Today is National Grilled Cheese Day. My brother, Josh, informed me of it this morning. It would have been just wrong not to have it for lunch.
I’m totally cool with a plain old grilled cheese. You know, bread, butter, cheese, done. But today I wanted a fancied up version. Hello gruyère, rosemary ham, fuji apple, olive oil, and a touch of salt, between two pieces of Ezekiel bread. Hello indeed.
a few slices of thinly sliced ham (rosemary ham if you can find it)
Gruyère cheese, as much as you need, sliced
fuji (or your favorite) apple, thinly sliced
Instructions
Drizzle oil on one side of each slice of bread. Sprinkle with salt and distribute evenly over the slice. Top with cheese, ham, and apple slices. Close.
Place into a hot skillet over medium or medium-low heat. Cover (opt.) and cook for about 3ish minutes, or until the bread is crispy. Flip and cook uncovered until cheese is melted and second slice of bread is crispy.
I think at this time of year, the word pollen might be a bad bad word. I, for example, have sneezed approximately seventeen hundred thousand times in the past two weeks. I wonder if I’m allergic to something?!
Here’s a kind of pollen you can get into: Fennel Pollen. I told you about it in December when I’d just begun to try it out. I’m still experimenting, but so far, everything I’ve added it to I’ve liked (not to be confused with “add it to everything”).
And this week, I used it again. This time in a dip for some beets, fennel, potatoes, and carrots. Not just any beets, fennel, potatoes, and carrots though. They’re roasted. Which makes almost any vegetable about a thousand times better (and that’s saying a lot, because I like vegetables).
They’re meant to be served alongside Fennel Pollen Burgers. But, those weren’t for the show. They’re for Friday’s post, so you’ll just have to wait… If you can’t, just make the veggies twice!
This week marks a year since A Cooking Show with Rachel O made its debut into the world of culinary entertainment (or whatever you want to call it). Armed with my Minestrone Soup recipe and a lot of excitement, I began. Now, a year later, I’ve learned a lot, eaten a lot… I’m not sure which I’ve done more of… I’ve also burned myself, pinched my hand, scared the dog with my horn thingey (that was today), dropped tons of food on the floor, eaten lots of veggies, laughed a lot, knocked the iPad/second camera off the counter‚ pronounced things incorrectly, learned how to cook new things, invented dishes I’ve loved, made a few things I wasn’t absolutely crazy about, learned some more, ate some more, chopped about a million veggies, and developed a new found respect for those who wash dishes and/or edit video for a living. Neither is my favorite part of the job (although one is definitely more favorite), but both are necessary.
My favorite part of the job… favorites actually: Chopping food, the smell of Bari‘s olive oil, the smell of garlic when it hits a hot pan, photographing food, editing my photos, the inspiration that comes when I open the box of Abundant Harvest Organics produce, planning a menu, writing furiously so I don’t forget the recipe idea that popped into my brain, hearing Husband exclaim “MMMMMMMMMmmmm” after taking his first bite (it happened with this meal!), watching the dog pretend not to watch us eat because he too would like a bite, laughing at myself, eating amazing organic produce, working with a company I respect, sharing my love for food with you… I could go on for hours. I feel truly blessed to do what I do.
Thank you for being a part of that. Thanks for watching, for reading, for commenting, for telling me that you liked a recipe. It means so much to me. I create these dishes, write about these foods, share my ideas because I think they taste good. But, I also share them because I want you to enjoy them just as much as I do. I hope this is happening.
I also hope you like Mac and Cheese as much as I do. We can still be friends if you don’t, but it is one of my favorite go-to/comfort/quick meals. I know it’s tempting on a tired night to grab a box of the really quick stuff. I’m not judging if you do. I’ve done it. Buuuut, I’ve also discovered that homemade Mac and Cheese is almost as fast. Really! You have to wait for the water to boil regardless. So while you’re standing in the kitchen, starving, staring at the water, willing it to boil, trying to keep from eating peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon, grab some milk, olive oil, salt, pepper, and flour, grate some cheese and make a simple sauce. If you have a few more minutes, roast some fennel and add it to some sautéed onion and garlic. It’s a good idea.
I didn’t think I liked fennel. Then I roasted it. Roasting is the key to making almost any vegetable a thousand times better (even though I usually like them just the way they are! Here’s how: Buy olive oil (personally, I like Bari‘s). Turn on oven. Combine olive oil with halved fennel. 350F. Done. Boom. Roasted. Good right?!
Now it’s your turn. Have fun!
Happy Eating!
Roasted Fennel Mac
Recipe Type: Main, Pasta, Dinner, Oven, Stove Top
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2-4
When fennel is roasted it becomes sweet and slightly caramelized. It’s paired with pears and Gruyère and added to traditional Mac and Cheese to dress it up.
Ingredients
1/2 to 1 C onion, chopped
1 fennel bulb, halved
3-4 T plus 1 t olive oil
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 carrot, grated
1/2 to 1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 t apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 C cheese (combination of Gruyère and Parmesan), grated (1/4 C reserved for topping)
2 T flour
1/4 C cream
1/2 to 1 C milk
1/2 to 1 C vegetable stock
1/4 C pasta water
2 C pasta
1 pear, thinly sliced (for topping)
Instructions
Drizzle fennel with 1 t olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place cut side down on baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes (or until fennel is tender).
Cook pasta.
Heat pan over medium heat. Add 2 T oil. When oil is hot, add onion, carrot, and a pinch of salt. Cook 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more.
When fennel is done, remove from oven and let cool slightly. Chop. Add to pan with veggies.
Move veggies to one side. Add 1-2 T more oil. When it’s hot, whisk in 2 T flour, cook 30-60 seconds. Slowly, a little bit at a time, whisk in milk, stock, cream, and pasta water. Let it thicken a little after each addition of more liquid. Add pasta water. Cook until just before it boils.
Remove from heat and whisk in cheese, apple cider vinegar, and pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Toss pasta with sauce. Top with thinly sliced pear, and top pear with cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and melted.
I made some yummy summer chili this week! It’s kinda like regular chili, except it has summer veggies. Like summer squash, green beans, basil, and other more year rounders like carrots and onions, all from this week’s Abundant Harvest Organics box. The squash and carrots are grated, so you don’t even notice they’re in there (not that I’d mind, but it’s fun to hide veggies sometimes, just because). Was it ever goooooood!
I forgot to eat lunch before I started filming. It was just torture to be smelling that chili for an hour. After I finally finished and plated and took photos I was going to try a bite. One turned into half the bowl and most of the cornbread… it was delicious. I ate it again a few hours later as real dinner.
I served it with this cornbread. It’s my go-to recipe. It’s easy and so delicious. (It’s even good the next day.)
We had it for dinner, and we also shared some with some friends who had a baby over the weekend. Even their picky eater ate some of it. 😉
The little “song” at the end had been stuck in my head ALL day. While editing, I think I counted 5 different times that I sang parts of it. It’s in my head again today. It makes me giggle a little.
1 lg. summer squash, grated (squeeze to remove excess water if needed)
1 C green beans, diced
5 cloves garlic, diced
2 T tomato paste
3 T olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar, divided
1 T dijon mustard
1 T honey
2 C water (or red wine, or stock, or beer)
1/2 C decaf coffee
2 t salt
1 t pepper
1/4 t allspice
pinch cayenne
1 T sweet paprika
2 T chili powder
1 T smoked paprika
1/2 t ginger
fresh basil, torn (for serving)
Instructions
Heat soup pot. Add beef and cook. Drain fat and return beef to pan. Add olive oil, veggies, and seasonings. Cook about 5-7 minutes, or until veggies are tender.
Add tomato paste, stir in, cook 1 minute. Add 1 T balsamic vinegar, stir, cook 1 min.
Add honey, dijon, water, beans, and coffee. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook over med-low heat for about 55 minutes.
Do you want to do something with the extra pumpkin filling you didn’t use in your Pumpkin Pie? One option is to make another pie. Or, you could make some pumpkin pasta for dinner on Friday night. If you didn’t have Pumpkin Pie, but have some winter squash that needs a delicious use: roast it, scoop it out, puree it (freeze it, if you’re not ready to use it yet)… then you’re ready to cook!
Ooh, another yummy way to use leftover pumpkin is on grilled cheese. Not kidding. Take a little pureed pumpkin (about 2 T per sandwich) and spread it on a slice of bread. Top with cheese, close the sandwich, and butter (or olive oil) the outside of the slices and grill until cheese is melted and bread is toasty (I’m sure you know how to make grilled cheese, so all that was probably totally unnecessary).
For more ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers, check in on Friday. Until then, enjoy your loved ones, the turkey, potatoes, gravy… I don’t need to list the whole meal, mostly because it’s making me hungry, and you know what it entails. Happy Thanksgiving, Friends! And for those of you in non-Thanksgiving places, happy tomorrow’s Thursday to you!
Here’s the pasta. It’s basically like Mac and Cheese meets Pumpkin.
pasta (rice, whole wheat, or regular - spaghetti, rotini, penne)
2 T olive oil
2 T flour
1 C (or more) milk
1/2 C stock (or water, or milk)
1 C pumpkin, pureed
pinch cumin
pinch all spice
salt
pepper
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1 C sharp cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you like), grated
1/4 C parmesan cheese
1/2 C pasta water
1/2 T balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Cook pasta (reserve 1/2 C pasta water before draining pasta).
Heat oil in pan, add flour. Whisk together and cook 30-60 seconds. Add milk and stock slowly, whisking as you do. Once it's getting thick, add pumpkin and seasonings. Bring almost to a boil (try not to let it boil - the sauce may break) and turn heat off. Add cheese, whisking; add pasta water and balsamic vinegar.
Serve topped with any, all or none: homemade croutons (toasted slices of bread seasoned with olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper), caramelized onions, parmesan, bacon. Great on it's own, or as a side with chicken or beef or leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
Today is National Grilled Cheese Day. My brother, Josh, informed me of it this morning. It would have been just wrong not to have it for lunch.
