You Will Gobble Gobble This Up

All pictures by Ray Hydrick.

Josh first posted about his recreation of his favorite burger in March, 2011 and since then he has been adding to his repertoire of tasty creations. He told me about making a turkey burger with spinach and feta. Sounded delicious! So rather than steal this recipe fair and square, I decided to change it up a little, take the ingredients and turn it into a meatloaf. A recipe tag team of sorts.

The key to any meatloaf and especially turkey meatloaf is keeping it moist. The moist-making lineup for this meatloaf is sautéed spinach and an egg. Since spinach is mostly made up of water, it is the perfect addition. The other technique I used to keep the moisture is cooking it faster. Ever had a really…I mean really dry meatloaf? It usually is in one big loaf. I decided to make four smaller ones to allow it to cook faster. Don’t have a small loaf pan? No worries. I have that covered.

Turkey, Spinach and Feta Meatloaf

1 lb Ground Turkey (93% fat-free)
1 package of baby spinach (6 oz)
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (dry bread crumbs soak up too much liquid)
1 teaspoon thyme, fresh
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 egg
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Sauté the onion in the olive oil over medium-high heat until tender and translucent. Add the minced garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes. Sauté for one minute – keep stirring so the garlic doesn’t burn.

Burned garlic is bitter garlic

Add the package of spinach. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Using tongs, turn the spinach until wilted. Place on a plate to cool (hot spinach in cold turkey could create a perfect place for bacteria).

Takes less than a minute to make

In a bowl, add ground turkey, spinach mixture, egg, bread crumbs and feta cheese. Mix completely but don’t “squish it” – that makes it very dense.

If it grosses you out to mix with your hands, then good luck.

This is the fun part – place a piece of plastic wrap in a small plastic container. Spoon in the turkey mixture and press gently to compact. Turn the loaf out on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Complete the process until the mixture is gone (mine made 4).

Click on the pic for a better view. Apparently, my computer wants to give you an eye exam.

Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until the thermometer reads 165°. Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.

165° is the recommended temperature for turkey

I ditched the traditional tomato slather and went for a balsamic reduction drizzle (I found mine at a specialty food store). I served mine over sautéed white northern beans with thyme and escarole. Delicious and healthy!

P.S. – I told Josh that I stole his recipe. After he cut me in Publix Supermarket, he was fine with it. I just think he was just hungry.

P.S.S. – I cannot confirm that Josh cut me.

Spreading the Love

All photos by Ray Hydrick

Like many of you after the New Year, I made the choice to start watching what I eat to lose the weight I gained during winter hibernation. One way of lowering the calories is by making my lunches at home and taking them to work, so I know what’s in my meal. The only problem is…you can only have so many sandwiches before your taste buds start fighting back. So I have been making some easy spreads to add to my less-than-stellar sandwiches that have brought them back to life.

In two of the spreads I decided to use a mixture of Greek yogurt and olive oil mayonnaise. You have the tang and fewer calories from the yogurt but the mayo makes it creamy and can help tone down the yogurt flavor. Yes, both of these have calories, but remember you only need one or two teaspoons on your sandwich. I pumped the flavor by adding roasted garlic and fresh herbs, so you don’t need much to taste it. Let’s get this love fest going.

Roasted Garlic Spread
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup olive oil mayo (I like Kraft)
3 tablespoons roasted garlic (I get mine from the olive bar at Whole Foods)
3 sprigs of thyme (leaves only)
Salt and pepper to taste

Apparently, Ray added the Cybill Shepherd soft focus on this picture.

Add the roasted garlic and thyme leaves to a food processor. I know that seems like a lot of garlic but roasted garlic is not as in-your-face as raw garlic, plus I just like it. Pulse the garlic and thyme till thoroughly minced.

I love a mini processor

Add the remaining ingredients except salt and pepper to the processor. Pulse until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

These cylinder, plunger measuring cups are great for measuring thick creamy stuff – no digging it out with a spoon!

Add it to small jar and store in the fridge till ready to use.

Like it spicy?
Add a few dashes of hot sauce, like Texas Pete, to the mix.

NOTE: The next two spreads would follow the same instructions as above, just change the ingredients (see below).

Avocado Spread
2 avocados, ripe
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil mayo
1 tablespoon of roasted garlic
3 dashes of hot sauce
Salt and Pepper

The soft focus on this picture makes it look like a dream sequence.

Want something extra?
Add a tablespoon of chopped cilantro for a fresh taste or add a teaspoon of diced jalapeno, seeded.

Olive Spread
1 pint pitted olives of choice (I got mine from the Whole Food’s olive bar)
3 thyme sprigs, leaves only
2 tablespoons roasted garlic
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Olive oil

Think your eyes are blurry? It’s okay, Ray added a soft focus to the picture.

Once the first four ingredients have been blended in the food processor, you may need to add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to bind it.

Options
Get the spicy macerated olives or the lemon macerated olives from the olive bar to give the spread a different flavor.

These spreads are tasty and very easy to make. Show a little love to your sandwich this Valentine’s Day and add a little spread. You both will be happily in love.

Fettuccine Feuxfredo

All photos by Ray Hydrick

While eating in the bar area of a local breakfast joint, I became engrossed in an infomercial for Rocco Dispirito’s book Now Eat This! He was making, from what I could interpret from the poorly written close captioning, a lighter version of Fettuccine Alfredo. While watching and lip-reading Rocco, I deciphered he was using leeks, milk and small amount of cheese to make the Feuxfredo sauce. What was also really cool about this recipe was the fact he used a vegetable peeler to make “ribbons” of asparagus to add to the pasta, giving it an extra boost of nutrition. I had to make it. (By the way, while lip-reading Rocco, he said he loved Kitchen Mischief and reads it often for inspiration. On the other hand, I am horrible at lip-reading.)

During Rocco’s mime performance on TV, I figured the basic ingredients I needed but not the amounts. I had the Ray perform Google magic and find the recipe. I was 99% right on my lip-reading of his ingredient list. Let’s try this shall we?

Fettuccine Feuxfredo
2 cups sliced leeks
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
3 ozs of Parmesan Reggiano, grated
1 lb of asparagus
8 ozs of whole wheat fettuccine pasta
1 pat of butter
Olive oil
Salt and FRESH cracked pepper

Rocco’s recipe seemed a little bland to me, so in Kitchen Mischief fashion I used a few tricks to make the taste even better.

I started by slowly sautéing the leeks in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the pat of butter over medium heat. The goal is not to brown but to get the leeks really soft about 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Lovely leeks

While the leeks cook, take your washed asparagus and using a vegetable peeler, shave off thin slices – keep the tips! Put the ribbons and tips to the side.

Please do not use ribbons for your hair

Once the leeks are soft, combine the leeks and cup of milk in a microwave-safe dish and zap it on high for 4 minutes. We want them really soft. In the meantime, start your pasta water. Beep, Beep, Beep – your leeks should be done. Combine the mixture in a blender with 1/3 of the cheese. Start out on the slowest speed and make your way higher until as smooth as possible.

Remember to use a towel to hold the lid when blending hot liquids!

Cook your pasta according to package directions. While the pasta cooks, add the leek mixture to a non-stick pan over medium heat. Taste for salt and pepper. Bring to simmer until slightly thickened.

This is not pistachio ice cream

When the timer goes off for the pasta, add the asparagus ribbons and tips to the pasta water for 30 seconds. When the pasta and asparagus are done, drain and add to the leek mixture. Add the remaining cheese, mix to combine.

I added some extra goodness

You may have noticed I took the liberty of adding some extras to the pasta. I added a 1/2 cup of frozen sweet peas (thawed them by running hot water over them), some crispy prosciutto and a little parsley.

You may be asking, “Is this as good as the real thing?” I would say, “Are you crazy? No.” But I will say that it was really, really good. I would make this light version again. It was comforting, not hard to a make and had great flavor. It makes me think what other options are out there to make high calorie meals into something lighter and just as tasty. Sounds like some mischief waiting to happen!

You’d be Bananas not to Try this Recipe!

This past Labor Day when I was planning the menu of smoked pulled pork and the typical sides that accompany it, I decided to make a quintessential southern dessert that adorns the tables of July 4th, Labor Day or any family reunion.  I don’t usually make desserts after such a large meal because I am usually in a food coma and can’t move, but this time I wanted a classic – Banana Pudding. 

There are two trains of thought in making this dessert - those that make it from scratch and those that like the ease of Jell-O pudding and Cool Whip.  It leaves you in a pudding predicament.    If you have the time, the made-from-scratch is the way to go…and that’s the way I went.  I used Alton Brown’s recipe so I posted it below and added my commentary.  The only changes I made to his recipe was that I added fresh vanilla bean (a gift from Josh Miller) and I placed the pudding in individual containers.   

Alton Brown’s Banana Pudding – Link

You see in Alton’s directions that the pudding should cook a meer 5-10 minutes before bubbling and thickening.  I think I was in a Star Trek wormhole because this stuff took 20-25 minutes.  To pass the time, I suggest the following:

Once it’s done, when  you add the vanilla extract, you will also add the vanilla bean innards.  Don’t know how to open that pod?  Josh told us how in his Vanilla-palooza post. 

Where Alton used one dish, I used individual ones.  Why?  Because I will cut someone who takes a little too much and cutting into mine portion.  Cut.  Them.  Sorry for the violence, folks.  I came from a large family – it was basically the Hunger Games in my house at dinner time.  Well, I digress.  I used 6 individual dishes.  They were not completely full of pudding in the end but I was glad.  This pudding is rich.

My photo montage

As for my meringue, I totally beat those eggs whites to heck and back.  I did well with the soft peaks but over did it after adding the sugar. 

This pudding is very rich and very tasty.  I think I passed out into pudding bliss before I finished mine.  Going the easy route may save time, but it sure can’t replace the taste.  So try going old school with Grandma and make the good stuff.

The Easiest Recipe EVER!

The title doesn’t lie; this is the easiest recipe ever – Seared Sea Scallops. I have always wanted to try making scallops but two things kept me from it: 1.) messing up an expensive ingredient, and 2.) killing Ray, who is allergic to seafood (or so he says). With these two worries in my head, I cinched up my apron, gave Ray a Zyrtec and decided to give it a go.

Sea scallops are the large scallops seen here

I bought my sea scallops (these are the larger scallops, the smaller ones are called bay scallops) at Whole “Paycheck” Foods. A little word of caution – ask the fish monger if the scallops have been previously frozen. If they have, just be warned that when cooked they will release a lot more liquid and could make your scallops tough. I could go into the Alton Brown explantation as to why but it would send this post into a spiral of food nerdiness. If frozen scallops are the only way you can buy them, thaw them in the refrigerator and not the counter – keeps the water loss to a minimum and prevents you eating a dollop of seafood bacteria. Enough of the science, let’s sear some scallops.

Seared Sea Scallops
Fresh sea scallops (3 per person for an appetizer or 5 person for a meal)
2 tablespoons oil (I used canola)
1 tablespoon butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Rinse your scallops and pat them dry with a paper towel or tea towel. They need to be dry so the scallops develop a good sear. Sprinkle both sides of the scallops with salt and pepper.

Little blobs of the sea

Pre-heat your skillet (I used my lucky cast-iron skillet). Add one to two tablespoons of oil (you just need a very thin layer). Once the oil starts to barely smoke (basically the pan is searing hot), place the scallop in the pan one at a time. Set your timer for one minute – DO NOT push, poke, move, taunt the scallops or you will not get that perfect sear.

Like a burnt sea marshmallow

After a minute, turn the scallops and set your timer for one minute. At this time, add that tablespoon of butter. As it melts, spoon the melted butter on the scallops. Once time is up, remove the scallops and serve immediately.

Serving options:
Stir-fried veggies with rice – I added my scallops to a rice bowl with stir-fried veggies and a spicy, ginger-citrus glaze. (Picture at top)
Citrus and chive oil – I drizzled the scallops with a combination of red grapefruit, orange and lime juices and topped with chive oil (chives blended with olive oil).

The citrus plays well against the sweet scallops.

Seriously, this is the easiest and fastest recipe I have ever made. From prep to serving, the scallops took less than 10 minutes. Now what you serve with the scallops – that’s where the mischief begins.

P.S. – For those wondering about Ray’s safety. He did not die from the scallop, smoke filled kitchen. I did make him something good to eat. Using the same stir-fried veggies, I just added chicken to make his rice bowl.

Ray’s non-death meal.

Chimichur-yeah!

All photos by Ray Hydrick – except for the blurry one.

This has been my summer of chimichurri. What is it, you ask? No, it is not a song in Mary Poppins – that would be Chim Chim Cheree. Close though. Chimichurri is pesto-style sauce from Argentina that is made to go over grilled meat and let me say, it is delicious. I say pesto-style because it has similar ingredients but it is not a pesto. Pesto has cheese and nuts, whereas chimichuri does not. What it does have is fresh herbs, onion, garlic, lemon juice and a little olive oil.

I know in the past I have preached to keep grilled steak and burgers pure with no added spices or marinades and I stay true to that belief. This is a topping that enhances the flavor and helps cut through the rich, fattiness that tender meats

Here are the players

can have. Here’s what you will need.

Basil Chimichurri (makes about a cup)
1 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup parsley
1 tablespoon fresh oregano (half that if using dried)
1/2 onion diced
2 cloves fresh garlic (or 4 cloves roasted)
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

You could put this all in the food processor and let it rip but you would have inconsistent onion and garlic pieces. To keep this happening, place the onion and garlic in the processor and pulse in the processor a couple of times before adding everything else. Once you add the remaining ingredients, pulse the processor until smooth consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

I love my little chopper!

What can you use this tasty topping?
Grilled flank steak – top gilled flank steak with a couple of tablespoons of the chimichuri for fresh, spicy bite.

Yummy goodness

Flank steak and brie sandwiches – I took the leftover flank steak, topped it with brie and added some chimichuri for a sandwich you will not forget.

I have yet to forget this sandwich.

Tacos – exchange the basil with cilantro and add it as a taco topping.

Drop the steak sauce and try this fresh alternative. You won’t be disappointed. Plus you will enjoy it while watching Mary Poppins.

Quick Mischief

All photos by Ray Hydrick.

If you are like me, you have been taking advantage of the abundant fruit options at the farmers’ markets and grocery stores.  And if you are again like me, you cannot eat the massive amount of fruits you have purchased at said markets and they are taking a turn for the worse.  So I thought we could provide a quick recipe to turn that fruit into an easy yet tasty dessert.  Lets make a quick cobbler!

I chose to make a Peach and Blackberry Cobbler.  You can choose the fruit of your choice but using apples, peaches or berries can guarantee a perfect outcome. 

This is what you need:
4 cups of roughly diced peaches
2 cups blackberries
1 tablespoon orange zest
Juice of one orange
2 tablespoons orange liquor (optional)
1 tablespoon tapioca flour (optional)
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar (I used turbinado)
I cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl add fruit, orange zest, orange juice, orange liquor and tapioca flour.  If you like your cobbler really sweet, add a couple of tablesppons of sugar to the fruit.  I like mine tart so I left it out.  

A big bowl of love.

Why tapioca flour? It helps thicken the mixture without lumps due to its fine texture. 

You can find this in the organic or natural flour section of the mega mart.

In another bowl, combine  flour, sugar, milk and vanilla.  Stir till combined.

At this point you can use individual servings or one large one.  I chose individuals  but if you chose a large dish – use an 9×9 inch dish.  Grease the dish with butter or cooking spray. 

Add the fruit evenly in the dish and pour over the flour-milk mixture over the fruit.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until cake is brown and firm.  Let it sit 10 minutes before serving or your mouth will melt like lava. 

See, almost the way grandma made them.

This may not be the cobbler like grandma use to make but this simple dessert is easy and can bake while you eat dinner.  Quick dessert, quick mischief.

The Gruesome Gourmet

Photos by Ray Hydrick. Carnage by Matthew Warren.

Josh and I will be the first to admit that we do not like working with a chicken carcass. I can handle pieces of chicken all day long, but washing out a chicken cavity sends me into a gagging spell. So dear readers, I have taken a deep breath and decided to hold back the dry heaves to make this dish.

I have watched several shows where they cut the backbone out of the chicken so that it will lay flat on the grill. How does this horrific chicken autopsy help the chicken? Well, have you ever had that problem where the chicken breast is done but the dark meat is still in the “danger zone” of rawness? Flattening the chicken helps both the white and dark meat to cook at the same time. Perfectly cooked and perfectly juicy.

To prepare for this Dexter type of chicken dismemberment, one must be prepared…this is what how I got ready.

Cutting board – use a non-porous cutting board, such as hard plastic. Easier to clean and to remove bacteria.

Kitchen shears – these are heavy-duty shears. The shears used for scrapebooking will not work – trust me. Seriously, these could take off a finger of a cheating lover (evil grin).

Was I kidding?

Rubber gloves – yep, rubber gloves. You can buy latex and powder-free at a drug store. Keeps hand disinfecting to a minimum.

Prepping for surgery

Let’s get this grossness going (deep breath).

Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary
1 chicken, whole (I got mine without giblets)
1 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons minced, fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
Olive oil

After donning your rubber gloves, rinse the chicken inside and out. Then place the unsuspecting chicken on the cutting board, backbone side up. Pat the skin dry with a paper towel.

Using the implement of terror, I mean your kitchen shears, snip off any excess fat around neck or cavity opening. Speaking of cavity (gag) – be sure to check and make sure your chicken doesn’t have a giblet goodie bag or neck. If so, remove it. Using your fingers, find where the spine stops at cavity. Starting on one side of the spine, use some force and cut through the ribs and such.

I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV

Do the same on the other side. When done you will have removed the chicken backbone.

This is seriously a scene from one of the Predator movies

At this point (wiping sweat from my brow), open the cavity to expose the breast bone. Using your knife, carefully cut through the cartilage so when spread the chicken will lay flat.

Total chicken carnage

Sitting there, all spineless

Combine your lemon, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper with a little olive oil in a dish. Using your fingers, push half the mixture under the skin of the chicken. Use the other half of the mixture to rub on the other side (what was the chicken cavity). Brush the chicken skin with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

I get the chills just looking at this

Preheat your grill – if using gas, one side of the grill should be on high and the other side on low. If using charcoal, make the fire on one side and when coals are ready spread some the to the cool side. Place the chicken, skin-side up, on the cool-side of the grill. Use a cast iron skillet (covered in foil for easy clean up) or heat proof dish to weigh it down. Roast 15-20 minutes on each side.

If you haven't shown that chicken enough harm, place a large weight on it.

Remove from grill, cover with foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Cut and enjoy!

The chicken turned out really well, Juicy and best of all, cooked all the way through. Cooking is not always pretty but it sure tastes good.

Deep Fried Love

All photos by Ray Hydrick.

There is one cooking method you have not seen on Kitchen Mischief since the first post almost 3 years ago.  Can you guess it?  Yep.  Frying.  Why do Josh and I avoid frying?  Let us count the ways:

1. We are not fans of the boiling vats of oil that can melt the skin off you body.  We do not need to add to our cooking scars.  
2. We also hate the mess and smell.  Unless you are Paula Dean and have a deep fat fryer in your kitchen, you probably fry something on your stove and it splatters everywhere.  You may have also noticed that we have set things on fire in the past so not a good combo. 
3. Not the healthiest of cooking.  If fried correctly, most foods don’t absorb a lot of the grease; however, most of us don’t have fancy fryers (Paula Dean) that can regulate the oil’s temperature. If the oil is not hot enough the food can absorb more oil than it should. Needless to say, we are sucker for fried foods so the other two reasons were overlooked.    

So why would we try this “dangerous”, smelly, unhealthy method of cooking?  Well, this is Kitchen Mischief…you’ve read the blog right? 

To be as safe as possible, we followed a few simple rules of frying:  1.) have an area free of clutter (prevent fires); 2.) don’t overfill the pot with too much oil – half-way is good (prevents from oil boiling over onto the flame or burner); 3.) cook small batches for even cooking and temperature control; and 4.) for safety, have a fire extinguisher handy. 

To keep my house from smelling like the inside of a Captain D’s, I decided to take advantage of the great weather and use my propane burner (used for shrimp boils) and a smaller frying pot that came with burner accessories.  Before you fill the pot with oil, you need to get your food ready for the deep fry.

You don't want this.

I decided to try two favorites – sweet potato chips and french fries using medium-size russet potatoes.  I couldn’t make it that simple.  Josh recently gave me some spice assortments from Penzeys Spices and I thought we needed to spice up this typical side dish.  For the sweet potato chips I used Zatar seasoning (sumac, thyme, white sesame seed and salt) and a little more kosher salt.  For the fries, I used two different seasonings.  First, I used Shallot-Pepper (salt, Tellicherry black pepper, shallots, tarragon, and bay leaves) and extra kosher salt.  The second, I used black truffle salt. 

To prepare the sweet potatoes I used a mandoline slicer.  This gets the slices consistent so they cook evenly.  You can find these slicers at cooking stores or even TJ Maxx.  Just please follow the directions and use the guard to prevent having finger tip chips.  For the french fries, I sliced with the mandoline first and then used a knife to establish the width. 

Use the hand guard or you may shave off finger prints.

For the sweet potato chips, we fried them at 360 degrees for 3 minutes or until they started turning brown.  Transfer the chips to a sheet pan lined with a brown paper grocery bag (great for absorbing oil) and a little paper towel.  Immediately season the chips with your seasoning of choice (at least a little salt).  They will not be crisp right out of the fryer.  They have to dry a little. 

Frying to perfection.

For the fries, I tried using the double fry method.  The first frying should be done at a lower temp – 320 degrees for 2 to 3 minutes – to cook the fries.  Drain and cool the fries (this can be down while you fry the second batch).  Then you fry the batch again at a higher temp to brown and crisp – 375 degrees for 2 to 3 minutes or until brown. 

You are tempted to eat them now but it is not a good idea.

I know that NOW.  (We tried this method using the same temp so we had to pull them early on the second fry before they browned too much.)  We also transferred the fries to a brown paper bag and paper towel lined sheet pan and seasoned immediately. 

Seasoning the fries immediately allows it to stick to the fry.

These sides went great with the Thai chicken burgers I made from Josh’s post.  But I couldn’t leave well enough alone.  I added a little store-bought Asian slaw to the burgers and made some seasoned ketchup.  Try these little beauties with any fry – homemade or not. 

Smoked Ketchup – add a teaspoon of liquid smoke (in the barbecue sauce section) to a cup of ketchup.  Not smokey enough?  Add more liquid smoke to taste.  I add a little cayenne pepper to spice it up. 

Garlic-Chili Ketchup – add a teaspoon of Thai garlic-chili paste (found in Asian section) to a cup of ketchup.  Add more chili paste for extra spice. 

These fries with Thai chili spiced ketchup was a perfect sidedish.

So, is tempting pots of boiling oil worth the hassle for chips or fries?  Sure.  But would I try this for a dinner party with several guests?  Heck no! The number of batches alone would drive me crazy and plus, I don’t think my homeowners insurance would cover the medical bills for the third-degree burns. 

My Favorite Pick-A-Pair

My perfect pair

All this talk of giving away pairs has made me crave my favorite food pair – soup and grilled cheese.  To feed this craving, I made the creamy tomato-basil soup I posted previously, so I wanted to concentrate on that tasty, toasty sandwich we loved as kids – the grilled cheese.  But not just any grilled cheese – grown-up grilled cheese. 

What makes them grown-up?  We are not making these babies from processed cheese product. No, we are upping the ante.  So I chose a few yummy replacements to the processed cheese product. First, I used Edam cheese from Mississippi State.  Yes, Mississippi State makes cheese from their very own cows!  So take that Ole Miss!  All you have given us are two Super Bowl quarter backs and one sassy, squirrel (Josh Miller)…well, you can’t eat any of those without being called a cannibal. 

A ball of cheesy goodness

Edam cheese is a very easy melting cheese similar to a cheddar-swiss mix.  I paired that cheese with crispy prosciutto.  The next cheese is a goat cheese.  I pair the bright tasting cheese with prosciutto, arugula and fresh cracked pepper.  The last cheese is a tasty Gruyère.  I paired that with thinly sliced tomato, fresh basil and salt and pepper. 

You can’t make a grilled cheese without good bread, so I went to Whole-paycheck Foods and got some hearty breads to hold up against these cheese combos.  A crusty sourdough and a sunflower seed-wheat bread did just the trick.

At this point I would give you the recipe but I just gave you the ingredients above, so why don’t I just give you some tips to a perfect grilled cheese. 

• Though you want a hot pan to toast the bread and melt the cheese, you want to heat it at a medium heat.  Too high and the bread will burn and the cheese won’t have time to melt.  I used a Panini pan but I really should have used my favorite pan – a cast-iron skillet. 
• Brush the outside of the bread with a little butter or olive oil to help the toasting process.
• I crisped the prosciutto ahead of time so it is not chewy.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment with your favorite fillings. 

Let’s see how these combos turned out.

Grilled Edam Cheese with Crispy Prosciutto

Edam melts so easily

Grilled Gruyère with Tomato and Fresh Basil

My pan got a little hot so the bread toasted before the cheese melted.

Grilled Goat Cheese with Crispy Prosciutto and Arugula (our favorite)

Sooooo gooooood

A perfect pair can create great memories…kind of like the pair Kitchen Mischief is giving away.  I hope you make soemthing that you crave and don’t forget a little mischief never hurts.