Blue Cheese and Honey Bruschetta

Some things just go together. Cookies and milk, pb and j, hot chocolate and marshmallows and among those famous pairings should be blue cheese and honey. Sweet honey mingles with tangy blue cheese to reveal a smooth, sultry and surprising combination.

This is an easy appetizer to whip up for a crowd or just for two. I think it works best with a semi-sweet bread. I found a walnut raisin sourdough bread at my local grocery store and it worked perfectly with the toppings. Slice, toast up and enjoy! It's easy yet fancy and will leave you wanting more. What else can you ask for from a bruschetta?

Blue Cheese and Honey Bruschetta

1 loaf of raisin walnut bread (Or any fruit/nut bread will do), sliced into 1 in thick slices
1 8 oz package of blue cheese
1 stick of butter, slightly softened so it's spreadable
1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place your sliced bread on a baking sheet and let it crisp up. Once slightly toasted, remove and spread a pat of butter on each slice. Then crumble a small handful of blue cheese over top of the buttered bread.
Place the toasts back in the oven for about 3 to 5 minutes to slightly melt the cheese. Remove and drizzle each slice with your honey. Serve warm.

Barefoot Bloggers: Blue Cheese Souffle

Do souffles remind anyone else of Superman the Movie?? Remember that scene where Lois tries to make a souffle and it falls the minute she takes it out of the oven? Then Superman saves it with a simple touch or look or something like that. Fortunately, I didn't have a need for Superman's souffle puffing touch - mine turned out pretty, puffy and tasty. However, souffle still confuses me a bit.

Or maybe I should say, savory souffles confuse me a bit. Sweet souffles I get - they are dessert and they fit neatly into the dessert category. Where do savory souffles go though? Breakfast, lunch, side dish, bread course, main course?? I wasn't really sure how to serve this. Considering I don't usually make elaborate lunches, lunch was out. I guess I could have made this for a weekend breakfast, but I don't think my husband would be too happy about giving up his traditional grand slam for a souffle.

So I served this Barefoot Bloggers recipe for dinner as a side dish with some homemade butternut squash soup (which I'll post tomorrow). This seemed to work out well although when my husband dug into the little ramekin his first question was, "What is this? Eggs?". He wasn't completely sold. I can't say I was either. I mean the souffles were tasty enough, but they just seemed kind of pointless and odd. The egginess was a little weird for both of us. And truth be told, I don't really like eggs except for breakfast and once in a while in the occassional quiche. I liked the cheese flavor, but I think in conclusion I'm just not a fan of souffles in general. Oh well, c'est la vie! They do photograph well however, n'est ce pas?
Sorry for the intermittent French - I couldn't resist :) Enjoy!


Blue Cheese Souffle
Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup scalded milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch nutmeg
4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
3 ounces good Roquefort cheese, chopped
5 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter the inside of an 8-cup souffle dish (7 1/2 inches in diameter and 3 1/4 inches deep) and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the hot milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, the cayenne, and nutmeg. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, until smooth and thick.

Off the heat, while still hot, whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the Roquefort and the 1/4 cup of Parmesan and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, on medium speed for 1 minute, then finally on high speed until they form firm, glossy peaks.

Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to lighten and then fold in the rest. Pour into the souffle dish, then smooth the top. Draw a large circle on top with the spatula to help the souffle rise evenly, and place in the middle of the oven. Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (don't peek!) until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.

WEDGIE!!!!!!

In middle and high school this single word, shouted down the hallway, could cause fear in the heart of any adolescent. For most 30-something males this word brings back memories of bullies and tighty-whities. For my husband, however, this word "wedgie" has a whole new meaning. One that evokes salivating and anticipation.

The wedgie, otherwise known as the wedge salad, is a classic dish, as American as apple pie. It's indulgent, beautiful, rich and simple all in one bite. Think 80s-power-lunch: striped suits, stately rooms bathed in dark mahogany, searing hot steaks bathed in butter, creme brulees, and large goblets of red wine. And the wedge.


Leave it to my husband to turn this American institution into an underwear pun. Nonethless though, we are both big fans of the wedgie. We order it whenever we encounter it on a menu. We always marvel at how simple it is and wonder why we never replicate it at home. So I finally did it.

To construct this salad you can kind of take some poetic license. Our favorite toppings for a perfectly chilled wedge of iceberg lettuce are chopped scallions, chopped tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, crispy prosciutto and creamy gorgonzola dressing. Any combination of those toppings would work. The most important part however, is finding a good dressing recipe , like this one from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Cheese Lover's Cookbook & Guide.


8 oz gorgonzola cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
juice of half a lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 large leaves of basil

Put half of the gorgonzola, along with the rest of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse process until smooth.

The recipe tells you to pulse in the last half of the gorgonzola. I however, just crumbled the rest of the gorgonzola and mixed it in with the dressing to make it chunky, creamy gorgonzola dressing.