Gruyere Scone Biscuits

These are inspired by the gruyere scones at one of my favorite bakeries in Atlanta, Alon's. Alon's only makes these on the weekends, and they are fantastic. However, they not infrequently run out, so I decided to try to make my own. My take on the gruyere scone is a hybrid scone/biscuit. They are light, flakey, and deliciously savory.

Ingredients:

2.5 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into slices
2 eggs
2/3 cup + 2 tbsp. buttermilk
1.5 cups gruyere, finely grated
1/4 cup parmesan, finely grated
1/4 cup aged gouda, finely grated (optional)
1-2 tbsp. poppy seeds
Sea salt (preferably Maldon)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400˚. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter and mix until butter is the size of peas. Lightly whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Add to the mixer and mix on low until just combined. Add cheeses and stir until just mixed. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead dough a few times until everything is combined. Roll with a rolling pin until the dough is 3/4 inch thick. Cut using a 2 inch biscuit cutter or round glass. Place onto parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly brush with buttermilk and sprinkle tops with sea salt and poppy seeds. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Sole with Fennel, Olives, and Potatoes

I used to really hate olives. Then about 2 years ago, I tried a fish dish with olives and suddenly olives made sense. This particular
dish was inspired by a delicious lunch I had at Gramercy Tavern in New York. The dish was overall very simple, but the ingredients all complemented each other perfectly. I tried to recreate those simple, but bold, flavors here.

Ingredients:

2 Yukon gold potatoes, cut in. 1/4 in thick discs
1 lb. sole (can substitute other flaky white fish)
1 bulb fennel, shaved 1/8 in. thick
Zest from 1 lemon
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup assorted greek olives, halved lengthwise
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375˚. Arrange potato slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and slightly crispy on the outside.

Meanwhile, pat fish dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Coat a nonstick pan with olive oil. Heat pan over medium. When hot, add fish to pan, cook about 2 minutes per side. Set aside fish. Add butter, fennel, lemon juice, lemon zest, and wine to pan. When wine has reduced and sauce has thickened, has olives. Stir into the sauce and pour over the fish. Serve with the potato discs.

Meyer Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

Zest and juice from 2 meyer lemons
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
Butter for griddle
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup blueberries

Directions:

In a small pot combine maple syrup, blueberries, and zest from 1 meyer lemon and heat over low heat. Simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.

Combine juice from 2 meyer lemons, zest from 1 meyer lemon, ricotta, eggs, and milk into a large bowl. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. Heat griddle or large pan over medium heat and melt a pad of butter. When butter is melted add about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Cook pancake until small bubbles start to form, then flip. The pancake should be golden brown on both sides. Repeat until you run out of batter.

Cheese Fondue

When I was in Geneva a few years ago, the cheese fondue was one of my favorite and most memorable meals. I tried to recreate that experience and those flavors for Valentine's Day. This would also be a perfect dinner for watching the winter olympics.

Ingredients:

1.5 - 2 cups dry white wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. cornstarch
2/3 lb. gruyere, grated
1/2 lb. raclette, grated (can substitute emmental)
1-2 tsp. kirsch
Salt
Pepper
Things for dipping such as: bread, radishes, broccoli, salami, mushrooms, potatoes, etc. Blanch veggies before dipping.

Directions:

Add 1.5 cup wine, garlic, and cornstarch to a medium pot. Heat over medium-high and whisk together. When ingredients are combined, add the cheese. Whisk everything until the cheese has melted and the fondue is smooth, about 5-7 minutes. Add more wine to the fondue if it is too thick. Finish with kirsch and season to taste with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve in a fondue pot.

Rosemary Crusted Rack of Lamb

Serve with my roasted rosemary potatoes on the side.


Ingredients:

1.5 lb. rack of lamb
2 tbsp. rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
Zest of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil + 2 tbsp. for searing
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 400˚. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of rack of lamb. In a small bowl, mix together rosemary, dijon mustard, lemon zest, garlic, and 1 tbsp. olive oil. Set aside. Coat oven safe pan with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. When pan is hot, add rack of lamb. Sear for 2 minutes on each side, or until browned. Turn off heat and remove from pan. Using a spoon, carefully spread rosemary mixture over both sides of rack of lamb. Return to the pan. Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes for medium rare.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

These are simple and delicious and a great side dish for roast chicken, steak, or rack of lamb.

Ingredients:

1 lb. fingerling potatoes, sliced in half vertically
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. rosemary, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400˚. In a large bowl, toss potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. Spread potatoes onto baking sheet and face potatoes skin side up. When oven has reached 400˚ place potatoes in oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Potatoes should be crispy and fork tender.

Gruyere Grilled Cheese with Bacon, Mushroom, and Caramelized Onion Hash

This is my all time favorite grilled cheese sandwich.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients:

4 slices sourdough or french boule bread
6 oz. gruyere, sliced
6 slices applewood smoked bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
8 oz. crimini mushrooms, diced
1 sweet yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp. thyme, chopped
Salt
Pepper
Butter

Directions:

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Set aside.

Put bacon in large skillet and heat over medium low. Cook the bacon until crispy, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes. Remove bacon from pan using a slotted spoon, and put on a plate with a paper towel to drain. Make sure to reserve the bacon fat. Add onion to the pan. Cook until onion has caramelized, about 30 minutes. When onion has caramelized, add mushrooms and thyme to pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms release their liquid and are tender, about 5 minutes. Add bacon back to pan and stir to combine. Turn off heat and remove hash from pan.

Take two slices of bread and place butter side down. Put half of the sliced gruyere on the
two slices of the bread. Spoon equal amounts of the mixture onto both slices of bread. Top with the other half of the gruyere and the second slice of bread. Heat the skillet over medium low. Add sandwiches to pan. Cook until bread is crusty and golden brown and cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan, cut in half on a diagonal and serve.