Grilled Cheese Sandwich #2

The Second of a Three Part series. (Part One here) This grilled cheese was created for my youngest daughter.  It begins with bacon; Nueske's smoked bacon.   The extra slices from a Sunday morning breakfast inspired my youngest daughter to request a BLT grilled cheese. The tomato component was easy enough - adapting an oven-roasted tomato recipe [...]

Grilled Cheese Sandwich #1

With Thomas Keller's sage advice to consider the grilled cheese "a blank canvas", we share three recent creations, each in separate posts. Our first begins with a unique cheddar, Deer Creek's Vat 17, which is a specialty cheese produced for, and distributed by, the folks at The Artisan Cheese Exchange. Chris and Julie Gentine founded [...]

Reflections on Sauerbraten

Inspiration can come from anywhere. At a recent used-book sale, I stumbled across this 1936 publication by Culinary Arts Press of the "Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book: Fine Old Recipes" and decided it was time to try a traditional Sauerbraten which I had been considering for some time. Here is the recipe: I started with a [...]

Venison Tenderloin with Dried Cherry Gastrique

A gift of beautiful venison tenderloins from a good friend inspired this dish along with a helping of beautiful dried cherries. I particularly love fruits in a savory sauce with tender meats. The rich, game flavors of venison here are offset by not just the cherries but the tang of vinegar and the sweetness of [...]

Maple-Glazed Pheasant

Using the same technique as our Smoked Pheasant, we brined our bird then oven-roasted it to completion while glazing frequently with unreduced maple syrup.  The breasts were left to chill overnight then sliced across the grain. Placed on whole grain crackers, topped with Cardona Goat Milk Cheese from our heroes at Carr Valley, then topped [...]