Perfect Recipe

Croque Monsieur Ham and Cheese Sandwich
Makes 4 sandwiches.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (packed)
8 slices of French or Italian loaf bread
12 ounces ham, sliced
Dijon mustard

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Make the béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cooking until thick. Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside.

3 Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, a few minutes each side, until lightly toasted. For extra flavor you can spread some butter on the bread slices before you toast them if you want.

(Alternatively, you can assemble the sandwiches as follows in step four and grill them on a skillet, finishing them in the broiler with the bechamel sauce.)

4 Lightly brush half of the toasted slices with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.

5 Spoon on the béchamel sauce to the tops of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese. Place on a broiling pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.

Sauteed Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 kg potatoes
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
salt and Red pepper flakes
2 tbsp parsley
3 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

Cut the potatoes into chunks. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then cook the potatoes for 10 mins (they need to be firm). Drain, shake out onto a kitchen paper-lined tray and leave to cool.

When ready to serve, heat the butter and oil in a large non-stick frying pan until you can feel a strong heat rising. Add the potatoes in a single layer, not too tightly packed. Turn the heat to medium-high, so that the potatoes sizzle, but don’t stir until they start to brown underneath.
Turn them all evenly 2 or 3 times until nicely browned all over – this can take about 7 mins. Sprinkle with salt pepper, grated cheese and paisley. Serve immediately.

Grilled and Stuffed Polenta

Ingredients:

Polenta:
1 and 1/2 cups cornmeal
5 cups water
salt and black pepper

Filling:
300g mozzarella, grated
100g fried bacon

Sauce:
1 tbsp onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 cans of peeled tomatoes (blended on the mix)
200g ground beef
Basil, salt and black pepper

Directions:

Polenta:
Bring water to a boil in a large heavy pot. Add salt and reduce heat until water is simmering. Take cornmeal by the handful and add to water very slowly, controlling the flow to a thin stream through your fingers. To avoid lumps, stir quickly with a long handled wooden spoon while adding cornmeal. If necessary, stop adding cornmeal from time to time and beat mixture vigorously. Cook, stirring constantly, 20 to 30 minutes. Polenta will become very thick while cooking. It is done when it comes away cleanly from the sides of the pot.

Spread half the polenta in an dish. Smooth out polenta evenly. Cover the polenta with the mozzarella and bacon. Add the rest of the polenta on top, smooshing it out as best you can. Let cool until polenta solidifies.

Sauce:
In the same pan that you fried the bacon, fry the onion and garlic. Add the ground beef and the tomatoes and let it boil for 30 minutes. Season with basil, salt and pepper.

Grill:
Cut polenta into squares. Brush both sides with olive oil. Place on grill; cover grill. Grill until polenta is golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Serve hot and with tomato sauce.

Ham and Cheese Tart

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tbsp butter, cold and in pieces
1 egg yolk
1/3 tsp salt
4 tbsp cold water

Filling:
200g cup natural yogurt
300g heavy cream
4 eggs
3 tbsp parmesan cheede, grated
200g ham, chopped
200g mozzarella cheese, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 tsp oregano
1/4 cup olives, pitted

Directions:

Crust:
Preheat oven 350°F. Blend flour and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water and egg yolk. Process just until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Roll out the dough and cover the bottom and sides a greased 8,7 inch round pan.

Filling:
In a mixing bowl, using a hand-held mixer or a whisk, combine eggs, heavy cream, yogurt, salt and parmesan cheese together until mixed well. With a spoon, add the ham, mozzarella cheese, olives and oregano. Pour the filling over the crust. Bake for 45 minutes, or until is golden brown.

Bacon Muffins
(± 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

2 tsp vegetable oil
6 bacon slices, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
300g self-rising flour
75g all-purpose flour
1 pinch of salt
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
2 eggs
250ml milk
125g melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 210ºC. Grease (or spray with cooking spray) a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper liners.
Pan fry the chopped bacon with the oil in a small, heavy saucepan until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and let cool slightly. In the same saucepan, saute the onion until lightly brown and tender, and let it cold.
In a large bowl, sift and whisk the flours, salt and parsley together until well-combined. Lightly beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the milk and stir to combine. Combine the flour mixture with the milk and add the butter, bacon, onion and with a spoon stir until just combined.
Drop batter by spoonfuls into the greased muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.