Charlie's Birthday Dinner

Charlie wanted grilled shrimp for his birthday. What a change from a couple of years ago when the request was corn dogs and potato chips. He is eleven now and has expanded his culinary horizons to include Thailand and Coney Island. I used a recipe from Fine Cooking and it has never failed me. I always cook the shrimp on separate skewers from the vegetables. The veggies take longer to cook and there is nothing worse than overdone shrimp— it's like chewing on an eraser. A little jasmine rice, grilled shrimp and vegetables and a chile lemongrass dipping sauce— an auspicious way to usher in Charlie's eleventh year.

Spicy Thai Shrimp Kebabs with Chile Lemongrass Dipping Sauce

Grilling Sauce

1 tbsp garlic, chopped

1 tbsp ginger, peeled  and chopped

1 tsp jalapeño, finely chopped

1 tbsp scallion greens, chopped

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup peanut oil

Dipping Sauce

3 stalks lemongrass, ends trimmed, tough outer leaves removed nd tender white core finely chopped

3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tbsp scallion whites, finely sliced

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

1 tbsp basil, finely chopped

1.5 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp light brown sugar

2 tsp Sriracha chile sauce

3 tbsp water

Kebabs

1.5 pounds large shrimp

2 red peppers, seeded and sliced

2 red onions, sliced

1 package of mushrooms

Preparation

Combine all the grilling sauce ingredients in a food processor and process until combined, mixture will still be chunky.

In a small serving bowl, combine all the dipping sauce ingredients and stir well. Refrigerate until ready to use (can be made up to 6 hours in advance).

Toss the shrimp in the grilling sauce and let sit for 10 minutes. Thread the shrimp onto skewers (soaked in water) and reserve the dipping sauce. Toss the vegetables in olive oil, salt and pepper and thread onto skewers (soaked in water). Grill the vegetables over a medium hot charcoal fire and grill until done (8 - 10 minutes). About five minutes before the vegetables are done, place the shrimp on the grill, brush with the reserved grilling sauce and grill until done (about 2 minutes per side).

Serve with jasmine rice and dipping sauce.

Angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries is a Carlin tradition and since strawberries were in full swing, Charlie decided it was the cake for his eleventh birthday. Again, I forgot birthday candles but Jack found a couple of little tapers we could light up. We decided two candles look like the number eleven, Charlie agreed.

I picked a 'theme song' for each pregnancy and Charlie's was Sweet Thing by Van Morrison and it suits him to a T. He was the happiest baby and is a joyful young man. It sounds trite but I seriously can not believe how fast he is growing up. In eleven short years, he has mastered cribbage and jumping off cliffs at Devil's Island, learned a tremendous amount about Greek mythology, has a wicked dry sense of humor, knows how to sail an Opti and is an empathetic and brave soul— we couldn't ask for more.

Fried Chicken On The Beach

I like most things Southern: grits, monogrammed stationery, bourbon, good manners and fried chicken. I bought Thomas Keller's cookbook, Ad Hoc, because I read quite a bit about his recipe for buttermilk fried chicken plus he owns the French Laundry....I had high hopes. It was good but not exactly the holy grail of fried poultry I was hoping for. The perfect fried chicken is moist with crispy skin and a golden brown crust. The Ad Hoc recipe called for brining the chicken overnight and then double dredging the chicken. It tasted fantastic but the skin was a far cry from crispy.

In the depth of winter, Bon Appetit delivered me from my fried chicken woes. The February issue featured a recipe billed as the 'only fried chicken recipe you will ever need'. Who am I to doubt the good folks at Bon Appetit? I hustled to the grocery store to buy a couple of chickens and see if I finally would achieve fried chicken nirvana. The BA recipe involves a dry rub, a single dredge in seasoned flour and a cast iron skillet— the skin was crispy, the meat was moist and I was satisfied.

After all this talk about the quest for the perfect fried chicken, I have to admit the first fried chicken I ever tasted was from Kentucky Fried Chicken. One evening when I was nine or ten, my Grandma Duffy came home with a red and white striped bucket of greasy goodness from KFC. My sister, Bridget, and I were excited to tuck into a dinner of chicken, wall paper paste consistency mashed potatoes and gravy until we took a look at the chicken. There were little feathers poking through the golden brown exterior (say what you want about KFC, they know how to get a crunchy crust on their chicken). We immediately renamed it Kentucky Fried Feathers and didn't eat it for years— I am not sure if Bridget ever ate it again. I still remember Grandma standing over the sink with a lit match burning off all the feathers on the raw chicken before she made us dinner— she was a marvelous woman.

I can't remember why I decided to re-visit fried chicken, after that traumatic experience with the fried feathers in my Grandma's den. As Minny, from the movie The Help, said, 'fried chicken just tend to make you feel better about life'. She was right, dropping a chicken thigh ensconced in buttermilk and seasoned flour in a skillet full of shimmering oil, feels like something special is going to happen. It isn't the easiest dinner to prepare. Frying chicken requires advance planning and time spent over a sizzling skillet— definitely not a 30 minute meal. Just like the sound of a champagne cork set aloft, a platter of fried chicken means I am headed to a party and it is going to be grand.

I had an idea about butter for the biscuits (you always need biscuits at a beach party with fried chicken) I was taking to the beach. God forbid we eat ordinary butter on an evening when Venus was transiting between the Sun and Earth. I placed a stick of room temperature butter in a mixing bowl and added some chopped rosemary and thyme, about 1/4 cup of maple syrup, a pinch of Maldon sea salt and cayenne, mixed it together and smeared it on a 'test' biscuit. It was delicious, sweet, hot and perfect for a picnic. I wish I wrote down the exact measurements but I was late (big surprise) and threw it together on the fly.

It was the first of the many dinners we will spend on the beach this summer and it was perfect. Perfect because the flies hadn't hatched yet, the kids were in the water, there were 2 platters of deviled eggs, we toasted Venus with Italian wine and there was fried chicken galore. Summer of 2012 is going to be glorious.

Trampled By Turtles At The Tent

Summer of 2012 is off to a spectacular start. We went to see Trampled By Turtles at Big Top Chautauqua and it was one of the best live shows I have ever seen. Our friends, Bob and Kelly, sponsored the show— we met the band and had front row seats. I was serious about the summer of 2012, it's poised for greatness. Bluegrass played under a tent at my favorite ski hill made for a night I won't soon forget.

There were a lot of people there, I think it was a record-breaking night. There were hula hooping girls, little kids and lots of happy people waiting for a brilliant show, inside and outside the tent. I doubt anyone left disappointed, Trampled By Turtles were fantastic. I like bluegrass and I really like bluegrass played by a bunch of talented men from Duluth.

I was so happy that Jack was there. In fact, he was the one who turned me onto Trampled By Turtles. One of the perks of having teenagers is their music knowledge, they play new music for us all the time. Thankfully, they have been raised on a steady diet of Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Dave Matthews and Cat Stevens.

Music frames a childhood. I remember listening to Cat Steven's, Tea For The Tillerman, when I was eight or nine in the family room while my Dad grilled steaks outside. I still can smell the smoke from the grill and feel the scratchy blueish green scalloped carpet every time I hear Hard Headed Woman. Jack will remember this night long after we are gone and that makes me happy.

When we met the band earlier in the evening a couple came up to Dave Simonett with a small box wrapped in gift wrap with his face and a red bow on it. It was their anniversary and either they met at a TBT concert or played one of their songs at the wedding (I wasn't listening that well, trying to balance picture-taking and beer drinking). It must be pretty humbling to realize the words and chords that lived in your head and were brought to life with a banjo, guitar or your voice have become touchstones for people you may never meet. There were moments during the concert where everyone was singing and dancing— a collective consciousness of pure joy. I could be wrong but I think the band felt it as well.

I don't play any musical instruments but if I did, it would be the violin. It is a seriously sexy instrument— all curves and beautiful details. It looks delicate but after watching Ryan Young play it, appearances are clearly deceiving. It is very sturdy and makes the most beguiling sounds. I am going to add violinist to the list of things I want to be when I grow up (or older, in my case).

We have spent many summer nights listening to music at Big Top with friends and family and the tent holds a special place in our family story. Jack said he has had an amazing childhood since we moved up here and one of the reasons was seeing Trampled By Turtles and Great Big Sea at the tent. Meghan and Charlie were in a few of the house shows last year, although they seemed to enjoy running around outside as much as being on stage. When we park our car in the gravel parking lot and see the striped canvas tent at the foot of the ski hill we were skiing on 4 months ago, I am awestruck by how blessed and lucky we are. Music is a gift and having a place in my backyard where I can share it with my kids is astounding.

In the song, Alone, the first verse is 'come in to this world alone and you go out of the world alone but in between there is you and me'. In between there are nights like last Friday— music, good friends, my first-born son and memories made under a canvas tent near the shores of Lake Superior. Absolutely brilliant.

Beef Kebabs- It's What For Dinner

Lately, we have been on a kebab and grilling bender. I use the grill in the winter but it is infinitely more enjoyable to cook outside when it's warm out. Beef tenderloin was on sale at the grocery store and I put in my basket (the kids love tenderloin). I was on the fence about hacking up a nice piece of beef and skewering it. Well, I am glad I jumped off the fence—it was a delicious idea and a perfectly good use of a beautiful piece of meat.

Allegro is my absolute favorite marinade for beef. We used to buy it at Cub Foods when we were young and broke. It was the cheapest marinade they carried and made tough and cheap pieces of meat loosen up a little.  Somewhere along the line, I decided to get fancy and make my own marinades. I forgot about my old pal, Allegro. Fast forward 17 years, I was at Byerly's and there it was, not quite as cheap but as good as I remember.

Kebabs are one stop shopping for dinner. Everything is fair game as far as I am concerned— parboiled potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, onions and red peppers. I marinate the vegetables in olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice and Montreal Steak Seasoning (another absolute favorite) for an hour or so before skewering them. I keep the grill at about 400 - 450 degrees and grill them for about 10 - 15 minutes. The cooking time may be different if you are using a gas grill or a kettle grill. I have terracotta heat diffusers in my grill and the kebabs are not exposed to direct heat.

I love red blends and this 2008 Chateau de Lascaux from the Pic Saint Loup region was spectacular. I bought it a couple of years ago and forgot it was in the basement. It was the perfect wine for dinner— spicy, tart and lots of lush fruit. Talk about a powerful trifecta— Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah are beautiful when they are blended. The good folks at Wine Spectator agree with me, it was one of the top 100 wines in 2010.

Lost Creek Falls Revisited

We went back to Lost Creek Falls a few weeks ago. This time, Ted and our good friends, Jeannie and Eric, came along for the adventure. The hike back to the falls was breathtaking— countless shades of green leaves and lush ferns lined the path. It was also muddy but the kids had rain boots. They found great joy in slogging through the middle of each and every mud puddle. The adults, sans rain boots, opted to avoid the mud and seek higher ground along the trail.

Meghan and I took a detour and walked along the stream bed to the second falls. It turned out to be a fortuitous detour— we found yellow brain fungus on a dead limb. It certainly looks otherworldly in the forest, the bright yellow sticks out like a sore thumb.

The second Lost Falls is one of my favorite places on earth. When Meg and I walked down the hill to the basin, a sense of calm and gratitude washed over me. Standing alongside an ancient rock wall, I felt the healing power of water, trees and time spent with family and friends.

I was behind the waterfall and saw Charlie and Carver sitting in the sun through the veil of running water. I wondered how these experiences will impact my kids as they grow older and what they will carry forward into their lives. If even a little piece of an afternoon spent deep in the woods near a waterfall stays with them, I will be thrilled.

I never tire of the sound of rushing water and thanks to a couple good rainfalls, the water was vigorously flowing in the stream and over the falls. I could have spent hours there, it was a magical afternoon.

The light was amazing and I turned to take one last picture. I wanted to capture the love, nurturing and gratitude I felt that afternoon. In the chaotic course of my daily life, I can feel the cool rush of air near the falls, the sound of rushing water and see my family against the sacred backdrop of the forest that this photo captured. I will carry it with me forever.

Makeshift Quiche

Sometimes cooking with leftovers from your refrigerator can make you feel like a contestant on a Food Network show. I never know what I will find. My leftover containers are typically miscellaneous plates/bowls covered with aluminum foil. It's always a surprise when I peel off the unlabeled foil and reveal the contents. Last week, I wanted quiche but didn't want to go to the grocery store. I harvested some leftovers from the fridge and came up with a makeshift but delicious quiche.

The harvest included eggs from Spirit Creek Farm, bacon from Jim's Meat Market, roasted fingerlings and asparagus, mushrooms, swiss cheese and balsamic glazed carmelized onions. I cook for a crowd every night (one of the perks of a large family). Sometimes the crowd doesn't like the results and I have lots of odds and ends left over. They will always eat anything that comes from a chicken, pig or cow, it's the vegetables that get covered in foil and put in the refrigerator.

I am a fan of Pillsbury pie crusts. They taste good, are easy to roll out and are relatively flaky. Maybe someday I will hop on the pastry making wagon but for now, I am happy to let Pillsbury make me look good. I use a tart pan with a removable bottom. I like the fluted sides but a traditional pie dish works just as well.

Makeshift Quiche

6 - 8 roasted fingerlings

1/2 cup caramelized onions

8 - 10 roasted asparagus stalks

1 cup sautéed mushrooms

6 - 8 slices of cooked bacon

1 cup swiss cheese, grated

5 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper

1 pie crust, rolled out and fitted into a 9 inch pie dish or tart pan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a bowl and beat until combined. Layer the potatoes, asparagus, onion, mushrooms, bacon and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Cut into 8 wedges.

Lupines, Lilacs, The Beach & A Double Rainbow

A few weeks ago, we went for a drive and this amazing field of lupines caught my eye. The vibrant purple and green literally stopped me in my tracks and I jumped out of the car to take this picture. Bayfield is awash in color. We set out to capture a little of it on an afternoon in late May.

Lilacs remind me of my parent's house— there are two huge bushes outside the kitchen windows and the fragrance was overpowering (in a good way) when they were blooming. Ted planted lilacs at our house right after we moved in five years ago. They are finally blooming and the fragrance transports me back to my Mom's kitchen.

Charlie found this green bug on the beach. It was on it's back near the water's edge and he rescued it. Don't you wonder what a bug thinks when it gets picked up? I saw A Bug's Life and lots of other Disney movies devoted to insects and I am pretty sure they don't like to be manhandled. We put him (or her) in the grass after I took the picture.

A magnificent stump on the beach. Charlie waded out to it and was looking for bugs in the water. It must have been an enormous tree at one time— I wish I knew where it came from. I walk by it every morning with the dogs and think of Charlie perched on the edge.

We have blueberry bushes and the butterflies love them. Gus, the black and tan Cavalier, loves to chase them. He camps out under the bushes and spends hours stalking them. His girth and short legs are definitely a handicap but he gamely keeps trying.

The beginning of the storm that blew in that afternoon. I was grilling after the deluge and heard the kids shouting. I ran to the front of the house expecting to find a compound fracture or a head wound but there it was— a double rainbow. As usual, Bayfield gave us a magical ending to a day spent capturing her brilliant colors.

Where Is Leeann Chin When You Need Her?

I cooked many meals at home when we lived in St. Paul but take-out was an important component of our weekly dinners. Leeann Chin was always on the roster for a quick Chinese and kid friendly dinner. The cream cheese wontons were always a favorite— what's not to love about a golden crunchy exterior that gives way to creamy, melted cheese?

My sister, Annie, made them for the boys a few years ago and they were a huge hit. Will suggested we give it a whirl and bring a little Leeann Chin to our kitchen in Bayfield. As luck would have it, our local IGA has wonton wrappers and cream cheese, we were in business. It was a surprisingly easy endeavor. A dollop of cream cheese on a wonton wrapper, wrap it up, fry it up and there you go— a Dougherty version of Leeann Chin wontons in Bayfield.

Fried Cream Cheese Wontons

1 8 ounce package cream cheese - softened

1 1/2 tbsp scallions sliced thin

1 1/2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

1 tsp Tajin Classico Seasoning (optional)

Wonton wrappers

Oil for frying

Instructions

Heat enough cooking oil to fill 2 to 3 inches in a medium-sized cooking pot. In a small bowl, mix cream cheese, scallions, cilantro until fully incorporated. Spoon approximately 1 teaspoon of cream cheese mixture into wonton, and fold wonton.

Fold wonton by brushing a little water over all of the edges of the wonton skin. Fold wonton diagonally unto a triangle. Be sure to seal all of the edges completely, this will keep the filling from running out of the wonton when being cooked. Next take the two furthest ends and press and twist those together. You may need to tack together the two end pieces by adding a little water.

When the oil is heated, you can use a thermometer and test to see that it is 350 degrees, or you may test with a small piece of wonton skin. If the wonton skin bubbles immediately when dropped into the hot oil, it is ready. Drop only 4 or 5 pieces into the hot oil. After about 1 minute the wonton will begin to brown, it will now brown rapidly, remove it when it is lightly browned. Set it on a wire cooling rack or paper towels to drain. Serve with Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce (the best sweet chili sauce, ever!).

Try A Little Thai On The Grill

Since I live many, many miles from the closest Thai restaurant, I have honed my Thai cooking skills. Not that I mind, I love the smell of lime, garlic, cilantro, nam pla and soy sauce. I made this chicken in 2003 for Charlie's birthday (my first foray into Thai cookery) and have made it ever since. That birthday party was also the first time I made mojitos for a crowd (before I had to develop and hone my bartending skills). I made pitchers of mojitos and forgot to mention to my guests that they needed to add soda water to mitigate the massive amounts of Bacardi Limon, sugar, lime and mint in the pitchers. Needless to say, it was a lively party and everyone needed to eat by the time dinner was served.

I love my grill. It is a Primo ceramic grill/smoker and in my opinion, it's perfect. In typical Maven fashion, I researched the grill question endlessly and it paid off. I can smoke ribs at 200 degrees, grill chicken at 400 degrees or sear a steak at 600 degrees. I am a big believer in hardwood lump charcoal because it free of any funky stuff and it burns steady and hot. I used to use Royal Oak Steakhouse blend charcoal (I bought it at Menard's) but switched to Cowboy because my local hardware store carries it. The charcoal chimney starter never lasts long around here, I always forget to watch it and the handle catches fire. Which begs the question— why do they use a wooden handle on a charcoal starter, planned obsolescence??

Thai Grilled Chicken (from Fine Cooking)

15 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground

1 tbsp peppercorns, toasted and ground

3/4 cup minced cilantro stems (from about 1 large bunch)

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 chicken, 3-1/2 to 4 pounds, fat trimmed and discarded, chicken rinsed and thoroughly patted dry

Make the marinade

In a food processor, mince the garlic with the salt. Add the ground coriander seeds, ground peppercorns, cilantro stems, soy sauce, and oil; purée until completely blended, 1 to 2 minutes. You'll have about 1 cup marinade. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and set aside (refrigerate it if you're working ahead).

Prepare and grill the chicken

Butterfly the chicken. Rinse the chicken and dry it with paper towels.

To butterfly a chicken, position the chicken breast side down. With poultry shears or a sharp chef's knife, cut along one side of the backbone and then down the other. Discard the backbone.

Turn the chicken over and press firmly on the center of the breast. You'll need to break the sternum and some ribs for it to lie flat.

Gently separate the breast and thigh skin from the flesh and slip a bit of the marinade under the skin. Then put the chicken and the rest of the marinade in a large zip-top bag, seal the bag, and massage it to distribute the marinade all over the chicken. Marinate the chicken refrigerated, for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours. Half an hour or so before grilling, take the chicken out of the refrigerator, remove it from the bag, and put it on a platter.

Prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire with the coals banked to one side or heat a gas grill to high on one side and medium-low on the other.

Spray the chicken generously with the vegetable oil spray and set it, breast side down, on the hottest part of the grill. Cook the chicken uncovered, turning once, until the skin has deep golden grill marks, 7 to 10 minutes. Move the chicken to the cooler side of the grill. Cover the grill and grill the chicken indirectly, turning every 5 minutes or so, until the juices run clear when the spot between the thigh and breast is pricked and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers at least 165°F, another 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and tent with foil. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with Sweet and Sour Sauce and Jasmine rice.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp rice vinegar

7 cloves garlic, minced

In a small, dry saucepan, toast the red pepper flakes over high heat until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the salt, sugar, and rice vinegar; cook over medium-low heat until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in the garlic. Remove the sauce from the heat and let cool completely. Makes 1/2 cup

A Puff Pastry Package

I think about food a lot. I collect cookbooks, research recipes on the internet and invariably, most of my conversations end up in food land. I had a meeting last week and somewhere between how many servers and what to do if it rains, brie en croute with mascarpone and truffle oil popped up.  As luck would have it, there was a large wheel of sheep's milk brie in my refrigerator. Looks like I had a lovely puff pastry package in my future.

If the phrase, 'process until mixture resembles coarse meal' strikes terror in your heart, head over to the frozen food aisle in the grocery store and check out the puff pastry. I use Pepperidge Farms and it has never failed me, light and flaky every time. On my way to the frozen food aisle, I spied a package of mixed exotic mushrooms. Sautéed mushrooms would be the pièce de résistance in my flaky bundle of cheesy love.

There was something missing and I couldn't put my finger on it. It needed a little zip to highlight the earthy flavors of the brie and mushrooms. Back to the refrigerator for a sherry vinegar glaze. I am a firm believer in vinegar; it's bright acidity plays beautifully against a variety of different flavors— savory and sweet. I figured with the rich puff pastry, cheese and mushrooms, a tangy sherry vinegar glaze would be a tasty counterpoint. Plus, it looked gorgeous.

I sealed the puff pastry, applied an egg wash and popped it in the oven. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. I was blinded by the gooey, mushroomy goodness and started to eat before I remembered to take a picture. Some of the cheese had seeped out, I think I may have rolled the dough out a little too thin, but it was delicious. This is going into the 'make this again' pile but it seems better suited to a cool fall evening. Next time, I am going to pair it with a green salad and a glass of champagne— a perfect light dinner.

Brie en Croute with Mascarpone, Wild Mushrooms & Truffle Oil

1/2 pound wild mushrooms

2 tbsp butter

1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed according to package directions (I use Pepperidge Farms)

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1 tbsp truffle oil

2 - 3 tbsp of sherry vinegar glaze (I use Columela)

One 14 - 17 ounce wheel of brie, chilled

1 egg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in a sauté pan and add mushrooms. Saute until softened and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 sheet of pastry into a 13-inch square.

Cut off the sides of the brie and horizontally halve it. Mix the mascarpone and truffle oil together and place on top of the bottom half of the brie round. Cover with the mushroom mixture, drizzle sherry vinegar glaze on top and place the remaining half of Brie, cut side down, on top of it.

Without over-stretching the pastry, wrap it snugly up over brie and press the edges together to seal. In a small bowl lightly beat egg and brush over the pastry covered brie. Place brie on a parchment covered sheet tray and chill, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Brie may be made up to  this point 1 day ahead and chilled, loosely covered.

Bake Brie in middle of oven until pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Let brie stand in pan on a rack 15 minutes and  transfer with a spatula to a serving plate.

Cheesy Bread Done Right

I had some of Michael's Sassy Nanny feta sitting in my refrigerator, the tail end of a hunk of sheep's milk pecorino, mascarpone, half a loaf of nearly stale ciabatta and a handful of grape tomatoes. All the components for one of my favorite things— garlic cheese bread. Except this was going to a fancy pants kind of cheese bread, full of tangy cheese, fresh herbs and tomatoes. Good and tasty things happen when you clean out the refrigerator.

What's In The Fridge Garlic Cheese Bread

1/2 loaf day old ciabatta, cut in half lengthwise

1/2 cup mascarpone

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup feta (I used Sassy Nanny)

1/4 cup pecorino

3 - 4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp chives, minced

12 - 14 grape tomatoes, halved

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Add butter, feta, pecorino and mascarpone to a mixing bowl and mix until combined. Fold garlic, chives and tomatoes into cheese mixture and spread on ciabatta. Sprinkle coarse salt (I use Maldon's sea salt) and pepper on top. Bake in 425 degree oven for 10 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Perfect lunch with a green salad with a tangy vinaigrette.