The Tagine of My Dream - Chicken Tagine with Apricots, Almonds and Olives

Farewell, my lovely!

I have been officially cut off at Sur La Table. After the second purchase of a tagine, and the second destruction of it due to leaving it empty and unattended on stove while thinking I turned the burner on for the teapot instead of the one it was sitting on, they lowered the boom. Both tagines cracked in exactly the same location. Science!

They cited something about cruelty to crockery. Whatever. But they are pricey and it was stupid ass careless of me to do that not once, but twice. Fortunately with a Dutch oven or a good heavy, lidded, deep saute pan, you don't need the special equipment.

Chicken with apricots and almonds is a yummy combination. Recently Colonel Mustard commented on the debut of the BBC production of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall ( see http://chimangiabenevivechronicles.blogspot.com/2014/11/sexy-thomas-cromwell-sunday-roast-on.html for more on the play coming to Broadway, as well as pure roast beef porn), and asked if I would make a dish in honor of it.

I still am not sure what he was looking for when he stumbled upon Anne Boleyn's Custard Tarts.I love custard but am not big on making desserts at home except fruit-based ones. I mentioned that in Henry VIII's time, they ate mainly meat, heavily spiced and with a surprising and difficult-to-comprehend large amount of sugar. The historian Liza Picard characterizes it as almost Moroccan-like cuisine. Henry also ate a lot of swans, porpoises and lampreys.

So here we go! Chicken Tagine!

I add olives as well. There are many fine versions I've turned out over the years, vegetarian, lamb with prunes, even ones with beef, but I return most often to this chicken version, or variations thereof. I served this with a grilled eggplant and red Belgian endive salad with a pomegranate molasses and yogurt drizzle and naan bread.

Mangia!

Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Almonds

Gourmet  | May 2006

Adapted from Baija Lafridi

Ingredients

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil

1 (3-lb) chicken, cut into 10 pieces (cut the breasts in half crosswise to make two pieces, freeze backbone and neck for stock)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium red onion, halved, then sliced 1/4 inch thick

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 fresh cilantro, plus a handful chopped for topping finished dish

5 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus a handful chopped for finishing dish

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons mild honey

1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

1/2 cup dried Turkish apricots, separated into halves
15 or 16 or so pimento stuffed green olives (I use Queens, size-wise) sliced crosswise into three or four pieces each

1/3 cup whole blanched almonds

Special equipment: a 10- to 12-inch tagine or heavy skillet; kitchen string (I didn’t bother tying the sprigs, just chopped leaves and added them)

Stir together ground cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat well.

Heat butter and 1 tablespoon oil in base of tagine (or in skillet), uncovered, over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then brown half of chicken, skin sides down, turning over once, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Brown remaining chicken in same manner, adding any spice mixture left in bowl.

Add onion and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to tagine and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Tie cilantro and parsley into a bundle with kitchen string and add to tagine along with 1/2 cup water, chicken, and any juices accumulated on plate. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes.

While chicken cooks, bring honey, remaining cup water, cinnamon stick, and apricots to a boil in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until apricots are very tender (add more water if necessary). Once apricots are tender, simmer until liquid is reduced to a glaze, 10 to 15 minutes.

While apricots cook, heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in a small skillet over moderate heat and cook almonds, stirring occasionally, until just golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Ten minutes before chicken is done, add apricot mixture and olives to tagine. If you still have a lot of liquid, remove the chicken pieces and bring to boil, and allow to reduce for a few minutes. Discard herbs and cinnamon stick, then serve chicken sprinkled with almonds, cilantro and parsley on top.

Grilled Eggplant and Endive Salad with Pomegranate Molasses and Yogurt Drizzle

1 large or 2 medium purple eggplants
5 heads red or regular Belgian endive
2 tbsp.Greek yogurt
1 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. pomegranate molasses
1 to 2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
good handful chopped Italian parsley leaves
good handful chopped cilantro leaves

Heat stove top grill pan until very hot. Slice eggplants crosswise into 1/2" wide pieces and spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Slice endives in half lengthwise (do not remove core so they'll stay together on the grill) and lightly spray with olive oil. In batches, grill eggplant slices until nice grill marks appear and they start to get tender, about 3 to 4 minutes a side. You want them to have some bite to them and not be mushy. Turn and grill other side. Transfer to plate and do the same with endives, but turn them after about 2 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and when slightly cooled, cut off the cores.

While veggies are cooking, combine yogurt, garlic, molasses, ginger and 1 tbsp. oil. Stir well. If still too thick to drizzle, add more oil.

When eggplant has cooled slightly, slice into 3/4" wide pieces, against the grain of the grill marks. Slice the endives in half crosswise. Arrange on plates, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle herbs on top.

Easy Roasty Porky Goodness on a School Night - Cheater's Porchetta

I first heard about porchetta from Bill Buford's book Heat, and this is how he described it:

“Dario used half the pig, the torso, which was boned and rolled up with an extravagance of herbs—garlic, thyme, fennel pollen, pepper, rosemary, and double-ground sea salt—and then cooked it in a hot oven for four hours until it emerged as a noisy sizzling racket, the fat rendered and popping, trailing a black acrid cloud of smoke, a glistening and rather beautiful thing. When sliced, you got the carré, tasting like a tender steak, the bacony stomach, and everything in between.”

This helps explain the need for a cheater's version. A half pig? In my dinky oven? By the way, my dinky oven is capable of emitting a black acrid cloud of smoke when there's nothing in it. This is not particularly a glistening and rather beautiful thing.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, BA! I made some garlic leek polenta and tossed some arugula with olive oil, lemon juice, Parmesan and S&P to go with. Mangia!

Cheater's Porchetta
Bon Appetit Magazine

4 garlic cloves finely chopped; plus 2 heads, halved crosswise

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, plus 4 sprigs

1 tablespoon fennel seeds, coarsely chopped

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1½-lb. pork tenderloin

4 slices bacon

Preheat oven to 425°. Toss chopped garlic, chopped rosemary, fennel seeds, salt, and 1 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl; season with pepper.

Ready for lovin' in the oven!

Rub garlic mixture all over tenderloin (if you have time to do this in the morning, great; refrigerate pork until dinner). Scatter rosemary sprigs in a large baking dish and set tenderloin on top. Wrap bacon slices around tenderloin, tucking ends underneath so bacon stays put. Nestle halved heads of garlic around tenderloin and drizzle everything with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil.

Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of tenderloin registers 145° for medium, 40–45 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing

Soft Polenta with Leeks, Garlic and Pecorino Romano

3 tablespoons butter

3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/4 cups (or more) water

2 cups canned chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 cup polenta (If you all ain’t high-falutin’ city folk, go with regular yellow cornmeal, 1 cup, and cook leek-cornmeal mixture for about 15 minutes rather than 35 minutes.

1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks; stir to coat. Cover and cook until leeks soften, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add 2 1/4 cups water, broth and bay leaf. Bring to boil. Gradually whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until mixture is thick and creamy, stirring often and thinning with more water if necessary, about 35 minutes.

Remove pan from heat. Discard bay leaf. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter and cheese. Season polenta to taste with salt and pepper. Divide polenta among plates. Top with pork and arugula.

The Pizza That Sounds Really Weird But Is In Fact Transcendent - Clam, Bacon and Rainbow Chard

Mmmmm, clam flesh.

I adore this pizza. I first tried it in my cast iron skillet pizza phase, but I could never really master temperature control for the stove top part. I find it easier to cook the pizza on a stove top grill, then finish it in the oven. The combination with shellfish is just delicious and probably easier for most people to handle versus pizzas with anchovies. I do however think it’s a shame when folks don’t like anchovies. They add such a depth to so many things.

Every now and then I have Stinky Pizza Night: pizza with anchovies, lots of fresh garlic, sliced green olives and mozzarella. My Petal and I used to order pizza like this except no anchovies on (her) half from Etna in North Park when she lived there years and years ago. 

Do make the effort to find rainbow chard. It’s so pretty. Mangia!

BON APPÉTIT / Recipes

Clam, Chard, and Bacon Pizza

INGREDIENTS

All-purpose flour (for dusting)

1 1-pound store-bought pizza dough

1 10-ounce can whole baby clams

4 slices thick-cut bacon (2 ounces), cut into 1'-wide pieces

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons minced shallot

1 1-pound bunch rainbow Swiss chard, center stalks removed, leaves torn, stalks sliced thinly

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/2' cubes (I skip the butter)

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon good-quality extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Take the pizza dough, divide in half and form each half into a ball. With floured board and rolling pin, roll out the half and with floured hands, begin to gently pull the pizza in the air until you form a circular shape a bit smaller than the size of the grill pan. Invert a large bowl and dust it with flour. Lay the prepared dough across the bowl. This helps keep the dough stretched and from retracting. 

Heat stove top grill pan on very high heat. Give it a spray of oil and lay the half the prepared dough on the pan. After about 2 to 3 minutes, turn it over and repeat timing until the dough is about 80% cooked and has gorgeous grill marks. It will puff up quite a bit during cooking. Lay the pizza on a cookie sheet.

Drain clams, reserving liquid. Cook bacon in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4–5 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Add garlic and shallot to drippings in skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in chard stalks and 1/2 cup reserved clam liquid and cook, stirring, until chard is tender, about 2 minutes. Add leaves and saute for another 2 minutes until the leaves are slightly wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in butter, vinegar, and as many clams as you'd like. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl.

Spread chard mixture over dough halves. Bake until crust is golden and cooked through, 6–8 minutes. Scatter bacon and cheese over; cook just until cheese is melted, 2–3 minutes longer.

Pasta Fagioli, Pasta Fazool, This Italian Soup Sure Does Rule

Don't be a fool, eat some pasta fazool!

When the stars make you drool, just-a like pasta fazool, that's amore. This peasant dish makes me want to put on Martin's greatest hits and dance around the kitchen, or watch Chico Marx playing with one finger at the piano or saying, "You can't-a fool me. There ain't no Sanity Clause." Or insert any stereotypical Italian cultural cliché of your choice here.

Vintage Betty, circa 1980. That would
be about right.

I first made a version of this bean and pasta soup when I was a young bride of 19 tender years of age. My first real cookbook was Betty Crocker's International Cookbook. It was far from authentic, but I felt so cosmopolitan using it! I still base my fried chicken off a version of "her" Mexican Fried Chicken, marinated in lime juice and garlic. But there were some scary things in there as well, like a chicken curry that was so Anglicized it was just terrible, and a shrimp creole that called for ketchup. Ick.

But the pasta fagioli recipe was pretty good, although very basic. We would drink Taylor California Cellars boxed burgundy with it. We were just as clueless about Parmesan as about wine, using that god awful dry sawdust stuff in the green can. And no one had heard about pancetta back then, so I am sure the original recipe I used didn't call for it. But including it? Boy, ain't that a kick in the head!

Mangia!

Pasta Fagioli

Adapted from Chef Joe Cicala's recipe in the The Washington Post

Abbondanza!

Ingredients

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

4 ounces pancetta, diced

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

2 medium carrots, finely diced

2 medium ribs celery, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup white wine

7 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

2 (14.5 ounce) cans cannellini beans or chickpeas (or combination), rinsed and drained (I just go with cannellini beans. Don't care much for chickpeas, except as hummus)

1/2 cup dried lentils, rinsed (preferably French green lentils, but any green or brown lentils are fine)

1 cup diced or chopped canned tomatoes, with their juices

1 tbsp. tomato paste

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary

1 1/2 cups dried pasta, such as elbow macaroni or ditalini (I used tirali)

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving

Instructions

Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta and cook until the fat begins to render, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, carrot and celery and increase the heat to medium; cook, stirring frequently, until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly so the garlic doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

Add the wine and cook until it has nearly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, salt, pepper, beans, lentils, diced tomatoes, bay leaves and rosemary. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the lentils are just tender, 15-30 minutes, depending on the type of lentils you used.

Or you could just use a hand blender,
and save some clean up!

Use a slotted spoon to transfer 1 cup of the bean mixture and a little liquid to a blender. Remove the center knob so steam can escape. Hold a paper towel or kitchen towel over the opening to prevent splatters. Purée until smooth and set aside.

Add the dried pasta to the pot and stir to incorporate. Turn the heat up to a gentle boil and cook until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, anywhere from 8-12 minutes depending on the type of pasta you used. The soup will thicken a bit by the time the pasta is cooked. Fish out and discard the bay leaves.

Stir the reserved puréed bean mixture into the soup. (If you're having a hard time getting the mixture out of the blender, remove as much as you can with a rubber spatula, then add some of the hot soup broth to it and swirl around to loosen it up; it should come right out.) Cook briefly, until the soup is heated through.

Remove the soup from heat and stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano. If the soup seems too thick, gradually add 1-2 cups of water or more chicken broth and thin to desired consistency (note: the longer it sits on the stove, the thicker it will get). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle each portion with a touch of extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with more cheese, if desired.

Note: This soup will be thick and will get more thick in the fridge. To thin it out, add some water, or white wine, or some chicken stock as you reheat. It's so lovely the second day!

Holy Moly I've Almost Used Up All That Pomegranate Molasses - Seared Sweet Taters With Sausage and Radicchio...And Pomegranate Molasses!

Owing to an ordering mistake on Amazon Marketplace 2 YEARS AGO, I have been working through what seemed a lifetime supply of pomegranate molasses. These are the mistakes one makes when one has no idea what a product should cost. There is a big difference between 2 bottles and 2 cases. Fortunately, it makes a lovely substitution for honey in a great many things, and I love Middle Eastern food, so it's not gone to waste. Plus I think you could put it in a time capsule and open it up in 150 years and still eat it. Stuff has staying power.

This month's BA had a lovely-looking recipe for sweet potatoes with sausage, and it includes radicchio, which is Cabbage of the Gods as far as this girl is concerned. I love to grill it although it loses its lovely purple color when it's cooked. AND it calls for some pomegranate molasses.

It's basically baked and seared sweet potatoes topped with a wilted salad of radicchio, sausage and a tangy dressing, sitting on a bit of yogurt, with mint and some crunchy pecans sprinkled on top. It's very easy, very little chopping. And yummy!

Mangia!

Seared Sweet Potatoes with Sausage and Radicchio

PUBLISHED: JANUARY 2015

BON APPETIT

Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes And Nuts

1 garlic clove finely grated (Excuse me? One? I went with three)

3 tablespoons plus ½ tsp. olive oil

2 large or 4 small sweet potatoes, preferably garnet, scrubbed

Kosher salt

¼ cup pecans, chopped

Sausage And Assembly

1 head Treviso radicchio, leaves separated and torn into pieces (my stores don't generally carry Treviso. I went with regular head of radicchio, and sliced it thinly. The difference is Treviso is shaped like an oversized Belgian endive)

2 tablespoons plus 1 tsp. olive oil

8 oz. merguez sausage, casings removed (Another "can't be found in town". I looked it up. Appears to not be like a smoked sausage, it has a looser consistency, like chorizo or Italian sausage, but highly spiced and not smoked. I went with spicy hot Italian sausage. You can back off on the oil for the browning step in this case... plus, it's PIG, so I went with a full pound)

½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or ¼ crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

Kosher salt

⅓ cup plain sheep’s milk or Greek yogurt

¼ cup fresh mint leaves

Preparation

Sweet Potatoes And Nuts

Preheat oven to 400°. Mix garlic and 3 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl. Prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork and rub with half of garlic oil; set remaining garlic oil aside. Season with salt and roast on a rimmed baking sheet, turning once, until flesh is soft and yielding, 45–55 minutes. Remove from oven; reduce heat to 350°.

Toss pecans and remaining ½ tsp. oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt. Toast, tossing once, until slightly darkened and fragrant, 8–10 minutes.

Let sweet potatoes cool slightly, then cut in half lengthwise. Brush cut sides with reserved garlic oil. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium. Cook sweet potatoes, cut side down, pressing lightly with a spatula, until browned and charred in spots, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and reserve skillet.

Sausage And Assembly

Place radicchio in a large bowl. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in reserved skillet over medium-high. Cook sausage, breaking up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in Aleppo pepper. Transfer meat to a plate with a slotted spoon and pour off all but 2 Tbsp. fat from skillet.

Reduce heat to medium. Combine pomegranate molasses, vinegar, and ¼ cup water in skillet, stirring to combine and scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes, then drizzle over radicchio. Add reserved sausage and toss to coat; season with salt.

Mix yogurt and remaining 1 tsp. oil in a small bowl, thinning with a little water to make pourable; season with salt. Divide yogurt among plates and top with sweet potatoes. Arrange sausage mixture over, along with any pan juices. Top with pecans and mint.

Yeah, Got Lazy In December - Let's Re-visit 'Shroom and Barley Soup!

Love, love, love barley! Posted this in December, near the holidays, and was too damned lazy and full of See's candy and Christmas Chinese food to actually make anything healthy. But we're in the Hey Day of Winter Soup Season, so here we go!

Mangia!

Now The Vegans Have Infected This Mushroom Barley Soup Recipe!

by Fitzgerald Chesterfield

Dec 03 11:50 am 2014
Wonkette

Do you keep barley in your pantry? You should. For uses other than soup, it’s a great switcheroo for rice. You can find it at your grocer near the rice or dried beans or maybe near the oatmeal – who knows? It’s what they make beer and whiskey out of, too!

Here’s an easy soup to make with barley and mushrooms. You can make it vegan with a few minor adjustments, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The mushrooms and barley give the soup a great earthy flavor. That’s what people say when they mean it tastes like dirt (in a good way).

You can use any kind of stock you want, but beef is the best way to go. Today, we’ve got homemade stock made from some lamb bones that were lying around in the freezer.

Mushroom Barley Soup

2 tbsp. butter

1 onion, diced

1-2 stalks celery, diced

2-3 carrots, diced

4-25 (to taste) cloves of garlic, minced

A few sprigs of thyme

A bay leaf

8 oz. any old kind of mushrooms, sliced

2 shots of cognac (I didn't have cognac, used Sherry instead...Harvey's Bristol Cream, it's downright upright!)

1/4 cup of pearled barley

1 quart of stock (I used beef Better Than Bouillon)

Vinegar (I used pinot noir vinegar, because I is all high falutin')

Salt and pepper, as you go, to taste

In your favorite soup-making pot, melt the butter over medium heat and throw in the onion, celery, and carrots. Let that cook for a few minutes. Mirepoix is the word for this stuff; be sure to say it extra nasally.

Stir in the garlic, thyme, and mushrooms. Let that all get acquainted.

Add one of the shots of cognac. Put the other in the promotional snifter which Courvoisier so kindly included with your latest purchase.

Once the cognac (in the soup pan) has cooked all away, add the barley and stir.

Add the bay leaf and stock; bring to a boil, and turn it down to a simmer.

Cook for about 20-30 minutes, until the barley is done to your liking.

Ladle it up, and sprinkle some vinegar in each bowl.

Enjoy!

Read more at http://wonkette.com/568079/now-the-vegans-have-infected-this-mushroom-barley-soup-recipe#0YLJBA8rm3gi4JiK.99

Mustarding Up The Creativity Of The Patty Melt - Colonel Mustard Extra Oomph Patty Meltdowns

Ah, the humble and tasty Patty Melt. I hadn't thought of one of those for years until Colonel Mustard mentioned them recently. Who doesn't like a nice hunk of ground beef on bread, especially when the bread is grilled, Swiss cheese is oozing nicely all over the cow and married to some sweet, brown caramelized onions?

This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit, but in homage to the Colonel, I have kicked up the PM by adding thyme, Dijon and some capers to the onions, and a smear of Dijon on the bread along with a slice of a good heirloom tomato. But BA provided the bomb in the form of mayo on the outside of the bread to make it glowingly golden and tasty.

Nostalgic and super yummy! I may do Chili Sizes next! Mangia!

Colonel Mustard Extra Oomph Patty Meltdowns

Adapted from Bon Appetit - The BA Patty Melt

SERVINGS: MAKES 4

Caramelized Onions

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 large onions, thinly sliced

3 thyme sprigs

2 tbsp. capers

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. crushed red pepper

Patties And Assembly

1 pound ground beef chuck (20% fat)

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

8 slices seeded rye bread (I didn’t have any, but I had a ton of Dudley’s bread from a recent trip, used Garlic Sourdough instead)

8 ounces Swiss cheese (such as Emmenthal), thinly sliced

4 thin slices tomatoes

8 tsp. mayonnaise

8 tsp. Dijon mustrd

Preparation

Caramelized Onions

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and cook onions, thyme sprigs, salt and pepper, stirring often and adding water as needed to prevent burning, until deep golden brown and very soft, 20–25 minutes. Stir in capers and mustard and set aside.

Patties And Assembly

Gently mix beef, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper, in a medium bowl. Divide into 4 portions and shape into patties about ¼” thick and roughly the same dimensions as the bread you're using.

Heat a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. Cook patties, pressing gently, until browned but still pink in the center, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Wipe out skillet and reduce heat to medium. Spread 1 tsp. Dijon each on 4 slices of bread and spread 1 tsp. mayo on each of the other 4 slices. Top 4 slices of bread with cheese, then carmelized onions, then tomato slices and then beef patties. Close up sandwiches and spread each top with 1 tsp. mayonnaise. Place in pan, mayonnaise side down, and weight with a foil-covered heavy pan. Cook until bottom slice is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove weighted pan and spread the top of each sandwich with 1 tsp. mayonnaise. Flip and weight again. Cook until other side is golden brown and cheese is melted, about 3 minutes.

Do Ahead: Patties can be formed 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Get Your Irish (And Cajun) On - Potato and Leek Soup with Andouille Sausage

Yes, actual present. It's growing on me although
it has a slight odor of cheap Chinese acrylic. Petal
wants it badly, but I'm not caving.

Soup season continues....sunny San Diego has been downright frosty the past few days. If temps duck below 50 degrees, our placid infrastructure just shuts down. Why risk being outdoors in that condition? Best to stay in and cook something! And cuddle up with the Hello Kitty snuggie you received for Christmas, watching a Jane Austen movie marathon.

Dad made very good potato soup, simple and tasty, but his baby girl likes to kick it up a notch. So in homage to the original Kick It Up A Notch guy, Emeril Lagasse, we present Potato and Leek Soup with Andouille Sausage. I miss the days of the early Food Network, when Emeril had a couple of shows and it wasn't taken over by Paula Deen wanna-bees and silly contests.

Mangia!

Potato and Leek Soup with Andouille Sausage

12 oz. andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4" pieces
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 leeks, cleaned, halved, white and a little of the green parts sliced thinly
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes, to taste
2 bay leaves
2 lbs. scrubbed yellow potatoes, cut into 1/2" chunks
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup half and half
Salt and pepper

Brown the sausage in 1 tbsp. oil over medium heat. Transfer to bowl.  Add the remaining oil and butter and saute the leeks and onions until translucent. Add garlic, red pepper and bay leaves, and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add potatoes, stock and sausage, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning and add half and half. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve with crusty bread and wine in front of a roaring fire. Or warm glowing telly.