recipeworld

I never made too much real grilled cheese growing up. I do remember constructing a sort of haphazard grilled cheese in my boarding school dining hall, using the conveyor belt-style toaster to toast the bread and the microwave to melt the cheese, but that was nothing compared to this.

I like my grilled cheese with real cheese and lots of mustard, kind of like a Croque Monsieur, but this technique would work the same way for a grilled cheese with the traditional Kraft singles and Wonder bread as well.

Grilled Cheese
1 tbsp. softened butter
2 slices white bread (I like the pre-sliced boule from my grocery store: I use the center pieces)
1 tsp. mayonnaise
2 tsp. mustard
2 oz. cheddar cheese
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce

Spread the butter evenly over one side of each slice of bread. Place the pieces, butter side down, on a plate. Spread one slice with mayonnaise and the other with mustard. Arrange the cheese slices over one side of the bread, and close the sandwich.

Preheat a skillet over low heat until warmed. Place the sandwich in the skillet and cook covered. (I like to use a lid that’s a bit too small for my pan so that I can press the sandwich down, panini-style, at the same time.) When one side is browned (after about two-three minutes… keep checking because all bread does not toast the same), flip the sandwich over and repeat on the other side. Sprinkle the finished sandwich with Tabasco sauce and serve.

As I promised, a recipe for yesterday’s home fries. These are easily adaptable to your own tastes: some people like their potatoes with peppers in them, along with the onions. Some like them a little spicier: add more cayenne pepper. It’s really up to you, but in the end the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the starchiness of the potatoes makes an excellent side dish to fried eggs. When I was growing up, we sometimes had this meal as “breakfast for dinner.” I always looked forward to it.
My mother’s hint is to always throw in an extra potato “for the pot.” So if you’re serving four people, use five potatoes. This recipe serves two, but it doubles or even triples very easily. You may have to work in batches depending on the size of your skillet.

Home Fries
2 tbsp. olive oil, separated
1 tbsp. butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 starchy potatoes, like Yukon Gold, sliced into rounds ¼ inch thick
1 tbsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt
Heat one of the tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt in the oil. When the foam subsides, add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook only one minute.
Add the other tablespoon of oil. Add all of the sliced potatoes and toss with the onions and oil. Spread the onion and potato mixture out across the skillet and turn the heat down to medium. Cover and allow to cook for five-ten minutes, until the potatoes have crisped and the onions have begun to caramelize.
Add the paprika, cayenne pepper and salt to taste, and then toss the potatoes so that the other side can cook.
When all of the potatoes have cooked through, cook uncovered for an additional three-five minutes.

See… as I promised, no more pasta. Today, I want to talk to you about one of the top breakfast foods around these parts, fried eggs. Sometimes, they’re served with the home fries you see pictured above, but more often than not, it’s just fried eggs with some bread to soak up the yolk.

Fried eggs are really easy to get wrong, but if you get them right, they’re incredible. The secret is in the name: fried.

Fried eggs are not seared eggs, grilled eggs or poached eggs. They need to be fried, and every good cook should know what that means. Basically, think about making French fries: you submerge the potatoes in fat until they’re cooked. Now, that’s deep-frying. Shallow frying, like with eggs or some kinds of fried chicken, involves frying in a pool of fat… and yes, it has to be a pool.

This is where most people make their mistake: in not using enough fat. For three eggs, I usually use a tablespoon each of butter and oil. And before you jump down my throat, you don’t eat it all! When frying properly (i.e. over high heat), the food absorbs very little of the oil.

For Sunny-Side Up Eggs

3 eggs

2 tablespoons fat

salt and pepper

Heat your skillet until very, very hot. Add the fat and allow it to melt and evenly coat the skillet. Crack the eggs into the skillet and add salt and pepper to taste. When the whites are completely set, slide a spatula under each egg and transfer it to a plate.

For Over-Easy or Over-Hard Eggs

3 eggs

2 tablespoons fat

salt and pepper

Heat your skillet until very, very hot. Add the fat and allow it to melt and evenly coat the skillet. Crack the eggs into the skillet and add salt and pepper to taste. When the whites are nearly set, slide a spatula under each egg, and very carefully, flip it over to the other side. This is easiest when you attempt to let the whole surface of the egg hit the pan at once. Cook until yolk is to desired doneness, then slide from the pan (you may need to use the spatula again) and transfer to a plate.

Hash browns recipe to follow…

Rice pudding is an easy comfort food: it’s really quite simple to make, and there’s nothing better than having a steaming bow of something hot and sweet to warm you up and make you feel good from the inside out.

This recipe makes just enough for one person (no need to share) so that you can enjoy your little morsel and not have to worry about leftovers (leftover rice pudding doesn’t reheat well.

Rice Pudding

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. Arborio rice

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup whole milk, heated

Heat the butter over medium-high heat in a small saucepan until melted. Add the sugar and stir until melted. Add the rice, vanilla and cinnamon and cook until the rice toasted, about one minute.

Add the milk a few tablespoons at a time, stirring to allow it to absorb before adding more. (This technique is like the one used for risotto: if you are accustomed to making risotto by sight instead of by using instructions, then just do it however makes you comfortable.)

Add enough milk until the rice is cooked through and the pudding becomes creamy. Serve immediately with more cinnamon on top if desired.

Usually, my cooking philosophy is to think of what I’m in the mood for and go for it: sometimes that means going through my endless file of recipes to try, and other times it means that I just start improvising in the kitchen. There are days, however, when I cook on command.

My DBF (known affectionately here in cyberspace as “the Canadian) stayed with me for a few months in Paris. He’s a meat-eater, and I’m a recovering vegetarian, so we didn’t always see eye-to-eye on what I should be making for dinner. Sometimes I would content myself with a salad or some tomatoes, and he would want something more substantial. This is how this recipe for “Tuna Casserole-ish” was invented.
I don’t like canned tuna to be hot. I don’t really like tuna to be hot at all. When I make tuna, I grill it ahi-style so that the interior is still cold. When I have tuna out of a can, I make it into tuna salad, to be eaten cold on lettuce leaves or on a sandwich. But when the Canadian asked me to make pasta with a can of tuna and some mayo, I knew I couldn’t say no to such a simple request.

Instead of mayo, which I don’t usually keep around, I beat some egg yolks with olive oil and tossed the mixture with the hot pasta, carbonara-style. I also added some Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese, because the Canadian likes everything cheesy. I tried it, and it’s not my cup of tea, but the Canadian ate up every bite. If things like tuna melts and tuna casseroles are your thing, then you might enjoy this Tuna Casserole-ish as much as the Canadian did, and who knows? Maybe you’ll be requesting an encore, just like he did a few weeks later.

Tuna Casserole-ish

8 oz. uncooked rigatoni
1 egg yolk
1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons grated Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese
1 teaspoon spicy mustard (I like Dijon)
1 small can tuna fish, canned in olive oil, drained

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water. While the pasta is cooking, combine the egg yolk with the olive oil, pepper and cheese. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little bit of the pasta water.
Turn off the heat and return the pasta to the pot. Using your wooden spoon, add a little bit of the egg, oil, cheese mixture at a time, stirring to combine and making sure that the egg doesn’t curdle. The sauce should thicken to a creamy consistency.

When all of the sauce is added, break in the tuna with a fork. Mix to combine. If the sauce seems too thick, you can thin it out with some of the pasta water. Serve with extra cheese on the side.

As far as dessert is concerned, I’m definitely a fruit girl.

None of these molten chocolate cakes or flourless fudge delights for me. When it comes to the end of a meal, I’m much more likely to choose cheese or coffee over something sweet, and if I am going to go the dolce route, it’s probably going to be lemon. Or pie.

Pie is one of those things that is just incredible, no matter who made it, where you got it, or how much of it you eat. When it comes to pie, I love buying the pre-made pies from a farm close to my Long Island house, heating them in the oven and having them à la mode with vanilla ice cream. Nothing fancy… just good.

When it comes to making pie, however… I get cold feet. Maybe it’s because I love pie so much… I’m scared to mess it up. Whatever the reason, when it comes to pie plates, the only thing being made in mine is crumble. This crumble. Which I love.

Stone Fruit Crumble

¾ cup flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup crumbled sliced almonds
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick cold butter, sliced into pats
1 pound stone fruit, washed and sliced

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Mix flour, cup sugar, cup crumbled sliced almonds, and salt. Add butter and mix with hands until butter is in small pieces and coated. Spread fruit in a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass pie plate and sprinkle topping over it.

Bake crumble in middle of oven until fruit is tender and topping is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Note: The crumble works with nearly any fruit, although you may need to adjust baking times. Harder fruits like apples and pears will need a longer baking time, and softer fruit like berries will need less. With sweet fruits that have less tartness, add about a tablespoon of lemon juice and toss with the fruit before adding the topping. I usually use a mix of plums, peaches and green plums, so the tartness is already there.

Note 2: You can substitute oats for the almonds (or add both!) Also, depending upon the fruit used, spices can be added to the crumble topping, such as cinnamon for apples or aniseed for pears.

Sometimes, the best recipes are the simplest ones. The things that can be made with just a few ingredients and just a bit of time and effort are often the most rewarding. Take fried eggs, for example. It’s not much effort at all, and the ingredients list is so short it seems like there shouldn’t even be a recipe. But there is a difference between a good fried egg and a great fried egg, and it all has to do with that first word: fried.

A lot of people who attempt to make a fried egg do it in too little fat. There’s no need to be afraid of fat: yes, some of it will be served with the food, but if done correctly, most will remain in the pan, just giving the faint taste of butter and a nice, crispy edge to your egg. I like to serve fried eggs with home fried potatoes or on top of some heated and drained frozen spinach, with a little bit of vinegar pepper sauce, like Tabasco.

The Perfect Fried Egg

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 eggs
salt and pepper
Heat a skillet over high heat. Add the oil and then melt the butter in the oil, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. Crack both eggs in the skillet and cover with salt and pepper. Allow to cook over high heat for thirty seconds before reducing the heat to medium and cooking only until the whites have set. Remove with a spatula and serve immediately.

In the summertime, I start thinking about meal salads. I like salade Niçoise, with hard-boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, tuna, tomatoes and vinaigrette. I’m perfectly happy to make a meal out of sliced tomatoes, salt, good olive oil and garlic. I love having grilled chicken salads, salads with shrimp, with scallops, with steak.

In general, when I talk about a salad, I mean something with lettuce and a vinaigrette. However, when it comes to lobster, I feel that I can be a bit more lenient. This salad is delicious with crab as an alternative as well. Served with corn on the cob or as one of many choices for salad as a meal, this cool treat is incredible in the summertime.

Lobster Salad

1 cup celery, chopped
2 cups cooked lobster
1 cup good mayonnaise, (homemade or Hellman’s)
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Top with more dill to garnish.

Pretty much the first recipe I ever successfully invented was my recipe for chili. By successfully, I mean people ask for the recipe, request it when they come over, and my boyfriend expects a vat of it in the fridge if I ever leave for the weekend.

Chili takes a lot of experimentation and tasting. I vary the amounts of ingredients a little bit each time, depending on the taste. Tasting as you go is the best way to get results you like. This, however, is my jumping-off point for a very spicy, very good chili to serve with sour cream and green onions.

My Chili
2 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. coriander
1 tbsp. ground cayenne pepper
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. ground beef
2 tsp. salt
2 onions, finely diced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped, with ribs and seeds
1 28-oz. can whole, peeled tomatoes
1 28-oz. can white beans
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 bottle dark beer, like Guinness

Start off by heating the spices in a dry skillet until they start to darken (be careful not to burn them.) Set aside.

In a deep, heavy pot, heat the oil over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the beef, a quarter pound at a time, to brown. When the beef is brown, remove it from the pot and set aside, adding the next portion. When all of the beef has been cooked through, discard all but one tablespoon of the fat from the bottom of the pan. Heat over high heat, and add the aromatic vegetables (onions and peppers). Add the salt. Sauté until the onions are translucent and slightly browned. Add the beef back to the vegetable mixture.

With a knife, roughly dice the tomatoes in their can, and then add them to the pot with their juices. Drain and rinse the beans, and add them as well. Add the tomato paste and half the beer. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered.

Stir every fifteen minutes for the first hour, adding more beer as necessary. I like my chili to be thick, but with a lot of gravy. Add liquid until it the consistency is to your liking, opening another bottle if necessary.

After an hour, when the proper consistency has been reached, cover the pot and cook for another hour or two, stirring occasionally to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn. If your stove is too hot, you can turn the heat off for fifteen minute intervals and allow the chili to cook from residual heat.

Serve with sour cream, chopped green onions and avocado.