Grilled Cheese with a twist

So, this recipe was supposed to be an inventive way to cook grilled cheese, I just didn't know how inventive it was going to be. People raved about the grilled cheese at the party, and asked for the recipe. I was really shocked at the response, as it was the easiest item on the menu. The original recipe uses Kerrygold aged cheddar and has scallion and chive flavored butter. When AAM and I rehashed the menu last night, we realized that he thought the butter went inside the sandwich and he put pam spray on the outside and laid them on the panini press. No wonder it was a huge hit!! This minor miscommunication created the most addictive grilled cheese ever!

The recipe below is designed for a crowd, and meant to be cut into bite-size pieces.

AAM's Grilled Cheese Discovery
Ingredients

• 1 stick of butter softened (do not microwave, but just let it sit out)
• 1/3 cup of chopped scallions
• 1/3 cup of chopped chives
• 2 packages of Kerrygold Aged Cheddar
• 1 loaf of wheat bread.

Directions:

1. Thoroughly mix the butter, chives and scallions together.
2. Slice the cheddar cheese
3. Butter the inside of the bread and layer cheese on top.
4. Either cook them on a panini press (which means you can evenly cook two at a time) or in a pan on the stove.
5. Make the entire batch for a crowd, or save the butter for future enjoyment.
6. We sliced them into fours to make little mini-appetizers.

Another Salad, and a yummy one!

This salad is super easy to assemble, and because of the flavors and ingredients, does not need dressing. In fact, by storing diverse ingredients to toss in salads, you can make this very fast. Usually, I use leftover sauted mushrooms from dinner in this salad, but if you want uncooked mushrooms are great, too.

Mo's Nicoise

• 1 cup of assorted Lettuce, the more variety in color the better!
• 1/3 cup of packaged Tuna (I prefer the kind in the packets not cans; less water)
• 1/4 cup of purple cabbage
• 1/3 cup of sauted mushrooms (Baby Portabellas are amazing this way)
• 5-6 Sugar Snap Peas
• 5 green olives (sliced is nice, but you can do this when you sit down to eat)
• 1 tb of chopped red onion
• 1 slice of goat cheese crumbled (I use the type in a roll; it is a superior texture and taste)
• Sprinkle pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds on top.

Toss ingredients together and Bon appetit!

You say Frittata, I say Italian Omelet

When I was little, I thought Richmond was centuries away from D.C. All I knew of the state capital was that my grandparents, artists from Brooklyn who lived in a beautiful old Victorian, lived in a house with enough music and sculpting equipment to start a commune. Richmond was the center for my family, abstract sculpture, jazz music, innovation, culinary perfection, and Italian New Yorkers. So hysterical, now that I think about it! We would drive the long, hard, one hour and fifteen minutes, to arrive in time for lunch. A young vegetarian, rejecting meat at age 12 because of a monumental viewing of a cow slaughter on TV, my Grandmother found ways to appease me. She set out the cold cuts for the family, and an Italian omelet for me. I never knew what was Italian about it, other than the fact that my grandmother, from Bari, created the meal. Now this omelet was nothing like Dad's Sunday omelet, enriched with flavor, filled with depth, the omelet allowed me to eat at Grandma's without feeling empty at the end. It tasted like family, and was never found at Italian restaurants.

After college, my roommate F. cooked dinner for the two of us. She announced, "Oh, I am going to make a frittata." I was clueless. What is this wondrous Spanish dish? Why did it sound so fancy? She poured the eggs in the pan, with spinach, and potato. It looked familiar, but I wasn't sure how. We sat down and gobbled up our meal, and then, it dawned on me: frittata= Italian Omelet. Now, eight years later, a frittata is trendy-- a brunch staple. However, 20 years ago, this remained lunch or dinner for our family, and reminded us all of our grandmother, the champion of all familial folklore. Apparently Serafina translated all her meals to her silly grandkids, who would eat anything called Italian. We ate Italian eggballs, or pasta, or sauce, or bread. Now, I know them as arancini, or penne/fusilli/farfalle/cappellini, or puttanesca/bolognese/al burro e panna, or focaccia. By the way, the name cappellini always threw me through a loop. I would beg my mom for the cheap angel hair pasta served at friends houses, where her box of de Cecco cappellini was the superior version. Oh, kids.

And now, I introduce my interpretation of the Frittata, but please realize the measurements and timing are estimates.

Serafina's Lunch

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 tb olive oil
• 1/2 bunch of asparagus/ chopped
• 1 potato sliced thinly
• 1 tb Herbs Provence
• 1/3 cup scallions chopped
• 1/3 cup feta
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

1. Preheat oven 400.
2. Mix the eggs, milk, Herbs Provence, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk.
3. Pour olive oil in a saucepan, heat medium.
4. Saute potato slices, 5 min.
5. Cook asparagus 1 min in microwave with water. Drain.
6. Pour egg mixture into saucepan, let sit for 2 min. Meanwhile, use a spatula to loosen the edges.
7. Add scallions, asparagus, feta, and let eggs sit. Still run the spatula under the mixture.
8. When the mixture has solidified, place in the oven for 10 minutes.
9. Serve with a side salad and bread.

Serves 4-8 depending on sides.
FYI: Frittata doesn't work on the spellcheck

What makes you 'mushy'?

Recently, a student, writing for the school newspaper's Valentines Day issue, asked me what makes me 'mushy'? I replied, "nothing." Mostly, because I didn't need students to know what makes me 'mushy.' I mean, can't some things be kept secret from the students?

In all honesty, I find something oddly wonderful about.... The Neely's. For those of you who have cable, and watch Food Network, you may have stumbled upon Down Home with the Neely's. Patrick and Gina Neely are a young couple who own a famous BBQ place in Memphis, and have a show. The TV show displays their roots in Southern cooking, which relies on a healthy amount of meat recipes. However, their vegetable and carb-rich sides, could substitute as a normal vegetarian dish. Sometimes the recipes could use a modification or two in order to create a low-fat dinner, but really I watch the show because I enjoy watching them interact. Normally, I can not stand cheesy hosting, but for some reason I adore their loving banter. In the future,through discussing my issues with Rachel Ray, I will reveal my low tolerance for saccharine interactions. As a husband and wife team, they work in the kitchen teasing and flirting with each other, while demonstrating a talent for explaining the basics of cooking. Watching their friendly interactions, I smile and sink under my quilt, content with the world. What I find particularly pleasing is that despite an initial appearance of a gendered and heteronormative show, they actually do not gender their place in the kitchen. Patrick and Gina complete the entire meal together, both experts in cooking and entertaining. True, sometimes Patrick focuses on the meat and Gina on the baking, but that has more to do with their professional backgrounds; and in many episodes, both take a hand at each other's expertise. Personally, I hope this is a way to outline a changing trend occurring in American kitchens. For many people of my generation, our mothers did most of the cooking. Wonderful jobs they did, but the woman in the kitchen approach just is not practical when both people work. However, now, there is a plethora of answers to the question of "Who does the cooking in your house?"

And last night, in the spirit of the Neely's, I came home from my first class of the semester to a glass of wine and a home cooked meal made by A. Friends, when asked by my student 'What makes me 'mushy?' that is precisely what popped in my head.

Alex's Meal: Neely's Zucchini Gratin

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 6 zucchini, sliced into half moons 1/4-inch thick
• 2 plum tomatoes, chopped and seeded
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup grated sharp white Cheddar
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch casserole dish.
In a large heavy bottomed saute pan over medium heat, melt butter. Saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add zucchini and tomatoes, about 7 minutes Add thyme, and flour. Season with salt and pepper. Add mixture to the buttered casserole dish.
In a medium size bowl, add brown sugar, eggs, and half-and-half. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the milk mixture over the zucchini and sprinkle with both of the cheeses. Bake for 30 minutes.