Emergency Comfort Food

I took a few pictures of this but they didn't look great. I weighed my options ...

A) keep styling food in order to get a good pic for the blog,

B) eat the food to fulfill the purpose for which it was made.

D'uh. No contest. No pics.

Exotic Grilled Cheese

White bread (I know, I know) is one of my requirements for grilled cheese. With no white bread on hand, I trimmed the "crust" off of a hot dog roll and slathered the outsides with butter.

Inside, I put down a layer each of gouda, brie, and cheddar cheese.

Warm a small fry pan at medium heat.

Place sandwich cheddar-side down and cover with a lid. Don't mess with it!

When the bottom is a crusty, medium brown, flip it over.

Top with lid again and let the now bottom side reach the same golden crunchiness.

Put on a plate and slice diagonally.

ENJOY. Then go to bed and sleep soundly without a care in the world.

Lemon Rosemary Zucchini Bread

Thanks to Elise at Simply Recipes for this fantastic twist on zucchini bread!

It's delicious!

I give it a C+

The 'no knead' bread experiment was successful enough to be edible. I wasn't thrilled but could see potential. Two problems:


1. It called for instant yeast and I used regular.
2. The second rise-time of 2 hours was too long for me. I started baking at 1 and 1/2 hours.


Next time I will use instant yeast and wait the full 2-hour second rise before baking.

Bread. Hmmm.

I've not had much luck with bread in the past but this snowstorm has me looking for new and different things to do. I heard an interview with this guy on npr a while back. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Bread Salad (Panzanella)

Inspired by ... who else? Rachel Ray. 
Crusty bread - (I used walnut cranberry) cut in bite-sized pieces
Thinly sliced red onion
Cubed tomatoes
Grated garlic
Shaved Parmesan
Mozzarella - cut into small pieces
Thinly sliced salami
A whole lot of fresh basil, torn.


Drizzle with EVOO and a little red wine vinegar. Let sit for a while before serving. 


Real panzanella starts with stale bread, refreshed by soaking in water and wringing it dry.