Sunday, June 1, 2014

The inventive Monte Cristo


I never saw the point in battering and frying a sandwich. The battered Monte Cristo, covered in powdered sugar and served with raspberry jam, was a menu hit in my waitress days at Bennigan’s. My mom makes her version of the sandwich now and then.
Don’t ask my why I had white bread in the fridge, but I’ll tell you I didn’t buy it. My daughter left lunch meat in there, too, and the cheese and syrup came from other sources. So I combined a bunch of selections that were in my house, not because of me, and grilled my husband a “sweet” breakfast sandwich. Gourmet touches can turn leftovers into something exotic
Fruity all year
Concord grapes, sugar and buttermilk make Indian Summer Grape Creamsicles; lamb and quince tagine; gorgonzola and nectarines; apple and pork pressed sandwiches. Red Jacket orchards of New York has combined skill, passion and art in the book “Fruitful: Four Seaons of Fresh Fruit Recipes.” This season is good for grilled skirt steak with blackberry-serrano glaze, but we’re about to get to high summer, when a tender green salad with raspberries, pistachios and chive blossoms is in order. Don’t worry, fall and winter are right after that.
Recipes include pear and gingerbread cake with whiskey cream frosting and combos you might not have thought of, but can get with pretty quickly. 
Read easy for summer salads
READ Salads has a website, readsalads.com, that can direct you to easy summer eating. I served my mom one on the patio. Three Bean salad?, she asked. No, four, I told her. Their classic can of green, wax and kidney beans gets additional chickpeas in a vinegar-based sweet and tangy dressing. Just open up that can and serve, or chill it, first. Look around this web site to see what else a can opener can help you lay out this season.
 ddoiron@panews.com

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