When my mom was young, she worked in the kitchen of a Mennonite retirement home, where the head cook was an older Conservative (plainer than Mennonite) woman. “Vernie” hailed from Holmes County, Ohio, and had the accent to prove it. One of my mom’s duties was cutting the cheese (which, I guess, explains Ben’s affinity for the task!) Apparently, my mom’s slices of cheese were deemed to be too modest. Vernie insisted that she slice it thicker. “When I vont cheese, I vont cheese!” I believe that it was this same woman who offered the following wisdom about someone who was being difficult, “What he needs is for someone to knock him down every time he gets up.” Random story? Yes, but here are my takeaways: you can’t have too much cheese, and don’t be a jerk!
So, where does this leave us with our cooking this week? Well, when I want cheese, I want cheese! We made grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato basil soup and strawberry balsamic salad. Perfect combo.
The soup recipe is based on one that we made when the college’s gourmet club was still operating, but I don’t know the recipe’s origin. The following is what we did this time.
Tomato Basil Soup
4 ounce pancetta, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
6 tablespoons flat leaf Italian parsley, plus more for garnishing
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry red wine
1 28-ounce can crushed Italian tomatoes
1 quart beef bone broth
1 Parmigiano cheese rind
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
Parmigiano, freshly grated, for serving
Place pancetta, onion, celery, carrot, garlic and parsley in food processor. Pulse about ten times for a second each time.
Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat, then add the olive oil. Add the vegetable pancetta blend to the olive oil and cook about 10 minutes, reducing heat if necessary, to prevent browning.
Raise the heat to high and add wine. Boil for two to three minutes to evaporate the alcohol, then add the tomatoes, broth and cheese rind. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove and discard cheese rind. Taste soup and add salt and pepper, if necessary. Add basil and simmer 5 more minutes. Serve topped with parsley and freshly grated Parmigiano.
*Note: the original recipe calls for 4 ounces of parsley, but I like a little more. The cheese rind is my addition. Normally, we use chicken broth, but this time we tried beef bone broth, and it was delicious. If you don’t have a good source of fresh basil, skip this recipe. Fresh basil is essential.
Grilled Cheese
6 slices fresh sourdough bread
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 cup grated cheese (Ben likes pepper jack. Phil and I prefer “shredder”)
Put butter on a small plate and microwave 15-30 seconds. Spread partially melted butter on one side of each piece of bread, or swab bread directly on plate to sponge up the butter. Heat non-stick pan over medium heat. Place three pieces of bread, butter-side down, in pan. Add shredded cheese on top of bread, then place remaining pieces of bread, butter-side up, on top of cheese. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to medium-low. After a couple minutes, check to see if bread is golden and toasted on the underside. When it is, carefully flip sandwiches and toast until cheese is melted and bread is golden on the other side, too.
*Note: Ben added a slice of deli ham to his sandwich, but we feel it is gilding the lily.
Strawberry Balsamic Salad
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
8-10 strawberries, sliced
Feta or bleu cheese crumbles
Aged balsamic vinegar
Place lettuce on individual salad plates. Top with strawberries, cheese, and balsamic vinegar.
