Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Arugula Salad
Oatmeal Cookies with Macadamia Nuts, Golden Raisins and Chocolate Chips
Creamy Tomato Soup
This is your classic tomato soup – a clean canvas for whatever direction you want your meal to head. Add a chiffanod of basil and a Parmesan crostini for a gourmet Italian flair, or add those little tiny pasta stars for a walk down memory lane, or my favorite, enjoy with a crispy grilled cheese sandwich. If you are making your own vegetable stock, I suggest adding a few whole tomatoes or even a small can of tomato juice to the stock. You can even add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a bit of spice, however I try to keep the spice and herbs to a minimum with my tomato soup or else I feel like I am eating a big bowl of spaghetti sauce. This particular recipe is very basic and as usual, very easy to make.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 7 cups crush tomatoes (2 twenty eight ounce cans)
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/3 cup cream
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
In a medium/large heavy bottom saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes, stock and fresh thyme. Season with a bit more salt and pepper and bring everything to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let simmer and thicken for 45 minutes.
Remove the thyme sprigs and stir in the cream. Taste for more salt and pepper. Serve warm.
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
You can make grilled cheese about a million and one ways – so many cheeses, so many breads and so many great fillings. One combination I particularly love is Gruyere cheese and baby arugula on crusty European style bread. Tomato, mozzarella and basil is a classic combo and one time I made an exceptionally delicious caramelized onions and blue cheese sandwich. It is pretty hard to go wrong when the basic concept here is bread and melted cheese.
To make a grilled cheese sandwich, lightly butter one side of two slices of bread; then place a generous layer of sliced cheese (or other fillings) between the unbuttered sides of the bread. Heat a medium/large size skillet or pan over low/medium heat. Add the sandwich and let cook 3-4 minutes on a rather low heat, allowing the cheese time to melt properly. When the cheese is beginning to melt and the bottom skillet side of the bread is beginning to brown, use a spatula to flip over. Increase the heat when the cheese is beginning to melt and the bread needs a bit more browning. (If you are using a thicker rustic bread, use an empty cup on top of the spatula to press weight down on the sandwich.) Serve and eat immediately.
Oatmeal Cookies with Macadamia Nuts, Golden Raisins and Chocolate Chips
I really like the consistency and flavor of these cookies – they are dense yet light, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. The wheat pastry flour is subtle and contrasts well with the butter and the bit of cream. You can certainly substitute all-purpose flour for the wheat pastry flour (and I do not recommend substituting whole wheat flour), and half and half or milk for the cream. I have certainly made my fair share of oatmeal cookies and I can confidently say that this is one of my favorites. The consistency of the actual cookie is quite perfect, which I think has a lot to do with the little bit of cream. The flavor, too, is enhanced by the cream, as well as by the buttery macadamia nuts and the generous amount of chocolate chips. Golden raisins are much more mellow in flavor than traditional Thompson raisins and could certainly be left out in this recipe if you don’t have them on hand.
Makes 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cream
- 1 1/2 cups old fashion oats
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts, toasted, chopped
- 1/2 cups golden raisins
- 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the cream. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Gently stir in the dry ingredients. Finally, stir in the oats, nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips.
Drop tablespoon size balls of cookie dough onto unlined baking sheets 2 inches apart and bake for 11-13 minutes or until the cookies are light golden brown on the edges. (I prefer to slightly under bake these cookies so they or soft. You can bake the cookies until golden for a crispier cookie.) Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 1 minute and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store the cool cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days. This dough will also keep wrapped with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking.
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