I can remember the first time I had a Croque Monsieur vividly. I was 8 years old, had just moved to Tokyo with my family, and come back from school orientation and while waiting for my mother in lobby seating area my father ordered one for us. He was so excited to see it on the menu. I think to this day it is still the best croque monsieur; I have ever had. Recently, in the past year I have been on the quest to find one that compares. I have found one that competes but thought I would indulge and try it on my own.  I have seen them cut up small and served as hors d’ oeuvres. Which I think is an awesome idea.

 What makes this different from just a ham and cheese sandwich? The Béchamel Sauce.  I never would have thought to put a sauce in a sandwich, but oh how it makes it delicious!

 Pre Heat 350 degrees

Croque Monsieur

4 slices of Sandwich Bread

4 ounces of Slice Ham

11/4  Cup of Grated Gruyere Cheese

1/4 Cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Tablespoons of Butter

1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard (optional)

5 to 6 Tablespoons of Béchamel Sauce (See Below)

 Lightly and evenly butter on both sides of bread and toast both sides in sauté pan over low heat until just golden brown. If you decide to use Dijon Mustard spread one side of each toasted slice with mustard. Evenly place the ham slices and about ½ cup Gruyère cheese on two of the bread slices. Top each with one of remaining bread slices, mustard-side down. Spread béchamel sauce to cover the top of each sandwich including the crust. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining Gruyère cheese and Parmesan Cheese. Place on a pan and bake for  5 minutes, then place under broiler until cheese is bubbling and lightly browned, about 3 minutes.

Bechamel Sauce

1 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoons flour

½ cups warmed milk  plus 1 Tablespoon

Salt and ground pepper to taste

1/4 Cup of Grated Gruyere Cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, about 2 minutes, do not let it turn brown. Add the hot milk, continue to stir, the sauce will thicken and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in the Gruyere Cheese.

Julia Child’s Beef/Boeuf  Bourguignon

I saw Julie and Julia the first day it came out. I don’t think, I was the only person that was then intrigued to make Beef Bourguignon and see what all the fuss is about. I made this recently, on a cold snowy night. This is the perfect dish for this kind of evening. While making it I did not understand why there was all this fear in making the Beef Bourguignon. I think the fear comes from the fact that there are multiple steps and it takes a long time to cook. Also you do need a Dutch Oven to make this dish. Since it was the holiday season, I saw it as an excuse for me to finally buy one. This is something that could be made the day before and I think,  actually tastes better the next day. Also  a perfect dish to entertain with in the winter since it can be made ahead. It is very hardy.

6 oz Bacon (cut into pieces ¼ inch thick and 1½ inches long)

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

3 lbs of Lean Stewing Beef (cut into 2 inch cubes and pat dry)

1 Slice Carrot – I used 4 carrots and would suggest maybe 6

1 sliced Onion

1 Teaspoon of Salt

¼ Teaspoon of Pepper

2 Tablespoons of Flour- I used 3 to 4 tablespoons

3 Cups of Full-bodied Red Wine

2 to 3 Cups of Beef Stock

1 Tablespoon of Tomato Paste

2 gloves of Mashed Garlic

½ Teaspoon of Thyme

A Crumbled Bay Leaf

24 Small White onions

1 lb of Fresh Mushrooms

Preheat Oven 450 Degrees

Simmer bacon for 10 minutes, and then drain water and pat try. In Dutch Oven/Casserole Fireproof Dish sauté the bacon and olive oil for 3 minutes. Remove bacon and set aside. Heat oil and sauté beef until browned, do this a few pieces at a time and when browned on all sides with bacon. In the same fat brown all of the vegetables (except small white onions and mushrooms). Once vegetables are lightly browned, pour out the sautéing fat. Return the beef and bacon to Dutch oven and toss with salt, pepper, and flour and place in oven for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and toss again and return to oven for 4 minutes. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust).

Reduce Oven heat to 325

Stir in the wine and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs. Bring to a simmer on the stove. Then cover the dish and place in oven for 2.5 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

Boil the Small White Onions and then remove skins after cooked from onions. Cut Mushrooms into quarters and sauté.

When ready to serve distribute the onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Definitely as the heat wave continues salad or cold soups are what I have been craving. Every so often I make something that I am truly excited about how it turned out. This  is how I felt about this recent Steak Salad. I think I told just a few people, about 10 just how excited Iwas about it!  I know it might seem like a lot of work, but I was able to accomplish everything in under an hour- I had a lot of things cooking at the same time. Unfortunately, I don’t per say have real measurements I just used what I had and tried to have equal portions. Also since I don’t have a grill I broiled my NY Strip steak for about 4 ½ minutes on each side. It did not have that beautiful grilled look but still tasted delicious!

Steak Salad

1 Head of Red Lettuce

1 Red Bell Pepper Roasted

1 Bunch of Asparagus Roasted (cooked in broiler)

1 Sautéed Yellow Onion

Fingerling Potatoes Roasted with Rosemary

Steamed French String Beans

1 Pound of Steak

1 Tomato chopped

Extra- I roasted a garlic bulb to either be added to the salad or used on the bread.

Vinaigrette

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Dijon Mustard

Before mixing all the ingredients together I cooled them all except the steak was served warm.

My apologies, the last entry had a some kind of computer glitch with only part of the entry. Here is the complete entry.

I love Chinese Chicken Salads, if on a menu I am always tempted to order it and look no further. The other thing that I love about them is that there are some underlying similarities but so many different kinds of variation that can be done. I think this is the perfect meal to have on a hot summer evening.

Ingredients to Cook Chicken

1 Tablespoon of Chopped Cilantro

5 Slices of Ginger

3 Scallions Sliced

2 Tablespoons of Rice Wine Vinegar

4 Cups of Water

1 to 11/2 Pounds of Chicken

Put all of the ingredients together in a pot and let cook on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes covered. Once chicken has cooked all the way through remove from heat and tear chicken into small pieces. Chill chicken before putting in salad.

Dressing

1/3 Cup of Vegetable Oil
1 Teaspoon of Dry Ground Mustard
2 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil
6 Tablespoons of Rice-wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
1 Teaspoon of minced ginger (optional)
Mix all ingredients together. I find easiest to just put them all into a bottle and shape it up.

Salad

I Head of Lettuce (tore or chopped) (I use usually Romaine or Iceberg)

1 Yellow Bell Pepper Chopped into small Cubes

½ English Cucumber Chopped into small Cubes

2  Carrots Peeled and Chopped into small Cubes

6 Scallions (6 diced)

1/3 Cup Chopped Cilantro

½ Cup of Sliced Almonds

2 Cups of Shredded Chicken

1 – 2 Tablespoons Cup of Sesame Seeds (optional)

Fried Maifun Noodles or Fried Wontons can also be added.

In a large salad bowl add all ingredients except fried Noodles. Toss the salad with dressing and right before serving at the noodles.

1 Pound of Ground Pork
1 Pound of Ground Beef
1 Pound of Ground Chicken
1 Large Yellow Onion (Chopped Finely)
½ Green Pepper (Seeded and Diced)
3 Eggs
2 Cups of Bread Crumbs
1 Cup of Milk
8 Gloves of Garlic (Chopped Finely)
¾ Cup Toasted Pine Nuts (Slightly Chopped after Roasting)
1/3 Cup of Chopped Parsley
1/3 Cup of Chopped Oregano
1/3 Cup of Basil
Zest of one Lemon
2 -3 Teaspoons of Pepper
4 Teaspoons of Salt
¼ Cup of Olive Oil

In a large skillet heat the olive oil and cook the onions for 5 minutes and then add the green peppers and garlic and cook down for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer Onions, Peppers, and Garlic into another bowl and let cool a little. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs together and add the herbs, lemon zest, and pine nuts. In another bowl add the bread crumbs to the milk together and let stand for a few minutes. Then remove bread crumbs from milk and squeeze milk from them (discard milk) and add to egg mixture. Finally mix everything together the Meats, Onions, Eggs, Salt and Pepper. Make sure well combined, I think best to just use your hands to combine.
Shaping the meat balls depending on the size I think easiest to just use a large ice cream scoop and scoop meat into balls and place on a baking sheet to prepare for cooking. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet and cook meatballs for about five minutes making sure to cook all sides. Remove meatballs from pan. (At this point a froze most of the meatballs to have at a later date) To finish cooking cook meatballs in your desired tomatoes sauce for about 20 minutes. And make sure to watch it!

In search of a comfort food, one that I believe remains at the top of my list would a tomato sauce. I thought this would also be a good way for me to economize and bring lunch to work, One thing to remember with some sauces is I think they taste better the next day when all the flavors have had a chance to meld together. So I went out and decided to make and Tomato Eggplant Sauce with a base of white wine instead of vegetable broth. Funny how as I child I would cringe at the sight of an eggplant and can’t say how many times I can remember my mother saying to me “Oh, would you just try it, you can hardly taste the eggplant.” Now, I love eggplant.

¼ Cup of Olive Oil

3 Garlic Cloves (Finley Chopped)

½ Pound of Eggplant (Finley chopped)

1 Bell Pepper (Seeded and Diced)

3 Small Tomatoes Chopped (about 1 ½ Cups)

1 -2 Tablespoons of Capers *

1 Tablespoon of fresh chopped Basil

½ Teaspoon of Oregano

6 oz. of Tomato Paste

1 Cup of White Wine ( If need more liquid can add more wine or use a vegetable broth)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

In a large skillet heat olive oil and garlic once oil has heated add the tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and capers. Cook over look heat for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook with lid for stirring occasionally for 40 to 50 minutes. If the sauce becomes to think add more liquid.

*I really like capers and get excited when I think they will work in a recipe but I definitely put about 3 tablespoons in my sauce and can say the capers became over powering.

Super Bowl Sunday is here. Sure there are the traditional wings and dips to serve but how about Sloppy Joes? Very simple to make and easy to serve to a large group- I think they are perfect for this occasion. I love all sporting events mainly because of the food associated with them!

3 lbs. of Beef Chuck
BBQ Sauce
8 Rolls
Preheat oven at 275

Place Chuck in roasting pan and cover with tin foil. Bake for six hours, remove from oven and tear meat apart with two forks. Add BBQ sauce the amount is dependent upon your own tastes. Now ready to serve on rolls.

I just got back from vacation where I picked up a few fun recipe ideas. Bangers and Mash is perfect, as the weather has finally turned cold in New York. A rude awakening when I got off the plane.

8 Plump Sausages about 1 LB.

Cook in frying pan and set aside.

Mashed Potatoes
4 large Russet Potatoes (peeled and quarter)
1 Cup of Milk (Might not need all)
2 Tablespoons of Butter
Boil Potatoes until cooked all the way through and drain water. In a separate saucepan simmer milk and butter and add a little at a time to the potatoes and with a mixer mix potatoes until smooth. Keep adding milk mixture until smooth add salt and pepper to taste.

Gravy
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
2 Large Leeks (Sliced Thinly)
1 Tablespoon of flour
1 Teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
½ Cup of White Wine
½ Cup of Chicken or Beef Stalk
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Optional
Chopped Chives

Heat oil in a frying and sauté Leeks until nicely browned. Stir in the flour (quickly so it does not lump- if lumpy just continue to whisk it) add mustard, wine and finally a few seconds later the stock and let thicken.

Place Mash on a plate topped with Sausages and top with Gravy. Sprinkle with chopped chives. Good Warm Comfort Food!