It never fails. You’ve had dinner at your favorite little Italian place, made several rounds at the local wine bar, when last call slips up behind you intent on spoiling a night of well deserved frivolity. Suddenly five or six people looking better than the extras on Mad Men are faced with a moral dilemma of extraordinary magnitude. Will you let the night end this young? No… indeed not. With the simplest of ingredients that should already be in your refrigerator the night and the moonlight can be saved.
From Dee’s Kitchen |
- 1.5 pounds mild cheddar cheese (When available, Fontina or Gruyère are also nice.)
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (dried will work)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (dried will work)
- salt and pepper
- unsliced bread, something crusty works best
- copious amounts of the the alcohol of your choice
From Dee’s Kitchen |
- Make a drink. You want this to look easy.
- Preheat the broiler in your oven.
- Pour the olive oil into a cast iron skillet at medium heat. Remember that all the measurements in this recipe are not rules. They are more like a guideline.
- On a cutting board with a chef’s knife slice the garlic and chop the thyme and rosemary. Then add the spices to the skillet. This step does two things. First it makes it look like you can cook. Second it makes it smell like you can cook.
- Cut the cheddar, while giggling if you must, into one inch cubes and finish your drink.
- Move the cheese to the skillet, salt and pepper to taste and place the skillet in the broiler on the highest oven shelf until all the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Stir haphazardly and serve in the skillet with large hunks of unsliced bread for dunking.
- Bask in the praise of your guests.
From Dee’s Kitchen |
From The Pastoral Urbanite‘s “A Short Introduction”:
I dwell in a small college town, but I’ve lived in a big city.
I’ve gazed from the vista and teetered on the building ledge.
I’ve trudged a dirt road and I’ve hailed a cab in the rain.
I’ve towered in the pulpit and wallowed on the curb.
Please do check out The Pastoral Urbanite. It’s a beautifully written, thought-provoking and often inspiring blog. Any man who insists on using the proper wine glasses (I’ve had the pleasure of dining at his home), considers fresh rosemary and thyme to be staples and can wear a bow tie in a small, rural Oklahoma town is worth reading.
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