Warm Halloumi Cheese with Cold, Minty Watermelon

  If you're  looking for a simple new way to  enjoy 'grilling cheese'  you may love this summery  recipe   from Michael Symon.  The  appeal of an easy  low-carb appetizer drew me into  its  satisfying taste --- warm, melty cheese topped with  cool, minty watermelon triangles.

Halloumi is most often  marketed and labeled as "grilling cheese" and served with bread.  A little research disclosed that  this appetizer is an old Cypriot recipe and that the  cheese is  usually part-goat, part-sheep's milk.  Halloumi  retains its shape, and  is   milder than feta or chevre.  The exterior stays somewhat firm, so watch it carefully to avoid burning.

Whisk together  one  TB each of grated garlic and grated  shallot. Add 2 oz red wine vinegar and one TB honey (I used  sugar-free).  Whisk in 4 oz extra virgin olive oil, 2 TB  toasted thin-sliced almonds, chopped, and 2 TB finely chopped fresh  mint.  Cut a  1" slice from a small round watermelon. Trim off the rind and white, and cut the melon in  8 triangles.  Place them in a shallow bowl and pour the marinade over the melon.  Cover and refrigerate for an  hour.

Using 1 TB extra virgin olive oil, heat a skillet (cast-iron preferred) , and  when it's hot, fry 8 triangles ( 8 oz) of   room-temperature halloumi cheese*  about a minute per side just 'til browned a bit on both sides.  Remove to  a serving plate, top with watermelon triangles and toothpicks.  Serve and enjoy the warm/icy cold  bites.

*Halloumi is generally sold in rectangular slices about  1/2" -3/4". It's often called frying cheese and may be "Italian grilling cheese" or "Greek frying cheese" or some similar flavor.  "Plain" is fine too.  If yours is  thicker,  the cheese may  not soften quite enough during cooking.  If it's too thick to use as-is  but too thin to cut in half horizontally,  nuke  less than 30 seconds in the microwave  either before or   after searing, and then proceed.   Poke it to be sure its soft inside before  removing from the pan...it keeps it shape even when soft.  This makes  8 one-or-two-bite appetizers. 

** If you're concerned about sodium  substitute Indian paneer cheese - it's  almost-zero -sodium and fries well without melting.

Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Sweet Potato Fries

Brown sugar, Sriracha, lime juice, bacon...need I say more?

Bake a  16-20 oz bag of frozen sweet potato fries according to directions... the thinner ones  work better than  crinkle-cut. 
While they're baking, cook 3 chopped strips of bacon in a skillet til crisp, about 8 minutes. Don't be tempted to short-cut by nuking the bacon; you need the drippings.  Drain the bacon and to those drippings, add 1 TB Asian fish sauce, 2 TB packed dark brown sugar,  2 tsp Sriracha sauce,  1 1/2 TB lime juice,  1/2 tsp lime zest.   Stir to dissolve the sugar. No need to heat the sauce.

Move the crisp fries to a serving  platter,  drizzle with the sauce, and  sprinkle with the crisp crumbles of bacon and 2 TB chopped fresh cilantro.  Top with frizzle-fried   onions- green or regular.

I swiped this recipe  - and their photo - from Food Network Magazine a couple years ago. Surprise your favorite diners  by serving  this  delish side with  burgers and all sorts of things.

Caprese Toasts

'Caprese' is being mutilated, verbally, by servers everywhere these days.   I  assume the chefs they work for know better  but  don't bother  to tell them it means 'in the style of Capri' and is pronounced  Ca-pray-say.

These tasty toasts are  a really  quick simple version of the famous Caprese trio --- tomato, basil, and mozzarella . You can make trays of them hours ahead, and they don't need to be refrigerated.

They're terrific appetizers, or accompaniment to  all sorts of  soups, salads, and entrees.  I was told some years ago  that Carrabba's  once served this as 'bruschetta'...

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Cut a baguette or narrow French loaves in thin slices,  a bit diagonally. Barely toast one side in the oven or broiler.  When toasted, flip them over to cool.    Then spread each toast with garlic butter, top with a slice of mozzarella cheese  (or provolone), a thin  slice ( or half-slice) of a Roma tomato, then  slide about 1/2 tsp pesto over each.

Bake 4-5 minutes, until toasty and  a bit browned.  

See? I told you it was simple!

Rhubarb ( and Strawberry) Boneless Ribs

Adapted from a magazine recipe,   this oven-baked dish  has an interesting, slightly  sweet  flavor and falling-apart pork.

  Allow 3 hours from start to table. Preheat oven to 325. The fruit can be fresh or frozen.

 In a large pot,  place  5c. chopped rhubarb and 4c. chopped strawberries and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil.   Remove about  2 c. of the  berries  and rhubarb, draining the liquid back into the pan. Set aside until serving. Continue to  boil the  rest in the covered pot for 5 minutes more, then drain and set aside  to  be added in the sauce.

Make a rub with 2 T salt, 2 T paprika, 1 T pepper, and rub on  3-4 lbs boneless country-style ribs.
Brown them in batches ( not letting sides touch) and   place in a 3-4 qt baking dish. In the remaining oil, sauté 1 chopped onion for 3-4 minutes ( adding a little more oil if needed) and then adding

1 cup packed brown sugar  or brown-sugar replacement                           

3/4 cup ketchup ( I use low carb or low sodium)                            

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup bourbon

1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup honey (sugar-free  is fine)                           

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

 the  larger berry-barb mixture

 

Bring to a boil, and pour over the ribs. Cover and bake 2 hours, then uncover for  another 30 minutes. Remove a cup or two  of the delicious sauce and mix it with the reserved rhubarb and strawberries, and serve it over or with the ribs.

 

Sticky - Sweet Asian Lamb Lollipops with Creamy Asian Pasta

When   a single dish makes a restaurant famous, it's worth  a visit to find out what all the hoopla is about.  If , inconveniently, there's an ocean between you and Kailua-Kona,  make  it yourself.  This dish  of  barbecued  lamb chops served atop a creamy  Parmesan-veg pasta is  reportedly Sam Choy's  signature  dish. It will serve   4 people, assuming most will   easily  devour 2-3 little lamb chops.
   
In quite  a large bowl, combine 2 c. brown sugar or brown Splenda, 3/4 cup  minced or shredded fresh garlic, 1/2 c. fresh  minced cilantro leaves, 1/2 c.  soy sauce, 1 TB fresh ginger, peeled & minced,  1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice, 1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes, and salt to taste.

Add 8-12  rib lamb chops* and turn over and over in the mixture, then massage each one well,   to be sure the  sticky  rub penetrates  the lamb.   Submerge   the  chops in the thick sauce and refrigerate  4-6 hours or overnight.

Ready to  finish?    Cook 16 oz.  cooked, drained  trottole, cavatappi or fusilli -  or any fat, spiral-y pasta with nooks and crannies  that  allow  sauce to linger.  Drain.  Preheat the broiler  for at least 15 minutes,  and start the prep for the  pasta sauce:    In a large pan, heat 4 TB olive oil and 2 TB butter. Add  1 1/2 Tb minced or shredded garlic  for 2-3 minutes,  don't let it brown.  Add  2 medium zucchini, julienned,  and a peeled and julienned  or shredded carrot.  Cook for 2-3  minutes, stirring now and then. Add     Stir, then  add 4 cups heavy cream and  bring to a boil- immediately lower to a simmer  and cook 5 minutes.  Just before serving add   1 c. Parmesan cheese, 1/2 c. chopped cilantro leaves, salt and pepper.  If your cream doesn't thicken enough, (mine sometimes doesn't)n stir in some diced softened cream cheese - maybe 4 ounces.

Broil the chops  close to the  flame 2-3 minutes per side for rare, about 5-7  for well. You may want to cut into one to check for doneness - because the  almost-candied outside is already dark, it's hard to tell  what's really going on inside.    If you have really  good ventilation over the stove, you could  also use a very large cast-iron skillet or stovetop grill, heated to smoking-hot.  Watch the chops, they'll cook quickly and will  tend to burn in a skillet  because of the sugar content.     Place the cooked chops on top of the  pasta, and  eat them (they're tiny, after all!) with your fingers, like a lollipop.  Licking your fingers and sucking every last bit of that flavor from the bone afterward is socially acceptable.  Really.

* a rack of lamb is 8 rib chops - cut them apart, and  holding each by the bone, scrape the bone with a knife, to expose it, and resemble  a lollipop. Most of the time the  rack you'll  purchase has already been frenched. If not, ask the butcher to do it.  It only takes a minute.

Cowpies

It's  probably   unpatriotic to  confess that I don't like Oreos unless they are an ingredient, bravely  offering themselves up for  a   higher purpose.   Somewhere on this blog I've  posted  more-than-awesome recipes for Oreo Muffins and Oreo Truffles,  for example.   Here they appear crammed into  massive  dark-cocoa cookies along with Mounds bars and chocolate chips.

The cookies  have  been around for  years,  often known as  "Gobs" but I have renamed them, thanks to  suggestions by Facebook friends.   My  Minnesota cousin Margy  gets credit for the new name.

Don't  go rogue and use all-butter or all-Crisco. Or substitute Kit -Kats  or Milky Ways for Mounds Bars.  And it's pointless  to attempt to 'healthify' it with  whole- wheat flour.  The  recipe shouldn't be messed with.

Beat together  3/4 c softened, unsalted butter and 1/3 c. butter-flavored Crisco.  Use a mixer, and when it's  creamy  add 1 cup white sugar and 2/3 c brown sugar, beat til creamy then  2 large eggs and 2 tsp. vanilla, beat a  little more.

Combine the dry ingredients :  2 cups  flour, 2/3 c.  dry cocoa ( preferably  dark) , 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt.

Gradually add  the dry  ingredients to the wet, til blended.    By hand, stir in 16 coarsely chopped Oreos,  1 or 2 cups chocolate chips  and  8 oz. chopped Mounds bars ( they chop  easier if chilled).

Chill the dough for  30 minutes while you preheat the oven  to 350 and  put parchment paper on cookie sheets.

I make huge cookies, very thick and  the size of the palm of my hand, and get about 24.   I just scoop out  maybe a fat  1/3 cup ,  push it  into a ball of sorts, and very  gently shape & very lightly flatten it out  just a tiny  bit , only to be sure  the whole thing is about equally thick and there are no  thin edges to burn or over-crisp.      Don't overdo the shaping  -  due to the irregular bits of heaven poking out,  they will never  be smooth and pretty.

The  size I  described  bake for about 15-18 minutes, with smaller ones you should probably start checking at 10 minutes. Since we  all make slightly-different sized cookies, times will vary. To be safe, test- bake  just a couple before you bake the rest. The  tricky part  is removing them before they are quite set, which is hard to judge with all the gooey-ness oozing from them.  Touch the center and take your best shot.  They should still look a bit wet.  They'll firm up as they cool --- first  on the paper for 10 minutes (carefully slide the whole sheet of paper off the hot baking sheet to  stop the cooking process)  then  on wire racks.   If they are  crunchy,  you left them in a little too long.   If that happens, uh-oh, you'll just have to  eat this batch and start over when you recover from  chocolate overload.