The (Cal)Zone Diet

Mini Calzones

Exploring a new kitchen supply store always leads to buying something experimental. For me, it was a pastry press from the new Chef’s store in Orange, CT. It’s great for fruit tarts, large ravioli or mini calzones.

I thought I’d continue with my Italian theme and make calzones. Once again this was a fun collaboration with Tom and our friend Noah. We thought we’d try pizza dough from our favorite place for late night pizza, BAR New Haven. Their dough was so much easier to work with than the stuff from the grocery store. I don’t think we can ever go back! (Goodbye whole wheat dough!)

I cooked up a bunch of different fillings and displayed them in bowls so it was like a “make your own calzone” bar. We had lots of wine to taste leftover from a tasting earlier that day at Caseus. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!

Wine sampling

Here are tips when making mini calzones in a press:

• Instead of grated cheese, use ricotta mixed with grated cheese and an egg to prevent it oozing out
• Try to keep the filling tightly together before pressing since it will shrink in the oven
• Lightly flour the press (exclude the edges) so it doesn’t stick
• Don’t press too hard or you’ll squish the dough instead of sealing it
• Brush the calzones with an egg wash before baking for a nice crust

Tuna Tune-up

Open face tuna melt. Juicy...

I really wish I used tuna more when I cook. It’s tasty, healthy, and versatile. I was in the mood for something simple and light. I’d had a light and fluffy tuna salad on the Caseus Cheese Truck before (as an add-on to a grilled cheese, of course) and I thought it was genius. I made my own version with the following ingredients:

Two cans of white tuna in water (drained)

Diced carrots

Thinly sliced celery

Thinly sliced baby leeks

Halved cherry tomatoes

Two table spoons of light sour cream

Garlic

Lemon juice

White wine vinegar

Olive oil

Paprika

Seasoned salt

Freshly ground pepper

Two tablespoons of mayonnaise (for schmearing on the bread)

I didn’t put measurements because I typically don’t measure when I cook. And I encourage others to be creative when cooking to make things to taste. After spreading a bit of mayo on whole wheat bread, I piled on the tuna mixture and covered it with a slice of Swiss cheese. Then I toasted it, open faced, and served it with a spicy greens salad fresh from the farmers market. We had to use a knife and fork to eat it because it was so loaded with yummy goodness.

You're not the Kielbasa me!

Dirty

Until I moved to Connecticut permanently, I spent my summers here at my grandparent’s house. We had huge Russian home cooked meals every night. Sometimes, if my grandmother was too tired, she would just put out all the makings of a killer sandwich for all us kids to put together. I loved those nights. The simplicity of a sandwich on a plate for dinner with a good beer (or wine!) is something I hold dear to my heart.

   

Poured some 2006 Domaine Jean-Marc
Bouley Clos des Chenes 

Tom bought some mighty fine looking kielbasa and wanted a hearty sandwich for dinner. So I bought some grinder rolls, sauerkraut, peppers and onions and went to work! I first browned the chopped peppers and onions with salt and pepper in an iron skillet. Then I added the kielbasa in large chunks. After a few minutes, I added a bottle of Magic Hat’s Summer weiss Elder Betty and a bottle of hard cider. I let that simmer on low for about 30 minutes (MMmmm I can almost smell it now…) I toasted the grinder rolls with some sea salt butter and loaded them up. I topped it with cheese and broiled until melted. Then I topped that with the sauerkraut and served North Carolina hot dill pickles on the side.

I was stuffed halfway through this bad boy, but I finished it no problem because the flavors were so nice! And for dessert? My left over cake pops over cookies and cream ice cream! Hello heart attack!

Aspen you so hard you dizzy

Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab

Warm Goat Cheese Salad

Vacations mean eating out! Tom and I are never as relaxed and satisfied as we are when we are on vacation together. Our splurge night on our South Carolina trip was to Aspen Grille. We read some reviews on Yelp of surrounding restaurants and I knew right away this place would be perfect for us. Their menu is fancied up version of classic southern cooking.

Veal Aspen with Asparagus, Carrot, and Potatoes

We started with their fried green tomatoes with lump crab add-on for just $4 extra dollars. Then I got their warm goat cheese salad with beets and truffle vinaigrette. I’m a sucker for anything with warm goat cheese! Then Tom and I shared the special, fried soft-shell crab. Tom liked it a little more than I did, but the sauce was nice. We also shared one of their signature dishes, Veal Aspen. This was a good value ($29) because, along with veal, we got to see how the chef plays with shrimp and scallops. It was a rich dish, but the portions of vegetables with the meat balanced it out nicely.  We paired our meal with Sean Minor Pinot Noir from Carneros.

I finished off the meal with some Chambord and coffee (they didn’t have espresso, but then again, this is southern food!). Tom had a coffee with Sambuca.

Fried Soft-Shell Crab over Salad

Overall, the meal was very good and the service was good.  I wish they’d used more southern ingredients or methods in their menu to make it more consistent, but we would definably come back.

Happy National Grilled Cheese Day!

A platter of grilled cheeses with local greens as add-ons at an event in Cheshire, CT

Yes, it's real and it's deep (my love for grilled cheese sandwiches that is!) A properly made grilled cheese can evoke the best of childhood memories. These days this classic sandwich has taken on many forms, from grilled cheese with mascarpone, chocolate and apricots to Caseus's herb infused Belgium waffle grilled cheese.

My fav add-ons, arugula and local tomatoes!

Since working on the Caseus Cheese Truck on one of my days off, I’ve come to appreciate the art of the grilled cheese. There are endless combinations and we have a lot of fun coming up with them! The truck just revealed it’s new menu and it’s more mouth watering than ever. With sides like house-made potato chips and creamy tomato soup, it’s easy to make a meal of it.  

I thought I’d share a few of my favorite pictures of grilled cheese I’ve come in delicious contact with. 

Behind the scenes on the truck making
turkey and cranberry grilled cheeses!

Today's special at Caseus- BBQ pulled pork &
caramelized onions on a grilled cheese

Good merit for my carrot

Dig in!

My favorite part of carrot cake is the cream cheese frosting. So I thought what better dessert to make for Easter than carrot cheesecake? I made the crust out of candied pecans and graham crackers, which I mixed with butter and baked in my spring form pan for 15 minutes. The recipe calls for grated carrots cooked in butter and sugar. This part took the longest, as zesting a carrot is no easy task! Then I added ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg to my cream cheese batter to give it that warm carrot cake taste.

As always, my cheesecake came out of the oven covered in cracks (anyone have a secret of how to avoid this?) I call them my 8.5 Richter scale fault lines! So I covered the top in a whipped cream cheese icing. Worked great, don't you think? 


I got to work with something I’ve never worked with before: marzipan! This almond paste is popular to make shapes with as it’s like play-doe in texture. I added red and yellow food coloring and molded the paste into little carrots. Then I dipped a knife into cocoa powder and made little marks on the carrots to make them look more real. Finally I added parsley leaves on top and, voila! I managed to make a beautiful carrot cheesecake to be enjoyed by Tom’s family (they loved it! Success!)

Pork dork

Just finishing everything up before plating

Never again can I eat a plain pork chop served with green beans like I grew up with (Sorry, mom!) Pork tenderloin has opened up so many new ideas for me and they’ll all delicious! I went to the store to get a plain pork tenderloin for my gnocchi dish yesterday, but came out with a provolone and spinach stuffed pork loin. I usually don’t purchase meat that is pre-seasoned or stuffed because, let’s face it, everything is better homemade. However, I just couldn’t pass up the look of these cute little loins. Not to mention the price, which was a fraction of what it would have cost me to buy a whole tenderloin, spinach, and provolone                                                                                separately. So off I went, against my                                                                                      standards, to cook a dinner that tastes 100%                                                                          homemade.

Looks a bit of a mess, but sooo tasty!

I seasoned everything with salt and pepper as I went. Also, all was cooked in my cast iron pan, except for the gnocchi, which was boiled then brown in a pan (Try it!) After peeling and dicing a sweet potato, I browned it along with chopping onion and sundried tomato. FYI, my new favorite thing to do with sundried tomatoes is to crisp them up in a hot pan! I then set the browned veggies aside to cook the rainbow chard with chopped garlic in a hot pan drizzled with olive oil. Then I seared the pork and cooked it until the inside is slightly pink. I never use measurement or timers, so regretfully, I can’t tell you these things. Lastly, I used the fat from the pork to make a butter cream sauce. I used my fingers to take leaves of some sage and throw it in the sauce. I like to use my fingers when cooking with                                                                     herbs because it’s nice to smell them (Like I've                                                                       just picked them from a garden!)

I plated the gnocchi first, then the sauce on top, then the potato mixture, then the chard, then the pork, then sprinkled Parmesan on top. The purple you see is some chopped radicchio, but I don’t recommend it. It’s too bitter and overpowers the dish (I was trying to get rid of leftovers, oops!) We drank a light Malbec with the meal and discussed our day. On to dessert!

My tender loins

When I buy tenders of a pork’s loin, I always go to Trader Joe’s. They have cheap-ish marinated pork tenderloins that are the perfect size for a two-person dinner. However, last week Stop & Shop was running a special on them, so I decided to try it.

I don’t think I can ever go back to ‘ol Joe again after the dinners I made with my newfound loins!

They came in a pack of two (not unusual for pork tenderloin.) These were not marinated, so I seasoned both of them (garlic, onion, salt, pepper). I set one aside for dinner and the other I sealed in a zip-lock bag with white wine vinegar to marinate.

For the first dinner, I seared, and then roasted the pork. I then sliced them into medallions and served with linguini and a salad. I tossed the linguini with fresh small mozzarella balls, chopped spinach, and garlic and pepper diced tomatoes. 

A couple of days later I used the other tenderloin that had been marinated. I decided to grill it with yellow and green squash, onion, and cherry tomatoes. This was a brilliant idea! The pork had in incredible flavor, was tender from the marinade, and was cooked perfectly pink in the middle. Tom also threw down some blue cheese on the side (went great with the pork!)

For dessert? I used the ice cream maker. I made ice cream with a package of Oreos & cream instant pudding and my leftover Easter candy. Take that, Ben & Jerry!

The Cheese Truck Challenge

Objective: to keep 10 avocado and onion grilled cheese sandwiches down within 1 hour to win a T-shirt, name the sandwich, and eat it free for a year. Mission: failed.

Poor Jim Dang! This football playing contestant couldn't quite tackle the grilled cheese sandwiches from the Caseus Cheese Truck, but he still managed to beat the previous record of four sandwiches by eating seven! He dipped each bite in water and moved around frequently, but it wasn't enough. I'm fairly certain downing two cokes didn't help either!

A fromagerie that was anything but cheesy

After perusingWooster Street Market, Molly and I went to Caseus, a Fromagerie and Bistro nearby. Molly had a beet and chevre salad with grapefruit and cashews over a bed of arugula and I had the egg tart with onion, pepper, and feta. We were presented with a variety of guilty pleasures including a cheese sampler, chocolate mouse, and a small plate with cheese, bruléed fig and tomato with basil from the owner's garden, and candied nuts seasoned with cinnamon and a hint of chili pepper. It really hit the spot...it actually hit about 4 spots.

Da plane, da plane!

Yesterday evening, I took a breather after work with a glass of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay and a plate of cheeses, breads, tomato, and pickle. That Danish Blue literally "blue" me away! Strong as the dickens, but delicious! Found it at Fresh Market (of course!).

*Notice the plane taking off in the background, she's a beaut!

Fondues and don'ts

The Little Dipper was so good, as usual, Becky and I didn't think to take pictures until after we had attacked ate the dessert. We hadn't seen each other in decades, so as a result we conversed fast and furious and ate the same way!

Our meal's fondue cheese was Tuscan sun-dried tomato and white wine. The dessert was marshmallows, pretzels, apples, bananas, cookies, and cheesecake. All this to dip in chocolate and crumbled graham crackers. Where are the Tums?!

I feel full just looking at this photo of

the two of us after that meal!