Harvest Melt

After eating (devouring more like it) the Grilled Cheese Truck's Harvest melt earlier this year, I was beyond determined to find a recipe to replicate the melt at home. It took me a while, but I finally found one and tested it out earlier this week!

I will say that my version of the harvest melt was not as amazing as the truck's but I think I can fairly blame that on the cook and not the recipe/ingredients. With a couple more practices, I think I should be able to come decently close to the real thing.

Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash, seeded and sliced crosswise ¼ inch thick
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 stick plus 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 leeks (whites only), sliced ¼ inch thick
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, finely chopped
8 slices multigrain bread
3 tablespoons agave syrup
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
16 slices Gruyère or Swiss cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Toss the squash slices with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until the squash is soft and its edges begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

2.Meanwhile, melt 1½ tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet over moderately high heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the thyme, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Assemble the sandwich: Butter one side of a bread slice with 1 tablespoon butter and place it on a platter, buttered side down. Add 2 slices of cheese, 6 slices roasted squash, 2 tablespoons sautéed leeks, and a drizzle of both agave syrup and balsamic vinegar. Top with 2 more slices of cheese and another slice of buttered bread (buttered side up). Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 3 more sandwiches.

4. Heat a large skillet over moderately high heat. Add the sandwiches and cook until golden-brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes (lower the heat if the bread browns too quickly). Flip the sandwich and continue cooking until the cheese has melted.

Recipe Courtesy of Tasting Table

On This Day...

Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat, 1887

On this day in 1853, Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh was born. Little appreciated during his lifetime, Van Gogh's fame grew largely in the years after his death in 1890 from a self-inflicted gun shot wound. Today, Van Gogh is regarded as a vanguard figure in the history of modern art and his legacy is preserved in the paintings and drawings he left behind.

Whether in his multiple self-portraits, landscape paintings, sunflower series or portraits of others, Van Gogh's use of color and his correspondingly expressive broad brushstrokes conveyed his emotional state of mind. It is also this vibrant use of color, forms and brushstrokes that has influenced nearly every artistic movement that came after him: Symbolism, Fauvism, Expressionism, and beyond.

Personally, I have only gotten the chance to see Van Gogh's Irises, at the Getty Museum.

Louis Vuitton Fall 2010

I'm in love. If money were no object, I would buy the entire Louis Vuitton fall runway 2010 collection and wear each outfit every single day. I've always been a huge fan of the full skirted 50's look as evident by any prom/winter formal dress I ever wore in high school.

Some may say that the ladylike petticoats, waist-cinching tweeds and innocent floral frocks are a tad too conservative, old fashion and even prudish, but I call it retro sexy!

Picture source: Instyle.com

Cookie Jar

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? (Insert name) stole the cookie from the cookie jar. Who me? Yes, you! Wasn't me! Then who?

Details:
Provencal Cookie Jar
Anthropologie
$28.00

Spaghetti with Artichokes and Pancetta

Last Monday, I got home from work all ready to make myself a huge serving of spinach and artichoke dip. However, I had in hand the April issue of Food and Wine Magazine and made an uncharacteristically spur of the moment decision to make the cover recipe of Spaghetti with artichokes and pancetta. While my final product did not look as fancy as the cover of the magazine (I apologize for the small picture), I will say that taste wise, I was close?

Ingredients:
1 lemon halved
8 baby artichokes (about 1 lb) - I used canned artichokes instead b/c that was what I had on hand
1/4 cup EVOO
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
one 2 ounce slice of pancetta cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb spaghetti
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:
Note: If, like me, you are using canned artichokes, completely skip step 1.

1. Fill a large bowl with water. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon halves, then add the lemon halves to the water. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, peel off the dark green outer leaves. Cut off the top fourth of the artichoke; peel and trim the stem. Slice the artichoke lengthwise 1/8 inch thick and drop into the lemon water. Repeat with the remaining artichokes.

2. In a saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic and pancetta and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain the artichokes; discard the lemon. Add the artichokes to the saucepan, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Add the white wine, cover and simmer over moderately low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking water to the artichokes and toss over moderate heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the 1/4 cup of cheese and season with salt and pepper. Serve the pasta, passing more grated cheese at the table.

Recipe from Mario Batali/ Food and Wine magazine April 2010

Hello Spring

Well hello Spring! You're finally here!

With exception of the dreaded spring allergies (of which I fortunately do not suffer from), I don't see how anyone could hate you, Spring! As memories of winter begin to fade, spring evokes thoughts of sweet dresses with botanical prints; light and airy fashions; tender shoots, young sprouts and fresh greens pushing their way out of the soil; gorgeous weather and picnics in the park; spring break (although I no longer benefit from such); bright colored nail polish... I could go on and on. Ahhh... Hello Spring!

I spent the weekend welcoming Spring with my nephew and niece. We dyed eggs, planted California poppy seeds (well they did, while the planting was going on, I was dying on the couch trying to ward off what is now a full blown sinus infection) and had colorful jelly beans for "dessert". My precious niece even donned (more like was forced to don since being one, she has no say in the matter) a "cupcake" dress to church! All this to welcome the start of spring! Had it not been for the onset of this sinus infection, it would have been the perfect way to usher in the season.

Anyway, in honor of spring, here are some looks that I am obsessed with.

Burberry Spring 2010 Runway

picture courtesy of Who What Wear


picture courtesy of urban outfitters


Christian Louboutin


Chanel Spring 2010 Runway

Happy Spring!