Saturday, January 24, 2009

Truth in Blogging

My post yesterday described a sandwich with fries on the sandwich and thick slices of bread. It just seemed so big and not to my taste. As you may know by now I enjoy tracing food history and linkages. Today my friend Meribeth emailed me about the Winds Cafe. The Winds is a favorite stop for a wonderful meal. I've taken cooking classes from the owners Kim and Mary Kay. I've even dragged people there to savor a great meal. So, I checked out the website and had a revelation. This month one of the items on their menu is a Beaune Burger. The burger comes from Burgundy in France and guess what. There are fries (peut etre frites) atop the burger.

"Beaune Burger
Mary Kay and Kim went in search of this local legend at the end of an over-long day of wine tasting in Burgundy. A hand-pattied grilled beef burger garnished in the manner of the town of Beaune, with tomato sauce, mustard-spiked mayonnaise, fromage, and crisp, hot french fries ON the sandwich. Served with dressed greens."

So is the Pittsburgh Paminti brothers sandwich born of Burgundy, France? Amazing. So I have to rethink this. I might want to be a little more open to something new. I do have a list of things I don't want to consume or simply don't like. Organ meats, goat cheese, innards. I don't care that there is a whole area of cuisine based on "offal". There is a reason they call it that. It really means AWFUL!

So Linda forgive me. At least you are trying to expand my horizons. I did research the "terrible towel" and found that is the most recognized symbol of the NFL. It is also a fundraiser. The history of cultural symbols can also be interesting.

So as a form of atonement I offer my interpretation of a favorite Winds Cafe salad. Bread Salad. I think it comes from Tuscan bread salad with a twist. After I tasted it I came home and made my own version. It is simply tomatoes, peppers, onions, olives, herbs tossed with a a vinaigrette. Chucks of bread are tossed in with chunks of mozzarella. The salad is then broiled until the cheese is oozy. The salad is then scooped on top of spinach dressed with a simple vinagrette.

Vinaigrette

1 C. extra virgin olive oil
1/3 C. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
several grinds of fresh black pepper
2 pinches of sugar

Put in a jar and shake well.

Salad

2 ripe tomatoes cut into medium chunks
2 smallish green peppers cut in medium chunks
1 medium sweet onion cut into small to medium chunks
3/4 C pitted black Kalamata olives
1 T. fresh parsley minced
1/2 tsp. oregano dried or 2 tsp. fresh minced
1 T. fresh basil cut in chiffonade
1/4 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 -1/2 baguette cut into small chunks (1- 1/2 ")
6 ounces good quality mozzarella cheese cut into 3/4" cubes

Toss the vegetables, olives and herbs with enough of the dressing to coat well but it should not be drenched. Add the salt and pepper and taste. You can add more salt. I think the olives can be salty and you don't want to overdo the saltiness. So make the seasonings to your taste.

Add emough baguette chunks to give it a nice ratio of bread to vegetables. Vegetables to bread ratio 3:1. Less or more to your taste.

Add the mozzarella and toss. Spread it onto a sheet pan and broil until the cheese is warm and melty. Serve a top some fresh spinach dressed with the vinaigrette.

This is a meal with a glass of wine. Mimi will probably email me that they were making bread salad in Archbold when whe went to see Aunt Bertha, her cousin Jane and Uncle Clark when she was a toddler.

1 comment:

  1. i laughed so hard! isn't it amazing how much better something tastes when the name is in french?

    ReplyDelete