I am sad to say that this will be the last appearance of
”
Thought for Food
”
in this paper. I’m in the process of moving my archive of
columns to my
”
Thought for Food
”
blog, which you can find at
http://trueluxury.typepad.com/thought for food/.
I am sad to say that this will be the last appearance of “Thought for Food” in this paper. I’m in the process of moving my archive of columns to my “Thought for Food” blog, which you can find at http://trueluxury.typepad.com/thought for food/. In addition to posting the thoughts and recipes you’ve already seen, I’ll be posting new ones, as well as Web site and cookbook finds, farmers market news and other food-related bits. In a spirit of fond farewell, I decided to end with some of my favorite recipes from the past two years, with the hope that you will enjoy making them and eating them as much as I have.
Gruyère and Prosciutto Oven Omelette
(Serves 6 to 8; Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, Thanksgiving Entertaining, by Lou Seibert Pappas (Simon & Schuster, 2005)
Assemble in advance and refrigerate, then top with the bread cubes just before baking. They add a pleasant crunch to the finished wedges.
8 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 oz. prosciutto or ham, julienned
2 cups shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
1/2 cup sourdough French bread cubes (1/2-inch cubes)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Step 1: Lightly butter a shallow 1 1/2-quart round baking dish, 9 1/2 inches in diameter.
Step 2: In a large bowl, beat the eggs until blended. Stir in the milk, salt, nutmeg, prosciutto and cheese until evenly distributed. Pour the egg mixture into the prepared baking dish. May be prepared up to this point and refrigerated.
Step 3: When ready to serve, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, toss the bread cubes with the olive oil to coat. Scatter the bread cubes evenly over the egg mixture.
Step 4: Bake until the omelette is golden brown on top and slightly puffed, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve hot, cut into wedges.
Here is a basic recipe from Epicurious.com by way of the cookbook “Arthur Schwartz’s New York City Food.”
Reuben Sandwich
Modern-day Reuben sandwiches are often open-faced and broiled, which dries out the corned beef and makes the cheese rubbery. The main things to remember are to keep the filling under control and in balance, so when you bite into it you get a succulent mouthful; and to grill the sandwich slowly and under some pressure, so the bread gets toasty brown and buttery crisp, the meat gets warmed through, and the cheese is just melted enough to be oozy.
For 1 sandwich:
2 slices rye bread or pumpernickel (NOTE from Elizabeth: I say, NO pumpernickel! Go for caraway rye; the caraway adds to the mix of flavors.)
2 teaspoons butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons Reuben’s Russian Dressing (see below)
1/4 cup well-drained, fresh-style sauerkraut
2 ounces thinly sliced Gruyère or Switzerland Swiss cheese
1/4 pound thinly sliced corned beef
Step 1: Butter each slice of bread evenly to the edges on one side.
Step 2: Place one slice, buttered side down, in a small cold skillet: Build the sandwich in the skillet you’ll grill it in.
Step 3: Spread 1 tablespoon of the Russian dressing on the face-up, dry side of the bread. Then put on the sauerkraut, spreading it evenly.
Step 4: Arrange the cheese in an even layer over the sauerkraut, then do the same with the corned beef.
Step 5: Spread another 1 tablespoon Russian dressing on the dry side of the second slice of bread and place it, dressing side down, buttered side up, over the corned beef.
Step 6: Place the skillet over medium-low heat and grill the sandwich slowly, pressing down on it a few times with a wide metal spatula. Grill until the bread is browned and crisped, then turn the sandwich over with the help of the spatula.
Step 7: Now weight the sandwich down by placing a plate (or another small skillet) over the sandwich, then adding on a weight, such as a 28-ounce can of tomatoes. Grill until the second side has browned and crisped, then flip the sandwich over one more time to briefly reheat the other side.
Serve immediately with a side of cole slaw and a crisp dill pickle.
Russian dressing: combine 1/2 cup of mayo with a tablespoon of ketchup, a teaspoon of grated onion, 1/2 teaspoon of horseradish, 1/4 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon of parsley.
Strawberry Cream
(Serves 2 to 4 depending on size of appetites)
1 pint strawberries, rinsed, hulled and cut into grape-size chunks
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup brown sugar
sprigs of fresh mint
Step 1: Mix the sour cream and brown sugar.
Step 2: Stir in the berry chunks.
Step 3: Refrigerate one to two hours. Remove from refrigerator at beginning of the meal so it comes to room temperature.
Step 4: Spoon into individual dishes and top with sprigs of fresh mint.
Famous(R) Wafer Chocolate Dessert
(From the Kraft Foods Web site or the cookie package)
This dessert has the highest deliciousness-to-fuss ratio of anything I have ever eaten.
1Â pint whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package Famous(R) chocolate wafers (these are often not in the cookie aisle but hidden near the ice cream.)
Step 1: Whip the cream and add the vanilla. The cream should be in stiff peaks.
Step 2: Frost each cookie all the way to the edge with a couple of spoonfuls of cream – the cream layer should be about as thick as the cookie.
Step 3: Put the cookies together in stacks of 4 or 5.
Step 4: Assemble the stacks together into one long log.
Step 5: Frost the outside of the log with the remaining whipped cream.
Step 6: Refigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. This is what softens the cookies and gives the dessert its amazing cookies ‘n cream flavor.
Elizabeth Gage is a writer who lives in Hollister. She can be reached at ee******@***oo.com.
