1 can (15 1/2 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped green olives
2 tbsp. capers, rinsed
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
1 loaf (8 ounces) Italian bread, split lengthwise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Heat broiler. In a bowl, combine first eight ingredients (through mustard); season with salt and pepper.
Lay bread, cut side up, on a broiler-proof baking sheet; top with tuna mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Broil until golden, 2 to 4 minutes. Cut into pieces; serve.
Grilled Gruyere With Braised Leeks on Multigrain BreadFrom Roadfood Sandwiches
Makes 4 sandwiches.
2 medium leeks
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water
Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Scant 1/2 tsp. salt
Pinch of freshly ground pepper
Butter for spreading
8 slices dense multigrain bread
10 ounces gruyere cheese, thinly sliced [I used about 7-8 ounces]
Dijon mustard [I used mustard with herbs de Provence]
Braise the leeks:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Trim off the root end of the leeks. Slice them lengthwise and remove any tough, dark green portions by cutting away from the root end on an angle and peeling them off. Clean the leeks thoroughly under running water to remove any dirt. Pat dry.
Heat a large skillet and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. When the oil is hot, carefully place the leeks in the pan, cut side down. Cook for a few minutes, just until they are golden brown on one side.
Remove the leeks and arrange them cut side up in a casserole dish. Add the water, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle the lemon zest, thyme, salt, and pepper over the top. [See top photo.] Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes. The liquid will reduce and the leeks will caramelize. Let them cool. (The leeks can be braised up to 2 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated.)
To assemble the sandwiches:
Thoroughly butter 1 side of each slice of bread and arrange the slices butter side down. Divide the cheese evenly among the bread slices. Cut the braised leeks diagonally into 2-inch lengths and arrange them on 4 of the cheese-topped slices of bread.
On each of the other 4 slices, spread about 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard over the cheese (use more or less according to your taste and the strength of your mustard). Place the 2 slices together to make each sandwich. (The sandwiches can be assembled up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated, wrapped tightly in plastic.)
Place a batch of sandwiches in a large skillet over low heat. When they are brown and crispy on one side, flip them over and cook until brown and crispy on the other side, about 10 minutes per side. [Mine took about 5 minutes per side.] Keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining sandwiches. Cut in half and serve.
Sweet Serrano Panini
Serves 6.
1/4 pound Serrano ham
1/4 cup walnuts
3 ounces creamy blue cheese
1/2 Fuji apple or similar
3 tablespoons fig preserves
2 cups arugula, tightly packed
1 ciabatta loaf or similar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you own a cast-iron skillet, place the skillet in the oven to warm it; you'll use it later to press the panini.
On the stove, toast the walnuts in an unoiled skillet for about five minutes, until just slightly browned and firm.
Using a sharp bread knife, split the ciabatta roll in half horizontally. Place the bread slices in the oven for about three to five minutes, until the bread is just lightly toasted. Remove from oven and set on prep surface to cool.
While bread is cooling, combine the walnuts and blue cheese in a small bowl and stir until well blended.
Coat one slice of the ciabatta with the fig preserves, then lay the slices of serrano ham on top.
Next, cut the apple from top to bottom into thin, round slices, avoiding the core. Place apple slices atop the ham.
Pile the arugula evenly over the apples, and spread the blue cheese and walnut mixture onto the bare slice of ciabatta. Assemble the sandwich by placing the cheese-covered slice atop the arugula-topped side.
Place the sandwich on a baking sheet or other oven-safe surface, then cover it with the warmed cast-iron skillet to press the ingredients together.
Leaving the skillet in place, cook the sandwich at 350 degrees for five to seven minutes, until cheese is melted and the bread is lightly browned on top.
With a sharp bread knife, slice the loaf into six small sandwiches and serve immediately.
Winterthyme CocktailAdapted From InStyle Parties
Serves 8.
1 1/2 cups vodka
1 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup Galliano liqueur
1/2 cup honey liqueur, such as Berenjager
1/3 cup simple syrup
Fresh thyme sprigs
In a large pitcher, mix together the first five ingredients and stir vigorously. Fill eight glasses with ice and divide cocktail evenly between glasses. Garnish with a fresh thyme sprig.
Pears and Dried Cherries With Chocolate SauceFrom Everyday FoodNote: With its sharp-edged bowls, a melon baller is a good tool to have when you're preparing pears. If you don't have one, use a teaspoon.
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 (about 1 1/2 pounds total) firm, ripe Bartlett pears
1/2 cup dried cherries
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel pears with a vegetable peeler. Halve lengthwise, leaving the stems intact. Using a melon baller, scoop out seeds. With a paring knife, remove thin fibrous core that runs from stem to bottom.
In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, place pears (cut side down), cherries, and 1/4 cup water; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until pears are tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make chocolate sauce: In a small saucepan, combine corn syrup and chocolate. Stir over low heat until melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in cream until smooth.
To serve, divide pears and cherries among serving plates; drizzle with warm chocolate sauce.
Baked DoughnutsFrom Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks
1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees (divided into 1 cup and 1/3 cup)
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
A pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
[I also used some brown sugar for the second batch]
Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and set aside for five minutes or so. Be sure your milk isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast.
Stir the butter and sugar into the remaining cup of warm milk and add it to the yeast mixture.
With a fork, stir in the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt - just until the flour is incorporated.
With the dough hook attachment of your mixer beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed. If your dough is too sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Too dry? Add more milk a bit at a time. You want the dough to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and eventually become supple and smooth.
Turn it out onto a floured counter-top, knead a few times (the dough should be barely sticky), and shape into a ball.
Transfer the dough to a buttered (or oiled) bowl, cover, put in a warm place and let rise for an hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on your floured countertop.
If you have a doughnut cutter, use that to cut the doughnuts, else use a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to stamp out circles. [I actually ended up using a small round plastic bowl with a relatively straight/sharp edge.]
Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. If you cut the inner holes out any earlier, they become distorted when you attempt to move them. [I actually used a melon baller to cut the inner circle, and transfered them after cutting. They distorted a little bit, but they were still managable.]
Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.
Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes - start checking around 8.
While the doughnuts are baking, place the butter in a medium bowl. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a different bowl.
Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for just a minute or two.
Dip each one in the melted butter and a quick toss in the sugar bowl.
Rich Fudgy BrowniesFrom Nicole Rees in Fine Cooking
8 oz (1 cup) unsalted butter plus enough softened unsalted butter to grease the pan
3 oz (2/3 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour plus enough to line the pan
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large room temperature eggs [this seriously makes a difference]
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 oz (3/4 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
Position rack in center of oven and heat to 350F.
Butter and flour a 9" square pan, tapping out excess flour. [I decided to use cocoa powder instead of flour.]
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.
Remove pan from heat - whisk or stir in sugar, followed by all four eggs and vanilla.
Stir in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Go slowly to keep the ingredients from flying out of the pan. Stir until smooth and uniform.
Spread batter into prepared baking pan, smoothing so it fills the pan evenly.
Bake until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean (there will be a few clumps clinging to it) — this will take about 40 minutes.
Let brownies cool completely in the pan on a rack.
All-Time-Favorite HamburgerFrom Food & Wine Magazine, July 2007
3/4 pound ground chuck, about 80 percent lean
3/4 pound ground sirloin, about 90 percent lean
Vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 kaiser rolls or hamburger buns, split and toasted
Fixins (ie: tomatoes, cheese, ketchup, mustard, relish, lettuce, etc.)
1. Light a grill. In a bowl, mix the ground meats and gently form into four 4-inch patties, about 1 1/2 inches thick. Make a 1/2-inch-deep indentation in the center of each patty, then rub lightly with the oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill the burgers over high heat, turning once, about 6 minutes for medium-rare; transfer to the buns, top with relish, tomatoes, lettuce and serve.
Image Source
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
Directions:
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