CEiMB – Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

When I make grilled cheese, this is how I start:

Then I add a whole mess of shredded cheese (usually Ementhaller) to some whole wheat bread. I cook the sandwich until the bread is crisp and the cheese melts over the sides and onto the pan.

I always knew this wasn’t an optimal meal for my cholesterol, but that didn’t stop me from eating grilled cheese sandwiches a lot. And when they’re made with butter in a screaming hot cast iron pan, something magical happens.

Well, unless you have a heart attack and don’t get to savor your sandwich. Which is why, when it was my turn to pick the recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly, I jumped for this one. I LOVE grilled cheese, but I have to find a way to make it healthier so I can continue to enjoy it without feeling like I’m gambling with my health. Ellie is one step ahead of me.

Ellie’s recipe includes caramelized red onions (the sweet) and Cheddar and pepper Jack cheese (the spicy).

I learned (again) a lesson with this one. Read the recipe completely before starting. Don’t think “I’ve made a zillion (actual number) grilled cheese sandwiches and I know how they go so I’m going to bypass the instructions.” No. Ellie gives key pieces of information (turn the heat to LOW) that will keep you from burning the bread and not melting the cheese.

I like a little more sweet and spicy in mine, so I added some jalapeno jelly. You could also add spicy mustard or honey mustard. If I had any in the house, I would have tucked in a few cilantro leaves as a nod to my favorite grilled cheese sandwich at Big Sky Cafe. It’s no longer on the menu but that used to be the quintessential grilled cheese for me. Ellie’s comes close, very close. In fact, it is way better than my butter laden go-to version. Give it a try…your arteries will thank you!

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (serves 4)

2 teaspoons canola oil
1 large red onion, finely diced
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces sharp Cheddar, thinly sliced, divided
8 slices whole-wheat bread
3 ounces pepper Jack cheese, thinly sliced, divided
1 large or 2 medium beefsteak or hothouse tomatoes, sliced
Cooking spray

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Lower heat to medium. Add onions and saute, stirring, until edges are browned, about 10-12 minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place 3/4 ounce Cheddar on one slice of bread. Spread 1 tablespoon caramelized onions on top of cheese and top with 3/4 ounce of pepper Jack. Top with 1 large or 2 medium tomato slices and other slice of bread. Repeat with 3 other sandwiches.

Spray a non-stick skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat until hot. Place sandwich on griddle and weigh down with a heavy skillet or plate. Lower heat to medium-low and grill until underside is a deep brown but not burnt, and cheese is partially melted, about 5-6 minutes. Flip sandwich and grill other side an additional 4-5 minutes. Slice in half and serve hot.

TWD – Cottage Cheese Pufflets

First of all, I want to apologize for missing so many great Tuesdays with Dorie picks this month…espresso cheesecake brownies…chocolate souffle…apple turnovers…they all are things I would love and do plan to make. Just not right now.

Instead, I’m jumping back in with Jacque (of Daisy Lane Cakes–I LOVE her blog!) She chose the cottage cheese pufflets for us to make, and she proved to me that she is a much better baker and all-around more patient person than I am (although we have some of the same feelings about garage sale early birds!)

Like many of the TWD bakers, I found this dough to be like trying to roll out and cut a batter, it just didn’t cooperate for me. At a certain point, I threw up my sticky hands and decided to bake a half dozen of them, take photos and go to work. Mine are filled with Christine Ferber strawberry jam (from our trip to Paris) and/or jalapeno jelly (from Safeway; thanks to Kayte for the inspiration).

I was so frustrated with these that I was prepared to hate them. Imagine my surprise when I loved them! They were crispy and chewy at the same time. The one in which I mixed the strawberry jam and jalapeno jelly was the best…I love that sweet/spicy flavor profile. I will definitely freeze the rest and plan to make this one again. But not until it’s winter. Cooler weather can only help this one stay together better.

If you’d like the recipe, stop by and visit Jacque.

Barefoot Bloggers – White Pizza with Arugula

I heart pizza. A lot. I could eat it every day, twice a day, and never get tired of it. But I have never made it at home. Until now. It took Andrea of Nummy Kitchen to pick Ina Garten’s White Pizza with Arugula for this week’s Barefoot Bloggers recipe for me to realize that pizza, like most everything, is better when you make it yourself. I bought a pizza stone for my Bread Baker’s Apprentice baking, so I baked our pizzas directly on the stone. It made the crust nice and crisp.

Ina’s crust is super easy. I substituted about 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour for some of the all-purpose flour, and it gave the dough a wonderful flavor and texture. Ina calls for fontina, fresh mozzarella and goat cheese, but I skipped the fontina. Even though we love garlic, I left it out of the oil this time as we were going out for the evening.

This pizza was incredible. It was good with the arugula salad, but I could be just as happy leaving it off.

Give this one a try, you won’t be disappointed! You’ll find the recipe here.

******PLEASE NOTE: Lethally Delicious is on hiatus for the month of Ramadan. While I have a couple of posts that I completed in advance (like this one), I will be staying away from active blogging. If you leave me a comment, I will try to stop by and visit you. I’ll be back around Sept. 20th, reenergized and ready to make bigger and better messes in the kitchen. Peace.

BBA – Casatiello

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to bake bread but thought you couldn’t master it, you need to check out The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. This wonderful book has a wide variety of breads organized from A-Z. We started with anadama and now we’re on casatiello.

Casatiello is an Italian bread with added richness. Traditionally made with salami and cheese, I opted for just cheese (I used Emmenthal). I was delighted that this recipe is a one day prep, unlike many of the breads in the book. With M. newly home from a quick trip to China, I knew that homemade bread would make the turkey sandwich I planned for lunch extra delicious.

It feels weird, but the preparation of this bread was unexciting–no measuring snafus, explosive rising or confusion on my part. After adding the flour and eggs to the sponge, the mixture is beaten for a minute before resting and then adding the softened butter. While this dough isn’t enriched as much as the brioche, it definitely has its share of fat. Since I wasn’t using the salami, I increased the cheese to 1 1/4 cups of coarsely shredded Emmental. It rose rapidly, and I split it between an 8×4 loaf pan and an 8″ round cake pan. It smelled wonderful in the oven, and it was done after a total of 35 minutes in the oven.

My 8″ round cake pan isn’t nonstick, and since the cheese migrates to the surface, I did have some sticking with that one. Next time, if I use this pan, I’ll oil the pan instead of using cooking spray.

Once again we didn’t wait the full hour before cutting into this one. I mean, warm cheese bread, who can resist?

As much as we loved the brioche, we loved the casatiello more. Much more. It made turkey sandwiches extra special, paired well with a lentil chili I made earlier in the week and was just plain delicious by itself. Where the brioche was almost like eating cake, we most enjoyed the casatiello as we stole pieces through the day.

I will defintely make this one again, and I’d like to try an olive oil version. I’ll also cut some of the cheese in julienne instead of shredding it. The shredded cheese disappeared into the bread, and I’d like to have some small cheesy pockets.

BBA – Casatiello

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to bake bread but thought you couldn’t master it, you need to check out The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. This wonderful book has a wide variety of breads organized from A-Z. We started with anadama and now we’re on casatiello.

Casatiello is an Italian bread with added richness. Traditionally made with salami and cheese, I opted for just cheese (I used Emmenthal). I was delighted that this recipe is a one day prep, unlike many of the breads in the book. With M. newly home from a quick trip to China, I knew that homemade bread would make the turkey sandwich I planned for lunch extra delicious.

It feels weird, but the preparation of this bread was unexciting–no measuring snafus, explosive rising or confusion on my part. After adding the flour and eggs to the sponge, the mixture is beaten for a minute before resting and then adding the softened butter. While this dough isn’t enriched as much as the brioche, it definitely has its share of fat. Since I wasn’t using the salami, I increased the cheese to 1 1/4 cups of coarsely shredded Emmental. It rose rapidly, and I split it between an 8×4 loaf pan and an 8″ round cake pan. It smelled wonderful in the oven, and it was done after a total of 35 minutes in the oven.

My 8″ round cake pan isn’t nonstick, and since the cheese migrates to the surface, I did have some sticking with that one. Next time, if I use this pan, I’ll oil the pan instead of using cooking spray.

Once again we didn’t wait the full hour before cutting into this one. I mean, warm cheese bread, who can resist?

As much as we loved the brioche, we loved the casatiello more. Much more. It made turkey sandwiches extra special, paired well with a lentil chili I made earlier in the week and was just plain delicious by itself. Where the brioche was almost like eating cake, we most enjoyed the casatiello as we stole pieces through the day.

I will defintely make this one again, and I’d like to try an olive oil version. I’ll also cut some of the cheese in julienne instead of shredding it. The shredded cheese disappeared into the bread, and I’d like to have some small cheesy pockets.

Barefoot Bloggers – Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes

Brace yourselves, taste buds. We have liftoff.

This is one of the best Ina Garten recipes that I’ve tried. I know I’ve said that before, but they’re all so good. Not this one.

It’s great. Absolutely delicious, fresh and bursting with flavor. Laziness made me serve it as a hot pasta dish. I cut out the salt, used less olive oil, and added the basil, garlic and parmesan cheese to the food processor to become part of the sauce. Adding the basil to the sauce made the sauce a funny color, but it was easy and the flavor was fabulous. I put the chopped olives, tomatoes and mozzarella in the bottom of a medium bowl and put the hot pasta and sauce on top, mixing the ingredients together. The pasta melted the fresh mozzarella slightly. Oh baby, was it good. It’s in the rotation, perfect for quick summer meals.

I have Cat at Delta Whiskey to thank for this amazing pick. If you’d like the recipe, be sure to check out Cat’s blog. Or you can get it on the Food Network site here.

Barefoot Bloggers – Croque Monsieur, as Ina never imagined it

You know how sometimes you improvise a dish and it works well, or you go overboard and your mouth says “Huh?” when you eat it? I was definitely in danger of the latter this week with Kathy’s (of All Food Considered) pick, Croque Monsieur, from Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris cookbook. We don’t eat ham, so that one was definitely out. No dijon mustard. White bread? Boring! So I went in a completely different direction. Ina may sue, or I may be thrown out of Barefoot Bloggers, it’s that different.

I started at Whole Foods, because I needed bread and cheese for the sandwich. I sometimes find Gruyere cheese to be too strongly flavored, so I decided I would mix Ementhaller and Gruyere. I happened upon a loaf of apple cinnamon bread and I just had to use it for the sandwich. Cheese and fruit are such a classic combination.

At home, I knew I had a package of sliced turkey breast and a jar of mustard, so I was all set. I grated the cheeses, warmed the milk, made the roux, added the milk and a bunch of the cheese and found it to result in a very odd mound of what I imagined was supposed to be a sauce. Hmm… Turns out I added too much of the cheese. Oops.

Since the oven took too long to warm up, I toasted the bread in the toaster, transfered it to the sheet pan, spread the bottom slice with sweet and spicy mustard, grabbed the package of turkey and only then noticed my sliced turkey breast was really pastrami. Yes, turkey pastrami.

It was too late to turn back. I had a mound of “sauce” in the pan, too many graters, dishes and pans already dirty and I was hungry, so there was no turning back. I assembled the sandwich and mounded the “sauce” on the top, precariously balancing the remaining grated cheese on the top, and popped it into the oven. After just two minutes, the mound of “sauce” became a dripping, oozy, cheesy coating of love on my sandwich, which I then browned under the broiler. I did regret not lining the sheet pan with parchment or a Silpat as the cheese laminated to the pan, but that’s a problem for later. I dug into the sandwich with knife and fork, and was greeted with an explosion of flavors. The smokiness of the turkey pastrami and the nuttiness of the cheese was perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the apple cinnamon bread and the spicy sweet mustard. I can’t imagine it could get better than this. Sometimes turning a recipe upside down is a mistake, but this time it was delicious.

For other crazy innovators, I present Croque Monsieur (as adapted from Ina Garten).

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup hot milk
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Pinch nutmeg
• 3 ounces Gruyere, grated (1 1/4 cups)
• 3 ounces Ementhaller, grated (1 1/4 cups)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  
• 8 slices apple cinnamon (or cinnamon raisin) bread, crusts removed
• Sweet & spicy mustard (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)
• 4 ounces turkey pastrami

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/4 cup of the Gruyere and Ementhaller mixture, and the Parmesan and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted. Or you can use a toaster as I did.

Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of turkey pastrami to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining cheese. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Barefoot Bloggers – Croque Monsieur, as Ina never imagined it

You know how sometimes you improvise a dish and it works well, or you go overboard and your mouth says “Huh?” when you eat it? I was definitely in danger of the latter this week with Kathy’s (of All Food Considered) pick, Croque Monsieur, from Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris cookbook. We don’t eat ham, so that one was definitely out. No dijon mustard. White bread? Boring! So I went in a completely different direction. Ina may sue, or I may be thrown out of Barefoot Bloggers, it’s that different.

I started at Whole Foods, because I needed bread and cheese for the sandwich. I sometimes find Gruyere cheese to be too strongly flavored, so I decided I would mix Ementhaller and Gruyere. I happened upon a loaf of apple cinnamon bread and I just had to use it for the sandwich. Cheese and fruit are such a classic combination.

At home, I knew I had a package of sliced turkey breast and a jar of mustard, so I was all set. I grated the cheeses, warmed the milk, made the roux, added the milk and a bunch of the cheese and found it to result in a very odd mound of what I imagined was supposed to be a sauce. Hmm… Turns out I added too much of the cheese. Oops.

Since the oven took too long to warm up, I toasted the bread in the toaster, transfered it to the sheet pan, spread the bottom slice with sweet and spicy mustard, grabbed the package of turkey and only then noticed my sliced turkey breast was really pastrami. Yes, turkey pastrami.

It was too late to turn back. I had a mound of “sauce” in the pan, too many graters, dishes and pans already dirty and I was hungry, so there was no turning back. I assembled the sandwich and mounded the “sauce” on the top, precariously balancing the remaining grated cheese on the top, and popped it into the oven. After just two minutes, the mound of “sauce” became a dripping, oozy, cheesy coating of love on my sandwich, which I then browned under the broiler. I did regret not lining the sheet pan with parchment or a Silpat as the cheese laminated to the pan, but that’s a problem for later. I dug into the sandwich with knife and fork, and was greeted with an explosion of flavors. The smokiness of the turkey pastrami and the nuttiness of the cheese was perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the apple cinnamon bread and the spicy sweet mustard. I can’t imagine it could get better than this. Sometimes turning a recipe upside down is a mistake, but this time it was delicious.

For other crazy innovators, I present Croque Monsieur (as adapted from Ina Garten).

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup hot milk
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Pinch nutmeg
• 3 ounces Gruyere, grated (1 1/4 cups)
• 3 ounces Ementhaller, grated (1 1/4 cups)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  
• 8 slices apple cinnamon (or cinnamon raisin) bread, crusts removed
• Sweet & spicy mustard (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)
• 4 ounces turkey pastrami

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/4 cup of the Gruyere and Ementhaller mixture, and the Parmesan and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted. Or you can use a toaster as I did.

Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of turkey pastrami to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining cheese. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Barefoot Bloggers – Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

Anne Strawberry picked this week’s recipe, and although I already loved Anne and her lovely blog plenty, I have yet another reason to appreciate her. Tomato and goat cheese tarts rule!

Ina Garten is teaching me to appreciate frozen puff pastry. First it was these ridiculously easy sticky buns. Now, tomato and goat cheese tarts for dinner on a weeknight? I am so there.

This recipe calls for sauteing thinly sliced onions and garlic until caramelized, and layering the cooled onions with goat cheese, sliced tomatoes, shaved Parmesan, topped with a chiffonade of basil.

I almost let the voices in my head take over again, but I resisted. I stuck with Ina’s recipe as written, except I added the basil after the tarts came out of the oven, and I cut them square rather than round so there wouldn’t be any puff pastry waste. One sheet of puff pastry yielded four tarts, and it felt really decadent to eat two of them for dinner. They were very filling! And amazingly tasty. M., who eschews butter because of his cholesterol, didn’t once ask how I prepared them. I think it was “don’t ask, don’t tell” night.

Next time (which could be tonight!), I plan to substitute sun dried tomatoes for the fresh, and mozzarella cheese for the goat cheese. Or maybe tapenade under the onions with capers and pine nuts. Or pesto under sun dried tomatoes with goat cheese and fresh basil. Or walnut oil with sauteed wild mushrooms and a garnish of arugula salad lightly dressed with vinaigrette. Or… Stop it, Leslie!

I may even shrink these delightful tarts to party size, serving them with any or all of the above toppings, making the perfect two or three bite appetizer. They have excellent do-ahead potential for impressing your guests with how seemingly effortless it is to pull an awesome hors d’oeuvre out of the oven and serve it to stunned guests. Heck, if I did that, I’d be stunned!

You’ll find the recipe for this delicious and versatile tart in Back to Basics, or here, or on Anne’s site. If you’d like to join us, we’re having a blast cooking, baking and blogging our way through Ina Garten’s recipes. You can find out how to join us here.

Barefoot Bloggers – Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

Anne Strawberry picked this week’s recipe, and although I already loved Anne and her lovely blog plenty, I have yet another reason to appreciate her. Tomato and goat cheese tarts rule!

Ina Garten is teaching me to appreciate frozen puff pastry. First it was these ridiculously easy sticky buns. Now, tomato and goat cheese tarts for dinner on a weeknight? I am so there.

This recipe calls for sauteing thinly sliced onions and garlic until caramelized, and layering the cooled onions with goat cheese, sliced tomatoes, shaved Parmesan, topped with a chiffonade of basil.

I almost let the voices in my head take over again, but I resisted. I stuck with Ina’s recipe as written, except I added the basil after the tarts came out of the oven, and I cut them square rather than round so there wouldn’t be any puff pastry waste. One sheet of puff pastry yielded four tarts, and it felt really decadent to eat two of them for dinner. They were very filling! And amazingly tasty. M., who eschews butter because of his cholesterol, didn’t once ask how I prepared them. I think it was “don’t ask, don’t tell” night.

Next time (which could be tonight!), I plan to substitute sun dried tomatoes for the fresh, and mozzarella cheese for the goat cheese. Or maybe tapenade under the onions with capers and pine nuts. Or pesto under sun dried tomatoes with goat cheese and fresh basil. Or walnut oil with sauteed wild mushrooms and a garnish of arugula salad lightly dressed with vinaigrette. Or… Stop it, Leslie!

I may even shrink these delightful tarts to party size, serving them with any or all of the above toppings, making the perfect two or three bite appetizer. They have excellent do-ahead potential for impressing your guests with how seemingly effortless it is to pull an awesome hors d’oeuvre out of the oven and serve it to stunned guests. Heck, if I did that, I’d be stunned!

You’ll find the recipe for this delicious and versatile tart in Back to Basics, or here, or on Anne’s site. If you’d like to join us, we’re having a blast cooking, baking and blogging our way through Ina Garten’s recipes. You can find out how to join us here.