Grilled cheeses of the gods
I moved this post from the Deft Palate blog.Last night was my turn to cook at the commune, and I decided to take the new George Foreman for a spin with grilled cheeses. However, not just any grilled cheese will do for a deft palate. Instead, I got ingredients for five different gourmet grilled cheeses. After a group taste test, I'm pleased to present the winners.
Grilled gorgonzola and honey |
| Serves 1 |
| Ingredients |
| 2 | slices of rustic Italian bread |
| 3 oz | gorgonzola cheese |
| 1/2 tsp | honey |
| 1 tbsp | softened butter |
| Preheat George Foreman grill or nonstick skillet over medium heat. |
| Spread butter on each slice of bread, then flip bread over. |
| Drizzle honey on bread, then top with gorgonzola. Top with other slice of bread, buttered side out. |
| Place sandwiches on George Foreman grill, close cover and cook for 4-6 minutes. |
| If using a skillet, place sandwich in heated pan and cook about 4 minutes, pressing top with spatula. Flip, then cook 2 minutes more. |
Dairyland grilled cheddar cranapple sandwich |
| Serves 4 |
| Ingredients |
| 8 | slices of rye bread |
| 1 | yellow onion, sliced into 4 rings 1/4" thick |
| 1 1/12 tbsp | cranberry mustard |
| 4 | slices Swiss cheese |
| 1/4 cup | dried cherries |
| 1 | small McIntosh apple, cored and sliced paper thin |
| 8 oz | sharp cheddar cheese, shredded |
| 1 tbsp | softened butter |
| Preheat George Foreman grill or nonstick skillet over medium heat. |
| Spread butter on each slice of bread, then flip bread over. |
| Spread cranberry mustard on half the bread. Follow with Swiss cheese, onion, apple and cheddar. Top with other slice of bread, buttered side out. |
| Place sandwiches on George Foreman grill, close cover and cook for 4-6 minutes. |
| If using a skillet, place sandwich in heated pan and cook about 4 minutes, pressing top with spatula. Flip, then cook 2 minutes more. |
Dutch grilled cheese |
| Serves 4 |
| Ingredients |
| 8 | slices of rye bread |
| 6 oz | Gouda cheese, coarsely grated |
| 3/4 tsp | cumin |
| 1 tbsp | softened butter |
| Preheat George Foreman grill or nonstick skillet over medium heat. |
| Spread butter on each slice of bread, then flip bread over. |
| Combine shredded cheese with cumin. Put 1/4 of cheese mixture on bread, then top with another slice, buttered side out. |
| Place sandwiches on George Foreman grill, close cover and cook for 4-6 minutes. |
| If using a skillet, place sandwich in heated pan and cook about 4 minutes, pressing top with spatula. Flip, then cook 2 minutes more. |
Brown sugar cheesecake with butterscotch-bourbon sauce and chocolate-pecan crust
I moved this recipe, served at Thanksgiving 2005, from the Deft Palate blog.
Brown sugar cheesecake with butterscotch-bourbon sauce and chocolate-pecan crust |
| Serves 12 |
| Ingredients |
| 1/3 cup | pecans |
| 16 | thin chocolate wafer cookies |
| 4 | graham crackers, 5" by 2 1/2" |
| 1 1/3 cup, plus 2 tsbp | packed dark brown sugar, divided |
| 6 tbsp | butter, softened |
| 1/4 tsp | salt |
| 24 oz | cream cheese, softened |
| 4 | eggs |
| 1/3 cup plus 3 tbsp | bourbon, divided |
| 2 tsp | vanilla, divided |
| 16 oz | sour cream |
| 1 | jar butterscotch topping |
| Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. |
| In a baking pan toast pecans in one layer in middle of oven until golden, about 10 minutes, and cool. In a food processor finely grind pecans, wafers, and graham crackers. Add 1/3 cup brown sugar, butter, and salt and pulse until combined well. Transfer mixture to a 9 1/2-inch springform pan and press evenly onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches upside. |
| In a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream cheese until fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating at low speed until just combined. Beat in 3 tbsp bourbon, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 cup brown sugar until just combined. |
| Pour filling into crust and put springform pan in a baking pan. Bake cake in middle of oven for 35 minutes. Leaving oven on, transfer cake in springform pan to a rack and let stand 5 minutes. (Center of cake will set as it cools.) |
| In a bowl stir together sour cream, 2 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. |
| Drop spoonfuls of topping around edge of cake and spread gently over center, smoothing evenly. Bake cake in baking pan in middle of oven 10 minutes and cool completely in springform pan on rack. Chill cake, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 4 days. |
| Run a thin knife around inside edge of pan and remove side of pan. Transfer cake to a serving plate and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. |
| In small saucepan, combine butterscotch topping with 1/3 cup bourbon. Simmer until warm. |
| Cut cake into wedges and drizzle each wedge with sauce. |
Recipe courtesy of Gourmet magazine, February 1998
Note: The cheesecake is much prettier out of the pan, but it was promptly devoured.
Cranberry-lime tart with white chocolate cream and almond crust
I moved this recipe, served at Thanksgiving 2005, from the Deft Palate blog. 
Cranberry-lime tart with white chocolate cream and almond crust |
| Serves 12 |
| Ingredients |
| 1 | jar of lime curd, about 6-8 oz. |
| 1 1/4 cups | white flour |
| 1/2 cup | powdered sugar |
| 1/3 cup | whole almonds, toasted |
| 1/2 tsp | salt |
| 3/4 cup | unsalted butter |
| 1 1/2 tsp | vanilla extract, divided |
| 1/4 cup | water |
| 1 1/2 tsp | cornstarch |
| 2/3 cup | granulated sugar |
| 3 tbsp | honey |
| 1 1/2 tsp | Chinese five-spice powder |
| 12 oz | cranberries, thawed |
| 5 oz | white chocolate, chopped |
| 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp | sour cream |
| white chocolate curls and lime twists, to garnish |
| Directions |
| Finely grind flour, sugar, almonds and salt in processor. Add butter and 1 tsp vanilla; cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture just forms soft moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using thumb, press dough up sides to extend 1/8 inch above rim of pan. Freeze crust 30 minutes. |
| Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake crust until golden brown, pressing with back of spoon if crust bubbles, about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely. |
| Whisk 1/4 cup water and cornstarch in heavy large saucepan to blend. Add sugar, honey and five-spice powder, if desired. Stir over medium-high heat until mixture comes to boil. Add cranberries; cook until mixture boils and berries just begin to pop but still maintain shape, occasionally stirring gently, about 5 minutes. Cool completely (mixture will thicken). |
| Stir chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water; whisk in sour cream and vanilla. Cool completely. |
| Spread white chocolate cream into crust; freeze 15 minutes. Spoon curd over; spread evenly. Spoon cranberry topping by tablespoonfuls over, then spread carefully to cover completely. Cover and chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.) |
| Remove pan sides; transfer tart to platter. Sprinkle chocolate curls around edge of tart. Garnish with lime twists. |
Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit magazine, December 2003
New forum for recipes
My old blog,
The Deft Palate, started off as a way to post restaurant reviews for the Fairbanks area. But, like most foodies, I couldn't resist posting recipes as well. And that's where the blog became jumbled.
In an effort to separate out the mess, I've decided to link together two blogs: the original Deft Palate, and this blog (technically known as Deft Palate Recipes). I hope that my readers will enjoy the new format and will continue to visit both.
