Baked garlic appetizer

My friend, who is a fine cook, brought this delicious concoction of sun dried tomatoes, garlic and goat cheese to a party. The recipe will now be a regular feature at my cocktail parties and dinners. In fact, I may make some for Thanksgiving in order to keep the guests happy and in the living room while I'm finishing the gravy and getting the food ready for the table.

Baked garlic appetizer:

4 heads garlic (not cloves, but whole heads)

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups sundried tomatoes, or a little less (I use the no-oil, no-salt kind)

1-3 tbs. herbs

6 ozs. goat cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Cut top 1/4 inch off garlic heads, peel off loose outer skin. Place heads of garlic in casserole or baking dish just large enough to hold them. Nestle the sun dried tomatoes in around the garlic and pour chicken broth over and sprinkle with herbs. Bake for roughly an hour and fifteen minutes, basting every fifteen minutes or so. Slice goat cheese, place over top of garlic and tomatoes, bake until cheese is melted. Serve with slices of baguette or rice crackers for the gluten free crowd or a spoon if no one is looking!

Stuffed!

Italy's culinary bible for home chefs is a cookbook called The Silver Spoon. In recent years it has been translated into English, and some friends gave it to me as a going away gift when I changed jobs in August. This epicurean tome probably weighs five pounds, but it covers everything. Do you want to know how to fix scorpion fish? The Silver Spoon has it covered.

The cookbook's section on vegetables is phenomenal with recipes that make the most unlikely vegetable very tempting: turnips with bacon (well, bacon does make everything better), peas with pancetta (close enough to bacon), Parmesan turnip greens, and so on.

I decided to try stuffed onions first. The picture looked pretty, and I had a bag of onions in the fridge that needed to be used. The Italian name for the recipe is cipolle alla grossetana, so it was translated as grosseto onions. I don't know what that means but it was easy to fix and very tasty.

1. Peel four large onions. Cook in salted boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Using a knife, scoop out the flesh in the center of the onion and save it to be chopped later. You should have four onion shells. Do not try doing this with hot onions.

2. Combine in a bowl 1 1/2 c. lean ground beef (or veal but I buy beef from the farmers' market so I use theat), 1 Italian sausage removed from casing, 2 T freshly grated Parmesan, 2 t olive oil, 1 egg lightly beaten, pinch of nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Stuff the onions with the meat mixture. Put the onions in a deep pan. Pour 1 c. of beef stock around the onions. I poured in some white wine for good measure too. Put the lid on. Simmer over medium low heat for 30 minutes.

Serve the onions on a plate and pour any remaining sauce over them. When no one is looking, sop up the yummy sauces and meat drippings with a great piece of bread.

I had leftover stuffing that I put in the freezer. This meat stuffing would be great in bell peppers, zucchini, or artichokes too.

Onion soup

Not wishing to go the supermarket, I surveyed my kitchen cupboards and the fridge for inspiration. I found a big chunk of Gruyere hiding in the freezer, and I had a loaf of delicious sourdough bread. I also had a bag of onions and lots of stock. French onion soup seemed the obvious choice for my dinner.

Melt 3 or 4 T of butter in a pot. Add 4 thinly sliced onions. I use the slicer blade on my food processor for this. It works well and the onions turn out just the right thickness. Sprinkle the onions with 1/2 t sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onions turn brown and begin to caramelize, about 20 minutes. Add a box (4 cups) of beef stock. Add a few sprigs of fresh parsley and several sprigs of fresh thyme (or a good pinch of dried thyme). Add 2 T of some type of alcohol. I like brandy because I usually have it on hand. White wine works or you might try some cognac. Season broth with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the sprigs of herbs before serving.

While the soup is simmering, toast two to four slices of sourdough (I like the French sourdough from Guglhupf Bakery but my favorite is from La Farm Bakery) under the broiler. Top one side of each slice with a nice pile of shredded Gruyere or other hard, salty cheese. Place under the broiler a few seconds until the cheese melts.

Put the cheesy bread into shallow, wide-rimmed bowls. Ladle the onion soup over the bread, and serve. This recipe serves four.

Cheese puffs

I am not really eating cheese or cooking with it at the moment, but that didn't stop me from trying some tasty morsels at my friends' cocktail party. The puffed batter, similar to a popover and called a gougère in French, is airy and cheesy. I found them addictive so I had to stand far away from the platter they were on.

My friends who are devotees of the cooking channel found this recipe by the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, on the FoodTV web site. It includes Parmesan and Gruyère seasoned with a touch of nutmeg. I've made a similar recipe with Roquefort and a tablespoon of fresh thyme. This recipe would be delicious with other combinations of cheese and herbs too.

Once my no-cheese diet is over, I'm going to make these. They have red wine written all over them as the accompanying beverage.

Cheese!

Cheese accounts for a main source of protein, not to mention being my primary source of calcium, in my daily diet. Unfortunately a daily of intake of 2 to 4 oz of cheese isn't compatible with my vain desire to have washer board abs.

I could eat a piece of carboard if it was topped with melted cheese. Fortunately, I don't have to do that. So far my favorite pizza at Rockwood is the four cheese pizza. It's full of flavors. I especially like the blue cheese on it. Again, this is not compatible with my fitness goals.

I bought some pepper jack cheese made with 2% milk at Harris Teeter so I could make quesadillas when I have a cheese craving. Alas, a pepper jack quesadilla may be tasty but it does not satisfy my desire for a big hunk of triple cream brie! Yes, I'm one of the brie-eating, Chablis-drinking elitists that what's his name from Law and Order is complaining about on the campaign stump for McCain.

Anyway, I have a class reunion coming up in a few weeks so in addition to the exercise I've ramped up for the past month, I've decided to stop eating cheese for a few weeks. We'll see how that goes. I'll probably lose my mind. As soon as I reach my washer board ab phase or give it up entirely, I'm going to eat a four cheese pizza from Rockwood then drive down to Raleigh for hot Krispy Kremes!

Grilled, stuffed peppers

My friend Kathryn told me this recipe that she and her husband fix with the peppers from their garden. It is my new favorite, quick recipe for the grill. It is rich and tasty but easy to make. It includes two of my favorite ingredients: cheese and bacon!

Cubanelle peppers or other long, mild pepper
Cream cheese
Bacon

While the grill gets hot, carefully cut open one side of peppers and scoop out the seeds w/ a small spoon. Stuff each pepper with cream cheese. Wrap each stuffed pepper in a piece of bacon. Place peppers on grill. Cook for 6 or 8 minutes on each side until the bacon is crisp and the peppers cooked.

Serve with bread and a salad.

Toast Paninoteca

Toast Paninoteca is a new place on Main Street that opened a few weeks ago. I headed over there for lunch to try it out. As the name suggests, the restaurant features paninis and other wonderful concoctions on bread. The paninis are hot, grilled sandwiches, the tramezzini are cold sandwiches, the bruschetta and crostini are grilled and toasted respectively and topped with various things.

With bread as the main ingredient, high quality bread is essential. Toast's bread comes from the Rue Cler bakery and Guglhupf, so it doesn't get much better than that in Durham. Plus they are supporting local Durham businesses.

I am partial to any bread that is hot and contains melted cheese so Toast makes me very happy. I intend to try all of the panini. For my lunch I had a panini with rapini, Italian sausage and cheese, I think asiago but I cannot quite recall. The rapini, aka broccoli rabe (though it has no relation to broccoli), was seasoned with roasted garlic and a hint of red pepper flake. It reminded me of a pasta recipe from the Puglia region of Italy that I like to make.

In the next week or so, Toast will be getting it's liquor license to serve beer and wine. I am looking forward to going after work with my girlfriends for a glass of wine and some roasted mushroom, thyme and gorgonzola crostini and maybe some bacalao crostini.

Mac 'n' cheese

Everyone LOVED this macaroni and cheese when I took it to a luncheon on Sunday. I put it in a casserole and put bread crumbs on top, then popped it under the broiler. I have to say though that I like it best right out of the pan minus the breadcrumbs (which seem a bit fussy to me).

My favorite comfort food meal is mac 'n' cheese with meatloaf. I have a great turkey meatloaf with bacon recipe (the bacon defeats the lowfat purpose of the turkey, but OH WELL!).

This recipe works out well because the the sharp cheddar lends flavor and the monterrey jack lends creaminess. I think it has more moisture in it or something.

Macaroni and cheese:
1 lb macaroni
1 T salt
5 T unsalted butter
6 T flour
1 1/2 t dry mustard (powder)
1/4 t cayenne pepper
5 c milk
8 0z monterrey jack, shredded
8 oz extra sharp cheddar, shredded
1 t salt

Bring 4 quarts of water to boil. Add macaroni and 1T salt. Cook until al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat butter over medium heat in a pot until it melts and turns bubbly. Add flour, mustard, cayenne and whisk to combine. Whisk for about 1 minute. The mixture will darken some.

Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to boil, stirring continuously (so the milk doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan). Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally cooking for 5 minutes. The mixture (aka roux) will be thick like heavy cream.

Slowly add the shredded cheeses, whisking until combined. Season with 1t salt and pepper to taste.

After serving, take a spoon and get out any melted cheesy yumminess remaining in the pot. Lick the spoon, but be sure no one is watching!

Deluxe grilled cheese

I adore grilled cheese sandwiches. Cook cheese cannot be beat especially when it is melting and oozing between two pieces of nice toasty bread! My mom always made my brother and me grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.

I found this recipe in the NYT a couple of weeks ago, and I finally tried it out last night. Taleggio had great flavor and it melts nicely. The mustard, apricot, caper mixture reminds me of a chutney: fruity, a hint of sweetness, but savory and tart. It goes very well with the raisin bread, an interesting twist on the classic, and cheese. The arugula gives the sandwich a peppery kick. I could eat this every day for a week!

Taleggio grilled cheese sandwiches:

15 dried apricots

1 tablespoon nonpareil capers

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

8 slices dark raisin bread

5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

4 small handfuls arugula

8 ounces taleggio cheese, rind removed, at room temperature

4 pinches fleur de sel.

1. Place apricots in small saucepan and add water just to cover. Bring to full boil and immediately remove from heat. Mix in capers, mustard and olive oil. Pulse in blender to chunky consistency; set aside.

2. Spread one side of each bread slice evenly (to the edges) with 1/2 tablespoon butter. With buttered sides down, top four slices with 2 tablespoons of apricot mixture, handful of arugula and equal portions of cheese. Top with remaining slices, buttered side up.

3. Place large skillet over high heat, and melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Reduce heat to low and add sandwiches. Cook until browned and crisp on both sides, about 2 minutes a side. Transfer to a platter lined with paper towels, and sprinkle each with a pinch of fleur de sel. Cut in half and serve.

Yield: 4 sandwiches.

Comfort food: variation on grilled cheese

When I was sick as a child, my mother always made me grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. We used to dip our cheesy sandwiches into the soup like a bunch of ill-mannered hooligans. Sick people and children surely get special dispensation regarding manners, especially in the privacy of one's home.

Well, here I am sick w/ a cold. My throat hurts from my ears to my collar bone. I've been asleep for two days and have been forcing myself to get up and eat, which isn't fun when swallowing feels like razor blades.

Anyway, I made some tomato soup to soothe my throat and I improvised a grilled cheese sandwich from what I could find in the kitchen: 2 slices of frozen whole wheat bread, olive oil, spinach and a ball of mozarella.

I brushed the bread on one side w/ olive oil and toasted under the broiler until it was no longer frozen. Then I took it out and brushed the other side w/ olive oil, put some torn spinach leaves on the bread and then topped each piece of bread w/ two slices of mozarella. I put it back under the broiler until the cheese melted. Then I placed the open-faced sandwiches on a plate, sprinkled w/ salt and pepper and drizzled w/ more olive oil. MMMM!

It was good, comforting and I managed to slip some leafy greens into my lunch.

Unfortnately I am now tired from all of that activity so I'm going back to bed for yet another nap!

Endive stuffed w/ goat cheese

OK, by now you've probably noticed that I love goat cheese: endive w/ goat cheese, pizza w/ goat cheese, butternut squash pasta w/ goat cheese, artichokes w/ goat cheese.

I wonder if I need to branch out a bit in terms of favorite recipes. This is probably no accident. I lived in the Poitou region of France which is reknowned for goat cheese. I first had it there and I learned to love it.

Anyway, here is a recipe from Cooking Light for an amazing appetizer for your next cocktail party.

I found it somewhat laborious but definitely worth the effort. Of course to me laborious constitutes peeling 2 oranges! The combination of flavors and textures make this app a winner. It always gets devoured even by people who don't like goat cheese. The crunchy / sweet honey walnuts are a gorgeous foil to the sharpness of the oranges and the tangy, creamy goat cheese. The endive itself has a crunchy bitterness that compliments it well. Whoever thought of this recipe was a genius and certainly very sensitive to the subtleties of the palate.

How to throw a party and not cook!

People seem to think that entertaining company is hard. I have a few words to say on that matter:

1. The important thing is that you welcome people into your life and into your heart. They don't really care what type of wine or food you serve. If they do and they judge you on such things, then find new people to hang out with.

2. People are looking for things to do and for nice people to hang out with. Having a fantastic social life with wonderful parties to attend every weekend only happens on Sex in the City.

3. If you open your home and your life to people, they will LIKE YOU! They may not always reciprocate the invitation, but who said we give in order to receive?

4. People do not notice how clean or dirty your house is. They are more interested in the books on your shelf and the pictures on your wall. They are probably nervous and self-conscious so your job is to make them feel wanted and welcomed in your home.

5. You don't actually have to cook to have a party! This is especially key if you want to have friends over on a Thursday night for cocktails. Here is what to do:

Go to WholeFoods or A Southern Season to buy three fabulous cheeses (a hard one, a soft one, and a blue one). If you like, try it by country. For example, I recently served threee Italian cheeses for a party: tallegio, gorgonzola, and pecorino. They are soft and stinky, blue, hard and sharp respectively. In additon to the cheeses, buy a pate and some soppraseta or other Italian salami. Put the cheeses on a plate with grapes and olives. Put salami and pate on a plate with cornichons pickles (these are baby pickles that taste really good w/ salami and pate). Also buy some smoked salmon. Put it on a plate and sprinkle w/ lemon juice, black pepper, and capers. Put out a basket of crackers (love the Carrs water crackers w/ cracked pepper) and thinly sliced baguette.

Buy a few bottles of Charles de Fere and some nice French red and you are done.

Put some flowers in a vase. Smile when people show up. Take their coats and hand bags to the guest room or hang up in your hall closet. Offer them their choice of beverage. Invite them to eat some food. Periodically ask people if they need more food or drink. And there you have it. A good party.

When people start to leave, help get their coats, walk them to the door, hugs and kisses for all, and wave when they get to their cars. Go back inside and see if your remaining guests need more food or drink.