[2] Blue cheese crumbles (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] Litehouse Blue Cheese Crumbles.

April 12th is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day, a day to try something new.

Actually, the entire month of April is National Grilled Cheese Month, so you’ve got an additional 17 days.

This sweet and savory sandwich recipe is from Litehouse Foods, which used its Blue Cheese Crumbles.
 
 
RECIPE: GRILLED RASPBERRY & MOZZARELLA SANDWICH WITH BLUE CHEESE & BASIL

Ingredients For 2 Sandwiches

 
Preparation

1. DIVIDE the butter evenly among the four slices of bread, spreading it on one side of each slice.

2. HEAT a grill pan over medium-high heat and place two slices of bread, butter side down, in the pan. Top each slice with ¼ of the mozzarella cheese and half of the blue cheese, raspberries and basil. Divide the remaining mozzarella cheese between the two sandwiches.

3. TOP each sandwich with the remaining slices of bread, butter side up. Grill each side for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. Slice in half and serve immediately.
 
 
MORE GRILLED CHEESE RECIPES

 
 
BLUE CHEESE CRUMBLES

Many people buy blue cheese crumbles for the convenience. But we love blue cheese so much, we buy one of our favorites and crumble it with a knife. Just dice it in your size of choice.

We also buy extra for table cheese, and to make this delicious blue cheese dip from PopArtichoke.com.

Our favorite blues from America’s artisan cheesemakers: Anything from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, anything from Rogue Creamery, and Bayley Hazen from Jasper Hill Farm.

Here’s more about blue cheese.

American-style garlic bread is a descendant of Italian bruschetta and crostini. The first recipe we found was published in 1940 in Edith Barber’s Cook Book, written by the editor of the New York Sun food column. [Source]

The Americanized version used a baguette or narrow loaf of Italian bread, substituted butter for oil, mixed with garlic powder/salt instead of rubbed with cut fresh garlic cloves, and topped with dried oregano. It might also include grated Parmesan or other cheese.

The loaf is sliced vertically or horizontally, topped with the butter spread and heated in a hot oven (400°F). Often, the loaf was sliced vertically and buttered between the slices before heating. Our Mom first lightly toasted the bread slices crostini-style, though she didn’t hear the word “crostini” for decades.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF GARLIC BREAD

American garlic bread began life as bruschetta, a peasant food. Some sources say it was made in ancient times, others cite medieval times as the origin. It was common for Italian peasants, who lacked costly ceramic plates, to eat their meals on slices of grilled bread. Charred, bread, rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil, was grilled over the fire.

In medieval cuisine, “sops” were common across Europe: stale bread soaked in broth, soup, or wine and topped with other foods.

These days, garlic bread is old school, and bruschetta and crostini are the rage. Here’s the old-school recipe, followed by an example of the new school.
 
 
RECIPE #1: CLASSIC GARLIC BREAD (OLD SCHOOL)

This recipe first slices the entire loaf in half, horizontally.

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE butter and garlic in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the top of the slices and sprinkle with parsley (you can also blend the parsley into the butter).

2. PLACE on a baking sheet and bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Broil for an additional 2 minutes or until golden brown, 4-6 inches. from the heat.

3. CUT into 2-inch slices. Serve warm.

[3] Spring peas: a delicious complement. No need to cook them; just shell them.

RECIPE #2: GARLIC CROSTINI WITH SPRING PEAS & BURRATA (NEW SCHOOL)

Ingredients For 3-4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. DRAIN the whey from the burrata in a colander lined with a paper towel. Don’t pierce the skin of the burrata.

2. TOAST the bread until golden brown—even with a bit of char around the edges. Rub the tops with the cut side of the garlic and drizzle with olive oil.

3. USE clean hands (instead of slicing) to carefully divide the burrata among the three pieces of toast, including all the creamy drippings. Divide the peas, olives and herbs among the slices.

4. FINISH with a hearty drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Cut in half or allow each dinner to do so.
 
 
DIFFERENT TYPES OF BREAD

Check them out in our Bread Glossary.

Also: The history of bread.

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Top: Classic Chess Pie from Zulka Sugar. Second: Lemon Chess Pie from Good Eggs | SF. Third: Pumpkin Chess Pie from Midwest Living (recipe). Bottom: Tangerine Chess Pie from Southern Living (recipe).

Chess Pie is a venerable Southern recipe that likely has nothing to do with the game of chess.

It’s a one-crust, sweet, rich custard pie made with basic ingredients found in every kitchen: butter, eggs, flour, milk, sugar and vanilla—plus two distinctive ingredients, cornmeal and vinegar. A one-bowl recipe, simply stirred, Chess Pie, which dates back to Colonial times, has remained popular over the generations.
 
THE HISTORY OF CHESS PIE

An early version appears in Martha Washington’s Booke Of Cookery, comprising recipes handed down from her first husband’s mother, Frances Parke Custis, possibly at her marriage in 1750. The first known recipe called Chess Pie appears in the 1877, in Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping by Estelle Woods Wilcox.

We will probably never know how Chess Pie got its name, but here are the four prevailing theories:

 
Early variations added lemon juice or pie spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Some added flaked coconut or toasted pecans. Some substituted part of the milk with buttermilk (buttermilk or lemon juice provides acid that can substitute for the vinegar). When cocoa powder became available, it was whisked right in to make Chocolate Chess Pie.
 
RECIPE: CLASSIC CHESS PIE

You can save time with refrigerated pie crusts, or make your own. This classic recipe from Southern Living saves time with a refrigerated crust.

Other Southern Living recipes include Chocolate-Pecan Chess Pie, Grapefruit Chess Pie, Lemon Chess Pie, Orange Chess Pie and Tangerine Chess Pie. Some use a traditional flaky pie crust, some use a shortbread crust.

We also found a lovely Pumpkin Chess Pie, a Cookie Chess Pie with Oreos and numerous other variations. Have a favorite flavor? Incorporate it into a Chess Pie!
 
Ingredients

 
For A Cocoonut Chess Pie

1. FIT the pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate, according to package directions. Fold the edges under and crimp.

2. LINE the crust with aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 425° for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the weights and foil; bake 2 more minutes or until golden. Cool.

3. STIR together the sugar and the other ingredients except the eggs, until blended. Then add the eggs one at a time, stirring well, followed by the optional coconut.

4. POUR the mixture into the pie crust. Bake at 350° for 50 to 55 minutes. After 10 minutes, to prevent excessive browning, shield the crust edges with aluminum foil or a pie crust shield—very useful if you make a lot of pies. Cool completely on a wire rack.
 
WANT MORE PIE?

Check out our Pie & Pastry Glossary and pick something new.
  

Here’s something different: A cocktail based on muddled herbs. The Chervil Sour was created by Jeff Bareilles, Wine and Beverage Director at Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos, California.

 
RECIPE: CHERVIL SOUR

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. MUDDLE the chervil and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker or pint glass. Add all other ingredients and ice. Shake vigorously until egg white is frothy.

2. STRAIN into a coupe glass and top with 3 dashes of Angostura bitters and garnish with a small chervil leaf.
 
 
WHAT IS CHERVIL?

Chervil, sometimes called garden chervil or French parsley, is an annual herb related to parsley, but more delicate in both appearance and flavor. It has a faint taste of licorice or anise seed.

Chervil is a popular French seasoning for poultry, seafood and vegetable dishes (the word in French is cerfeuil, sir-FOEY).

[2] A bunch of fresh chervil (photo © Herb Table).

Hardy herbs—bay leaf, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme—will stay green for a week or two in the fridge (keep them dry in the produce drawer).

Delicate herbs—basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, dill, mint, parsley, tarragon—wilt and turn yellow faster, and need special attention. 

[2] Getting ready to make BLT Pancakes.

[3] Baby arugula (photo © Baldor Specialty Foods | Facebook).

This recipe was created by Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest for Wisconsin Cheese Talk, who used Wisconsin-made quark in the recipe.

“Quark is like ricotta’s saltier cousin mixed with a creamy version of feta,” says Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest, who shared this recipe with the Wisconsin cheese folks.

“When I first tried it, I had so many ideas of how to use quark in my recipes, but one recipe stuck out: these BLT Quark Pancakes with Chipotle Bourbon Dressing.”

Here’s more about quark, a fresh cheese that looks like sour cream and yogurt.

Check out Half Baked Harvest. You’ll want to eat every recipe!

The recipe follows. Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> What is Quark and the history of Quark.

> The history of pancakes.

> The different types of pancakes and waffles: a photo glossary.

> The year’s 15 pancake and waffle holidays.

> The year’s 116 breakfast holidays.

> More pancake recipes.
 
 
RECIPE: BLT QUARK PANCAKES WITH CHIPOTLE BOURBON DRESSING

Serve these pancakes for brunch, lunch, or even as a first course at dinner. The recipe serves 6 as an entrée, 12 as a starter.

If you can’t find quark, substitute ricotta. The biggest challenge is when to make the recipe:

It’s a recipe for tomato season, but it seems a shame to wait for July’s crop of heirloom tomatoes. So the next best thing is to substitute cherry tomatoes (in addition to the ones already in the recipe.

Ingredients

For The Chipotle Bourbon Dressing

 
For The Quark Pancakes

 
For The Topping

 
Garnishes

1. MAKE the Chipotle Bourbon Dressing: In small saucepan over medium heat, bring the bourbon, if using, to a boil. Cook until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, chipotle pepper and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste; whisk to combine. Set aside until ready to serve.

2. MAKE the Quark Pancakes: Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Combine 8 ounces of quark, the buttermilk and egg yolks in a separate, larger mixing bowl. Add the flour, honey, baking soda and salt to the batter, stirring gently until just combined. Stir a small scoop of egg whites into the mixture to lighten the batter; then fold in the remaining beaten whites with a spatula.

3. HEAT a skillet over medium heat. Coat with butter or cooking spray. For entrée-size pancakes, pour 1/3 cup of the pancake batter onto the center of the hot skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on the pancake’s surface. Using a spatula, gently flip the pancake; cook the second side until golden. Repeat with the remaining batter. Keep the pancakes warm in the oven.

5. ASSEMBLE: Stack the pancakes on serving plates; top with the bacon, tomato slices, halved cherry tomatoes and arugula. Add a dollop of whipped quark cheese and drizzle with the reserved dressing.
 

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