Jay D's Bites: Havarti and Pear Grilled Cheese

by Aimee Tortorich

I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like a grilled cheese. Simple and delicious, grilled cheese in my eyes is the king of all sandwiches. There are so many varieties out there, so we wanted to mix things up a bit. We used Jay D’s Molasses Mustard as a way to add some sweetness and tang that makes this sandwich stand out!

Harvarti and Pear Grilled Cheese with Molasses Mustard

Serves 1

½ pear, sliced into thin strips
1 Tbs of Jay D’s Molasses Mustard
2 slices sourdough bread
4 oz. Harvarti cheese, sliced
1 Tbs unsalted butter, softened

Spread mustard on each slice of bread evenly. Next, layer with cheese on both sides and add pears to one side of bread. Heat a saute pan and add butter. Cook on each side of sandwich until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Project Food Blog Round 2: Classic Korean BBQ

The second round of Project Food Blog asks bloggers to step out of their comfort zone and cook a classic dish from another culture.  Having never traveled there or attempted to cook any of their cuisine, I felt a desire to take my talents to Asia where Jeremy Wells, author of the blog Faire Les Courses, helped me narrow that down to Korean Barbecue.  I've never eaten Korean BBQ before despite writing about the food and drinks of both North Korea and South Korea in my World Cup series, so I knew this would most certainly be a challenge.  Still, I figured that with my love and talents for American barbeque, I'd be up to this task!

Oriental Food on Lee Drive in Baton Rouge, La

I started by doing a little research on Korean BBQ by browsing other food blogs and doing some Internet searches.  I quickly decided that I'd try to make some galbi, or beef short ribs.  In Korean, galbi literally translates into "rib".  Most Korean ribs are marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, sugar, and sometimes fruit like Korean pear.  To make my galbi, I first had to do a little grocery shopping around Baton Rouge, Louisiana to find the right ingredients.

Stop number one took me to a store that is aptly named Oriental Food.  One great thing about exploring the underbelly of Baton Rouge is that this city really offers an outstanding collection of specialty stores from various ethnic and national cuisines.  Oriental Food is actually owned by a Korean family so their selection of sauces and authentic spices was pretty impressive.  After a few recommendations from the owner, I left Oriental Food with some Korean soy sauce, sesame oil, a couple Asian pears, and some kimchi.  More on that later.

Oriental Food's Selection of Sauces

After buying the essential Asian ingredients the time had come to procure some beef.  I took off to Hi-Nabor, a local grocery store with an above average selection of freshly butchered meats.  I wound up buying some beef spare ribs and a few pounds of boneless beef short ribs.  Since I've never cooked Korean-style ribs before I thought it might be good to try a couple different cuts to play around with on the grill.

Ingredients used in the Korean BBQ Marinade

When I got home I created my marinade.  After reading several different galbi recipes I took a stab at making my own sauce in which to soak the meat.  I first collected all the ingredients that I needed.  I used the soy sauce, sesame oil, and Korean pear that I got at Oriental Food.  Added to those items were some garlic, brown sugar, onion, and black pepper.  I finely chopped up most of the onion, the whole pear, and about 2/3 of the garlic bulb and added that mixture to a blend of the other ingredients.  After combining everything together, I poured the marinade over the beef.

Boneless beef short ribs and spare ribs in Korean-style marinade

Jay Ducote places the meat on the Monstrosity

Fresh beef on the hot grill

I let the beef marinate overnight and then lit up the grill for an afternoon barbeque on Sunday.  The preferred Korean method is to grill galbi over charcoal, so that's exactly what I did.  Using the wonderful Third Row Monstrosity barbeque pit, I prepared the grill and placed the meat over the hot coals.  Knowing that beef doesn't take long to cook, and being a fan of medium-rare temperatures, I knew it wouldn't take too long to cook the galbi over the sizzling coals.

Korean-style beef spare ribs

The spare ribs turned out to be ridiculously flavorful.  The combination of soy and pear came through the most and was followed by the tastes of the sesame oil and garlic.  I'm definitely going to play around with this idea a little more and try to get some bolder flavors by perhaps making a barbeque sauce that would complement the marinade.  Even still, I deemed this first attempt at Korean ribs to be a great success.

Korean Kimchi

I also took the liberty of picking up some kimchi while at Oriental Food.  Kimchi is a Korean staple that is basically fermented cabbage with a red pepper sauce.  There are a bunch of different variations on kimchi throughout South Korea, and this one tasted pretty darn good.  It is typically served as a side dish with almost any meal, so naturally I used it to help dress my galbi.  I sliced up the boneless short ribs in order to make lettuce wraps.  With some thinly sliced beef cooked to an ideal temperature and the addition of a little kimchi in the lettuce wrap, this Korean BBQ ended up satisfying quite a few hungry appetites!  I really enjoyed playing around with some new flavors and exotic ingredients.  Hopefully this Project Food Blog journey will continue so I can try a few more new recipes!

Korean galbi and kimchi on a leaf of lettuce

VOTE FOR ME IN ROUND 2 OF PROJECT FOOD BLOG!

Sea Scallops Topped with Bacon and a Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney

Friendsgiving is a pot-luck, family-style dining event brought to our group of friends by the organizers of our weekly dinner club, Sara and Rachel. The hosts instructed each attendee to bring at least one dish and a bottle of wine for the festivities. I graciously took the assignment of an appetizer because I felt like it gave me the most flexibility to shy away from traditional Thanksgiving fare and think outside the box a little bit.

I made a Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney the day before to pair with some sea scallops and bacon.  My idea was to make bacon wrapped scallops, but that didn't work out so well.  Fortunately, as you'll see, I was able to improvise!  The preparation on this day began with a couple pounds worth of fresh, thickly sliced bacon strips from a local butcher shop. 

Mmm... bacon!!

I first boiled the bacon because I wanted it to stay flexible in order for me to wrap it around the scallops.  It turned out that the thick bacon was really too large to properly wrap my smaller-sized scallops, so I abandoned that plan.  I removed the bacon from the water and fried it to a crisp in a cast iron skillet.  Crispy bacon is ways better anyway!
 
The next part of the appetizer involved me searing some sea scallops.  I cooked the scallops in the same skillet that I used for the bacon, leaving a little of the liquified bacon fat to give them a nice golden brown sear on the outside. 

Half of My Scallops Searing in a Cast Iron Skillet

The scallops finished their searing, the bacon remained crispy and warm, and the chutney chilled in the fridge, awaiting the dinner party and Friendsgiving!  Upon arrival at dinner club I set up shop on the table.  The scallops were spread out on a steel chaffing dish.  Each delightful scallop was then topped with the savory, crispy, meaty portion of a thick-cut bacon slice.  Using a spoon, I then placed a portion of pear and bourbon chutney on each strip of bacon to round out the flavors and wrap up the finger food dish. 

Seared Sea Scallops topped with Bacon and a Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney

My opinion probably shouldn't count as much because I made the appetizer and in my experience the chef or creator will be the harshest critic of his/her own work. The bacon and chutney stood out to me as being really delicious, but this was the first time I've ever seared scallops and they didn't come out all that great to me. I thought they were okay, but nothing exceptional. I can do better. In all reality, I think if they were a little fresher and would have been eaten when they were hotter off the skillet, everything would have been fine.  Everybody at the party sure seemed to enjoy them though, and that is what really counts!  I got quite a few compliments about the creativity, presentation, and taste of the dish as whole.

If I may take a step back to the drawing board for a second, Chrystal and Amir with The Duo Dishes asked that I incorporate asparagus into the dish when I pitched the idea of scallops and a pear-bourbon sauce.  Thinking that maybe I could spear the scallops with asparagus, I purchased some of the green stalks during my trip to Southside Produce when I bought the pears.  Unfortunately, the scallops were too small and the asparagus was too giant to actually do any spearing, so once again I was forced to improvise. 

Fresh Asparagus Stalks Awaiting an Olive Oil and Slap Ya Mama Bath

I generously coated the asparagus in olive oil and sprinkled in some Slap Ya Mama white pepper blend since it was my popular seasoning choice of the night.  The asparagus was then covered in foil and placed in a 400 degree oven for a while.  I can't actually tell you how long because I never set a timer or watched a clock.  I base my cooking on judgement, texture, and taste rather than measurement and time.  Good thing I don't try to bake too often!  I checked the vegetables a couple times before I decided the texture was right for consumption, then pulled it out of the oven and brought it over to Friendsgiving along with the scallop, bacon, and chutney appetizer.

Italian Olive Oil and Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning used for the Asparagus

My dishes were ready and so was I!  Friendsgiving had finally arrived.  All that was left to do now was eat, drink, and be merry!  I'll make sure to tell you all about the wine, dinner, and homemade ice cream on the next edition of Bite and Booze!

  

Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney

This week a group of friends and I celebrated our Third Annual Friendsgiving.  Friendsgiving is a dinner club meeting where we eat a pot-luck, family-style, Thanksgiving-themed feast during the week before Turkey Day.  It is typically our largest dinner club gathering of the year, and it has been extremely memorable on every occasion.  There will be another post about Friendsgiving, but for now I wanted to share the pear and bourbon reduction chutney that I created to top the bacon and scallops that I cooked for a Friendsgiving appetizer!

I began my culinary creativity at Southside Produce where I came across a delicious display of fresh pears.  Not knowing which variety of pear to choose, I went with one of each!  I'm pretty happy with that decision.

Red Pears, Bosc Pears, and D'Anjou Pears at Southside Produce

After doing a little more shopping I returned home to begin the cooking process.  Like a lot of good dishes, I started with a little olive oil in a nice, thick bottomed skillet.  I'm not much of a measurer, so I just eyeballed what I thought would be enough and put it over medium heat.  I know this doesn't help for perfectly recreating the dish, but what's the fun in that anyway!?

My Olive Oil Heating Up

Next, I diced a few shallots to create a base for the sauce.  Shallots are an interesting vegetable and one that I don't use very often.  I typically go with a full white or yellow onion, but this occasion seemed too special for that.  I needed the mild nature of the shallot to give a little flavor to the chutney without being overpowering.

Sliced Shallots Getting Ready to be Diced

Once I had the shallots finely diced I transferred them to the pan with the olive oil and let them sauté for a few minutes until the little pieces of shallot were turning clear. 

Shallots Sautéing in Olive Oil

As soon as the shallots were cooked down enough, it was time to add the fun stuff!  I momentariy removed the pan from the heat while I added a generous portion of Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon.  Knob Creek is one of my favorite mass-produced and widely available bourbons on the market. 

After adding the bourbon to the pan I placed it back on the heat and then added about two-thirds of a can of Swanson chicken broth (that's about how much bourbon I used as well).  I left those ingredients over the medium heat of the burner and allowed a little time for the mixture to heat back up.  I then sprinkled in some of my absolute favorite Cajun seasoning, Slap Ya Mama!  Thanks to the recommendation from Luna to include white pepper in the sauce, I used Slap Ya Mama's white pepper blend, which is fantastic and simple.  For those that can't get it in your local supermarket, you can order it online!  The white pepper blend contains four ingredients with no preservatives or other filler: red pepper, white pepper, salt, and garlic.  The Cajun spices were followed by a fair amount of pear infused vinegar, a sizeable portion of brown sugar, and about a third to half of that small bottle of honey.  All of the ingredients were stirred together and brought to a slight boil before I added the fruit.

Knob Creek Bourbon, Swanson Chicken Broth, Slap Ya Mama White Pepper Blend, Pear Infused Vinegar, Brown Sugar, and Honey

With everything above fusing in the pot, the time had come to turn my attention to the glorius pears that I selected from Southside Produce.  I took my knife to the fantastic fruits, carving out their stems and seeds while leaving the juicy flesh on the cutting board.  The wedges of pear were then diced into small morsels and added to the pot of simmering sauce.  I actually only used about half of each pear in the chutney with the rest going straight to my belly!

Red Pear, D'Anjou Pear, and Bosc Pear

With all of the ingredients now in the pot, all I had to do was wait and stir every once in a while.  I put the burner on low heat and let the flavors combine with each other while the sauce reduced to a chutney consistency.  I let the mixture simmer for what was probably a full hour or more before I removed it from the heat and let it cool.

Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney Simmering on the Stove

I created this chutney to go over some bacon wrapped scallops that I cooked the next day for our Friendsgiving feast.  For that recipe and to see the finished product with the chutney on top, you'll have to check back for the next post.  As much as I like to eat, sometime I forget how much I also like to cook every now and then.  If I only I had somebody to do the damn dirty dishes for me!

  

San Francisco Part V: Sunday Brunch and Ice Cream

Sunday morning came in San Francisco and Eusebio and I woke up without the beating drums and rhythmic chanting of the labor strike going on at our hotel.  I'm pretty sure they just took Sunday off.  We felt surprisingly well considering our drunken escapades the night before at the Awards Dinner.  Good times were had by all.

Foodbuzz set up a farewell brunch for the festival attendees at Restaurant LuLu courtesy of Nature's Pride, Frog Hollow Farm, Kerry Gold, and Skyy Spirits.  Skyy had a build-your-own bloody mary bar as well as all the vodka we could drink for other various cocktails.  I decided to start my day with a screwdriver in order to use a little "hair of the dog" to fight off the slight lingering hangover that I was suffering from.

My Morning Screwdriver Courtesy of Skyy Vodka

After the lines died down for the brunch buffet Eusebio and I got up to serve ourselves.  Restaurant LuLu did an amazing job working with the breads, pears, and butters that were provided by the sponsors.  Everything tasted great and looking at the pictures below makes me want to go back and eat it again!

Foodbuzz Farewell Brunch Plate #1 at Restaurant LuLu

I'll start with the bacon and move clockwise around the plate from there.  Bacon is the candy of all meats and I was happy to enjoy several slices of the thick cut, crispy swine on Sunday morning.  Next we have the nutty oak french toast with pear compote and whipped cinnamon butter which was absolutely amazing.  Moving on there is a frittata with aged cheddar, whiskey, and wild mushrooms.  It was very similar to a quiche or omelet in that its main ingredient was eggs and everything else made it taste so good!  The frittata is followed by a couple crouque monsieurs with smoked ham, swiss, and truffle mustard on whole wheat bread.  They were nice, but not good enough to go back for more.  Finally we have a pear and bleu cheese salad that added a little roughage to the brunch in a very good way.

Foodbuzz Farewell Brunch Plate #2 at Restaurant LuLu

You can tell what I enjoyed the most by looking at what I went back for in round two!  The french toast with pear compote and cinnamon butter was fantastic.  I really wanted another wedge of the frittata with cheddar, mushrooms, and whiskey because it tickled my fancy as well.  And of course, how could I not get more bacon?

After we said our goodbyes and bid adieu to our festival friends, Eusebio and I decided to make one more San Francisco stop before calling our tour complete.  No matter how full we were from the brunch, we knew that there is always room for ice cream!  Back to the Mission district we went so that we could visit the Bi-Rite Creamery which we had heard a lot about.

Ice Cream Flavor Options at the Bi-Rite Creamery

We heard about the Bi-Rite creamery on the day we arrived in San Francisco and knew that we needed to find some time to make it over there for some delightful frozen treats.  That suggestion proved to be worth every penny because the ice cream was incredible!  Bi-Rite had many different flavors including some classics like cookies 'n cream and vanilla, as well as some original and unique flavors of their own. I think I tasted about eight flavors, then ordered a cone with two of them.

Two-Flavor Ice Cream Cone at Bi-Rite Creamery

My sugar cone featured one scoop of salted caramel on top and a scoop of Ricanelas (cinnamon ice cream with snickerdoodles) on the bottom.  Both flavors were scrumptious but if I had to pick one, I'd go with the salted caramel.  It perfected the combination of sweet and salty that everyone loves in a good ice cream.  I could eat it every day so it's probably a good thing I'm not living in the Mission area right now!

After the ice cream adventure Eusebio and I were off to the Oakland airport to catch our flight home.  We had no trouble getting on the flight from Oakland to Las Vegas, but from there it was a different story.  Too bad what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!  Actually, that's not completely true this time, but you will have to wait until the next post to hear about that part of the trip!  San Francisco impressed the Hell out of me and I really didn't want to leave, but every vacation has to come to an end.  No worries though, I'm sure I'll be back.  I also want to give a final "thank you" to everyone at Foodbuzz for putting on a great festival that was enjoyed by many foodies and fellow bloggers.  Speaking of fellow bloggers, to everyone that I met in San Francisco, thanks for checking out my blog.  It was absolutely wonderful to meet everyone and share stories, ideas, and memories with each other!

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San Francisco