Fromage Fort--taken from Good Eats

What can I say, I am a sucker for the food network. What foodie isn't? One of my favorite shows is "Good Eats" with Alton Brown. It's like Mr. Wizard and Emeril had a show. It's science and food all rolled in to one. I was fascinated by this particular show due to the high cheese content and the thought of leftover cheese being used before it goes funky.

Gather together:

• One pound of left over cheese at room temperature
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves
• 1 small clove garlic

Remove any rinds from hard cheeses. Grate hard cheeses and cut others into 1/2-inch cubes.


Place cheese, wine, butter, herbs, and garlic in a food processor and blend until smooth, approximately 2 minutes.


Serve immediately or refrigerate for at least 1 hour for a firmer consistency. This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I made mine in to balls and garnished with extra herbs.



This stuff was pretty good. I didn't get to eat a lot of it due to a trip in to the interior (that means not the bush of Alaska, but some place on the road system). It was a great way to use up all the cheese I had leftover from recent trips to Anchorage. I would buy cheese in bulk and hope I would get to eat it all before it went funky. There isn't a whole lot of cheese selection here in the DLG, so anytime I make a trip out, I try to pick up a couple pounds. My favorites include: Parrano, (non smoked) Gouda, Cave aged Emmentaler, Butterkaese, Havarti & Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Hot Brown--It's a Kentucky thing.

In honor of Derby I decided to make Hot Browns. Think of a warm open-faced turkey and bacon sandwich smothered in a cheese gravy and topped with a tomato. It is legended to have started at the Brown Hotel. It's not very good at the Brown Hotel. I think the Hot Brown at Lynn's Paradise Cafe (when it is on the menu--The Bourbon Ball Milkshake is stupid good too!) is better. I think the cheese sauce is better at Lynn's. But This is the recipe from The Courier-Journal. It's ok, but not super. I added cheddar cheese to the sauce to make it cheesier.

Gather together

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
3 to 3 1/2 cups milk
1 beaten egg
6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese- shreaded
2 tablespoons whipped cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Slices of roast turkey
8 to 12 slices toast (trimmed of crusts--I used Texas toast, but feel free to use french bread)
8 to 12 slices cooked bacon

Melt butter and add flour, stirring with a whisk or spoon to make a thick roux.

Add milk gradually and whisk to blend completely before adding more. As the sauce thins you can add milk more quickly. Bring to a boil. Beat a little of the hot mixture with the egg. Remove sauce from heat and beat in the egg mixture. Add (in small batches) cheese and stir. Fold in whipped cream. Season to taste. For each Hot Brown, place 2 slices of toast on a flameproof dish. Cover with a liberal amount of turkey. Pour a generous amount of sauce over the turkey and broil about 6 inches from the heat until the cheese sauce begins to bubble. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.

Place dish under broiler until sauce is speckled brown and bubbly. Remove from broiler and top with a 2 pieces of bacon. Garnish with tomato slices, if desired. Serves 4 to 6.

This is goooood! And way easier than it sounds to make. It only took me about 15 minutes. I cooked the bacon in the microwave while I made the sauce. Then the broiling only take a few minutes. It this quick and easy. Give it a try.

Eggplant Parmesan or deep fried eggplant

You can call it eggplant Parmesan, but that seems a bit fancy. And really one of the best ways to get the men folk to eat some vegetables than to deep fry it and cover it with cheese. This is pretty easy as long as you are not scared of deep frying. You can use one of those fancy deep fryers with the basket if deep frying scares you. If you're not scared, pull out your cast iron skillet and get started.


Gather together:
2 medium eggplants (sliced in to 1/2 slices and soaked in salt water for an hour)
panko bread crumbs or your favorite bread crumbs
4 eggs--beaten
oil for frying

Since this took place so soon after the potato chips, I just left my oil in my cast iron pan for use with this. I heated the oil to about 350 or medium heat. Get your station set up with your egg bath and bread crumbs. Coat the egg plant in the egg, then the bread crumbs and carefully place in the oil. Fry on each side until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

At this point, I put the fried eggplant in a casserole dish, added marinara and covered in Parmesan. I let the cheese melt in the oven using the broil option. I served this with whole wheat pasta to counter the effects of all the oil.


This was pretty good. I was surprised that Aaron ate 2 pieces of eggplant, but then again, you really can't go wrong with fried vegetables.