HAM AND BRIE SANDWICH

There is something delectable about a ham and brie sandwich: just those two simple ingredients placed between a sliced baguette. Why mess with such delightful simplicity? But there’s also something nice to be said about a fresh, crispy baguette flavoured with honey infused Dijon mustard, stuffed with peppery arugula, and then topped with a creamy brie and some country ham!

Either way, go out and get the best ingredients and share with your valentine. Accompany with some nice fruit and have a quiet, cozy lunch, just the two of you!

Are you ready for strorytime?

I have to talk about the mini adventure I had while trying to purchase the berries which accompany this brie and cheese sandwich: 11 February, was mighty cold here in the Philadelphia suburbs, with a light snow falling on and off all day. Dauntless (lol!), I drove to the supermarket so I could pick up a few things. In anticipation of Valentine's Day, the market had all the "berry type" fruits displayed in large bins outside their front entrance. No way you could miss them, and no way could you resist them. How’s that for merchandising? I walked inside, chose some produce, then decided to go back outdoors to get some berries. It had gotten dark and very windy. The snow was falling heavier now, and the wind spun it and tossed it around so that it seemed the area was in the middle of a blizzard. "What a time and what a place to be buying strawberries," I thought. One of the market employees came outside to make sure the fruit bins were secure. However, as he opened the doors to exit the market, he inadvertently provided a way for the wind to tunnel inside the store and lay havoc. A beautiful display of orchid plants collapsed to the floor. Customers, me included, ran to prop them up. Eventually, the staff set up the orchids in another location, one farther away from the front entrance, and I’m certain those orchids will be sold by Valentine's Day, but after all that cold exposure they won't have a long life. Meanwhile, I wanted to get to somewhere warm and gave up my plan of buying more berries. I looked down at my container of strawberries. It was covered with something which looked like powdered sugar. I knew better: it was a soft, light dusting of snow. Ah, strawberries, the luscious summer fruit ... 

• Here's how I made the brie and ham sandwich:

Ingredients:

1 baguette, nice and fresh

8 ounces good quality deli ham, sliced

4 ounces brie cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Dijon mustard mixed with honey to taste

baby arugula

a few drops of olive oil (optional)

freshly ground black pepper

some nice fruit such as apples, strawberries, grapes, blackberries, blueberries, etc.

Directions:

• Slice the baguette horizontally.  
• Take one piece of the bread and spread it lightly with the Dijon/honey mustard.
• Take the other piece of the baguette and arrange some baby arugula on it.  On top of the arugula sprinkle a little olive oil. Grab your pepper grinder and give it a go, seasoning with all that delicious freshly ground black pepper.
• Layer the ham on top of the mustard
• Layer the brie on top of the arugula.  
• Press the two sides of the baguette together.  
• Slice the baguette into pieces and serve accompanied with the fruit.

A very enjoyable fruit and sandwich lunch!!!

JACQUES PEPIN'S THIRTY MINUTE CASSOULET

Old recipes can and should be adapted to suit today’s lifestyle. Here is a new and healthier version of cassoulet, the countryside classic dish from France: Thirty-Minute Cassoulet, adapted from Jacques Pépin's Fast Food My Way

I draw the line when it comes to making a traditional cassoulet. For one thing, the traditional version takes something like three days to prepare, and for another, it includes a liberal amount of duck fat plus the rind of almost a whole pig ... I'll pass.

Duck fat and pork rind were used in kitchens of centuries past. Caloric intake during those times was high, but people burned calories faster than we do because they were highly mobile and engaged in significant labour. The country folk who prepared cassoulet used fat as a method of preserving food plus they were careful to use all parts of any animal they slaughtered.    
Today’s lifestyle is different and comparatively more sedentary. Additionally, we are all of us aware of the health risks associated with eating foods high in fat content. There's just no need to cook like that anymore. 

Jaques Pépin, gentleman chef extraordinaire, offers us a recipe for a cassoulet that can be cooked in less than one hour. Convenient, tasty, and healthier. Thank you, Chef Pépin.

JACQUES PEPIN'S THIRTY MINUTE CASSOULET:

                                     

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound rolled shoulder ham (also called a daisy ham or Boston Butt), tough outer skin removed, cut into four pieces

1 pound Italian sausages, cut into 3-inch pieces

1 pound skinless chicken thighs

1 cup sliced button mushrooms

1 cup sliced carrots

1 diced onion
1 can (14.5 ounces/400 grams) whole peeled tomatoes, chopped

4 cloves garlic crushed

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

2 cans (15½ ounces/450 grams each) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 

black pepper

coarsely chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit /180 degrees Celsius.   
• Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the ham, chicken and Italian sausage.
• Cover and cook over high heat for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.
• Add the mushrooms, carrots, onion, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. Mix well and cook for another 10 minutes.
• Add the beans, tomatoes and pepper 
• Bring back to the boil, cover, and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
• At serving time, discard the bay leaves, cut the ham into slices and the sausage pieces in half, and arrange the meat on a platter with the beans.
• Sprinkle the parsley on top.

CATHY'S DELICIOUS YELLOW SPLIT PEA SOUP

My New Year's holiday was spent at the home of my dear friend Cathy. We all had a great time ushering in 2011! Cathy lives on the grounds of what used to be a farm, in an area of Pennsylvania that is semi-rural. It was wonderful to get away from the city for a little while. I went for walks on the nature path near Cathy's home and enjoyed breathing in the cold, crisp, clear air. I enjoyed too all the natural, icy, winter loveliness: looking at the sinuous denuded tree branches, poking the frozen earth with my walking stick, staring at the empty gazebo by the side of a pond. 

At Cathy's, we did the usual holiday things: cook, eat, drink, talk, laugh. My friend had planned to teach me how to make her split pea soup. For many years now, I have raved about it. The broth is to die for. It's seasoned with a ham bone which gives it a wonderful smoky flavour and it's full of delicious root vegetables. As if that is not enough, the soup is topped off with dumplings, which are one of my favourite things to eat. 

On New Year's Day, after the Rose Parade was over and with wine glass in hand, we sauntered over to the stove, Cathy was the chef, I became the sous-chef, and together we started to cook some soup. Here's how to make Cathy's delicious yellow split pea soup:


Ingredients:

• 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup dried yellow split peas (if you want a thicker soup use more)
• 1 medium onion, sliced into thin rings
• freshly ground black pepper
• a ham bone with a nice amount of meat left on
• 1 nice size turnip, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1-inch pieces 
• optional: some vegetable broth

For the dumplings:

• 1 cup flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
• about 1/4 cup of water

This will make about 6 dumplings, but for more, just double the recipe.

Directions:

The best time to make this soup is when you have a ham bone left over after having cooked a baked ham. You will need a ham bone with a substantial amount of meat still attached to it so that you can have lots of chunks of ham in the soup. 

• Go ahead and place the ham bone in a large stockpot, add the onion slices, throw in the yellow peas, then pour enough water in the pot to cover the ham. If you have some vegetable broth you can use that as a substitute for all or part of the water. Season with the black pepper, cover the pot and place it on the stove over medium-high heat.
• Allow the water to come to a boil. You may want to skim off the froth that develops as the water is boiling. (Rapid boiling and the starch created from the breakdown of the peas is the reason for the appearance of froth. The froth is mostly water bubbles that have become heavy from starch and gelatin and don't break up as they usually do). Once the water comes to the boil go ahead and turn the heat down, then simmer your ingredients for two hours.
• While the soup is simmering give it a stir every fifteen minutes or so. The liquid will eventually begin to thicken from the breakdown of the onions and peas. 
• Once the two hours are up, remove the bone from the pot and place it on a plate. Carefully, so that you don't burn yourself, remove the meat from the bone. Throw the meat back into the pot and discard the bone.
• Add the turnips and cook for 15 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for another 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes more. 
• While the vegetables are cooking you will want to make the dumplings: Mix the flour with the baking powder and add the butter. With a fork break up the butter while incorporating it into the flour. Add water, about a tablespoon at a time, and keep mixing with the fork until you have a batter that is soft and moist.
• With the aid of a tablespoon scoop up some batter and drop it into the pot. Allow the dumplings to cook until they are nice and plump, about 10 minutes.

The soup is done! Ladle it into bowls and serve it immediately. It tastes best if eaten right away. It has an absolutely FANTASTIC flavour. If you can't eat the soup right away, remove the dumplings from the broth and store them covered. When ready to eat, place them back in the soup and warm while stirring.

January 2 and time to go. Sad to be leaving but looking forward to going home. Below is a picture of Linus, my sweet bichon frise waiting to go home. We had packed our things, including the two dog beds, on top of which Linus decided to climb. I guess he was trying to say: "please don't forget these, they are way too comfortable!" You're the man Linus!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011, ONE AND 
ALL!!!