Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Would you like to know the secrets to great grilled cheese sandwiches? Heidi Gibson, the Commander-in-Cheese of The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen is a serious grilled cheese champ. She has won more grilled cheese sandwich contests than anyone. Last night I learned from Gibson how to make breakfast and brunch versions of grilled cheese sandwiches and picked up some amazing tips.

So let's get started! 

What's best to slather on your bread?
On the outside Gibson goes with butter, she recommends European style and she likes salted, not unsalted butter so that the sandwich has a bit of "salty crunch" when you bite into it. 

What kind of bread should you use? 
Almost any kind! With the exception of potato bread which does not lend itself well to grilled cheese sandwiches. Bread with holes can be used, but find a cheese that will melt though, giving you crusty "plugs." Some types of bread to consider--levain, sourdough and artisan whole wheat. 

What about seasoning your ingredients? 
Here Gibson breaks with tradition and says, if you have salty ingredients like bacon or ham, don't season each ingredient as you go. Cheese also adds salt, and salted butter will add flavor to your bread. 

The snow today really got me craving comfort food. I hope you all like this recipe because it is absolutely delicious. DELICIOUS. It's like, deep dish pizza, but without all of the work of the crust. It's packed with flavor. And meat. And cheesy goodness. Excuse me as I make another hole in my belt.

Anyway, I created this recipe for a contest. Johnsonville had an Italian Inspiration contest using any Johnsonville Italian Sausage product. I wanted to do something that made Johnsonville's Sweet Italian Sausage the star of the show. I know I succeeded. I can't even tell you how unbelievable this sausage-pepperoni-Canadian bacon pot pie tastes. It's also loaded with gooey cheese, which really puts it over the top. Way over. I thought my husband was going to bow down and proclaim me kitchen goddess of all times...basically he couldn't get enough of this meat lover's paradise. Okay, neither could I.

I love sweet Italian sausage, so when I made the "pizza" sauce, I mirrored the flavor of the sausage by adding fennel seeds...the sauce and the sausage played together nicely. It has such intense, incredible flavor. And then I topped the whole thing with flaky puff pastry...OMG...it just melts in your mouth.

Comfort food with a crust. Need I say more? Thanksgiving, for me, is all about the sides. I do love my gravy, but I prefer it over my rustic herb stuffing. Forget the turkey and save it for a big batch of turkey potpie or a morning hash.

This recipe has been part of my repertoire for the past 20 years. It has evolved over the years but one thing has remained constant; there is very little fat and no cream in the recipe. And in making this dish, over and over again, the cream is not even missed. The filling is delicious but what really makes this dish is the crust. And this gluten free crust is a winner (thanks to Shauna).

In doing all of my planning, marketing, and organizing on Sunday’s, I always find a lot of inspiration in cleaning out my vegetable bin. Soups, stir fry’s, salads, stratas, and frittatas, are dishes created from neglected or almost “not edible to eat” veggies. Food rarely gets wasted in our home and it gives me great joy to not see money thrown into the compost bin.

To all of my friends and readers who have supported me over the years, I am grateful to you for your support, questions, advice, and friendship. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Epic. It's my new favorite word. I can't stop saying it. And I'm sure everyone around me can't stand hearing it. It's just stuck in my head and currently living on the edge of my tongue.

I used the word WAY too many times yesterday. Once, when describing the epic "blackberry honey-hole" I found during my walk around the meadow. Then again when I mentioned the epic nachos I was making for dinner. And yet another time when I said I needed to go on this epic diet, after I ate the epic nachos and this epic shake. Oy. I guess I need a new word. I think it's going to be pariah. Don't ask me why.

So here's one of the reasons this shake is epic. First of all, when I buy buttermilk, I always buy the Bulgarian version. You see, buttermilk in its natural state is low-fat. It's the thin liquid left over after you churn butter from cream. Commercially-made buttermilk is created by adding bacteria cultures to milk, then heating the mixture to give it that tart, slightly fermented taste.

BUT, the Bulgarian version is a type of cultured buttermilk in which cream cultures are supplemented or replaced by yogurt cultures and fermented at higher temperatures for higher acidity. It can be more tart and thicker than cultured buttermilk. This is why it's epic. It's the only buttermilk I ever buy. And it is thicker and yummier and makes everything taste great. I hope you have it at your market. And I wish I knew why this process makes it "Bulgarian". Anyone?