Grilled 3-Cheese Sandwich

It's been a long time since grilled cheese made its way to my table but today is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day and I understand my role here. Here's my version of that old standby that we used to make with American cheese and white bread. 

This grown up version combines deli gouda, as well as Tillamook provolone and cheddar cheeses. I've grated them and mixed in some chopped chives and an orange pepper for sweetness and a little crunch. You'll notice the grainy bread, too. You can't go wrong with Dave's Killer Bread for flavor and texture. 

Now, I wouldn't exactly call this health food, but it's all organic, mostly local, and full of fiber and flavor.  Best of all, I found out that my George Foreman grill makes a pretty decent panini press in a pinch!

Serve it with apple slices because, well, what goes better with cheese?  

Time: 20 minutes
Yield: Serves 2 
 Level: Easy

Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

Last Thursday was National Chicken Cordon Bleu Day. Really. Did you miss it? Yeah, me too -- but I made this last night anyway. 

If you've been reading the blog you know that I look to the locals for inspiration. In this case, I decided to make it with local chèvre (from Fraga Farms) instead of Swiss cheese, and I substituted the sliced ham with uncured bacon. I also ditched the bread crumbs and used ground hazelnuts instead of wheat flour. I topped it with a simple Dijon and mayonnaise sauce. If you haven't tried that, you should. It's a little tangy and so easy to make that it might become your go-to sauce for fish and poultry. I think the best part is that it's not fried and still, the skinless, boneless chicken breasts come out of the oven juicy and tender.

If you have a budding cook in the house, try this one. It's easy to make, much healthier than traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu and it looks so special that it instills confidence.


Yield: Serves 4
Level: Easy
Time: 1 hour

Spiced Shrimp with Mango Salad and Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

I love fruit in salad! These days the weather has been so warm and dry that I've been making a lot of salads as the main dish. I don't generally think of adding fruit until Summer when locally grown fruits are available and tempting me from the market.

With company visiting, I knew I wanted to serve something healthy and easy to make. Looking for inspiration while I was shopping, I walked by that mango. Just once. The truth is, I couldn't resist bending the regional food rule. At least it's organic...

The Orange Poppy Seed Dressing is about as easy as it gets, and the subtle tang of the orange juice really adds a lot to the flavor. It's great on a spinach salad as well.

I served it with with seasoned shrimp but you may opt to make this a vegetarian dish and add black beans directly to the salad.

My friends brought a bottle of Sweet Cheeks Pinot Gris and it was perfect for lunch on a sunny day.


Yield: Serves 4
Level: Easy
Time: 30-40 minutes

Honey-Almond Cake with Apricot Whipped Cream

I'm pretty sure that if I took a close look I'd find that half of my friends are either gluten-free or wheat-free -- and the other half is avoiding white sugar. Desserts are a real challenge around here.

Recently I remembered a recipe that I adapted from one in an old issue of Eating Well magazine. As is usually the case, I had notes written all over it.  Clearly I took it a few steps in another direction! I just got some incredible local honey and decided I had to make something special for Springtime and my g-free friends.
It looks dense, but it's surprisingly light. Toasted, ground almonds are used in place of wheat flour, and egg whites give it structure and leave it light.

A few tips about this recipe; be sure that the eggs are at room temperature before you beat them (they will hold the structure of the cake best). They should be frothy but they shouldn't form peaks. Stiff egg whites are harder to incorporate and the over-mixing may cause the cake to fall. Either way, it will taste sweet and nutty, so enjoy!



Time: 1 1/2 hours
Level: Average
Yield: Serves 10

Lemon Cream Sauce

This sauce was featured with the Salmon Stuffed Shells with Lemon Cream Sauce  but it's so versatile that I wanted to post it separately.  In this version, you'll cook it, beginning to end, on the stove top. In the recipe above, the sauce was poured over the pasta and it went back in the oven.
Think of using it to replace hollandaise sauce on asparagus, or as a dipping sauce with artichokes.

Before you make this recipe here's a reminder of how to avoid breaking the sauce.  Cream sauce can "break," or appear curdled, if the milk proteins separate and coagulate or turn grainy. There are a few things that will cause dairy to break, high heat, low fat content and acid (in this case, lemon juice).

Remember to keep the heat low to medium and keep it moving.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Level: Average to difficult
Time: 15 minutes