Our friends Iveth and Mario (her husband) just moved to Colombia, so we have been keeping in touch through Facebook. While checking my news feed one night, I saw Iveth had posted a photo of what she had made for dinner. It was this Croque Monsieur, and I had to have it.
I asked her for the recipe so she could be our next Guest Foodie. We really enjoy our friends collaborating on our blog by sharing their recipes and experiences in the kitchen!
She told me she got the idea to make this dish from the movie It’s Complicated with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin (which she recommends, by the way). On a scene from the movie Meryl prepares a Croque Monsieur, so Iveth searched for a recipe and now we have it for you!
I can’t wait to try it myself… with a little white wine. (I’ll try to get my hands on that movie as well.)
Croque Monsieur
Recipe by Iveth Bodensteiner de Villanueva
Serves 2
Ingredients
4 sliced of bread (they have to be thick slices)
4 slices of Turkey Pastrami
enough gruyere cheese to cover the bread area
1 cup of Bechamel Sauce*
Butter, for spreading
*Note: you can find the recipe for Bechamel Sauce in our Roasted Vegetable Lasagna post, here. Divide the ingredients by half to use in this recipe
Procedure:
Preheat oven at 200 F
Prepare your béchamel sauce, you will only need about 1 cup.
Spread your bread slices with a little butter, on both sides. On one slice, place turkey pastrami and gruyere cheese and cover with a bit of béchamel sauce. Place the second bread slice on top.
Spread more béchamel sauce on top of the sandwich you have made (on that second bread slice) and top with enough gruyere cheese to cover the whole thing. Repeat this process to make a second croquet monsieur.
Place them on a cookie sheet or pyrex, and bake for about 10 min. At 10 minutes, turn your oven to BROIL. This is the part where you have to keep an eye on them. Broil until the cheese develops a nice brown crust.
It’s Super Bowl time again! We hand picked snacks and appetizers we think you might like to include on your Super Bowl Food Fest menu, we’ll be posting a few new recipes soon!
I have a cook-off coming up. Jake Van Ness is flying to Guatemala in a few days and we will have a pizza duel after Christmas, word around the campfire is his pizza is nothing short of amazing, so I have to find myself a good recipe so I don’t humiliate myself. This is not it.
I made these last weekend because my sister Petra was coming over to visit and I wanted to make something quick and delicious we could chow down on while we caught up on our week’s events. She certainly has a lot to tell, she’s a med student on her last year and she was hours away from running yet another marathon, she’s quite the local athlete (completely opposite to moi).
This pizza sort of made itself, I didn’t really know what I was going to end up with, I just piled stuff on. My base was pita breads, I grilled vegetables I had around with olive oil and a simple salt and pepper seasoning, used creole tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese, and at the end added a little kick with tabasco, which I love.
Ingredients:
5 pita breads
1 1/2 cups creole tomato sauce
4 portobello mushrooms
1 zucchini
1 red bell pepper
1/2 red onion
2 tomatoes
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 bunch asparagus
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
dry basil
salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Start grilling. I used my indoor griller, so I pre-heated it for 5 minutes. Follow your griller’s instructions.
Slice the mushrooms, zucchinis, bell pepper, onion and tomatoes. Keep each vegetable in a separate bowl as you will be grilling in batches. Coat the vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Grill each of the vegetables and set aside.
Set your pita breads on two cookie sheets (3 pitas on one and 2 in the other) and spoon a good amount of tomato sauce.
Follow by evenly coating with equal amounts of each of the vegetables.
Cover with shredded mozzarella and sprinkle with enough parmesan to your liking.
Season with dry basil, salt and pepper and finally, top with 2 asparagus tips
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until cheese has completely melted.
This Beer Bread is a very easy (and yeast free) recipe. You can have this bread ready for dinner in less than an hour! It’s been long overdue for me to post it, as this is the second or third time I’ve prepared this recipe. The first time I made it was in Upstate NY, and we enjoyed it not only freshly baked, but also warming it up in the oven for a bit for breakfast the next morning. This is a very heavy bread, you can still taste the beer in the back… And this would be probably a great bread to sprinkle some cheese on top before baking. A little detail I seem to forget, but I still enjoy this bread quite a lot!
Beer Bread Adapted from the recipe by Three Many Cooks Serves 12
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 bottle or can (12 ounces) beer
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon of heavy cream
Directions:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Add beer (no sips!) and stir with a fork until just combined.
Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead quickly to form a ball.
Place bread on a baking sheet and confidently slit an X on top with a serrated or very sharp knife.
Beat egg and heavy cream together. Brush loaf with egg wash.
Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve!
One late Saturday morning, we were wondering what to make for lunch. We wanted something that wouldn’t take many ingredients (we needed to go grocery shopping) and use the some veggies we had left from a salad the day before. And I remembered that somewhere I read a Pizza Crust recipe that didn’t have any yeast in it. Again, we didn’t have many ingredients around! So Pizza it was! I started looking for the recipe…and then found this one! It didn’t have any baking powder in it either. I know what you’re thinking… It is strange! But so much worth it. This has to be one of the best Thin Crust pizza recipes I’ve tested and it’s also extremely easy to do.
One thing I have to be very bold about is Step#6: the tapping. I didn’t do that and got huge bubbles on my crust. Since I was baking two crusts, halfway through the baking, I pinched the bubbles and rotated their positions in the oven. You’ll see that this batter also is… very liquid. Don’t be scared! That’s how it’s supposed to be. Just make sure that it covers the pizza pan like a normal crust would. For the tomato sauce, we used some left over from our Basic Tomato Sauce, adding a tablespoon of Tomato Paste to thicken it up a bit.
Thin Crust Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 cup of Tomato Sauce
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 lb. shredded Mozarella Cheese
1 cup of chopped Zucchini and Tomatos
2 tablespoons of black olives, cut into small pieces
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Grease a rimmed pizza pan or baking sheet.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, oregano and black pepper.
Mix in eggs and milk; stir well. The batter will look like the one for pancakes or waffles – it’s ok. Don’t panic as I did.
Pour batter into prepared pan and tilt (or spread) until evenly coated. Tap the pan a few times on the counter, so the bubbles rise and you get rid of them.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then take the pizza out and pinch any bumps that might have come up – I still had a few.
If you’re baking two pizzas at once, rotate their position inside the oven. Bake for remaining 10-12 minutes until set.
While the crust bakes, mix the tomato sauce and tomato paste in a sauce pan, and just warm it up a bit.
Remove crust from oven.
Drizzle on pizza sauce and sprinkle on vegetables (Zucchini, Tomato and olives), ending with the cheese.
Top with salt, pepper and basil.
Bake until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Let it sit for about 5 minutes before slicing.
We had already tried a few recipes using cornmeal to make Southern Cornbread and Corn Muffins before, made with jalapeño peppers. This time, we used caramelized onions. It is definitely a milder taste, in terms of spiciness but the added cheese and onions give it a delicious flavor. These muffins are perfect for a weekend breakfast, paired with scrambled eggs and topped with butter or cream cheese.
The caramelized onions I used were given to me by Edith, from EPI Foods who has been a one time guest at The Foodies’ Kitchen with Authentic Tortilla Soup. It’s time for a second visit, don’t you think?
Cornbread Muffins with Caramelized Onions
Yield: About 18 muffins
Ingredients: 1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 eggs
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup corn kernels
½ cup caramelized onions (or pan-browned onions)
½ cup grated Cheddar or Monterrey Jack
Optional: Diced jalapeños, or cayenne pepper to give it some spice.
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack positioned in the upper third. Oil or butter muffin tins.
Place the cornmeal in a bowl, and sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the rosemary. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and honey. Whisk or stir the cornmeal mixture into the liquid mixture. Do not beat; a few lumps are fine, but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the corn kernels, caramelized onions and cheese.
Spoon into muffin cups, filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full). Place in the oven, and bake 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned and well risen.
Advance preparation: These keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, for a few more days in the refrigerator, and for a few months in the freezer.
To prepare the caramelized onions, you can follow the video that Edith shared with us:
On June 13th, we tweeted this simple question: “We have blueberries. What do we make: Cupcakes or Muffins? Let us know… Baking tomorrow”
By the end of the day we made a Facebook Poll, and by the next morning, the choice was made. We were baking muffins. So, I just got the butter and blueberries to room temperature and started baking. They came out wonderful! This is a keeper! I know it will be a favorite of yours too. Usually muffins are heavy and dry, but this batter makes a light and moist muffin. Their tangy flavor topped with the brown sugar crumble makes them the perfect pair.
Oh, and see those cute paper Tilt-a-Whirl Baking Cups? You can find those at Bake It Pretty. Make sure to swing by and say hi, they have great products to make your baking the cutest around!
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for tin
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large whole egg plus 2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk
2 cups fresh blueberries
Granulated sugar, for topping
Directions:
Make the crumb topping, whisk together flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Pour in melted butter and toss with a flexible spatula until large crumbs form. Set aside.
Now, make the muffins. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line standard two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream butter and granulated sugar until fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined. Reduce speed to low; alternate adding reserved flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Gently fold in berries by hand.
Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, then with your hands sprinkle crumb topping evenly over batter in each cup, sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.
Bake until light golden on top, rotating tins halfway through, about 30 minutes. This will allow the muffins to bake evenly. Don’t worry they won’t sink!
Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes before turning out muffins. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This is a project kids will love to make. It’s an art and cooking activity that involves painting white bread slices with food coloring mixed in milk, then toast ‘em!
It’s a great idea for Father’s Day to surprise Dad with special designs or messages on his morning toast.
Painted Toast
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups of milk
Food coloring, 5 different colors (or 2 or 3)
White bread slices
Directions:
Fill 5 glasses (or 2 or 3, depending on how many colors you want to use) with a 1/4 cup of milk each.
Then take your food colorings and in each glass put 5 drops of food coloring in the milk and stir till color shows.
Use a small paint brush and dip the brush into the food coloring. Then take your piece of bread and paint a face or picture of choice on it.
Now place your bread into a toaster and wait till the bread is toasted.
We love pizza, and the one who usually does the magic with it is Jake. I rarely cook pizza because honestly, his pizzas rock. I spotted this recipe over at Annie’s Eats and Tasty Kitchen. Asparagus are in season and this was the perfect Friday Dinner. I used a store pre-baked crust (I’ve been a very busy foodie), but you can make your own!
The flavor from the asparagus is soft after being “shaved”. Shaved… How you ask? With a peeler! Make sure you wash and rinse of the excess water from the asparagus, and with a peeler, start shaving the stem away. Also, cut off the woody stems from the asparagus before shaving. Also, the herb cheese I used was made by Jake’s mom Bev… and the pairing with the veggies was perfect! I barely had to season the pizza, other than with salt and pepper.
Pizza dough
Olive oil, for brushing
8 ounces asparagus spears
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 to 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
3 ounces spreadable garlic herb cheese,
such as Boursin or Trader’s Point Creamery garden herb fromage blanc
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven at 450˚ F
Roll out the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round. Lightly brush the surface of the dough with olive oil.
Cut the tough woody stems off the ends of the asparagus spears. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the spears into ribbons. You likely will not need all of the asparagus, but use more ribbons than you think you need because it will cook down in the oven.
Place the sliced mozzarella over the pizza dough in an even layer. And place in oven for about 12 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.
Pile the asparagus shavings over the top of the mozzarella. Dot the surface of the pizza with the garlic herb cheese and the shredded cheese. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool slightly for about 3 minutes before slicing and serving.
Breakfast on the weekends is the best: you actually sit down to eat – instead of rushing to get to school and work. Today, I wanted to try a different type of Cheese. The ones with Cheddar Cheese were great, but they were lacking a bit of extra flavor. Last week I used Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese cubed cheese… Didn’t go so well. The cheese melts and it ran out of the biscuits, so much they barely held their shape. Now, back to the shredded cheese, I used a mix of Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby and Mozzarella. This is much better! Also, instead of using chilled butter I used room temperature butter and they didn’t come out as flaky but still really good. Another difference is that I used a pastry cutter to avoid warming up the butter and shortening with my hands. I’ll keep experimenting and post back the results! Now, I’m thinking bread? We’ll see…
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup chilled buttermilk
1 1/2 cup of shredded “fiesta mix” cheese
(a mix of Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby and Mozzarella)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs.
Add the cheese and make sure that the cheese and the previous mix comes together.
Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.
Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and with a rolling pin just make it so it’s about 1-inch thick.
Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough.
Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch.
Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting.
Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.
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