The wedding was unbelievable. The weather, the flowers, the cupcakes… I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. And speaking of cupcakes, I have lots to share - tidbits about baking at high altitudes, baking 300 cupcakes in one day, building your own cupcake stand, and that will all be posted in the coming weeks. But let’s just say our 4th of July is going to be spent doing things other than setting off fireworks. Amazing how big your to-do list gets when you take off for 3 weeks.

I’ll be back in a few days with Adventures in High Altitude Baking, part two… but for now, I’ll leave you with this little teaser, the final product of our high altitude cupcake marathon. I probably don’t have to tell you they were a huge hit.

photo by kern-photo.com

Look familiar? Well, it didn’t to me. This has never happened before. We made a recipe we thought was new, and as I was getting ready to post it, I realized we had posted it before. Before meaning way back in ‘07 when I thought the closer I could get to the food the better (you rarely see the entire plate in those photos). But yea. We actually made something twice without realizing it. I could have moved on and posted one of the other recipes I have queued in my photo library, but for some reason I felt I had to post this picture. If a sandwich could ever be described as pretty, this just might be the one. Or maybe it’s not the sandwich itself but the beautiful blurry background colors - rich brown and turquoise blue. That could be it too. I can never have enough of brown and turquoise.

Revisiting things is nice too. You know, since I know not all of you have been reading this blog since ‘07, nor do you have the time to travel back that deep in the archives (or maybe you do? if so, well done!) With that in mind, I may have to dredge up a few old favorites in need of a better photo (sorry, but some of my initial shots just don’t do the poor recipe justice!) and repost them for all to enjoy, again.

And no, I didn’t plan on two sandwich posts back to back either. Give me a break, or I just might have to make another sandwich and go for three in a row. So there. I like sandwiches. You should too.

Tuscan Tuna and Bean Sandwiches

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from epicurious.

Ingredients
For beans
1 (14- to 15-oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For tuna salad
2 (6-oz) cans Italian tuna in oil, drained
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

For sandwiches
8 (1/3-inch-thick) slices rustic Italian bread (from a round crusty loaf) or 4 (4-inch-long) oval panini rolls
1 cup loosely packed trimmed watercress sprigs

Directions
Coarsely mash beans with a fork in a bowl, then stir in garlic, lemon juice, oil, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Flake tuna in a bowl with a fork, then stir in basil, olives, celery, onion, oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until combined.

Spoon one fourth of bean mixture on 1 slice of bread, then top with one fourth of tuna salad, some watercress, and a slice of bread. Make 3 more sandwiches in same manner.

We ate lunch at a local coffee and sandwich shop a few weeks back, and ordered one of their paninis. It was filled with goat cheese (my favorite), and slices of fresh pear and prosciutto. Delicious. And we thought, hey, we have a panini maker we haven’t used in maybe 8 months, why not dig it out and try our hand at making these ourselves?

So we did.

And it was good.

We had some gorgonzola cheese leftover in the fridge as well, so we ended up making one sandwich with goat cheese and another with gorgonzola. I prefer the goat cheese, myself. While the gorgonzola had a wonderful flavor that went really well with the other ingredients, it almost overpowered them it was so strong. So if you make these with gorgonzola, take it easy on the cheese.

Prosciutto, Pear, and Goat Cheese Panini

Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients
4 slices country style bread, sliced
3 oz. prosciutto
1 ripe pear, thinly sliced
4 oz. goat cheese, room temperature (or Gorgonzola if you like)
2 tsp. olive oil

Directions
Prepare panini maker or grill pan.

To assemble sandwiches, spread a thin layer of goat cheese on bread slices. Top with single layer of prosciutto, followed by a layer of pear. Top with another slice of bread. Lightly brush top with olive oil.

Place oil side down on panini press and brush other side with olive oil. Close the lid and cook according until indicator light says it’s done. Alternatively, if you do not have a panini press, you can use a grill pan and place a weighted object on top of the sandwich (like a brick wrapped in foil). Flip sandwiches mid-way and grill on other side. Sandwiches are done when bread is crisp with golden grill lines, and cheese is warm and melted.

Slice in half and enjoy!

In recent months I’ve realized just how much this blog affects our eating habits. This blog has become my virtual cookbook, my food diary, where we can revisit our past through our palettes (can you remember what you ate last Wednesday? I sure can’t.) I can re-read whatever coy comments I wrote about such and such a pasta, what suggestions Taylor had for improving the hum-drum flavor of that fish. I can remember, relive, and reprint these recipes again and again and again.

And I’ve also realized that if a recipe is not posted here, for whatever reason, that recipe might as well have fallen off the face of this earth, because no way is it ever going to be made again. Why? Well, laziness, usually. The light is not good, or I’m too hungry, or we’ve just been cooking too darn long and I don’t want to take a picture. “It’s ok,” we say, “We’ll make this again next week and I’ll photograph it then.” Yeah. Right.

We have a fairly predictable eating pattern. We’ll usually try 3-4 brand new recipes a week, sometimes more if I happen upon a wealth of new deliciousness on the world wide web. I then fill the rest of the week with things we’ve already made before, usually browsing the ‘quick’ or ‘healthy’ recipes that I’ve categorized. But never do I flip back through the three-inch-high stack of paper that sit in the kitchen, our recipe ‘inbox’ for lack of a better word. It’s where the printed pages of recipes go after dinner, complete with grease stains and smeared sauces. To be honest, it’s out of control. I need to reign it in and get it manageable again, and maybe there won’t be any more forgotten recipes.

It is also for that reason that I’m making an effort to post it all. Even the mediocre recipes. Because I want to remember these dishes, even if it’s just for the things we’d change about it next time. Because I want there to be a next time. And my memory sucks.

On to the food!

Give me pasta. Give me goat cheese. Throw in some cherry tomatoes. And you know what? I’ll be happy. Even better if you get a nice rotisserie chicken on sale to add to the mix. All on a bed of fresh baby spinach, and I’d say you have yourself a pretty darn good dinner.

Farfalle with Chicken, Tomatoes, Caramelized Onions, and Goat Cheese

Makes 4-6 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces farfalle
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
6 heirloom tomatoes, cored, chopped (about 5 cups)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (from 1/2 rotisserie chicken)
1/2 cup thinly sliced basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
3 cups baby spinach
3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Directions
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over mediumhigh heat. Add onions; sprinkle with salt and cook until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in vinegar and sugar; cook until onions are browned, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Transfer caramelized onions to bowl; reserve skillet.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Add wine to reserved skillet. Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, 3 minutes. Add pasta, onions, broth, and next 4 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Stir over medium heat to warm through, about 3 minutes.

Divide spinach among plates. Spoon pasta over spinach. Top with crumbled goat cheese.

I didn’t quite realize this until browsing through the pictures that I haven’t posted yet (yes, I realize I’m behind - I’ve got a half dozen new meals to post and just haven’t had the time to do it, I’ll be better, I promise!), but in a matter of 4 days, we unknowingly cooked two almost identical meals.

Meal 1 (above): Portobello “Steak” Sandwiches with Gorgonzola Butter and Red Pepper Vinaigrette.
Meal 2 (below): Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper Mayonnaise

I figured you’d all think I was crazy if I made two posts out of these, and it would make my backlog of posts a more manageable if I combined them into one. So here we are.

Honestly, they were both good. The roasted red pepper and earthy portobello is an excellent combination however you make it. But, the addition of the Gorgonzola cheese probably puts the first recipe over the top. That, and I think the mayonnaise we used for the other might have been a bit past it’s prime… nothing happened, of course, but seeing the date on the jar afterwords may have skewed our perception of it just a bit.

(If you are interested though, the Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper Mayonnaise recipe can be found here).

Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper Mayonnaise

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients
For marinade
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds fresh Portobello mushrooms, stems trimmed

For Gorgonzola butter
2 ounces Gorgonzola cheese (about 1/4 cup) at room temperature
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

For red pepper vinaigrette
1 red bell pepper, roasted (procedure follows), or 1/3 cup chopped drained bottled roasted red peppers
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

four 1/2-inch-thick slices crusty bread, cut diagonally
Garnish: fresh thyme leaves

Directions
Make marinade:
In a small bowl whisk together marinade ingredients. Put half of mushroom caps and half of marinade in each of 2 large sealable plastic bags, arranging mushroom caps in one layer, and seal bags, pressing out excess air. Marinate mushrooms at room temperature, turning bags over several times, at least 1 and up to 2 hours.

Make Gorgonzola butter while mushrooms are marinating:
On a plate with a fork mash Gorgonzola and butter together until blended well.

Make red pepper vinaigrette:
In a blender blend vinaigrette ingredients with salt and pepper to taste until smooth and emulsified.

Prepare grill.

Grill one side of bread on a rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals until golden, about 1 minute. (Alternatively, bread may be grilled in a hot well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat.) Divide bread, toasted sides down, among 4 plates. Spread soft side of bread with Gorgonzola butter.

Remove mushrooms from marinade and grill 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until tender. (Alternatively, mushrooms may be grilled in a hot well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat.) Transfer mushrooms with tongs to a cutting board and slice thin.

Arrange warm mushrooms on toasts and spoon vinaigrette over each open-faced sandwich. Garnish sandwiches with thyme.

To roast peppers:
Using a long-handled fork char peppers over an open flame, turning, until skins are blackened, 2 to 3 minutes. (Or broil peppers on rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from heat, turning every 5 minutes, until skins are blistered and charred, 15 to 25 minutes.) Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Keeping peppers whole, peel them, starting at blossom end. Cut off tops and discard seeds and ribs. (Wear rubber gloves when handling chilies.)