Rainy Day Comforts - Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I'm not kidding, the second the weather turns bad, I turn to warm comfort foods and Christmas carols. I feel like such a kid right now. ;-) I was banging away on the piano this morning and attempting to belt out Christmas carols with my hoarse, bronchitis-infected vocal chords. Sounds like I've been smoking all my life... My brother tells me he can't take me seriously because I sound so ridiculous. Not quite sure what that means but.... :-)

I'm doing a repeat today of yesterday's lunch -- a grilled sharp cheddar and turkey sandwich on sourdough. I turn to my cheese sandwiches when it rains. To give it a grown-up element, I'm trying to add other things besides just cheese these days. One of my favorite hot sandwiches lately is an open-faced mozarella, turkey, pesto, and tomato with provolone melted on top under the broiler. It is fantastic on Pugliese. (If you are going to use the broiler to heat your sandwich, toast the bread first; otherwise, it can end up a bit cold and soggy in the middle.) Another excellent choice is a grilled bacon, tomato and Dubliner.

What are your favorite hot sandwiches for a rainy day??

Apple Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Ah. It's a rainy day here, the first of the season. I'm feeling all snuggly. I want to curl up with a good book and a hot cup of tea. But, first, some cookie baking is in order.

All those delectable apples I picked from the trees last week are finding their way into baked goods of many varieties. I've enjoyed many an apple crisp -- for breakfast, lunch and dinner! -- an apple cake, baked apples...the list continues.



Today, I whipped out my trusty "Apple Lovers Cook Book," acquired a few years ago on one of my excursions up the hill. In the mood for something to munch while I sip, I searched out a good apple cookie recipe and stumbled on this one...

Oatmeal Apple-Raisin Cookies

adapted from Apple Lovers Cook Book

1 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

1 1/2 c. oatmeal

1/2 c. peeled, diced apples

1/2 c. grated apple

1 c. raisins

Cream butter together with sugar in a large bowl. Add egg and vanilla. Stir in flour, soda, and cinnamon. Mix well. Gradually add oatmeal, then the apples and raisins. Regfrigerate for 15 minutes to an hour. Keep regfrigerated while they bake in batches.

Place walnut-size pieces of dough on a baking sheet. Bake about 10-15 minutes at 350 F, or until cookies are browned. Recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies.

This recipe makes quite a few cookies, although bite-size, so it is quite easy to put away more than a couple. (But only if you're into that kind of thing....) ;-) If you enjoy oatmeal raisin cookies, you'll like these. They hardly taste like apples, really, but are moist and chewy with a nice hint of spice.

How About Them Apples??

Ever since I was just a wee, little babe, the Fall months have always been occupied with frequent weekend trips to Apple Hill to enjoy every aspect of the fruitful harvest. Just recently, however, I have discovered a new favorite past-time involving this bountiful harvest: apple-picking.

It began back in college as a way to amass copious quantities of food at a cheap price, plus it was an excellent way both to procrastinate on homework and get some fresh air. We, a ravenous pack of students, would gather on a crisp Saturday morning, early before brunch, piling into the largest vehicle we could find and head off to one of the you-pick-your-own apple orchards of Northern Virginia. We never returned with less than a large grocery bag each stuffed with juicy, plump apples straight from the tree. The drive home always consisted of plotting the variety of ways we would be spending consuming our horde...

Strangely, in all my trips to Apple Hill over the years, I had never been to a you-pick-your-own apple orchard. Looking back, it is downright scandalous...every child should have the opportunity to earn his apples by the sweat of his brow! But, finally, last year, I went up with some friends who were brave enough to fight the elements in order to enjoy those precious green and ruby gems. Unfortunately, much to our chagrin, we arrived a bit late in the season only to find the trees nearly bare. We consoled ourselves with caramel apples at High Hill.

But, never fear! This year, we were wise and headed up a bit earlier. This past Sunday was joyously spent frolicking around a beautiful orchard owned by a gracious woman who was offering her apples at $5 a half-bushel. Couldn't pass up an offer like that! We'll take two, thank you! Leaping in and out amongst the trees, we found plenty to fill our boxes...and more! A bit of a search was required, but that made it all the more adventurous. Those apples which seemed within arms reach were nearly always about two inches too far. If you jumped and tugged, you usually ended up dodging about half a dozen apples knocked loose as they rained down on you. There was always the option of the apple-picking device (does it have a name?) that one of the guys mentioned might be used alternatively as a lacrosse stick, which, of course, caused an impromptu 'apple lacrosse' match to begin -- duck! It was too bad there was a sign at the front which asked us not to climb the apple trees. That's truly the best way of getting them down...or, rather, I think I'll just sit up there and munch away the afternoon.

Oh, what to bake??

The guards of the orchard

A valiant effort to grab the apples hiding amongst the branches and leaves

We left the hard-to-reach ones to the tall guys....

Dinner with the Hs

My dear friend, Catherine, got married a couple weeks ago. In honor of her nuptials, I made her an apron of the finest cotton (haha!)....well, the cutest darned apron this side of the Mississippi anyway! :-)

The other evening we broke in her new kitchen making a scrumptious dinner of chicken and potatoes on the fly for the boys. Donning our adorable aprons, we threw together a one-dish supper of chicken breasts, fingerling, purple and red potatoes (red, white and blue...how patriotic!), and carrots, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper, thyme and oregano.

Her awesome hubby was responsible for a fantastic salad, complete with fine carrot shavings in their new, dark wooden bowl. He had to try on the apron too...doubles as a 'manpron'. :-p

They uncorked and shared with us a bottle of rose wine from a winery in Napa made with strawberries. Guess I could have died and gone to heaven!!

the newlyweds :o)

Catherine's favorite shots: taken with mouths full of food...surely to assure the viewer that the food was being enjoyed...or is that a grimace I see on your face, Matt??

We spent the evening stuffing ourselves silly (too bad I forgot to take photos of the enormous bowls of cookies 'n cream and mint chocolate chip ice cream we had for dessert...oh, and don't forget the 3 oreos each!) and laughing until our faces hurt. No better way to spend an evening than in the company of good friends and good food... :-)

As Summer Fades Away

I strolled through the Farmers' Market this past Sunday, filling my basket with the last of the fine delicacies of summer produce. These were my finds....

white peaches

fingerling and purple potatoes

tomatillos

figs

cherry and pear tomatoes

purple bell peppers



For a bit of fun and games...anyone want to take a stab at the surfaces that served as backdrops for my lovely fruits and veggies?? :-)