I made this as a side dish to go with... something. I no longer remember what. (This is what I get for not posting my recipe write-ups promptly.)

It was good, but not outstanding. I found the glazing while grilling to be a bit fiddly. I think I would have preferred something that I could have grilled without the glaze or vice versa. So, fine overall, but probably not something I'll do again.

Miso-Glazed Grilled Eggplant

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 6mm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 c. white miso
• 1/2 tsp. Sriracha
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. mirin
• 1-2 Tbsp. water
• 4 Asian eggplants, halved lengthwise
• salt and pepper, to taste
• canola or peanut oil
• 3 green onions, sliced

Directions

1. Prepare gas or charcoal grill for direct heat grilling over medium-high heat.
2. Combine ginger, garlic, miso, Sriracha, vinegar, mirin, and water and purée until smooth.
3. Sprinkle eggplant halves with salt and pepper and brush with oil.
4. Arrange eggplant pieces, cut-side-down, on the grill, cover, and cook until they being to soften and become slightly charred (6-8 minutes).
5. Flip and cook, covered, for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Brush with glaze, cover, and cook until eggplant is fully tender (3-4 minutes longer).
7. Transfer to platter, sprinkle with green onions, and serve.

These were meant to be done on the grill. And if I'd actually made them in July like the date on this post implies, I almost certainly would have done that. Unfortunately, I actually made these on a cold, wet, grey day in November. When the sun had already set by 5pm. So, I wasn't about to go out there and fire up the grill for that. I just popped them under the broiler in the oven and cooked them that way. Not quite as nice a result, but infinitely better cooking experience given the conditions outside.

Recipe as written, these kebabs were only meant to have chicken, tomatoes, and zucchini. I had some mushrooms left over from another recipe though and I felt like a bit of onion would go well, so I added both to my kebabs. I think red onion would have been even better, but the yellow onion worked just fine. And I definitely feel like the extra ingredients elevated these kebabs a bit. I enjoyed the slightly more varied mix of tastes and textures.

Chicken and Vegetable Kebabs

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 1/2 c. chopped green onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 680g skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
• 2 zucchinis, thickly sliced
• ~2 dozen cherry tomatoes¹
• 200-250g cremini mushrooms, trimmed
• 1 1/2 small red onions, cut into eighths

Directions

1. Combine yogurt, green onion, garlic, cilantro, oil, salt, and pepper and mix well.
2. Add chicken and toss to coat.
3. Cover and chill for 3-24 hours.
4. Soak ~12 wooden skewers in water for 20-30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, preheat grill for direct, high heat cooking.
6. Thread zucchini slices, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion pieces, and chicken chunks onto the skeweres in whatever arrangement you prefer.
7. Slather the kebabs with any residual marinade and season with a bit of extra pepper.
8. Grill, turning as needed, until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through²

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¹ The cherry tomatoes at the grocery store didn't look that great, so I got a bunch of much larger "cocktail" tomatoes and just cut them in half for my kebabs. ^Back
2 The book says this should take ~8 minutes. I'm unclear on whether that's meant to be 8 minutes total or 8 minutes per side. I suspect, with a good hot grill, you could get these cooked in 8 minutes total. Unfortunately, I was not wooking with a good hot grill. I was working with a broiler. I ended up cooking my kebabs for ~20 minutes, turning every 5. The results were great! Just a bit slower than on the grill. ^Back

This is simple and a bit light on veggies, but it is very tasty. I really like the combination of noodles and grilled (or broiled) pork tenderloin. And adding some roasted broccoli or braised bok choy can help round out the meal and make it a little more balanced.

Pork Noodle Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredeints

• 2 pork tenderloins (~340g each)
• 1 Tbsp. peanut (or other neutral) oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar¹
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 3-4 drops sriracha
• 450g fresh Chinese egg noodles (or 300g dried spaghetti)²
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 serrano or Thai chile, seeded and minced
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4-1/3 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Preheat a charcoal grill or oven broiler for high/direct heat cooking.
2. Brush the tenderloins with the peanut oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Cook the tenderloins until just cooked through and seared on all sides, turning every few minutes (~15 minutes total).
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the sesame oil, lime juice, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger paste, sugar, and sriracha.
5. Cook and drain the noodles and toss with the dressing.
6. Add the bell pepper, chile, cilantro, parsley, and sesame seeds and toss to combine.
7. Slice the pork and add it to the salad.

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¹ The original recipe calls for sherry vinegar. I don't generally keep that on hand, so I used my go-to substitute of red wine vinegar. That said, next time I'd be tempted to try rice vinegar instead. ^Back
2 I forgot to adjust for fresh vs. dried pasta in my rendition, so I used a whole pound of dried spaghetti for my noodle salad. This actually worked out just fine, but it was very lightly dressed and obviously a bit heavier on the starch than the default proportions would have been. ^Back

I was supposed to make a beef and pumpkin stew for dinner last night, but I forgot about it until mid-afternoon and by then it was too late to start it. I'm making that stew today instead, but, in the meantime, I needed to find something else for dinner last night. I ended up settling on this lamb and pea salad combo.

The recipe calls for eight lamb chops. It specifies how thick they should be cut, but not which part of the lamb they should be cut from. I'm used to "lamb chops" without further disambiguation meaning loin chops. And, conveniently, I had a bunch of thos in the freezer. I only had seven, not eight, but I figured that was close enough. It wasn't until this morning, when I happened to glance at the next page of the cookbook and saw the recipe photo that I realized they had been intending for this to be made with rib chops. Or maybe it doesn't matter and any sort of lamb chops will work fine! I'm not sure, but I can at least now vouch for the success of loin chops. They worked very well for this.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Pea Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Lamb

• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 8 lamb chops (loin or rib, cut ~3cm thick)
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• pepper, to taste

Salad

• 3 c. peas (fresh or frozen)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh mint, minced
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 100g feta, crumbled
• pepper, to taste

Directions

Lamb

1. Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic paste, and olive oil and mix well.
2. Place the marinade in a shallow dish and add the lamb chops. Marinate for 30-60 minutes, turning halfway through.
3. Set up your grill for direct heat cooking and allow it to preheat for 5-10 minutes.
4. Season the lamb with salt and sear over direct heat for 3-5 minutes per side.
5. Once lamb is cooked to desired doneness, remove from heat, season to taste with black pepper, and let rest for ~5 minutes.

Salad

1. If using fresh peas, blanch them in salted water for a minute or two and then shock in cold water to stop cooking. For frozen peas, simply thaw and proceed with recipe.
2. Toss peas with mint and oil.
3. Just before serving, stir in the vinegar and feta.
4. Season to taste with black pepper and serve with lamb chops.

This was so, so good! The sauce was rich and creamy (thanks to the almonds and cream) with a pleasant sweetness from the bell peppers and raisins. And the chicken is superbly flavourful and tender with a slight char thanks to its time spent under the broiler (or on the grill). I really, really liked this one. Everyone really liked this one!

Chicken (without the sauce)

Finished chicken tikka masala

Chicken Tikka Masala

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1-2 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. Punjabi Garam Masala
• 680g skinless, boneless chicken breasts and/or thighs, cut into 1" strips

Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 1/4 c. golden raisins or sultanas
• 1 c. diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8-1/4 tsp. ground cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. Punjabi Garam Masala
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, to garnish¹

Directions

Chicken

1. Combine yogurt, garlic paste, ginger paste, cilantro, coriander, cumin, Kashmiri chilies, salt, turmeric, and garam masala and mix well.
2. Toss chicken with yogurt mixture to coat.
3. Cover and chill/marinate for 1-6 hours.
4. Meanwhile, make the sauce.
5. Once sauce is made, spread chicken (along with its marinade) on a baking sheet and broil on hi for 6-8 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through and get a little char on the top. If you have access to a grill/barbecue, thread the chicken pieces onto skewers and grill them for 6-8 minutes until cooked through and lightly charred.
6. Combine chicken with sauce, garnish with cilantro, and serve with rice and your choice of vegetables.

Sauce

1. While chicken marinates, melt ghee over medium-high heat in a smallish pan (~23cm or 9" works well).
2. Add onion, bell pepper, almonds, and raisins and cook for 10-12 minutes.
3. Add tomato and deglaze the pan.
4. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender jar, add the cream, salt, cayenne, and garam masala, and blend until smooth.
5. Return sauce to pan and simmer over low heat while chicken cooks.

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¹ Just realized that I totally forgot to add the cilantro garnish before serving! Oh well... ^Back

Normally this would be done with flank or flap steak. We didn't have any, but we did have some other steaks kicking around in the freezer, so I just used those instead. The marinade is absolutely delicious! I want to put it on everything.

Carne Asada

Slightly adapted from Damn Delicious

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. light soy sauce
• juice of 1 orange (~1/3 c.)
• juice of 1 lime (~1/4 c.)
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 650g steak (preferably flank steak)

Directions

1. Combine cilantro, oil, soy sauce, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, jalapeño, cumin, and pepper and mix well.
2. Scoop out 1/2 c. of marinade and set it aside.
3. Add steak to remaining marinade and marinate for at least four hours, turning occasionally.
4. Preheat grill and cook steak to desired done-ness. (I like medium for this.)
5. Slice thin and pour over reserved marinade.
6. Serve with sliced radishes, crumbled feta, sour cream, avocado, salsa, or other toppings of your choice. Or just have it with the marinade. It's delicious!

Sarson "Murghi" Kebab (Grilled "Chicken" with Mustard Greens Sauce)

This recipe shows up in the appetizer section of 660 Curries, although Iyer notes that you can easily make it into a main course by doubling the chicken. (No need to double anything else.) I decided to try for a vegetarian main course and substituted tofu for the chicken. I followed the same procedure I normally use for Extra Delicious Tofu but switched up the seasonings a bit to try to bump up the umami and get it to look and taste even more like chicken. I'm quite happy with the results!

Sarson "Murghi" Kebab

Adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

"Chicken"

• 2 (350g) packages extra firm tofu
• 6 dried black mushrooms
• 1/2 c. boiling water
• 2 Tbsp. mushroom ketchup
• 2 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 tsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. ketchup
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1/8 tsp. paprika
• 10-20 grinds black pepper
• 1 tsp. nutritional yeast¹ (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. Scallion Oil
• 1 Tbsp. chickpea flour (besan)
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Sauce

• 200-250g mustard greens
• 3 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. dill seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. Punjabi Garam Masala
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne powder
• 1/2 c. chopped red onion
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 medium-sized tomato, chopped

Directions

"Chicken"

1. Freeze the tofu.
2. Thaw and drain the tofu.
3. Cut into four thin slabs. (One vertical cut, then slice each brick in half horizontally.)
4. Wrap in tea towels and press for at least half an hour.
5. Cut into bite-sized pieces and freeze.
6. Meanwhile, pour the boiling water over the mushrooms and set aside.
7. Thaw the tofu again, place on a tea towel, and press out as much additional moisture as possible. (There shouldn't be much at this point.)
8. In a small bowl, combine mushroom ketchup, soy sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, garlic, paprika, and pepper.
9. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking water.
10. Add 3 Tbsp. of the soaking water to the ketchup-soy mixture.
11. Trim the stems off the mushrooms and discard. Coarsely chop the caps and set aside.
12. Pour the ketchup-soy mixture over the tofu and toss to coat.
13. Add nutritional yeast (if using) and toss again.
14. Drizzle scallion oil over the seasoned tofu and toss to coat.
15. Sprinkle with chickpea flour and toss.
16. Sprinkle with cornstarch and toss.
17. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet.
18. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 20-30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Sauce

1. If you have a food processor, use it to finely mince the mustard greens. (You will likely need to work in batches.) Otherwise, simply chop the mustard greens and finely as you can.
2. Stir in 1 Tbsp. of the oil.
3. Add ginger paste, garlic paste, ground dill seeds, salt, garam masala, and cayenne and mix well.
4. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat.
5. Add onion and cook until lightly browned (2-3 minutes).
6. Add mustard greens and reserved mushrooms (from preparing the "chicken") and reduce heat to medium-low.
7. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for ~10 minutes.
8. Add 1/2 c. water and the chopped tomato and bring to a boil.
9. For a smooth sauce, either transfer to a blender jar or use an immersion/stick blender to purée the mixture at this point. If you prefer a chunky sauce, you may skip this step.
10. Pour the sauce over the "chicken" and serve.

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Variants

Sarson Murghi Kebab (with actual chicken)

Ingredients

• bamboo or metal skewers
• 200-250g mustard greens
• 3 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. dill seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. Punjabi Garam Masala
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne powder
• 900g boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" strips (or 450g if dish is to be an appetizer)
• 1/2 c. chopped red onion
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 medium-sized tomato, chopped

Directions

1. If using bamboo skewers, place them in a bowl of water to soak for at least an hour or two.
2. Prepare sauce through to the end of step 3 as above.
3. Add chicken strips to the sauce and stir to coat.
4. Cover and chill for at least half an hour, but not longer than six hours.
5. Preheat grill or broiler to high.
6. Remove chicken strips from sauce and thread onto skewers in a zigzag manner.
7. Cook the sauce as above. (Steps 4-9) There will, of course, be no mushrooms to add in this version.
8. If you are grilling the chicken, lightly grease the grill and cook (with the lid closed), turning occasionally, for ~8 minutes. If you're using the broiler, position rack so that top of chicken is 5-7cm (2-3") below the element. Lightly grease rack of broiler pan and broil chicken, turning occasionally, for ~8 minutes.
9. Remove chicken from skewers.
10. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

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¹ I had intended to add a bit of nooch to my tofu. I was sure I had some in the cupboard. But, when I went to get it, it wasn't there. So I ended up just going ahead without the yeast. Still plenty tasty! ^Back

Grilled Corn

This Cook's Country recipe for grilled corn steams the corn in its husk first, then slathers it with seasoned butter before returning it to the grill. We've made two variants (the brown sugar cayenne butter and the mustard paprika butter).

Ingredients

• 6 ears corn, unshucked
• 90mL tablespoons soft unsalted butter
• 2.5mL salt
• 2.5mL pepper
• Brown sugar cayenne butter:
• 30mL brown sugar
• 1mL cayenne
• Cilantro lime butter:
• 64mL minced fresh cilantro
• 10mL grated lime zest
• 15mL lime juice
• 1 minced garlic clove
• Mustard paprika butter:
• 30mL spicy brown mustard
• 5mL smoked paprika
• Rosemary pepper butter:
• another 2.5mL pepper
• 15mL minced fresh rosemary
• 1 minced garlic clove

Procedure

1. Preheat grill to high.
2. Combine butter, salt, pepper, and other butter ingredients in a bowl.
3. Oil grill. Place corn on grill. Cover and cook, turning every 3 minutes, until husks have blackened all over, 12-15 minutes. Interior should be steaming and bright yellow when you pull back a bit of the husk.
4. Remove husk and silk with tongs. Roll each ear in the butter mixture and return to the grill to char lightly on all sides, ~5 minutes.
5. Coat with remaining butter mixture and serve.

Smoked Chicken

Hey! I made something that didn't come out of a Cook's Country magazine! This one's from the Internet. Specifically, I spent a while browsing the Amazing Ribs site and decided to try the smoked chicken recipe posted there.

Sweet Georgia's Brown Smoked Chicken
From AmazingRibs.com
1 chicken (mine was ~1.2kg and came already spatchcocked and injected with brine)
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt per lb. of meat (only if bird is not pre-seasoned/brined)
4-5 Tbsp. Meathead's Memphis Dust

1. If chicken is fully in tact, either spatchcock it or cut it in half with kitchen shears.
2. If chicken has not already been brined or seasoned, rub with salt (dry brine).
3. Dust chicken on all sides with spice mix.
4. Preheat grill, adding desired wood chips/chunks. (I used a divided smoker box full of whiskey barrel chips. Half dry, half wet.)
5. Adjust burners to achieve a temperature of ~325F and indirect heat.
6. Cook chicken, skin side up, over indirect heat for ~2 hours with legs pointing toward the hotter side of the grill.
7. If desired flip skin side down over direct heat for a few minutes to crisp the skin just before serving.
8. Chicken can be cut into parts or pulled for sandwiches.

This chicken smelled heavenly while cooking and tasted even better! We served it with creole potato salad, oil and vinegar coleslaw, grilled corn on the cob, and some old-fashioned lemonade for a complete summer barbecue meal. Phenomenal!

Meathead's Memphis Dust
6 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
6 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 c. sweet Hungarian paprika
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. ginger powder
2 Tbsp. peppercorns
2 Tbsp. dehydrated onion
1 1/2 tsp. rosemary

1. Grind peppercorns, onion, and rosemary into a fairly uniform looking powder.
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well-combined, breaking up any chunks of sugar or other clumps that form.

Barbecued Chicken Thighs

The June/July issue of Cook's Country is chock full of amazing-looking barbecue recipes! I'veb een itching to try a few out. And, now that we finally have a grill, I actually can!

Barbecued Chicken Thighs
Slightly adapted from Cook's Country June/July 2015
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar, divided
1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
1 Tbsp. smoked hot Spanish paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. white pepper
3/4 tsp. granulated garlic
4 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 (13"x9") disposable roasting pan
1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. barbecue sauce
1/2 c. chicken broth
6 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1/2 Tbsp. garlic paste
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp. hot sauce (I used sriracha)
2 Tbsp. apple jelly
1 1/2 c. wood chips (I used whiskey barrel chips)

1. Salt the chicken thighs and let them stand for at least and hour, or in the fridge overnight.
2. Combine 1 Tbsp. sugar, paprika, black pepper, white pepper, and granulated garlic. Set aside 4 tsp. of the spice blend. Use the rest to season the chicken.
3. Whisk 1/2 c. barbecue sauce, broth, sliced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and 2 Tbsp. hot sauce together in a bowl. Place the seasoned chicken thighs skin side down in the roasting pan and pour the broth mixture over them.
4. Place wood chips in a smoker box (or alternatively, create a wood chip "packet" out of heavy duty aluminum foil). If the smoker box has adjustable vents, close them half way. If using foil, cut several holes in the top of the packet to let smoke escape.
5. Place wood chip packet/box directly over primary burner of gas grill (or directly on top of hot coals on a charcoal grill). Preheat grill (all burners on high) for 10 minutes. Then turn off all but the primary burner. Adjust primary burner to maintain a temperature of 325-350F.
6. Place the roasting pan full of chicken on the indirect side of the grill. Braise for 30-40 minutes.
7. While chicken is braising, mix up the glaze: Microwave jelly until melted. Stir in garlic paste, 2 Tbsp. barbecue sauce, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and 1 Tbsp. hot sauce. Set aside.
8. Remove chicken from pan and place directly on grill, skin side up. Discard braising liquid.
9. Brush skin with half of glaze and sprinkle with remaining spice rub. Cover grill and cook for another 20-30 minutes.
10. Brush chicken with remaining glaze. Cover grill and continue cooking for an additional 30-40 minutes. (Until internal temperature registers 170F.)
11. Flip chicken skin side down and turn all burners to high. Leave lid open and cook for 2-3 minutes. (Until sugar is caramelized, but not burnt and internal temperature registers 175F.) 
12. Serve with grilled asparagus. (Brush lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill while chicken is finishing.) 

Chicken Quesadillas

So, it turns out that leftover fajita filling actually makes for pretty excellent quesadillas!

Chicken Quesadilla
Chicken Fajita filling
1 (14 oz.) tin diced tomatoes
1 c. frozen corn
1 Tbsp. dehydrated onion
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
cheddar cheese, grated
refried beans
soft tortillas
sour cream, optional

1. Add tomatoes, corn, onion, and cilantro to your fajita filling and heat until warmed through.
2. Spread a tortilla with refried beans and top with a layer of chicken mixture.
3. Cover with a layer of grated cheese and a second tortilla.
4. Toast (in toaster oven) or bake until filling is hot and cheese is melted.
5. Serve with sour cream.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Sorry we've been bad about keeping the blog updated; the baby has now gotten really, really interested in laptops and makes it difficult to actually write anything. But we're still cooking!

Highlights of this past week include "mexican lasagna" and spaghettini in a creamy sweet potato sauce, both of which will hopefully get a post sometime soon. Today, though, we made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.

And we take our grilled cheese seriously.

No pictures, sadly, and this hardly counts as a recipe, but I like sharing it regardless.

1. Start with a of your preferred bread. Rye, multigrain, or sourdough work well.
2. Plane enough sharp (2yo or older) white cheddar to cover the bread.
3. Halve or quarter some small pickled onions and place them on the cheddar. If you want to add some greens, fried onions, Branston Pickle, or other inclusions, now is the time.
4. Add some freshly ground black pepper.
5. Top with more cheese. More cheddar is never wrong, but you can also use mozzarella, jarlsberg, emmentaler, or anything else that will melt nicely.
6. Seal with another slice of bread.
7. Spread one side with garlic butter (or butter-like garlic spread), then sprinkle some cumin over it.
8. Flip it into a hot pan, butter side down. Cook, pressing occasionally, until the bottom is turning a nice golden brown.
9. Spread the top with more garlic butter and cumin, then flip it over (carefully! it's probably not all melted together yet!). Grill further until both sides are golden brown, at which point the cumin should be nicely toasted and the melted cheese will be holding the whole thing together.
10. Remove from the pan, slice, and serve.

Cherry-Asparagus Panini

Yet another find from Spache's fabulous blog! I made a few modifications based on my own preferences and what I had on hand, but it's still her recipe at the core. It's somewhat involved for a sandwich, but very tasty if you're willing to put the effort in.

Balsamic Cherry-Asparagus Panini
1 c. pitted sweet cherries, chopped
3 Tbsp. pomegranate balsamic vinegar
zest of 1 large lemon
6 asparagus spears, shaved (with vegetable peeler)
2 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp. almond oil
2 long multigrain buns (or 1 baguette, cut in half)
Brie
fresh mozzarella
salt and pepper
~1 Tbsp. melted butter

1. Combine cherries, vinegar, and lemon zest. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Toss asparagus, mint, and basil with almond oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Cover the bottom half of each bun with pieces of Brie. (Make sure to leave the rind on for maximum delicious!)
4. Cover the top half of each bun with thick slices of mozzarella.
5. Slather the mozzarella with the cherry mixture and top the Brie with the herbed and oiled shaved asparagus.
6. Now, very carefully, combine the sandwich halves.
7. Brush the outside of the buns with the melted butter and grill/press until the inside gets deliciously melt-y and the outside gets deliciously toast-y. (If you have an electric panini press, use that, set to 350F. If you're doing this stovetop, I recommend cooking on medium-low.)

So much tasty!