Spicy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

It rained in LA yesterday, and on such a rare occasion, everyone gets on board.  Girls plan their entire outfit around Hunter boots, meteorologists pull out their STORM WATCH TWENTY THIRTEEN! voices, Barnes and Nobles sells umbrellas (for real), drivers slow down a good 15 mph and... I make soup.  Coincidentally, I had just come across this recipe for a tomato soup with... grilled cheese croutons???  I would eat dirt if you topped it with grilled cheese croutons.  And these did not disappoint.  I made a few changes to the recipe - omitting the red pepper flakes so my son would eat it (also I called it "red ninja soup" - yeah), using vegetable broth instead of water, adding some minced garlic with the onions, and swapping basil with thyme (which I threw in with the onions and garlic).  It was bright, and delicious, and did I already talk about the GRILLED CHEESE CROUTONS??  

Now it's a beautiful sunny day and I'm sad : (      

Sorta Porchetta

One of my all-time favorite street foods in San Francisco is Roli Roti’s famous porchetta sandwich, served at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. For those of you not familiar with the perfection that is the porchetta, it's a loin, and possibly other cuts of heavily seasoned pig parts, wrapped inside a pork belly, which is then roasted until the inside is tender, and the outside is crispy and crackling. It’s then sliced and served on a crusty roll with salsa verde.

It’s insanely good, and something I've always wanted to try doing at home. Of course, a real porchetta feeds like 20 people, so I wanted a version that would be better suited for a smaller group. 

I decided to try using a small pork shoulder roast. The plan was to mimic the same flavors, but cook it more like pork loin, instead of the usual fork tender, falling apart state we associate with this cut. Pulled pork was not what I was after here.

It worked wonderfully, although you do need to slice it nice and thin. We’re only cooking this to 145 F. which is not high enough a temperature to break down all that connective tissue. All in all, I thought it was a very successful experiment, especially when you consider how much we scaled this down. 

What it didn’t feature however, was that crispy skin, also known as “the best part.” I wish I’d thought of it before I finished the video, but what I should have done was fried up some diced pancetta (un-smoked Italian bacon) until it was perfectly crispy, and topped the sandwich with that! That would have put this already fine faux-porchetta over the top! I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 very large portions:

2 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder roast, butterflied open, and slashes made all over the connective tissues

olive oil as needed

1 tbsp kosher salt (2 tsp for inside, and 1 for out)

1 tbsp black pepper

2 tbsp chopped sage leaves

2 tbsp chopped rosemary

6 cloves minced garlic

zest from a large orange

2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

- Stuff, tie, salt, and refrigerate uncovered for 24 hours

- Roast at 450 F. for 15 minutes

- Reduce heat to 250 F. and roast another hour, or until an internal temp of 145 F.

For the vinegar sauce:

1/2 anchovy fillet

1 tsp hot chili flakes or to taste

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup freshly chopped Italian parsley

Bonus How to Butterfly Meat for Rolling Video! 

 

Warm Goat Cheese & Peach Tartine – Open Face, Insert Summer

I usually don’t mention the time of year during these videos, since I have no way of knowing when someone will actually view them, but when it came to this goat cheese and peach tartine, I couldn’t help myself. For me, this is summer on a slice of bread. My apologies to those of you reading/watching this in February.

August is national goat cheese month (no, I don’t know who decides these things), and what better way to enjoy chèvre than by topping it with sweet, ripe, impossibly juicy peach slices? Mix in a little thyme and black pepper to keep things interesting, and you’re looking at a very special treat. Just make sure to use stale bread.

As I bemoaned in the clip, I used a fresh loaf, which while perfectly delicious, wasn’t perfect. Staler bread would have produced a crunchier stage for our co-stars, as there’s more then enough moisture provided by the cheese and fruit.

By the way, if you don’t have any day-old bread, but still want to enjoy this post haste, simply toss the toasted, olive-oiled slices into a 350 F. oven for a few minutes, to dry out and crisp up before you top with the cheese. Either way, you're in for a significantly tasty summer treat. I hope you give this a try soon (while it’s still summer!). Enjoy!

Ingredients for each Warm Goat Cheese & Peach Tartine:

1 thick slice French bread, sourdough or not

1 tbsp olive oil, or as needed

2 oz fresh goat cheese

3 slices fresh peach

fresh thyme leaves and freshly ground black pepper to taste

salt to taste

Homemade Hamburger Buns – Oh, My, God. Becky, Look at Her Bun!

Finding high-quality hamburger meat at the market is a lot easier than it used to be, but the same cannot be said for the buns. They’re never the right dimensions for a decent sized patty; and they’re either made from some insipid white sponge with seventy-three ingredients, or from high-fiber, whole grains, which in many ways is even worse.

A proper bun should be nothing more than a light, buttery, airy delivery system for getting a hot, juicy hamburger into your mouth. Oats, spelt, and flax seeds have no business getting anywhere near this type of operation. That's what turkey sandwiches are for.

Above and beyond taste and texture, the bun needs to be the right diameter to fit a classic half-pound burger, and should be twice as thick as the patty. I guess you could drive all over town looking for these magic buns, but it would be a lot easier just to make them yourself.

They do take few hours, but most of that is rise time, and when you see and taste the results, I’m sure you’ll agree it was well worth the investment. By the way, don’t worry if your buns are slightly irregular in size. We’ll assume you’ll form your burgers with the same precision, so in the end they should match perfectly. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy! 

Editorial Note: Today’s title will only make sense if you watch the video, and are familiar with Sir Mix-A-Lot’s "Baby Got Back."

Ingredients for 8 large hamburger buns:

1 package (2 1/2 tsp) dry active yeast (I used Fleischmann's “RapidRise” Yeast)

1 cup very warm water

1 large egg

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 pound all-purpose flour (about 3 1/2 cups)
Note: add a 1/2 cup of the flour to the yeast and water, and then the remainder before kneading
 

for the tops:

1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk

sesame seeds

*bake at 375 degrees F. for 15-17 minutes

View the complete recipe

The Egg Man

Eggs. They are the new black. Or at least the new bacon. Eggs can be used in every type of meal in countless ways: sunny side up, scrambled, frittata'd or used to coat bread for French toast for breakfast, on top of a burger at lunch, deviled eggs for a snack, over roasted asparagus, in an avgolemono soup or used to make a pasta for dinner and even baked into cakes, cookies, whipped into meringues for dessert. You can have them soft, medium or hard boiled, or go for the sixty-two degree version. The options are endless.

And the types of eggs with which to play are also numerous: chicken eggs, duck eggs, quail eggs, ostrich eggs, fish eggs (roe and caviar). Think of the infinite creations and myriad of recipes using all manner of eggs. And, in every single type of regional cuisine, from Japanese to Italian to Israeli to every place.

I've got it: eggs are the little black dress of food. Dressed up or dressed down, accessorized or kept simple. A classic. A staple. And much like always wanting to have that little, black dress in your closet, one always wants eggs on hand in the refrigerator.

One iteration of the egg I haven't seen much of in recent memory (save for untouched in deli cases), but I grew up with, is egg salad. I know a lot of people get a little ooged out by proteins followed by the word salad: tuna salad, ham salad, chicken salad, shrimp salad, egg salad, and the grossest of all, Jell-o salad. Usually these salads involve mayonnaise as a binder, and there is a pretty substantial anti-mayo cult out there. This particular family of salads is also considered straight old school. It can be grouped into things like casserole, Betty Crocker and the like which dates back to the 1950s and 1960s.

Even though, theoretically, these salads should fall into the category of not suitable for packed lunches or picnics, what with the mayonnaise and the tuna fish and the eggs and all, that is exactly where they do fall. How many of you had one of these fill-in-the-blank salad sandwiches, wrapped tidily in wax paper in your lunch box or brown paper lunch bag? How many of you have had one of these fill-in-the-blank salads on sandwiches, crackers, on top of lettuce or just straight out of their container on a picnic? I am willing to bet quite a few.

My dad had to learn how to make shrimp salad in a home economics class in high school in the mid 1960s. He food poisoned himself. So I don't recall much of that around growing up. But, between Mom and Dad, there was a lot of tuna salad, chicken salad, and a weird-but-totally-delicious sandwich my mom packed for school lunch involving cream cheese and sliced green olives between two slices of bread. But, though I'm not sure why, my dad's egg salad always stood out to me. Whenever he made it, which was usually for a late-afternoon, dog days of Summer snack, I was thrilled.

Egg salad is one of those things I have never given mountains of thought. I could probably count on one hand the times I've ordered it out. But I order chicken and tuna salads often. And make them. And even more often, I order, and prepare at home, deviled eggs. And really, a deviled egg is pretty much the same thing as egg salad, but constructed differently.

As we have deemed June picnic month here at F for Food, andJune is when his birthday falls and, of course, Father's Day, I called my dad to find out his egg salad recipe to take on our next picnic. He made a couple of batches so he could recall his recipe-non-recipe and sent it forth.He wanted to let you know that either white or wheat bread is acceptable but the bread you choose MUST be a soft bread and it is certainly not to be toasted. And if you must add lettuce, tomato or bacon, feel free. But he won't be having any of that.

I left the recipe in his words since they are so extremely cute. Googier?! I love it.

Steve's Egg Salad

Makes enough egg salad for 3 or 4 sandwiches.

6 hard boiled eggs:

(Foolproof hard boiled eggs can be made as follows: Start the eggs in cold water, bring the water to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat, cover and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes.)

The cool or room temperature eggs are peeled and chopped up in a mixing bowl.  I use a fork and do a mixture of slicing and pressing to get my desired base. A mixer makes it too creamy.

Add and mix:

1/3 cup Duke's mayo. You can add a little more if you want it googier.

1 tablespoon brown spicy mustard

1/2 kosher dill pickle, finely chopped

1/4  teaspoon ground pepper, kosher salt & (secret ingredient) vinegar.

Bon appetite, y all.

Printable recipe.

One year ago: Mussels with Chorizo & Kale

Two years ago: Artichoke-Potato Hash

Three years ago: Duchess Salad with Romaine, Avocado, Cucumber & Pine Nuts

Never be a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic...

June is here. Which means Summer is this close. Which also means my birthday is coming up*. I like June. June is usually warm enough to comfortably wear tank tops and Summer dresses, even in the evening, without the fear of needing another layer. But June is also not yet the dog days of summer, where one feels the need to hop from one air conditioned space to the next, without ever really being exposed to the outside. June is green, not brown. June is not anticipatory and hopeful, like April and May, or exhausted and wilted like August. Rather, June is confident, pert and happy. June does cartwheels. And June is pleased as punch to be right where it is. In June.

I also think June likes picnics. Don't you think? Not too hot, not too cold, not too mosquito-y, not too humid, not too smoggy. Even Goldilocks would concur, it's just right. And clearly I'm not the only one that feels this way. NPRjust had a story about picnicking through the ages last week, I'm seeing picnic-themed foods and the like all over Pinterest, one of my peers had a blurb about gourmet picnics in the most recent Westways, Lucques is having their 'Tennessee Indoor Picnic' in a couple of weeks and I recall last year, exactly at this time, Splendid Table aired a piece about the most perfect, most neat-est, most conceptual picnic sandwich I've ever heard of. This sandwich originated, and is a specialty, in the South of France – Nice, to be exact. It is sold in every bakery and market there. This sandwich is the pan bagnat. Fred and I even made a couple of them to take on our weekend trip to the Santa Ynez Valley for my birthday last year. I have not made one since, but I have never forgotten about the pan bagnat.

It's hard to say which part of the pan bagnat made it so memorable. But if pressed (like the sandwich), I'd have to say it was Melissa Clark's story about it in that Splendid Table piece. Yes, it was an impressive sandwich, but Clark's story was really special. She spoke about being a seven year-old, on family vacations in the South of France. About the daily picnics they would have at the beach, and how her mom would make the most amazing sandwiches. It sounded like a sandwich which originated with the base ingredients of a tuna nicoise salad, but turned into an everything-but-the-kitchen sink sandwich that was stuffed full of ingredients a mile high. Her mom would have she and her sister sit on the wrapped sandwiches, in the car, all the way to the beach so that it would end up with all the salties and juicies, the burst capers, anchovies crammed into a paste, tuna, oil, everything perfectly married in addition to then being flat enough to eat properly.

It just sounded so romantic to me. I always do love a process, a story. And this one comes with the most perfect picnic sandwich I could possibly imagine. One with everything under the sun in it. That sandwich is a picnic.

So last weekend, Fred and I, for the second time, exactly a year apart, made our pan bagnats again and had ourselves a picnic. Since we were not driving to wine country and we didn't have a seven year-old on hand, we opted to weigh our sandwiches down with our biggest, heaviest cast-iron topped with a full tea kettle. Our Sunday picnic menu was as follows:

Pan Bagnat

Dill pickle spears

Potato salad with peperoncini & bacon

Dolmas

Cherries

Fresh squeezed limeade

All of the food ended up being perfect for a picnic. But the pan bagnat was undoubtedly the star. Pan bagnat is literally translated as ' bathed bread' or 'wet bread', and that is an accurate description. When it's ready to eat, the bread has absorbed a lot of the liquid from the filling and all of the ingredients are pressed to form a tight strata with all of those textures and flavors in a perfect union. This sandwich was also a favorite of Julia Child and Jacques Pepîn. You can even watch them make one here. I have to say, I bet the pan bagnat would be a sandwich to make Dagwoodhimself quite proud.

*I will be accepting birthday gifts all through June. Inquire within for suggestions and ideas.

Pan Bagnat

Makes one big-ass sandwich that can feeds at least 2

Ingredients

3 anchovy fillets, minced

1 tablespoon capers, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 baguette

1/2 regular cucumber

1 medium-size, ripe tomato, sliced

¾ roasted red pepper

½ avocado, sliced

½ cup arugula

1/2 small red onion, sliced

1 jar (8 oz) tuna packed in olive oil, drained

8 large basil leaves

4 tablespoons chopped Kalamata olives, pitted

1 hard-cooked egg, peeled and thinly sliced.




Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together the anchovies, garlic, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in oil, whisking constantly until emulsified.

Coarsely chop the olives and capers, then combine in a small bowl with the minced garlic and set aside.

Slice baguette in half lengthwise, pull out some soft interior crumb to form a cavity.

Peel cucumber & halve lengthwise, and scoop out seeds from one half. Thinly slice seedless half. Add sliced cucumber to vinaigrette and toss well.

Fill the bottom part of the baguette with the olive mixture, spreading it evenly across the hollowed-out baguette, then spread half the cucumbers on top. Next up, spread the tuna over that. Top with tomato and onion slices, then with pepper, arugula, avocado, basil, olives & egg slices. Top egg with remaining cucumbers and vinaigrette. Cover with second bread half and firmly press sandwich together.

Wrap sandwich tightly in foil, waxed paper or plastic wrap, then place in a plastic bag. Put sandwich under a weight such as a cast-iron frying pan topped with a filled kettle, or have a child about 7 years old sit on it. Weight sandwich for 7 to 10 minutes, then flip and weight it for another 7 to 10 minutes (or as long as you can get the child to sit still). Unwrap, slice and serve immediately, or keep it wrapped for up to 8 hours before serving.

Printable recipe.

One year ago: Fresh Mint & Chip Ice Cream

Two years ago: Yerp: Part 2 - An Evening in Gruissan.

Three years ago: Fresh Strawberries, Chocolate Mint & Chantilly cream with Cornmeal Shortcakes

You Can Count on Monte Cristo Benedict for Mother’s Day Brunch

I always get a ton of food wishes this time of year for creative brunch ideas, and I was thinking about doing some new type of eggs Benedict, when I happened to see a photo of a Monte Cristo sandwich. At first, it just made me want a Monte Cristo sandwich, but after that wore off, I started thinking about how I’d seen these topped with fried eggs before.

Long story short, I decided to simply make an open-faced version of the famous stuffed sandwich, and top it with poached eggs, and hopefully a new American brunch classic was born. Of course, I'll let you decide, but there was nothing I didn’t love about this plate of food. Okay, the salad was kind of phoned in, but the rest was awesome.

The base is a variation of our famous Restaurant Style French Toast recipe, which marries perfectly with the ham, cheddar and havarti. It was so tasty you really don’t even need the poached eggs. Actually, forget I said that. Do the eggs. If only so you can pop those yolks, and watch them run. Besides the eating, that has to be the best part.

I’ve also re-posted a poached eggs demo below, since poaching your eggs ahead of time is the only way to go, especially if you have a larger group. By the way, you can hold the Monte Cristo bases in a warm oven while you pull the rest of the meal together. I hope you give this new Benedict a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

For the batter:

2 large eggs

1/4 cup cream

1 tbsp sugar

pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp allspice

4 thick slices of French bread
1 tbsp butter

8 slices ham

4 slices cheddar cheese

4 slices havarti cheese

8 poached eggs

chive to garnish

How to Poach Eggs 

 

View the complete Poached Eggs recipe

View the complete Monte Cristo Benedict recipe

Pita Bread – What’s in Your Pocket?

There are many baked products that you could make at home, but because of time, effort, and quality issues, probably shouldn’t. Fortunately, pita bread is not on that list. The dough is easy to make, and much like the flour tortillas we did, the taste and texture of the freshly made product is far superior to anything that comes with a twist tie.

The method is very straightforward, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about production. As you’ll see in the clip, after you roll the pita dough out, you’ll need to let it rest for 5 minutes before grilling. Since each one takes about 5-6 minutes in the pan, while one is cooking, you’ll want to roll the next, so it’s rested and ready to puff.

Speaking of “puff,” don’t be too upset if yours don’t go full balloon. Sometimes they all puff, sometimes some, and sometimes none. This is the way of the pita. But the good news is, even if they don’t fully puff, you should still get some sort of internal pocket with which to stuff. Even if you don’t, it’s okay…you’ll just call them “flatbread” instead! I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 pita breads:

For the sponge mix:

1 pkg dry active yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1 cup warm water (about 90-100 degrees F.)

1 cup (4.5 oz by weight) all-purpose flour

Then:

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1 3/4 to 2 cups all-purpose flour, or until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms (about 8-9 oz by weight)

*Let rise about 2 hours, or until doubled in size. Form 8 small, round loaves, let rise 30 minutes. Roll out and let rest 5 minutes before grilling.

View the complete recipe

National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day!

I heard that Friday is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day, and what better way to commemorate than by making this epic version of America's favorite sandwich? Hopefully most of you have seen and made this before, but just in case, here you go. Enjoy!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

 

Lately I've been craving summer and all that it entails.  Just the thought of getting a tiny burn on my cheeks and nose puts me in a good mood.  One huge summer activity in our family is getting the boat on the lake and spending the day skiing, swimming, or sometimes even just docking the boat and enjoying the beautiful day under a tree.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the day are the epic picnics that my mom packs.  This woman's ability to pack an amazing spread will go down in history.  Always so much food, always an abundance of paper and plastic ware and everything is always delicious!  

One item that I continuously request now are my mom's chicken salad sandwiches.  I didn't know how much I liked chicken salad until the day I tried hers.  What baffled me was how simple they were to make.  No secret ingredients, no complicated technique.  Just good fresh ingredients, light mayo and seasoned salt, that's it!  And it's amazing every time!

As a quick side note, I don't actually measure my ingredients when making stuff like this.  These are estimates.  But don't sweat it, do everything to your own personal taste, I don't think it's possible to screw this up.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Ingredients

3 cups chopped cooked chicken (I use rotisserie)

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1/4 cup chopped green or red onion

1/4 cup chopped almonds

1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)

1/2 cup chopped apple (only do this if you plan to serve it immediately.  If not either omit, or add right before serving, otherwise it will make salad watery)

1/2-1 cup light mayo (add or subtract according to how creamy you'd like it.)

1 tablespoon Seasoned Salt (add or subtract to taste, I like mine fairly strong)

Pepper to taste

Directions

In a large bowl combine all ingredients except mayo, seasoned salt, and pepper.  In a small bowl, mix mayo, seasoned salt, and pepper and add to salad.  Toss to coat.  Serve either on a bed of lettuce, sandwich bread, or croissants that have been split lengthwise. 

Prosciutto and Manchego Pop Tarts

The best thing about being out of town and using a kitchen space you're unfamiliar with is being resourceful.  I love being resourceful.  I call myself the MacGyver of the Kitchen.  No, that was a joke, if I really called myself that there would need to be an intervention.  But I might think it a little bit in my head.  Because there is nothing like poking around a kitchen, seeing what you have to work with, and making something out of it.  And friends, if that 'something' you have to work with is Puff Pastry, then you can do no wrong.  If you do something with Puff Pastry, you're better than MacGyver!  He made things out of rope and bug poop.  Puff Pastry transforms everything into something magical.  

For instance, take some puff pastry and thaw it slightly.  Cut it into 8 rectangles.  Brush it with some egg wash (one lightly beaten egg and a touch of water).  On four of the squares, place some Prosciutto and grated Manchego (or really any kind of ham and cheese you have on hand).     

Cover with other rectangle, and gently press the edges together with your fingers.  I took a fork and made the edges fancy.  Take a knife and carve a few venting slits in the center.  Brush the tops with more egg wash.  Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes - until 'Pop Tarts' are nice and golden.  

Salty, buttery perfection, people.  I just ate one for breakfast and I think I'll have some more for lunch because, after all, that's what MacGyver would do.  

Baked Eggplant Sandwiches – Get’em While They’re Room Temp!

I didn’t intend for this baked eggplant sandwich to turn into yet another Super Bowl party food post, but two bites in and I realized that’s what may have happened. The reason for this epiphany had nothing to do with taste or texture, but with temperature. I’d forgotten just how truly delicious these are served at room temp, which was always how the Italians I learned this from served it.

Of course, like any normal person faced with a warm, cheese-filled anything, I ate one as soon as possible, and it was great. Golden-brown and crisp on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside. However, when I went back for seconds an hour later, I got to experience these in all their cooled-off glory.

While not as crispy, they were still crunchy around the edges and featured an entirely different flavor profile. Hot salami isn’t the greatest expression of the sausage maker’s art, and you really don’t appreciate the eggplant’s subtle sweetness playing against the cheese when hot.

I’m not sure exactly why, but Italians seem to have a thing for room temperature fried foods, especially vegetables. I’ve heard Mario Batali talk about this before, but there seems to be a long tradition of letting fried stuff cool down first before eating.

Happily, this practice works perfectly for entertaining, since you can bake these off ahead of time, and put them out on a tray anytime. Whether for your Super Bowl party, or not, I hope you give these addictive eggplant sandwiches a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for each eggplant sandwich:

2 thick slices eggplant (Note: some people salt the slices to draw off liquid, which they say is bitter. I’ve done this for other eggplant recipes, but not for these sandwiches. With the breading and filling, I actually think the slight bitterness is an advantage.)

3 thin, small slices of salami

1/2 slice provolone cheese

1 generous tablespoon olive oil, divided

seasoned flour as needed (flour with enough fine salt, pepper, and cayenne so that it tastes “seasoned” when you dip your finger in it)

beaten eggs, as needed (2 eggs is enough for about 4 sandwiches)

plain breadcrumbs, as needed
1 tsp very finely grated Parmesan cheese

The Tuna Melt – Open Face, Insert Hypocrisy

If you watch as much food television as I do, then I’m sure you’ve heard a celebrity chef or two, pontificating about the horrors of combining cheese and fish. They say it’s never acceptable, no exceptions, never, ever.

Of course, after the show ends, they have a couple beers and head for their favorite late-night diner, where they enjoy delicious tuna melts. Those hypocritical bastards. I’m not saying to start pouring nacho cheese sauce over your sautéed sand dabs, but when it comes to food, it’s best to never say never.

As I mention in the video, this will only be as good as your tuna, so use something nice. You know I’m a Tonino man, but any imported, olive-oil packed brand should work fine. By the way, I enjoy the classic, toasted sandwich-style tuna melt a great deal, but this open face version is a little easier to execute, and perfect for larger groups, since you can fit a bunch on a pan.

Whether you use my formula or embellish to your tastes, I really hope you give these a try soon. And, if you know any celebrity chefs, invite them over and see if you can get them to admit this totally works. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large tuna melts:

2 thick slices of Italian or French bread

2 tbsp soft butter

6.5 oz jar of oil-packed tuna, drained

2 tbsp small diced celery

1 tbsp minced green onion

2 tsp capers

1 tsp hot chili sauce or other hot stuff to taste

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp mayonnaise, or more to taste

about 1/3 cup shredded or crumbled fresh mozzarella

1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

cayenne to taste

Leftovers

Christmas has come and gone. The gifts have been thought out, purchased, wrapped, received, unwrapped and put away. The guests have come and gone. What remains, however, is a lot of leftovers. Fred and I have done all sorts of things imaginable with all of the leftovers in the fridge - the most creative being a shepherd pie of sorts. We took the leftover prime rib, chopped it up with some carrots, celery and red wine and turned it into a boeuf bourguignon. Then we took the scraps leftover from the domino potatoes, boiled them and made a mash. We put the remains of the winter greens gratin in the mash and stirred it all together. Then we put the bourguignon in a casserole, topped it with the mash and baked it. That was dinner one night. And a snack the next day. The funny thing is that now we have that leftover in the fridge.


I feel like Sisyphus, but my rock is leftover food. Actually, my rock is the ham. We weren’t entirely certain we would have enough food to feed our seven, possibly eight, guests for Christmas dinner (a thought, that in hindsight, was absurd) so we asked Fred’s mom’s boyfriend to bring a ham (he had offered). Needless to say, the ham never even saw the dinner table on Christmas as we had an over abundance of food.


So I sent everyone home with some ham that night. And the next day there were ham sandwiches. And some ham biscuits the day after that. We even had ham and eggs for breakfast the next morning.


But even yesterday, when I opened the fridge, the ham was still there. And a lot of it. I wanted to get the hock to make ham and beans, but there was still so much ham left to use. So, I did what I often do in these situations; I called Mom. You see, my mom makes a killer ham salad.


My mom is also moving back to Virginia in less than two weeks. So right now, any excuse to see, or talk to her is welcomed. In fact, lately, we’ve been talking about five or six times a day. Yesterday it was about ham salad. She told me her recipe and her technique, and while Fred watched football in the den, I took every last shred of meat on that ham, got two chefs knives, and went cray cray on some ham salad. My mom told me Uncle Dougerton especially loves her ham salad, so I delivered some to him today. I also took some to my girls at Lindy & Grundy, since they love anything my mom makes.


Today is New Year’s Eve, and I’m sitting on the sofa, writing this, completely swaddled in the blanket my mom knitted me for this Christmas. She has been working on it for well over a year and it shows. It’s huge. It’s like twenty feet long huge. It’s bright and colorful and filled with different textures and shapes. I know it will be in my life forever. My kids and grandkids will love this blanket. I look at the blanket and I know she touched, and thought about, and poured love into every thread, every millimeter of it. Did she know what she was giving me right before she is moving away? My favorite leftover of them all. An heirloom.


And this recipe for ham salad.

Kathy's Deviled Ham Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups ham, really finely chopped
1/4 cup sweet onion, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
1 large dill pickle, diced
3 tablespoons mayo
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
Dash of sherry vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste


Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together until blended but not too smooth as you want a bit of texture. Taste and adjust any seasoning or add more mayonnaise if you like. A little drizzle of pickle juice is excellent as well.


Yield: About 3 cups. Keeps in the refrigerator for a few days.

Printable recipe.


One year ago: Domino potatoes
Two years ago: Linguine with pancetta mushroom cream sauce
Three years ago: 2009: The Year of the Food Truck