A sophisticated update on a childhood favorite.

10. June 2011 · 14 comments · Categories: Brunch, cooking, food, recipes, Savory, vegetarian · Tags: , , ,

Who, as a child, didn’t enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches? Apparently my friends all associate these with my house because my mom used to make them for me and my friends for lunch when we had a playdate. For sleepovers, she always made banana chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.

While I still love a good grilled cheese (although I can’t even remember the last time I had one), I got the idea for this recipe from a blog I love, called Heat Oven to 350, and thought it sounded like a delicious, grown-up alternative to that American classic.

Rather than individually wrapped slices of processed American cheese, this version uses high quality cheddar, fresh apple slices, and  rosemary. The resulting combination is simple, yet tastes sophisticated. It’s a grown-up treat, and i bet kids would love it too!

Plus, it took less than 10 minutes to make…can’t beat that! And after taking his first bite, Nate proclaimed it delicious, and has since asked me to make it again less than a month later :)

Apple Rosemary Grilled Cheese
Adapted from Heat Oven to 350

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makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients:

4 slices multigrain bread
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp apple butter
1/2 Granny Smith Apple, thinly sliced
1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2-3 ounces extra-sharp white cheddar cheese, depending on how cheesy you like things

Spread butter over one side of each of the 4 pieces of bread.

On the other sides of 2 slices, spread the apple butter, then sprinkle with rosemary. Top with cheese.

On other sides of the other two slices, spread a little butter, and then place apple slices. Put two sandwich halves together.

Cook in a large skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes on each side or until both sides are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Potato Crusted Quiche- for when you want a good meal, fast.

13. May 2011 · 6 comments · Categories: Baking, Brunch, cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory, Side dishes · Tags: , , , , ,


I’ve been so busy these days. Between deadlines at work, apartment hunting (in NYC it’s an expensive pain in the butt), trying to keep up with my blog, getting a little exercise and making dinner semi-regularly, I barely have time to think!

It’s times like these that it’s good to have a collection of recipes on hand that are quick, don’t take many ingredients, are fairly healthy and taste really good. Among my hoard of recipes, I found one for a Potato Crusted Sausage Quiche.

The crust on quiche is usually the most fattening part, so I liked the fact that this used potatoes instead. Potatoes are fairly high calorie for a vegetable (because they’re a starch), but in comparison to a butter-filled pastry dough, I knew it would result in a fraction of the calories that the typical crust would be. Plus, the idea of a crispy potato crust sounded pretty yummy.

The potatoes on the sides came out looking really pretty, and they got nice and brown and crispy. The ones on the bottom of the quiche tasted really good as well, but they don’t crisp up like the sides. It was definitely a nice variation on a typical quiche.

I put sausage, scallions and cheese in mine, but other meats/veggies would work just as well! I used precooked chicken sausage so all I had to do was chop it up. Easy peasy.

Make this for dinner this week and you can thank me later for the extra time you save to catch up on your DVR ;)


Potato-Crusted Sausage Quiche

Adapted from a recipe I found in my collection, but I don’t know where it’s from

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Serves 4-6

5 large eggs (or 1 cup egg substitute)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 Tbsp flour
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp tabasco
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or more if desired)
2 precooked turkey/chicken sausage links (about 6 oz),diced (I used Italian flavor but any would be delicious)
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 medium potatoes, or enough to cover bottom and sides of dish

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine eggs, ricotta, flour, pepper and tabasco in a large bowl. Whisp to mix well.
Stir in cheese, sausage, and scallions. Set aside.
Coat a 9″ deep dish pie pan with cookin spray.
Slice unpeeled potatoes 1/4″ thick.
Arrange potato slices in single layer over bottom and sides of pan. You don’t have to cover every inch of the bottom but I actually cut some slices into pieces to have more full coverage on the bottom.
Pour egg mixture into crust.
Bake uncovered for 45 min or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 5 min before cutting. This step is important! It will be firmer and easier to slice cleanly after cooling.

Savory Soda Bread a.k.a Giant Cheesy Biscuit!

28. March 2011 · 6 comments · Categories: Baking, Bread, Brunch, cooking, food, recipes, Savory, Side dishes, vegetarian · Tags: , ,
So I know I’m several weeks late for St. Patrick’s Day, but I was already late for Purim, so I was just trying to continue the trend.  Plus, since this recipe is very different from traditional soda bread anyway, it’s really just like a giant cheesy biscuit. The simplest of the simple to accompany any weeknight dinner.
This bread uses one bowl and you don’t even have to dirty your counter or get out your rolling pin!

Traditional soda bread contains sugar and usually raisins, but since I wanted it to go along with a savory dinner I wanted something a little different. I compared a bunch of recipes and kind of combined them all, plus added cheddar because everything’s better with a little cheese.

 


Cheesy Soda Bread
Recipe by Me

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serves 4 people (or 1 Nate)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup milk, or as needed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda until well combined. Add in milk, several tablespoons at a time, until the mixture forms a soft dough (add additional milk if too dry).

The dough will be sticky. Add cheddar cheese and mix until you can handle dough without it sticking too much to your hands. Knead dough in bowl until cheese is fully incorporated.

Roll dough into a ball, flatten slightly. Put on baking sheet and brush with beaten egg. Slice dough in half,  pressing knife at least halfway through the loaf, but not completely severing. Repeat in other direction, forming loaf into 4 equal quarters, still connected on the bottom.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 50 min. or longer if needed.

 

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