Grilled Cheese - VONS

There are a few reasons why I love a grilled cheese sandwich. One of the main reasons though, is because I am lactose intolerant. No one ever knows because I still love to eat it when it's in front of me. Lactose Intolerance can't tell me what to do! The other reason why I love a grilled cheese sandwich was also because when I was growing up, a lot of my classmates would have this in their brown lunch bag which I also did not have.

Brown lunch bags and grilled cheese sandwiches. I remember I always wanted a brown bag, but my parents would instead give me the plastic bags they use to bag groceries. I can tell, they wanted my life to be miserable. It's not even a simple plastic Vons bag. It had to be the ones from the Chinese market with weird prints on them. It was so embarrassing. But sometimes, the school would serve grilled cheese sandwiches. It's the cheapest thing ever made along with the bean & cheese burritos, but I would trade anything for one right now.

For national grilled cheese sandwich day, I made my own version of a grilled cheese sandwich for a small little competition hosted by Vons. The recipe you will find below feeds 4 people. I like to use really subtle cheeses just because I have a sensitive palate to stinky cheese. This recipe will definitely be friendly to anyone, but more towards the hardcore foodie fanatics. Why? Because it includes Pimento Cheese and tator tots. Holy COW.

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You will need:

• 3 Cups of frozen tater tots - I used Safeway tater tots. Selling 2 bags for $5 at the moment!
• 1 - 3/4 cups (1 bag) Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese - Lucerne
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan - I had leftover Krafts
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise - Best Foods
• 8oz of cream cheese - Lucerne
• 4oz of diced pimento drained - (Found near the pickles at Vons)
• 3oz canned green chiles drained - (Found near enchilada sauces at Vons)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1 heaping teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
• 1 loaf of Signature Select sourdough - slice about 3/4 inch - 1 inch depending on preference. The sandwich will be pressed. - (Found near fresh baked breads)
• 1.5 tablespoons of unsalted butter.

** Make sure your cream cheese is softened before proceeding. **

1. Preheat your oven to 425 per instructions on the bag of your tater tots. Cover a pan with non-stick parchment paper before laying out your tots. The tots will bake for 22 - 25 minutes. I like to drizzle a bit of olive the LAST 5 minutes. Once the tots are completed, I sprinkle on Kosher salt while they are still HOT.
2. Once your cream cheese has soften, you basically mix everything in a large bowl until all the ingredients are combined. This is why soft cream cheese is important. Like mixing cold butter. Might as well just give up.
3. Preheat your non-stick pan (or whatever you are comfortable using) to medium heat.
4. Start layering your sandwiches. Pimento cheese on both slices of bread. Top with an even layer of tater tots, then top the other slice with cheese on top of the tots. So it's: bread-cheese-tots-cheese-bread.
5. Once your pan is read, take 1/2 the butter and put it in your pan. Once that melts, quickly put your sandwich in with a pan placed on top to press. The first side will take about 2 minutes pressed, but we all know it can always change. Just grab a spatula to slightly lift.
6. Once it's golden brown with dark crispy edges, remove the sandwich on your cutting board. Put the rest of your butter in the pan, and repeat process 5 until golden brown. The cheese might ooze out. Don't panic, these get crispy and delicious. I scrape them up along the sandwich when they start getting too dark.
7. Once the sandwich is completed, let stand for a minute before eating so you won't burn your mouth.

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Boy was this scrumptious! This was extremely flavorful and savory you won't even miss the meat. BUT, if I had more time, I would totally cook some bacon bits to fold into my pimento cheese. The sourdough was perfectly crispy. The pimento cheese was slightly spicy from the cayenne, but was cooling from the creamy cheeses. Each bite gets your jowl going. Crack open a bottle of root beer and this will be the best summer backyard/outdoor sandwich to get the crowd going for days.

Feel free to bake all your tots to eat on the side. You can never have enough of these things.

Happy cheesin.

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Bacon Party - Farmer John

When life gives you bacon, you better bacon. I had a lot of fun hosting a casual bacon party at home the other day. I've received 7 pounds of bacon from Farmer John's, but don't worry, there's more bacon to go around for more bacon parties.

Today, I will share with you 2 recipes that were made during the bacon party.

Carbonara

Recipe

• 1 pound of thick spaghetti - (approx 1 box)
• 1 pound of Farmer John classic bacon (approx one package)
• 4 large cloves of garlic finely minced
• 2 whole bulbs of shallot minced
• 1/2 cup of fresh Parmesan
• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
• salt and pepper
• 4 eggs - I used Happy Eggs.

Start a pot of salted water to cook the spaghetti. While that is getting ready, mince up your garlic, then slice up your bacon. The bacon is cooked until crispy and golden. Once your bacon is ready, remove them from the pan onto a paper towel to drain out the excess fat.

The bacon fat is poured into a mason jar to cool leaving 3 tablespoons or so of bacon fat behind to cook up the garlic and shallot. Once the spaghetti is ready (about 10 minutes) drain out the water and pour the spaghetti into the butter, garlic and shallot mixture. The bacon bits are added back into the party with the stove off. Next, you whisk the 4 eggs with the cheese, and you gently fold the spaghetti and egg mixture until combined. I seasoned with salt and lots of freshly cracked black pepper.

Garnish with parsley and more Parmesan cheese. Grab a huge platter and make mini portions for simple serving. Just like that, done.

Mini Potato Gratin

Recipe

• 2 Russet potatoes - washed, scrubbed, sliced thin
• Heavy cream
• 1/2 pound of bacon
• White cheddar
• Bread crumbs
• butter
• 3 cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper
• green onions for garnish

I grabbed a muffin tin to make 12 rounds. These will pretty much feed 6 people. But can realistically feed 3 if these were served as a meal with steak or chicken.

The potatoes are layered with a little bit of garlic, salt and pepper. Once it reaches to the top, cream is added (about 2 tablespoons each). Bread crumbs are added, topped with a little butter, then the cheese. These went in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes. I took the tray out to sprinkle on some cooked bacon I baked earlier. This is placed back into the oven for another 10 minutes. Let the potatoes cool for about 10 minutes before taking them out to serve. Top them with green onions for color, then serve your guests.

Stay tuned for more bacon inspired dishes. Coming up will be a bacon breakfast party. Can't wait for that right?

Salmon Steak

I've totally changed the way I cook salmon. I know a lot of us like to cook a simple filet due to time restraints. Fish, for example, cooks extremely fast. But, it can also overcook just as fast. I've been super obsessed with poached salmon just because of how tender and moist it comes out. And besides, my body needs a break from all the burgers and tacos that I eat from time to time.

Salmon: I had a piece of salmon about 1 1⁄4 inches thick seasoned with kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Since I was just testing, I didn't make any marinades or special seasonings. I had my Breville (one of the best appliances to own) preheating at 270 degrees F. The salmon was baked for 25-30 minutes. Which gives me enough time to prep some sides.

Asparagus: trimmed from the ends. The sides didn't need shaving since the asparagus were still fresh with moisture in the skins. I cooked the asparagus in a screaming hot pan with no oil. This causes the asparagus to blister, which gives it a smokey flavor I love. Kosher salt is applied lightly once you see moisture releasing from the asparagus. Towards the end, I drizzle a little olive oil to coat before removing to serve.

Butternut Squash: Cubed and roasted for 45 minutes in a 400 degree F oven. I oil the squash halfway through the process with salt and pepper. I don't know why I do it this way, but I do. I think it's because I want all the moisture to release before coating them with proper seasonings. They come out great every time.

Everything came together beautifully. The salmon was extremely moist and tender. Everything was just exciting to eat on the plate. Healthy and delicious. Pretty to look at. I'm sure this will be a winner even though it's simple. Sometimes, the simple things are the hardest to perfect. Instead of high and dry, I recommend you try to cook your salmon low and slow.

Enjoy.

Game Day Nachos

Or is it Nachos everyday? I love nachos. There's something so satisfying, laying around, having a few drinks with friends and munching on snacks. It's honestly one of my favorite things to look forward to when hosting a sports party. Well, that and drinking of course. Actually, really of course.

I love game day food. From pungent buffalo wings to a big bowl of guacamole. Don't forget the dried nuts, pizza and the occasional fried chicken. Basically, anything could go down. But kick that 7 layer dip aside and serve up some beast looking nachos because that's what everyone wants.

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Grab a big plate. Have some canned corn and black beans drained and rinsed slightly. Grab a jar of ready made queso (even better with green chile if available). Cook some marinated chicken or just season a few chicken breast yourself. Fresh fried tortillas were used.

Layer the chips, with some cheese, with some corn and black beans, with some chicken. Do it again and continue to create layers. Before you know it, you created a masterpiece. Slice up some jalapenos and cilantro leaves for garnish. Put a few spoonfuls of sour cream, guacamole and salsa. Basically, you can make this however you want with as much toppings as you can load.

The bigger the plate, the bigger the party. Who's ready?

Italian Sausage Scramble

It's been one of those re-purpose breakfast mornings where I don't want to go anywhere in particular, and I also don't want to shop for additional ingredients. So why not just work with what I have already. Actually I take everything back. I always try to re-purpose everything that I have so nothing goes to waste. I decided to make a quick brunch before heading out with these ingredients:

Recipe:

• 2 Italian sausage links - These were frozen. I ran it under the water quickly so I could remove the casing. The links were still frozen, but I was still able to chop them into little pieces with some extra muscle.
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 roasted red pepper- from the jar. these were sliced into strips.
• 4 eggs - I always use "Happy Eggs"
• salt and pepper
• red chili flakes
• cilantro
• garnish condiments: sour cream, roasted anaheim pepper salsa, pico de gallo
• Left over wheat bread - toasted.

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The sausage was cooked till charred bits were forming around the pork. Garlic and red chili flakes is then added and cooked out for about 30 seconds to 1 minute before the red bell peppers were added. This mixture is then cooked out for another minute.

The eggs are whisked and seasoned with salt and pepper before pouring on top of the sausage mixture. When the eggs are slowly coming together, toss in some ripped cilantro, about 2 tablespoons.

Lay out your toasted bread and top your scramble on top. Put a dollop of sour cream, and heapfulls of your salsa. Enjoy with a nice cup of Joe, and save the dishes for later.

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Easy, hearty, beautiful and delicious. Make this for your family and friends in no time, no stress. Feel free to use other sausages or leave out condiments you don't have. It's always nice to have special items in your fridge or pantry like roasted peppers.

When you buy groceries, I recommend you taking a quick peek of what you have at home. You will be more inspired and creative when you are at the market that way.

Enjoy!