my tracks.  So I moved on to Bobby Flay's version of it, which is not slenderizing by any means, but at least uses milk instead of the cream.

To cut to the chase, what you are putting together here is this: a piece of french toast that is topped with sliced turkey, sliced tomato and a succulent cheddar cheese sauce.  You run the whole thing under the broiler, lay a couple slices of bacon on top, sprinkle with some chopped parsley, and there you have it.  A Kentucky Hot Brown.

Do not let one more second go by without having this yourself.  It's worth roasting a turkey just to have leftovers to make this baby.  Kentucky Hot Brown...you heard it here first!

Kentucky Hot Brown, adapted from Bobby Flay's recipe

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups grated sharp white Cheddar
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• Pinch freshly ground nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the egg bread:

• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• Salt
• 8 (1/2-inch) thick slices good day old white bread
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

For assembly:

• Roasted turkey breast, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 3 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices and griddled until slightly charred and just cooked through
• 1 1/2 cups grated sharp white Cheddar
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 16 thick slices slab bacon, cooked until crisp
• Finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

For the sauce:

Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, bring to a boil and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and the flour has cooked out, about 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk in cheese and cook until the cheese has melted. Season with nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste.

For the egg bread:

Whisk together the eggs, milk and salt in a medium bowl. Dip each slice of bread in the mixture and let sit about 30 seconds, or until completely soaked through.  Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook 4 slices of the bread at a time until golden brown on both sides. Remove and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bread.

For assembly:

Preheat broiler. Place the egg bread on a baking sheet.  Top each slice of bread with 2 to 3 slices of turkey and 2 slices of tomato, ladle sauce over the top and divide the cheddar cheese and Parmesan over the top of each slice. Place under the broiler and cook until bubbly and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven, top each slice with 1-2 slices of bacon and sprinkle each slice with parsley.

Click here for printable recipe

French Onion Soup

Okay, so first of all, this recipe is a major exception to my "must be able to be cooked in 30 minutes or less" rule.  But every once in a while I break that rule to make something I really, really love and really, really want to try making, just for the thrill of it all.  So one Sunday afternoon I settled in to my kitchen with a load of onions, my Dutch oven and the Cooks Illustrated recipe for French Onion Soup.  Because if you are going to spend HOURS on end cooking something, you don't want heartbreak at the end when it doesn't work out, and Cooks Illustrated is as close as any girl can get to a money-back guarantee, recipe-wise.

Now, this would be a good time to confess that those hours are mainly spent lounging around watching Netflix movies while this soup cooks slowly and langorously in the oven and then the stovetop, before you get all worried about me slaving away or anything.  The single hardest part of all of this is not sobbing while cutting up all those onions.  After that, it's pretty much smooth sailing.  Don't get worried when your onions are very dark brown or even blackened in spots.  That is supposed to happen, and it's all essential to the rich onion taste you are going to be spooning up very very soon.  Right after you finish watching Gone with the Wind for the millionth time.  As always, I highly recommend either the Imagine or Pacific brands of broth - the kind that comes in the box right next to the canned broths.  They are SO much better.

Happy French Onion Soup, everyone!

French Onion Soup, from Cooks Illustrated

3	tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
6	large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices
	Table salt
2	cups water, plus extra for deglazing
1/2	cup dry sherry
4	cups low-sodium chicken broth
2	cups beef broth
6	sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine
1	bay leaf
	Ground black pepper
1	small baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
8	ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

4. For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Fig Jam and Cheese Bites

It's time to face the inevitable: it's November, and that means we are entering the holiday season.  And with the holiday season come holiday parties.  And with holiday parties come HORS D'OUEVRES.  And the only thing harder than figuring out how to spell hors d'ouevres is figuring out what they should be.  I'm all for a good cheese ball, but there's nothing like coming across a new nibbles idea that is both easy AND delicious AND different.  Because after the nibbles you still have the main course, the dessert,  and the holiday cards that all still have to be done.

Help is on the way.

Here's my latest favorite appetizer (and my extended family?  If you are reading this?  Spoiler alert!).  All you need for this one is a nice french bread baguette, your favorite jam (I like fig, but peach or apricot will work just fine), and a nice soft triple cream cheese - Brie, Camembert, or my current obession, D'Affinois.  A little fresh chopped thyme and you are in business.  Cut the baguette into thin slices and spread each slice with a little jam - I used fig jam, but peach or apricot would work just as well.  .  Slather on a bit of soft cheese.  Sprinkle a few bits of chopped fresh thyme.  If you want to get REALLY fancy, grind some fresh pepper on top. 

That's it - you are done!   Not even a recipe needed.   Put them on a nice platter, pour some mixed nuts into a bowl and now all you have to worry about is the next two courses.   And the holiday cards.  And the shopping.  Ho ho ho!

Creamy Tomato Soup with Souffled Cheese Toasts

First, a brief pause for station identification. I just figured out how to put up a Facebook page for FramedCooks, so if you aren't getting enough of my incessant chatter about cooking and photography and teenagers right here on this blog, please click below and hit the "Like" button.

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We now return to our regularly scheduled programming, otherwise known as this scrumptious, easy tomato soup and a whole new take on the grilled cheese sandwich. Soup first: I do love a nice tomato soup, and let me just say for the record that if you don't have time to make your own, there are a few nice supermarket version - I especially like Pacific Organic Creamy Tomato.  But if you do have a spare half hour to make your own, this one is lightly spicy and creamy and delicious, and if you make a little extra for lunches later in the week you will be SO happy.  Once your soup is bubbling away, you can whip up a few of these exotic little cheese toasts - all you need to do for these babies is mix up some grated cheese with a little mustard and some whipped egg whites.  Spread them on to some slices of lightly toasted bread, pop them into the oven until they are melted and a teeny bit brown, and you are in business.  It's like the perfect combo of a grilled cheese and a little baby souffle, and paired with the tomato soup they are just plain perfect.

Don't you just LOVE soup season?

Creamy Tomato Soup with Souffled Cheese Toasts, adapted from Epicurious

• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 1/4 teasponn baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 egg, separated
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 cup grated cheddar
• 4 slices bread, lightly toasted

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and celery and cook until onion is limp, about 3-5 minutes.  Stir in flour, then add basil, cloves, tomatoes, baking soda and stock.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes.  Cool briefly and then puree in a blender until smooth (or if you have an immersion blender use that, it's even easier!)

2. Preheat oven to 400.  Return soup to the pot and add milk and tomato paste and season with salt and pepper.

3. Combine the egg yolk with mustard and cayenne, then stir in the cheese.  Whip the egg white until if forms soft peaks and then fold it into the cheese mixture.  Spread cheese over the tasted bread and bake until puffed and a little golden, 5-10 minutes, while you reheat the soup.

4. Serve the soup with a piece of cheese toast, cut in half diagonally, with fresh ground pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

Asparagus and Ham Oven Frittata

There is something that is just so comforting about anything made with eggs.  I don't know what it is about them...maybe it reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad would make scrambled eggs for breakfast every Sunday.   At least I THINK it was my dad.  He was definitely the one who bought the crumb cake at the local bakery, and just on the basis of that I am going to go ahead and give him credit for making the scrambled eggs, too.



Hi Daddy!

Anyway,  this is why I love a good frittata - that and the fact that it is so dang easy to make.  Frittatas are usually made on the stovetop, but they can also be made in the oven and that is what I like to do -- they are amazingly easy that way.  Now, this particular one also helped me with this little project I have going on lately, which is to try a different cheese each week that I haven't tried before.  This particular week I tried a cheese called comte cheese, which was like a mash-up of cheddar and parmesan and was very delish...but if you can't lay your hands on some comte cheese, a nice sharp cheddar will work perfectly well.

So here's the deal.  Blanch a handful of asparagus in boiling water for a minute or two  - just until they are nice and bright green.  Chop up some ham (and dare I say it?  if you are clean out of ham, a handful of cooked bacon will work just fine.  Actually, if you are out of anything at all a handful of bacon will do just fine.  This is a basic truth in life.)  Mix up some eggs and toss in the ham and the cheese.  Pour it all into a round oven-safe dish.  I use a 9 inch cake pan for this - it works perfectly.  Now take your  bright green asparagus and arrange them in a pretty design, and pop the whole shebang in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Make a nice green salad in the meantime.  By the time you are finished making the salad and setting the table, your frittata will be brown and hot and wonderful.  Slice it up the same way you would slice a pie and you are all ready for the perfect comfort food meal!

Asparagus and Ham Oven Frittata, adapted from Il de France

• 8 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 cups grated comte or cheddar cheese
• 2/3 cup chopped or sliced ham
• 6 sun-dried tomato halves, softened in water and thinly sliced
• Pinch red pepper
• 14-16 asparagus spears, bottoms trimmed and blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Whisk eggs and milk until well-combined. Stir in cheese, ham, sun-dried tomato and pepper.

3. Grease a 9 inch round pan, pour in egg mixture. Arrange asparagus on top like the spokes of a wheel.

4. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Cool for 5 minutes, cut into sections and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on the Actual Grill...and Hildene!

That sandwich up there is a grilled Harvarti cheese and tomato sandwich made on the outside grill. Not fried inside in a pan, not toasted in the oven....that sandwich can proudly call itself an honest to goodness GRILLED cheese sandwich. I'm not sure why it never occurred to me before that grilled cheese sandwiches might taste pretty awesome when made on the actual grill, but I finally saw the light, and what a difference! But I will get back to that sandwich later, because what I REALLY want to talk about is the cheese inside of it.

Now, a few months ago I got a special delivery of this scrumptious goat cheese being made at a new cheese-making facility up in Manchester, Vermont. It was not even being sold yet - I got a special sneak preview. And man, was it good.

Smooth and creamy and perfect on everything from elaborate pasta dishes to plain old crackers.

I emailed this place to rave about it, and they invited me to come up and have a look at their operation the next time I was in Vermont...which is how I got the behind the scenes tour of the fabulous cheese-making area at the historic Hildene Lincoln Family residence. Hildene has been around for ages and you can tour the beautiful historic home of Robert Todd Lincoln and walk through the gorgeous gardens, but their new cheesemaking facility is brand-new.

Our first stop was inside that beautiful building, which was clean as a whistle and full of these...

That, my friends, is a Nubian goat - floppy ears, brown eyes and totally adorable. And the source of the milk that makes the cheese.

The inside was big and airy with lots of room for the goats to relax and play, and the doors opened up onto big fenced areas on the grounds where they were roaming in and out.

Hi honeybunch! Want to come home with me?

I learned very quickly that the old line about goats being willing to eat anything was actually completely true. While I was taking that picture of the sweet little black and tan goat above, her buddy was eating the hem of my shorts. They will also apparently eat metal chains...

And Silly Bands.

While I was making friends in the big building, the Southern husband took a look in this smaller barn across the path.

Now let me explain the next few pictures (and please forgive the wonky color - there was no, and I mean NO light in there. My Nikon was screaming for mercy). Anyway, there is a series of openings in the back and side walls of this barn, just big enough for the goats to stick their cute little heads in from the outside. I'm guessing it has something to do with feeding them their dinner, because when we went inside, a whole bunch of them immediately popped their heads in the openings.

Don't they look like they think a snack is on the way? They were especially interested in the teenager. When she was behind me, they looked at her. When she moved to the side, they looked at her.

I swear that they were smiling at us.

I loved their names, too. Cinnamon Bun the Goat.

And I also adored this sign. Goats-Busters!!!

Back in the big building, we took a look at the cheese-making rooms, including this little piece of heaven where the finished cheese is just sitting here waiting for me.

They still have the delicious chevre goat cheese that I remembered from before, and this time they also had a lovely havarti, all packaged up in this adorable wrapping.

By the end, the Southern husband was pondering getting a goat farm of his own. I was still wondering if I could sneak Cinnamon Bun out in my camera bag.

So next time you are in Southern Vermont, stop by beautiful Hildene - tour the house and the gardens, and make sure you stop by and say hello to the friendly goats. And whatever you do, don't leave without picking up some of their AMAZING cheese.

The end. (Except for the recipe).

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on the Actual Grill!

• 2 slices bread - any substantial bread will do, but regular sandwich bread will be too soft
• Sliced havarti cheese
• Thinly sliced tomato
• Olive oil
• Fresh ground pepper

1. Heat grill to medium. Assemble sandwiches by layering cheese, then tomato, then another layer of cheese.

2. Brush outside of bread with olive oil and grind pepper on top.

3. Place sandwich on grill and weight down with something heavy (a brick wrapped in foil, a heavy frying pan or one of those big cans of tomatoes will all work!

4. Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side until bread is toasted and cheese is melted. Serve at once.

Click here for printable recipe

Lasagna Cupcakes

Those of you who have been reading this blog lately know that I have developed an alarmingly close relationship with my muffin pan. I blame the French Toast muffins that I made a while back. They turned on a little lightbulb over my head, one that has led me down a road filled with cupcakes of all shapes and sizes. Ice Cream Cupcakes. Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes. And now what may be my favorites, which are these Lasagna Cupcakes. Yep, that's a bonafide little lasagna up there, complete with layers of pasta, rich meat sauce and three kinds of cheese. Isn't he handsome?

So here's how this works. Instead of using lasagna noodles, you use wonton wrappers. Wonton wrappers are basically super-thin pieces of delicious fresh pasta, and they are perfect for this little exercise. The only thing you have to do is cut the little wonton squares into a round shape that will fit into your muffin tin. This is really easy to do with either a round biscuit cutter, or by putting a juice glass down on a stack of a few wrappers and tracing a sharp knife around the outside of the glass. Don't worry if the first wrapper into the muffin well comess up a little around the edges -- that's actually a good thing, as it will help to hold in your sauce.

Once you do that, it is smooth sailing. You layer in the wrappers, your favorite sauce and the cheese until you have three nice layers. And by the way, you are putting these right into the muffin tins -- no paper muffin cups required. I worried that they would stick, but I let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, slid a knife around the edges and a little spatula underneath them and they popped right out.

I'm printing the recipe below pretty close to how I found it on Food.com, but I had some of this great crockpot bolognese sauce already in my freezer, so I skipped the hamburger step. And you can leave the meat out entirely for a vegetarian version...you feel free to be totally you when it comes to lasagna cupcakes!

Lasagna Cupcakes, adapted from Food.com

• One cup of your favorite pasta sauce
• 1 lb hamburger meat
• 18 wonton wrappers
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese , grated
• 3 ounces parmesan cheese , grated
• 4 ounces ricotta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray 6 serving muffin tin with Pam
2. Cook hamburger meat, season to taste, drain.
3. Reserve 8 tablespoons of Parmesan and 8 tablespoons of mozzarella—this will be the topping. The remaining cheese will be used in the lasagnas (note you can vary the amount of cheese to taste keeping in mind that the parmesan is salty, the mozzarella is sweet as well as salty and helps to hold the lasagnas together, and the ricotta is sweet and creamy).
4. Start assembling the lasagnas. Line each cupcake mold with a round wonton wrapper. Put a little Parmesan, a little mozzarella, and a little ricotta into each mold. Top with a little meat and a spoonful of sauce. Repeat layers of wonton wrappers, cheeses, meat and sauce, creating 3 layers in all, and ending with sauce. Sprinkle each lasagna with reserved Parmesan and mozzarella.
5. Bake until the lasagnas are nicely browned, about 20 minutes.
6. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and remove from pan.

Click here for printable recipe

Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes

Okay, so ever since I made those French Toast Muffins a little ways back, I've been strangely obsessed with things I can make in my muffin pan. I don't know if it is the whole portability thing, or just the fact that anything with the word "cupcake" or "muffin" in the title automatically makes my stomach growl. You could probably show me a recipe for Brussel Sprout Cupcakes and I would get hungry.

Okay, maybe not.

But in the case of these macaroni and cheese cupcakes, the second it occurred to me that macaroni and cheese could be made in a cupcake shape, I couldn't make the dang things fast enough. And as it turns out, there are a few folks out there that share this little fascination of mine because as soon as I posted on my Facebook page that I was making these for dinner (as I do every day, but that is a discussion for another day) I started getting the comments and emails. So this little recipe moved right up to the head of the line in terms of blog postings, because far be it from me not to share the cupcake love around.

One essential hint for you. Do NOT skip the step that calls for lining your muffin pan with cupcake liners. These guys are just a little bit sticky, and if I hadn't used the liners I fear that half the cupcake would have stuck to the muffin pan. And then I would have cried. Real tears. Use those muffin liners, and it wouldn't hurt to even hit them with a quick sprintz of Pam.

Aside from that, this recipe is pretty much as easy as it gets. The mac and cheese is going to look pretty soupy to you when you are ladling it into the muffin tin, but I promise that it is going to firm up into light and delicious cupcakes that hold together just fine.

Last but not least (and then I promise that I am going to zip my lip and get to the recipe), when one of my foodie friends heard I was making these babies, she suggested I make them in mini muffin pans and serve them with a drizzle of truffle oil. Which sounds like a ROCKING good appetizer, right? We were having them for dinner (which sent the teenager into a coma of food happiness) so I stuck with the regular sized muffin tins, but next time I need a creative, easy appetizer? Oh yeah, baby.

Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes

• 8 ounces elbow macaroni
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, plus a little more for garnish
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.

1. Cook the macaroni until done. Drain and immediately return to pot.

2. Add cheese and stir briefly until almost melting.

3. Beat eggs into milk, and then pour mixture into macaroni. Mix well.

4. Ladle macaroni mixture into muffins tins, and bake for 20 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Click here for printable recipe