Grilled Bacon, Swiss, Goat Cheese and Spinach Sandwich with Roasted Tomato Soup

One of the most under appreciated meals in the south, or even in the US as a whole, is the grilled cheese sandwich with a cup/bowl of tomato soup.  Now I know that too many moms out there used the old canned or packaged soup mix.  But it really is a simple dish to make.  Might have quite a few ingredients, but for all practical purposes, it is a dump in the pot dish that only needs to be blended.  You can do this with an immersion blender or use a kitchen blender and do a little bit at a time.  This reminds me of a story where a friend of mine who read an old blog post of mine that had the same soup recipe in it and decided he needed an immersion blender.  His wife posted their very animated text conversation.  Needless to say, that when he gave himself the chance to think it through, he was going to purchase “The Big Stick” at a cost of over $400.00.  She did, however, convince him otherwise.  In her mind, and I agree, there is no need for a “Big Stick” in the kitchen.  At least not one that works with 120 volts, but I digress.  One can purchase a very effective and usable immersion blender at most department stores for under $50.00, and probably closer to $30.00.  This should not be an issue to really stress over.  However, with regards to my friend Jason, it made for a very good laugh.

As always, I like to put my epicurean spin on things, so both my tomato soup and grill cheese get boosted up a notch in flavor.  While a basic grill cheese on white bread with Kraft© American Singles seems to be a common theme in many kitchens, I can’t emphasize enough how flavorless, not to mention unhealthy, that combination is.  There are a multitude of bakery made multi grain breads that have phenomenal flavor.   And there are too many cheeses to name.  This should be something you have fun with.  Personally, I like to add bacon to mine, as well as experiment with different cheeses, and/or a combination of cheeses.  Don’t hesitate to add bacon to it, either.  And while there probably is a grey area in the difference between a grilled cheese and a Panini, I’m not too sure that I know, nor really care.

So this is going to be our lunch today.  Grilled Bacon, Swiss, Goat Cheese and Spinach on a House Made Multi Grain Bread, with Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup.  Because the sandwich is pretty self-explanatory, I’ll not go into too much detail on it.  What I will offer is that a home size Panini press is probably the greatest purchase (because we have kiddos) that my wife and I have made.  One makes for a quick grilled cheese and easy cleanup.  We bought a Breville at Sur La Table for a very reasonable price, but there are plenty of very good and very inexpensive ones out there.  If you don’t have one, don’t despair.  A hot skillet still works just as well.  Just make sure you use real butter or olive oil.  Margarine and/or shortening just don’t have the same flavor, and is a might worse in the health department.

Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup

Ingredients

10 tomatoes (medium size, heirlooms are best, but any will work)

2 medium size onions – large dice

1 large carrots – roughly chopped

1 roasted red bell pepper

5-6 cloves fresh garlic

3-4 strips of bacon – chopped

2 Tbsp veggie oil (I use 80% Canola/20% Olive)

1.5 qt chicken stock

½ cup heavy cream

¼ cup lemon juice

1 Tbsp dried Basil

1 Tbsp dried Oregano

1 Tsp dried Thyme

¼ cup Fresh Basil – rough chop

1 Tsp – Chipotle chili powder (more if you like it spicey)

1 Tsp – Ancho chili powder

2 Tsp – Ground Coriander

Kosher salt and white pepper to taste

And for the chef’s super-secret recipe – ¼ cup ketchup (I know, it just doesn’t sound right, but it works, so why argue the point).  Adds both color and flavor.  If you use Ancho Ketchup, avoid the tsp of ancho powder in the main recipe.

OK.  So it looks like a lot of ingredients.  Yeah, well, the only necessary ingredients are the tomatoes, onions, garlic, fat/oil, and salt and pepper.  With that base, you can add anything you want to make a tomato soup (chopped rosemary, for example).  So if you don’t have something, don’t despair.  Just play with your seasonings and add a few things until it tastes right.

Method

Roast the tomatoes and red bell pepper on the grill (or in the oven) until they become somewhat soft and have charred grill marks.  Heat your soup pot on med-high, add the veggie oil and bacon and sauté until the bacon is ¾ cooked.  Add the onion and carrots and continue to sauté for 3 minutes.  Now add your dried herbs (Basil, Oregano, and Thyme).  You can stir these around the pot get them to release their aromas and flavors.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat a bit and reduce the liquid by almost half.  Add the garlic cloves and cook for 10 more minutes.  Now at this point, you want to puree the entire mix with the fresh Basil.  If you have an immersion blender, you can use that, or you can transfer to a blender by a bit at a time until you have pureed all of it.  Once this has been done, add the lemon juice and cream.  If using the immersion blender, continue to mix.  If you went the blender route, get a whisk and whisk in the cream and lemon juice.  Continue to keep the burner on medium through this process.  Add the chipotle and ancho chili powders, the ground coriander, and the salt and pepper until the flavors are where you want them.

This is truly a soup where you essentially add the vegetables, cook them down a bit, add the rest of the ingredients and blend them all up.  Feel free to play with this recipe and adjust the tastes to your liking.  Personally, I’d add more chipotle at home, as I like the added heat.   I think a jalapeno or a Serrano pepper would also be nice added to this as well.

NOTE:  To make this vegetarian, leave out the bacon and chicken stock.  Use a bit more oil and vegetable stock.  For Vegan, you can add Cauliflower and parsnip at the same time you add the carrots instead of cream.  Won’t have the same texture, but it will be close.

Restaurant Chef Tip:  To get the white swirly stuff on top of the soup like in the picture, I reduce about 1 cup of sour cream with ¼ cup of dry sherry to a creamy consistency.  Transfer to a piping tube (like a ketchup or mustard tube you see at hamburger joints), and slowly squeeze it out while moving your hand in a circle above the soup bowl.  To add one more fancy, smancy look to it, you can drag a small paring knife blade in straight lines across the bowl.  It makes it look like you know what you are doing. 

Have fun and enjoy.  Let me know how this works for you. 

Enjoy!

Cajun Shrimp and Southwestern Grits

I can’t tell you how much I love the food in Texas.  I call my cooking style, Texan with a twist and kicked up a notch … or two.  One of the nice things is that I’m not limited to what I can prepare.  Texas has such phenomenal history with regards to immigrants from all over the world that almost anything can be called Texan.  However, the predominant flavors we see are often Southern, Cajun/Creole, Latin, and Southwestern (which in my mind includes Native American food stocks that you might see in New Mexico).  It’s not unusual to see additional Italian and French flavors incorporated into foods as well, as both societies are very largely represented in Texas history.

One of my favorite dishes was actually introduced to me by my sister.  She found a very traditional Shrimp and Grits recipe from South Carolina, I believe, and made it for us one Christmas.  I fell in love with the pungent, saltwater aroma of the shrimp paired with what was to me, breakfast food.  I’d had Gulf Shrimp most of my life prepared in one way or another, and grits were often served for breakfast, and still are in many places in the southern areas of Texas, usually with a large helping of butter and/or cheese.  Can’t go wrong there.  But never did I think to combine these two dishes, as apparently so many southerners had for many generations.  I truly had to make this my own.

One of my favorite ways to cook shrimp was to sauté it with butter and Cajun seasonings.  I thought to myself that this would go over my Southwest Grits nicely, and I’d just have to deglaze the sauté pan with a bit of stock to create a nice sauce to pour over it all.  After a time or two, it became a main dish in my repertoire.  Love this dish!

For the Grits:

So we’ll start of with the grits, as it is likely the most time consuming part, though it really doesn’t take much time at all.   You can use real, stoned ground yellow grits, medium ground polenta, or medium ground cornmeal.  Bob’s Red Mill has a fantastic stone ground cornmeal that I like to use.  Whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, use quick grits.  I’ll come find you and take away your Texan, Southern, or Latino card and ban you from cooking for a week.

·          1 cup  grits, yellow - use stone ground, sub stone ground, medium grind corn meal

·         slices  bacon -- lardon or dice

·         ounce  minced garlic

·         ounce  minced shallot

·         ounce  roasted red bell pepper -- small dice

·         cups  chicken or shrimp stock

·         cup  whole milk

·         ¼ cup  heavy cream

·         ¼ cup  butter

·         taste  Salt and pepper (can also add 1 tsp of chili powder for flavor and color)

Method:

In a large sauce pot, sauté the bacon until almost done.  Remove the bacon and drain the bacon fat until only a couple of tablespoons are left in the pot.  Add garlic, shallot, and roasted red bell and sauté for 30 seconds or so.  Add stock and milk and bring to boil.  Whisk in grits and continue until liquid is incorporated and the grits/cornmeal are cooked.  Whisk in cream and butter, add the bacon back to the mix, then add salt and pepper to taste.  One thing to note.  The more fat (bacon fat, butter, cream) that you use, the more smooth the grits will turn out.  This only thing that this may affect (besides your fat and caloric intake) is the ability to form the grits into any meaningful shape.  Not a big issue with regards to eating, but somewhat frustrating when food styling or in a restaurant setting.

For the Shrimp:

This is, most likely, the easiest part.  I like to get some rather large shrimp, such as the 15-16 per pound, or even the U12 (under 12 per pound), fresh and whole.  When I shell them, I leave the tail and the last segment of shell on for looks.  You can remove them if you want.  I usually will devein wild shrimp, but if all I can get is farm-raised, I’ll usually not bother, as they are cleaned out by the time you get them.  I’ll explain in the comments if anyone really cares to ask.

·         Shrimp – get about ½ lb per person. 

·         1 strip bacon per person – diced or lardon

·         ½ oz mined garlic per person

·         ½ oz minced shallot per person

·         Cajun Seasoning – 1 tsp to 1 tbsp per person

·         ¼ cup Chicken Stock

·         1 or 2 pats of real butter

Method:

Cook the bacon lardons in a sauté pan until crisp.  Remove bacon and reserve.  Remove all but 1 tbsp of bacon fat in the sauté pan.  Over Med-High heat, cook the shrimp for about 30 seconds on one side.  Flip the shrimp and add the garlic, shallots, bacon, and Cajun Seasoning.  Sauté for about 30 more seconds or so, then add the chicken stock.  Cook until stock is almost cooked out (au sec), about 2 minutes or so.  Add the pats of butter and move the pan in a circular motion until the butter is incorporated.  

Immediately place the shrimp over the already plated grits, and then pour the sauce over everything.  You can garnish with chopped green onion.

For those of you who like to make your own seasonings, here is my recipe for Cajun seasoning.  It is my take on Chef Robert Barker’s recipe that he taught me over 12 years ago.  RIP Chef.  You were a good one.

·         1/3         cup  Kosher salt

·         2 2/3      tablespoons  Cayenne

·         2 2/3      tablespoons  paprika

·         2            tablespoons  Onion powder

·         1 1/3      tablespoons  black pepper

·         1 1/3      tablespoons  white pepper

·         1 2/3      tablespoons  garlic powder

·         2 2/3      tablespoons  dried thyme

·         1 1/3      tablespoons  chili powder

·         1/3         tablespoon  dried basil

·         1 1/3      tablespoons  dried oregano

Blend together in food processor.  Should make about ½ lb.  I usually make about 2 or 3 lbs and keep in my spice cabinet.  Goes with almost everything savory. 

Enjoy!

After the Holidays

So how are those New Year's Diet Resolutions working out for you?  I learned a long time ago that getting through the first couple of weeks is usually the toughest.  For example, do you really want to start that new diet on the 1st of January?  Really?  I for one prepare some pretty good meals on the 1st, usually including Black Eyed Peas and fresh bread.  Just doesn't seem right to deny yourself any of that.  And for many of us, there are events that last through the first couple of weeks of January where food is present in all sorts of appealing ways, so it just makes sense to start those diets sometime after.  So what are your thoughts on all of this?

Something you might want to consider, rather than searching for the elusive perfect diet, is a change of lifestyle.  I, for one, tend to enjoy the holidays, cooking, eating, and drinking pretty much everything I can get my hands on.  Embarrassing really.  I think I gained around 15 lbs. over November and December.  Of course, I haven't been working out, nor have I really watched my food intake over the last year.  But these are lifestyle changes I do intend to make.  Working out will be an important part of the agenda, as will paying a bit closer attention to what I put in my body.  Since I'm always testing recipes, it makes it a bit difficult to watch the food, but I tend to use natural and organic ingredients, so I can at least pay attention to the make up of the food that I ingest, as well as the amount.  I can stay away from desserts easily enough, though I like a small bite of chocolate a couple of times per week.  I've also never been one to drink soft drinks.  It's been something like 7 years since I've had a Coke or anything like that.  Water, coffee, tea, and the occasional juice are about all that I drink.  However, I won't deny myself the occasional glass of wine or craft beer.  Most sports drinks are loaded with High Fructose Corn Syrup, so I don't go after those.  I like Michael Pollan's tagline on his book, "In Defense of Food, an Eater's Manifesto".  "Eat Food.  Not too much.  Mostly Plants."  I'm sure I'll get arguments from all sorts of folks that say go Adkins, Dukan, Paleo, South Beach, etc., but in all reality, the key for losing fat (notice I didn't say weight) is a simple formula.  Burn more calories than you take in.  Most diets are restrictive and put too many guidelines on what you can and cannot eat.  That always bugs me.  I like to make and eat bread.  So do my kids.  Most diets would have you stay completely away from bread, but I make a pretty healthy and tasty multi-grain bread.  A slice from time to time is not going to destroy me.  I do tend to cook mostly lean meats and vegetables, so my family is getting all of the nutrients that are necessary to sustain ourselves (in the case of my wife and myself), or that are necessary to aid in the growth of my children.  Truthfully, life is too short to not enjoy well prepared and tasty food.  Unfortunately, it is also made much shorter if we enjoy too much tasty food.  As in everything, balance and moderation is the key.

My charge to all this new year is to eat good food, real food, nothing processed.  Don't eat more than you need, which in many cases is much less than 2000 calories per day.  Don't get obsessive with counting calories, but have an understanding of what is too much.  Drink really good wine and beer, but leave it to one drink a night, or less.  Do something active every single day, whether it is going for a walk, a run, lifting weights, doing yoga or Pilates, swimming, whatever.  Just burn a few extra calories every day.  Start slow if you are not in great shape.  It will get better over time.

I promise you that if you are honest with what you eat, and you stay active, you will be very happy with the results in 6 months or so.  It is a lifestyle change, so get to changing!

I can't leave you without at least one recipe to share. 

I have an easily prepared Chipotle Sauce that I use with lots of meats, including roasted and shredded chicken or smoked and shredded pork.  You can make a batch of the sauce and keep it in the fridge for various uses, and you can make up a batch of the sauced meat to also keep in the fridge for tacos, salads, to serve over rice, whatever you may want.  I'd like to see you experiment with it and come back to my blog and report on it.

Chipotle Sauce

3.5 oz can of chipotle in adobo sauce (I do make this from scratch from time to time, but it is a guilty pleasure to purchase the many different and very well made varieties you can find in the store)
5 or 6 cloves of garlic
28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes
1 medium onion, cleaned and quartered
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1 tsp sugar (to cut the acid a bit)
Kosher or Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Essentially I just blend all of this up in a blender and pour into a sauce pan to simmer and reduce until thick.  Easy enough to mix with shredded meats.  It is a spicy sauce, so start small and adjust to your own tolerance.

Enjoy!!!