Sunday, March 16, 2014

Not June Cleaver's Grilled Cheese Sandwich: Jarlsberg Grilled Cheese Sandwich With Dijon and Carmelized Onions On Whole Wheat

If June Cleaver had ever made the Beaver and Wally grilled cheese sandwiches, I am sure it would have been with some sort of white bread with possibly/probably some type of processed cheese product.

I do realize that type of sandwich is a treasured comfort food of many people's youth and I am not putting it down. But I do find it enjoyable to put new spins on comfort food and have a fresh yet sentimental experience.

My wife and I are big fans of Jarlsberg cheese and I thought it would make a great base for a grilled cheese sandwich.  To further enhance the flavor and variety, we caramelized some onions in butter. Finally, we used a hardy whole wheat bread with a bit of dijon mustard.  We put it all together and after a few minutes on the Griddler we were ready for hot, cheesy deliciousness.




My wife and I both agreed this worked very well. Jarlsberg is an excellent cheese for melting and we love the flavor and texture.

I am sure there are more sandwiches in our future with melted Jarlsberg.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Pasta Prima Butternut Squash Ravioli In A Garlic Butter Sauce

I do realize it has been a long time between posts and I hope to get back into the saddle again in terms of posting more frequently.  While we have been cooking and eating lots of Costco foods, I just haven't been putting those efforts online.  In any case, here is a dish I made for myself and my wife that she described as "lovely". She also described it as "savory" and "comfort food".

Previously, we have enjoyed Giovanni Rana Butternut Squash Ravioli from Costco but now they are carrying the Pasta Prima brand of this type of pasta. These are both excellent products, although the Pasta Prima ravioli is somewhat more subtle in its flavor profile.  In any case, it is a great product that is easy to use and very affordable at Costco.  We definitely try to keep some on hand and while we use it fresh, it also freezes very well.

The recipe was pretty simple, it had only the following ingredients:

Butter-from Costco
Extra Virgin Olive Oil-from Costco
Christopher Ranch Chopped Garlic-from Costco
Dried Oregano
McCormick Parsley Flakes-from Costco
Kirkland Signature Shredded Parmigiano Reggiano
Freshly Ground Pepper-from Costco
Pasta Prima Butternut Squash Ravioli

The preparation was very simple.  I melted a stick of butter in the pan with some olive oil and then added a healthy portion of the garlic. I browned the garlic until it was nicely sweet and caramelized.  Then I added the pepper, the dried herbs and the shredded cheese.  After a few moments, I added the ravioli and we were set.


After serving, we garnished it with a bit more cheese.  The carmelized and sweet garlic went well with the butternut squash ravioli.  Also, it was a simple sauce with a few prominent flavors that complemented each other.  This was a satisfying and easy dish and it came together in minutes. This is definitely something we will make again and if you served it with something else, you might even entertain with it.

And the price was right too.  I checked out the local grocery store and they were asking $4.19 for eight ounces of this ravioli, while Costco charges less than $10 for 36 ounces, which is quite a savings. So once again, Costco is an affordable source of delicious food.