Caramelized Onion and Sage Grilled Cheese

You may have thought that shrimp and the subway was a strange combination, but here's another unconventional match that I love...

Grilled cheese dipped in Maple Syrup.

It may be because I'm Canadian.

Or it may be because it's delicious.

Don't knock it till you've tried it.

In order to encourage tasting something new, I have provided my newest grilled cheese variation below.

The crisped sage adds a salty bite that makes this savory-sweet combination all the more delicious!

Make it, make it, MAKE IT!!!

 

Whatchya need:

Butter

Sage - fresh whole leaves

Onions - thinly sliced

Cheese (I made it with Provolone)

Bread

Whatchya do:

Melt butter in a pan and place the sage leaves in the butter. Cook until crisped, and remove from pan and reserve.

In the same pan, and the same melted butter, place the sliced onions. Cook on a low-med heat slowly, until cooked down and caramelized. Be patient... this can take a little while. But it's worth it!!!

Once they are caramelized, crumble the crisped sage leaves into the onions (or you can crumble the leaves onto the cheese when layering the sandwich).

Butter your two slices of bread and start to assemble your sandwich. Layer the cheese, onions and bread. Place the sandwich back in the pan and cook until the bread is golden brown. Flip and do the same to the other side.

EAT! And don't forget a side of Maple syrup for dipping!!!

 

A Gussied Up Galavant

The New York subway system and I have a complicated relationship.

Sometimes she will be my Monday morning hero, halted patiently and without reason on the tracks of the 77th street station, just waiting for me to dash through the turnstiles and spare me a fifteen minute delay, when I'm already running late.

But other days, and there have been many more of those, she forces me to journey through her urine drenched, garbage stinking, rat infested stations, only to have me wait twenty minutes for her arrival, in which I must busy myself by figuring out the best way to avoid the beggar making his inevitable way to my side.

A sassy minx she is indeed. But like any good woman, I have to accept that in New York City, even though you can't live with her, there's no way you could live without her.

This weekend my brother came to visit me in the Big Apple. It was his first time in the city, and his first time crawling its public transit web. It's amazing to me how a fresh pair of eyes brings new light to something used and abused by someone else every day.

Before we boarded the underground rocket for his first time, I took him through Grand Central Market - a small but impressive showcase space of gourmet delights located in Grand Central Station (Torontonian translation: NYC's Union Station). Whenever I am required to take a subway ride for work, I pass through here to take in the colors and smells and cool my nerves... it's basically my more delicious version of yoga.

We passed by the seafood stand, where he stopped. He looked at the display, and then he looked at me with an invisible lightbulb flashing above his head.

"I have an idea." He grinned.

"Really? Sometimes I wonder what that's like.... does it hurt?"

Oh if looks could kill.

I humored him, "What's your idea?"

"What would you think of making this subway ride special?"

He stuck his hand into the iced case and withdrew a plastic container.

You don't have to say fancy snack to me twice!

A few minutes later, the subway car bounced towards its downtown destination, and inside the Gryfe siblings sat happily nibbling away on shrimp cocktail... and attracting a nice collection of confused and amused onlookers.

You see, while it may seem silly, it did turn a simple subway ride into something special. And though I ride the metro daily, and I do recognize that she is a woman with whom I (and the rest of Manhattan) share a unique love-hate relationship, for just a few stops and just a few bites, my metal maydele became a fancy lady.

Now I'm not proposing that you go sit in a dog house and eat a filet mignon...nor should you take this as an invitation to feast on caviar beside your toilet.

It's just some food for thought on how a little treat in an unconventional setting can transform something like a subway into a royal carriage!

Editor's Note:

The reader should know that approximately 5 minutes after consuming the traif treat and exiting the subway car, our noble explorers walked through the halls of the Bleeker St. station and encountered a lovely gift from the subway system they had just treated so well...

a large puddle of vomit blocking the exit.

I told you...it's complicated.

Openface Portobello Sandwich w/ Lemon Parsley Hummus and Parmesean (aka - Dad's favorite lunch!)

I had this sandwich at a brunch spot in New Zealand last year.

As soon as I got back home and was feeling nostalgic for the land downunder, I whipped up my own version.

This recipe can also be adapted for a mini-bites party by putting just one slice of mushroom on a baguette toast.

Make it, love it, let me know how it goes!

Whatchya need:
2 portabello mushrooms - stems removed, caps cleaned with damp towel
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

your favorite store bought hummus
squeeze of lemon juice
flatleaf parsley - finely chopped

basil (optional)
ciabatta, sourdough, or whatever good crusty bread you like
1 clove garlic - peeled, halved
good parmesean cheese - use vegetable peeler to achieve perfect thin strips

Whatchya do:

Preheat broiler.

Place portabellos, gill side up, on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place under broiler for 5-7 minutes or until 'shrooms are softened.

While that's cooking, combine hummus with lemon juice and parsley in a bowl. Set aside until ready to shmear on bread.

Cut thick slices of bread, and drizzle with olive oil.

Optional: in a small food processor (or pestle and mortar) put 1/2 cup of olive oil and a handful of basil leaves. Pulse until combined and oil turns a pretty green color...like the Emerald City in your own kitchen! Set aside until I tell you it's safe to use!

By now, the mushrooms should be done. Remove them from the oven, and place the bread slices directly on the rack under the broiler to lightly toast.

Slice mushrooms into strips.

Remove bread from oven, and immediately rub with garlic clove.

Shmear hummus mixture on bread, top with mushroom slices, and drizzle with basil oil. Top with thin sheets of parmesan.

Balsamic Watermelon Salsa

I first encountered this concept at a sample table in a Halifax grocery store.

I didn't know it at the time, but that fateful day, I met my potluck party soulmate.

My sister and I have mastered our own version of this recipe, and it's always a hit at every table we bring it to.

Whatchya need:

1 small watermelon

1 small red onion - finely chopped

1 bunch cilantro - finely sliced

1/2 bunch mint - finely sliced

1 cup balsamic vinegar

Whatchya do:

Remove the meat of the watermelon and cut it into small cubes.

Mix the watermelon with the onion, herbs, and vinegar.

Let it mellow together in the fridge for at least 2 hours, and up to 24 hours.

Serve with salted tortilla chips.

The Creation of a Monster

"So what is it that you want to do?" 

He reclined in his chair, comfortably seated on the fact that he has a job, a career, a paycheck with fancy benefits attached.

"Well, I like writing. I like food. I like traveling. Somehow, I would also like to make some money doing that."

I knew how that sounded... hardly profound, altruistic, or practical, but I maintained eye contact with The Suit.

"Do you blog?"

"Not that I know of. But I have considered how Carrie-Bradshaw-of-me it would be to start; Little Girl, Big City, and some serious Macintosh product placement. How en vogue!"

"Well blogging is the new calling card."

"Like Youtube is the new audition?"

"Right. So start. Like, yesterday."

And here I am. Hardly a Sex and the City episode, but at least it's in writing and on the world wide web!

So... Friends, Relatives, countrymen, lend me your eyes!

I won't promise that I will update daily, considering I like living my life more than documenting it. But I will go so far as to say that I'll stop by here occasionally, as long as you do the same. 

Your efforts to visit will be rewarded with recipes, slices of my sometimes hysterical existence, and whatever else makes for remotely interesting content.

To be perfectly honest, when I tried to think of what I would write about on my fine piece of cyber real estate, the words of my father came to mind: "But who's going to want to read about you?" 

Nice Dad. Appreciate that.

Hence my blog's name, So what, Who cares?

But there are those of you who may be interested... who are most likely devoted fans of Big Brother (television program and creepy Orwell literary metaphor) as well... and so to you I say, Welcome!