Open-face leek sandwiches

To go along with my vegetarian theme last week (and to empty out the fridge), I decided to make some open faced leek sandwiches.  I had leek tarts at a friend's a month or so ago, so these kind of followed along with that theme. This was very simple to make, and I found it to be very filling - may have been all the cheese :-)

What you need:

1 leek, sliced thinly
4 thick slices of bread
shredded cheddar - about 75g
slices of Gruyere - enough to cover the top of the bread slices
3 Tbls of vollrahm (cream)
butter or olive oil

Put the butter (or olive oil) in a pan and melt it over medium heat.  Add the sliced leeks and cook for about 5 minutes, until they are slightly soft.  Add the cream and cook another 3-4 minutes.

While the leeks are cooking, slice your bread and put on a baking sheet.  Add a slice of Gruyere to the tops of each of the bread.  Turn the broiler on. Or use a toaster if you have on. 

Add about 3/4 of the shredded cheese and mix well.  Take off the heat

Top the slices of bread with the leek mixture.  Shred the rest of the cheese and add to the top.

Keep in the oven until the cheese has melted and started to brown a bit. Keep in more or less depending on how crispy you want the cheese to be. 

 Enjoy!

Cordon Bleu

Tonight was my first attempt at making one of the dishes I learned last week in my cooking class.  I didn't have an actual written recipe, so I was very happy with how it turned out. I've never attempted to make this before, nor have I actually ever eaten it before last week.  We used pork, but a lot of other people have used chicken. I may try that in the future as I thought this was rather rich. Good, but rich.

We learned that there are a few important things to do:

1. You should not buy 'cordon bleu' cuts from the freezer section.  You should ask your butcher to cut it for you. Or you can cut your own. It is surprisingly simple to do so. Though I made the mistake of telling the butcher what I was making and he went ahead and cut it for me.  May make it again just to get a chance to do it myself!

2. The ham that you put inside the pork is to prevent the cheese from leaking out any holes in the pork.

3. Emmentaler is a gummy cheese and needs to be combined with another.  I chose Gruyere this time, but in our class we used finely sliced raclette cheese.  Something to remember when you next have raclette. Now there is a use for the leftover cheese!  Oh - he did mention that you must not, under any circumstances, use Cheddar (yes, he knew I was American, and I think he was teasing me, but I think he was also serious).

What you need:

(sorry for the angle - once again using my phone)
Butterflied Pork, number of cuts equal to the number of people being served
ham
2 types of cheeses. I used Gruyere and Emmentaler

2-3 eggs, beaten for dipping
flour
breadcrumbs (if you don't have any, day old bread or crumbled hamburger buns work great).
Peanut oil and butter - half of each for frying
toothpicks for holding the sides together

First, lay a piece of ham over the top of the pork filet. Add each time of cheese.

Fold in half and secure with a toothpick.

Prepare 3 plates. The first with flour to coat the pork so that the egg will stick to it.

The second with the egg.

And the final with the breadcrumbs.  Gently flip over the cordon bleu until it is well coated.

In a frying pan, add the peanut oil and butter and let melt over medium heat.  Add the cordon bleu and let cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip over.  You will need to keep flipping every few minutes to ensure an even cooking on both sides.  I cooked mine for about 15-20 minutes.  Make sure you keep the heat on medium to medium-low or all the cheese will melt before the pork is cooked and run out into your pan.

You can serve this with the stuffed crepes, which I will post next if you wish and a nice side salad.  The two served together though may be a little rich, and the crepes could be served by themselves as well.  Some steamed veggies would also be really good, possibly with a small pasta side. 

Enjoy.