For the first time today, I didn't have to wear three layers under my coat, I only wore two! Such a promising moment -- did that mean Spring was truly on its way? It certainly is supposed to be in the mid 40s this weekend, positively balmy in comparison to the past few freezing cold months. You all know that I don't need to tell you how excited I am, it is truly thrilling to think that spring might potentially be on the horizon. All this cold weather is just depressing and well certainly not good for the skin, huh?
Today was one of those crazy days of running from place to place, all for good reasons, but I sure did feel like I didn't have much of a second to breathe! After a lunch meeting uptown, I thought I might as well work for the rest of the afternoon from home seeing as the amount of back forth all around Manhattan would mean, I would end up having very little quality work time...needless to say, I spent the afternoon working away in the comfort of my apartment, listening to oldies music, with a thoroughly content dog, who had the treat of Mommy being home! While working away, I thought, why not do some cooking on the side too? I had a few brussel sprouts in the fridge that I'd been wanting to roast for the past few days, but simply didn't have the time. The perfect time was now...and what was I going to do with them?
Simple - wash them, cut them in half, toss them with some olive oil, garlic, hazelnuts, and some salt and pepper and put them in the oven at 300 degrees till they got nice and golden brown and were tasted crunchy but also cooked through, so a little softer in the center. Now that those guys were done, I thought why not make them into a nice tartine for dinner, before an evening of running around. One quick sidenote here, you could always make these into crostini as well, great for when you have guests over and want something simple but that will still impress, you can easily include this as one of the hors d'oeuvres.
For my purposes, I was going to utilize the Artisanal Wine Bread I'd purchased from Gourmet Garage. They always have a different bread on sale for $1.99 and they are kind enough to slice the breads so that you don't make a mess of the crumbs on your kitchen floor. Now now, I am sure you are wondering, what is a wine bread, well my impression is that it is basially a crusty boule bread with whole grains, somewhat like their pane rustica, but with a whole grain interior as opposed to a white interior. I find the bread to be quite delish.
Take two nice slices of bread and toast them and then top them with slices of two different cheeses:
1. Comte Saint Antoine: A sibling to the well-known Gruyere, this baby is the most produced French cheese by far. It tends to be aged for between ten and sixteen months and tends to take the form of ninety pound rounds...heavy boys! If you ask me, the main thing differentiating it from its Swiss counterparts is the fact that it is sweeter, a little more carmelly and nutty -- definitely, if you ask me the grown up family member!
2. Then a little bit of Pecorino Pepato: A raw sheep's milk cheese from Sicily with whole peppercorns. This baby packs a nice big spice and will complement the flavor of our brussel sprouts perfectly!
So once you've got the cheese on your toasted bread, top with the roasted brussel sprouts and a very small drizzle of olive oil and enjoy!
Some closing thoughts on brussel sprouts -- one of my favorite fall/winter vegetables. I never seem to understand why people do not like them and why they have this bad reputation, I attribute it to the fact that people simply have had them prepared the right way, because when you do, they just melt in your mouth...I guess it just depends on what you prefer! I will leave you with the fact that these little guys have a high amount of Vitamin A, C, folic acid, dietary fiber, and apparently protect against colon cancer, so expand your horizons people, and give these little guys a go.
Have a good evening ladies and gents, check back tomorrow for GCF!!!
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