Open-faced Summer Sandwich

Cheese Board Dinner

sourdough bread

gouda cheese

aged cheddar

gala apple

cherry tomatoes

spinach

spanish olives

mushroom

And the world's tiniest cheddar-apple sandwich!

Baked Mac & Cheese

While still only halfway through the work day, Simon announced that he had bought this cheese at a local gourmet food shop (snobs, snobs, snobs). It was called Tintern, and is an aged cheddar cheese made by Welsh monks that is stuck all over with chives and shallots.

While 1/2 pound of pasta (we used gemelli) is cooking, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. When it's smooth, whisk in:

3 tbsp flour

1 tbsp mustard powder

and move around for a few minutes. Then add:

3 c. milk

1/2 c. onion, diced

some paprika

Simmer for 10 minutes.

Then, have your beloved boyfriend

dice up tons of cheese (the chive-filled, and some sharp cheddar); 12 oz. total:

(and do not forget to sample it)

And add 8 ounces to the milk mixture. Mix in the cooked pasta, throw it in a dish, and top it with the rest of the cheese.

And bake at 350 degrees for half an hour; add bread crumbs. We thought it would be more solid, and afterwards I felt as if I were being dragged down by an inordinate amount of mass, but....it was pretty good.

Spring Grilling

Spring's first grilling! Ears of corn wrapped in foil with onions, butter and garlic, and a burger with cheddar on fresh bread....

What could beat that?!

We can grill again!!

Ma'am is gone for this week, and so we determined to use the ground beef she left in the refrigerator. There was Bean and Nick and Paige and Mike and me. We made eight burgers; but with hugely disproportionate buns, I used a quarter for mine.

Those wimps prefer well-done burgers, though -- so what turned out the best to me was a hump of quartered mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, drizzled in olive oil, oregano and basil.

Cheddar & Apple Panini

I had resigned myself to a small dinner of oft-repeated dishes, but then Bean wished to go to the grocery store. When he bought some year-aged cheddar cheese, and Mike (who is staying with us for a while) bought some fresh dinner rolls, an idea popped! Right into my New England head. A granny smith and cheddar sandwich!

But how to make it a panini?

A small frying pan, with a small bit of olive oil (heated until I feared the fire alarms would announce themselves) did the trick! Then I plopped the sandwich in, squashed it down with a pan cover; flipped it over and repeated, and rescued it from certain danger. It was nicely scorched, but the cheese was not melted.

Into the toaster it went, adorned with beautiful burn marks. And it was delicious.