Grilled Cheese With Apple and Mustard

Last week I was testing out a gratin recipe that I was sure was going to be fantastic. Swiss chard, sweet potatoes, onions, ricotta cheese -- I couldn’t resist the mix of ingredients. But for the labor involved (individually cooking said chard, potatoes, and onions, for example), I needed a bigger payoff. A full hour into recipe prep I was considering chucking the whole thing for a grilled cheese sandwich.

And why not grilled cheese? There’s nothing pretentious or complicated about grilled cheese -- not when I make it, anyway. And it’s a perfect counterpoint for this overloaded food-intensive time of the year.

The next time you are in the mood for a grilled cheese sandwich (hmmm, I could go for one now), I humbly suggest this combination:

• Challah or sturdy bread, such as sourdough
• Sharp cheddar cheese
• A smear of Dijon mustard
• Sliced apple, such as Cortland, Macintosh, or Granny Smith

Butter the top and bottom of the sandwich and cook in a flat-bottomed skillet over medium heat until the bread is golden and the cheese is melted. Serve the remaining apple on the side. If you want to up the comfort food factor, finish the meal with a couple of cookies and a glass of milk.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Photography is not my strong suit. Which means that I have to invite you all over for dinner, since the food looks much better in person.

I might serve you this. (It would help if you liked eggplant.) This was one of the most satisfying meals that The Programmer and I had last month -- several meals, actually, since Kit prefers eggplant in the form of eggplant Parmesan and Caboodle prefers that eggplant just stay at the farm and be fed to livestock.

What took the dish over the top for us is that I substituted slow-roasted fresh tomatoes for canned ones. That's less likely an option for you now (snow season! gak!) but keep this in mind for when you are inundated with tomatoes next summer or early fall: Cut a bunch of tomatoes in half or in wedges, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, drizzle them with a little olive oil, and bake at a low temperature -- 225 to 250 degrees F -- for about two hours. The tomatoes will begin to dry out, which concentrates their flavor. You can also roast the tomatoes at a higher temperature (say 325 degrees) for a shorter time; they will brown and caramelize along the edges.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
(Adapted from Vegetarian Times. I especially liked the original recipe's idea to place some of the vegetables on top of the mashed potatoes. This version removes the eggs, cuts down on the fat, and makes minor ingredient substitutions. Serves 6 to 8.)  

2 lbs red-skinned potatoes, peeled only if desired and cut into cubes (about 6 cups)

1/4 cup non-fat milk

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided use

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1 cup)

2 cans (about 15 oz. each) diced tomatoes with liquid, or 1 can diced tomatoes and 2 cups of roasted fresh tomatoes

2 eggplant (about 1.5 pounds total), peeled only if desired, and cubed

About 2 Tbsp fresh herbs, chopped, to taste (I used about 1 Tbsp basil and a combination of parsley, oregano and thyme)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 green bell pepper, sliced thin

1 small zucchini, sliced thin

Place the cubed potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes 10 to 15 minutes, or until soft. Drain, and mash with milk and butter. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Saute the onion in the oil for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to soften. Add the tomatoes, eggplant, herbs, and garlic. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Remove from heat, and stir in the Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper as desired.

Spread the potato mixture over the vegetables in the Dutch oven, banking it up a little along the sides and leaving an indentation in the middle.

Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper and zucchini, and sauté for 7 to 10 minutes, or until just tender. Pile the sautéed zucchini and bell pepper into the center of the mashed potatoes.

Bake the casserole at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Food Day 2011

This is not a political blog, but our food choices are inevitably steeped in politics. Farm subsidies, animal welfare, food insecurity -- these are only a smattering of the issues that surround the food we eat.

Today is Food Day, an effort by the Center for Science in the Public Interest to bring a host of food-related issues to the forefront of American consciousness. The CSPI has been controversial over the years -- remember those scolding reports about Chinese and Italian restaurant meals? -- but here is something I think we, as food-blog readers, can agree on:

We generally spend more time thinking about what we’re going to cook than about how that food is produced. And if we are wondering about where our next meal is coming from, our conversation probably involves restaurant picks, not soup kitchens.

Today, as you sit down to eat, remember to add a dash of awareness to your dinner. Bon appetit.

Week 18: Green Tomato Curry

Eighteen weeks is a long time – just over a third of a year.  We’ve gone from peas to pumpkins, from strawberries to winter squash.

I think I’m going to miss the tomatoes most of all.

I rhapsodized about ripe tomatoes earlier this season. This time of year, it’s about the green ones. Fully grown, unripe tomatoes are firmer and more acidic than their red counterparts, although they mellow with cooking. They are commonly breaded and fried, but you can also slow-roast them, pickle them, or turn them into relish or chutney. They work in all sorts of stews and show up in Indian dishes. The recipe below makes a mild curry that takes on a deep yellow color from turmeric.

Before we get to the recipe, a little reminder: Now that the CSA season has ended, I'll be posting less frequently. But I'm always cooking, so expect some seasonal recipes for the fall and winter. (Subscribe to the blog and you won't miss any posts.)

Green Tomato Curry

(Adapted from Cooking Light. Serve with basmati rice, quinoa, or a flat bread like naan. Serves 2-3 as a main dish or 4 as a side.)

1 Tbsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp canola oil

2 tsp yellow mustard seeds

2 cups green tomato, diced (about 1 large tomato)

2 cups diced, peeled russet potato

2 cups cauliflower, in small florets

1.5 cups water

Mix the ground spices together in a small bowl and set aside. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and cook for 1 minute; the seeds may sputter and pop, so have a lid or splatter guard handy. Add the tomato, potato, cauliflower, and spices, and stir until blended. Add the water and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the skillet, and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Uncover the skillet and cook about 5 minutes more or until most of the liquid evaporates. Serve hot.

Week 17: The Apple Cake of Many Names

I suppose it doesn’t look much like a slice of birthday cake. No layers; no frosting. But since my birthday fell on the eve of Rosh Hashanah this year, I went with something holiday appropriate. (And if eating sweet foods can ensure a sweet year, my family is surely covered.)

I’m not sure what to call this cake. Sometimes it’s known as a Jewish apple cake -- “Jewish,” presumably, because it’s dairy free and therefore a dessert suitable for meat-containing meals. Apparently it’s also a “Philadelphia-style apple cake,” as explained in this 2006 article from the Philadelphia City Paper. I grew up in Philly, but I had no idea that this kind of cake is something of a regional specialty. (I didn’t visit enough bake shops, I guess.) The cake might also be called a “German apple cake” or “Any Country in Eastern Europe apple cake”; it’s standard fare from that part of the globe.

Whatever you call this cake, the key thing is that it’s an oil-based cake -- moist, sweet, and on the dense side. Cut it into sixteenths and no one will feel slighted by the size of the piece.

The Apple Cake of Many Names

(From Relish magazine, with trivial changes)

6 cups peeled, sliced apples (About 3 apples. Granny Smith recommended, but use whatever is local and seasonal)

4 tsp cinnamon mixed with 5 Tbsp granulated sugar

1.5 cups additional granulated sugar

3 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup canola oil

1/2 cup orange juice

2.5 tsp vanilla extract

Extra oil, sugar, and flour for preparing pan

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly grease a 10-inch Bundt pan or tube pan, then sugar and flour the pan.

Combine the sliced apples with the cinnamon-sugar mixture and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl, and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with brown sugar and the remaining granulated sugar. Add in the canola oil, orange juice, and vanilla, and beat well. Gradually stir in the flour mixture and blend well.

Pour one-third of the batter into the prepared pan, and top with half of the apple slices. Make a second layer of batter and fruit in the same manner, then top with the last third of batter, making sure the apples are covered.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until the top turns golden and a knife inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Very nice served with a glass of hot tea at the end of a big meal.