Cuisine: Cheese

Artichoke Heart Carbonara

Our whole family is obsessed with carbonara. When there is nothing to eat, this is our go-to meal. It's simple, fast and so good. This Artichoke Heart Carbonara is a vegetarian version (no bacon here!). Oh, and did I mention, we LOVE artichokes?! Fortunately, I always have cans of artichokes in my pantry. 

By Leslie Blythe

Artichoke Melts

Here's a different idea for lunch. We tend to have a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches, and that gets rather boring. So to change it up, try these Artichoke Melts. I always have cans of artichoke hearts in the pantry. It has slices of hard-boiled eggs on the bottom and is topped with a mixture of artichoke hearts, cheddar cheese, Dijon mustard, mayo, garlic powder, and some dill before going under the broiler until it's golden brown. Yum!

By Leslie Blythe

French Onion Cauliflower

I love French Onion Soup and decided to take the idea and transform a head of cauliflower. It turned out rather delicious. I caramelized some onions and topped the florets with some Gruyère cheese and croutons. I went back into my archives and found my recipe for French Onion Chicken Meatballs, which is also a winner.

By Leslie Blythe

Arancini

I have never been a fan of leftovers. However, I do like to turn leftovers into a completely new dish. These Arancini are a perfect example.

Arancini are the epitome of southern Italian street food. They are stuffed with mozzarella, dredged in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried. They are great as hors d'oeuvres dipped or served on a bed of lettuce as a light lunch.

By Leslie Blythe

Creamy Parmesan Skillet Eggs

This recipe for Creamy Parmesan Skillet Eggs is from Chrissy Teigen. Oh, to be her, lounging around the house in silky pjs with John Legend! My friend Alice gave me a stack of cookbooks that someone was throwing away. I have to say, this book is genius. I told my husband to go through a put post-it notes on the recipes he wants me to make, which is practically every page! And yes, he stares at the photos of the lovely Sports Illustrated model. Anyway, back to the recipe. I made several changes - 1) no salt needed, because parm has a lot of salt already, ditto for butter - I used unsalted. 2) I only used one egg. 3) I finished it off under the broiler.

By Leslie Blythe

Buffalo Chicken Nachos

Well, for starters, I'm not a huge football fan. I only watch the Super Bowl for the ads and typically root for the team that is winning. I'm only half paying attention, though I do provide good snackage! I used to make my late mother-in-law a plate of nachos while she watched the USC games. She loved nachos and I loved making them for her. I always enjoyed hearing her screaming "GO, GO, GO!" This is a rather long-winded intro to my Buffalo Chicken Nachos, which is a variation of the traditional nacho recipe. You can make this buffalo chicken in the instant pot or a slow cooker. There was also the infamous Buffalo Chicken Pizza Incident, which you can read about...

By Leslie Blythe

Scottish Rumbledethumps

This Scottish Rumbledethumps is game-changing. Rumbledethumps is a traditional dish from the Scottish Borders. The main ingredients are leftover mashed potatoes and cabbage. Similar to Irish colcannon, and English bubble and squeak, it is either served as an accompaniment to a main dish or as a main dish itself.

The beauty of the dish is it can be made the day before and heated up. It can be a side dish alongside a hearty stew, or, if you prefer to eat it on its own, with a fried egg on top.

By Leslie Blythe

Beans with Leeks, White Beans and Cheddar on Toast

So, this Beans with Leeks, White Beans and Cheddar on Toast is a recipe that I adapted from a recipe from Nigel Slater. It was posted in The Guardian and it's basically "posh beans on toast". Beans on Toast is a British institution. The reason I made it is because I had the ingredients on hand and because I love leeks. Leeks are massively underappreciated and really add so much so many dishes. It was delicious and I initially thought I would have to serve soup with it, but that was not the case. You can adapt this recipe to ingredients you have.

By Leslie Blythe

Dutch Baby with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Pancetta & Arugula

I love making Dutch Baby pancakes for lunch or dinner. A Dutch baby pancake, sometimes called a German pancake is a large American popover or British Yorkshire pudding.
I made this Dutch Baby with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Pancetta & Arugula because they were the ingredients I had on hand. It's very versatile, you can change the type of cheese, you could use bacon instead of pancetta, etc.

By Leslie Blythe

Mexican Fideo (Vermicelli)

I was researching ways to use Fideo pasta (Vermicelli) and ran across this recipe. It was actually called Sopa de Fideo, though there is nothing "soupy" about this. It's more like a tomato mac & cheese. Regardless, this Mexican Fideo (Vermicelli) (I renamed it!) was a huge hit with my husband. It only took 10 minutes to make. If you have kids at home, this is a must-try dish.

By Leslie Blythe