Baked Croque-Monsieurs

After a summer in France, I have to admit I'm a little disenchanted with the array of food we have to choose from here in the United States.  It seems like everything is so heavy and... fried... here.  And we eat so many chemicals I can't pronounce that it feels like I can taste the sodium benzoate and monosodium glutamate.  People aren't obese in the U.S. because of fat, or even sugar - I would argue that the big problem is the additives in the food.  Why do you think obesity only became an issue in France after American fast food chains moved in?  They had plenty of butter, sugar, and carbs before we came along!

Anyway, enough of the soapbox.  The positive side to this is that French food is awesome, and I appreciate it... a lot.  There are very few additives in the food you buy there, so everything is a little more natural, and lot more delicious.  Just a simple sandwich is a work of art.

So now I find myself back in the United States, and missing French food... Le sigh... But that's why I'm here with a recipe for croque-monsieurs that will knock the chaussettes right off ya feet! This gooey, cheesy, crispy baked ham and cheese sandwich will make you think you done died and went to paradis.  It's just what the médecin ordered.

Parisian Summer Salad with Baked Goat Cheese Rounds

In 10 days, I'm leaving on a marvelous adventure in France!  I will be one of four instructors for a six-and-a-half-week French immersion program for high school students.  It's going to be a lot of work, but it's going to be amazing.  I'll be in Brest, which is in Brittany, and from what I hear, they have incredible food.  Ever heard, for example, of a kouign-amann?  Basically, buttery, sugary, caramelized goodness.  And there's more where that came from.  So excited!

In preparation to go to France, I will share with you my own creation, inspired by the wonderfully fresh and light salads I had in Paris last summer with my family.  They often served their salads with toast topped with baked goat cheese, which pretty much has the texture of soft, creamy sex.  So, within days of coming home to the States, I whipped up my own approximation of such a salad, complete with sexy goat cheese toast rounds (ignore the burnt edges in the photo above - it was still phenomenal).

Hopefully this salad will transport you to the outdoor patio of a Parisian café in the summertime, where I often like to live in my dreams. Enjoy!

Asian Cashew Chicken

I really, really love Chinese food.  Any Asian food, actually, but especially take-out Chinese.  It gives me the same comforting feeling that other people probably get from fried chicken, mashed potatoes, or collard greens.  I can't explain it, but it just makes me happy.  But for some reason, I rarely cook Asian food myself.  Maybe I was afraid I'd get sick of it if I actually made it, or that I'd screw it up and ruin Chinese forever (highly unlikely).  Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try.

Another blast from the past (I first made it last January), this Asian cashew chicken is just as awesome as anything I could get at our local No. 1 Chinese Restaurant - and without all the MSG, whoo!  Makes great leftovers, too.  I proudly announced that I had made this from scratch when I brought it in to school for lunch the next day.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Favorite Chili & Corny Bread

I have a confession to make.  It took some inspiration from my truly lovely friend Janine (over at HeARTful Cooking) to get back on my food blog.  I really enjoyed making it, and I've cooked so many interesting things over the past year, but never found the wherewithal to just bite the bullet and make a post about it!

I tend to be long-winded in my blog posts.  I think that's my problem.  Ever get to a point where you know it'll take you so long to do something (like, really unnecessarily long) that you just don't want to start?  That was where I was at.  For a year.

But I really, really like this little blog of mine, and you know, next year's going to be a little weird.  My funding situation is potentially non-existent.  I probably won't be teaching.  I'll be taking just two classes, most likely.  I'll be retaking a Masters exam.  So I'll need to find some solace in food.  Cooking it, not getting take-out like I have been.  But that's a different issue.  (Damn you, Falafels and your shawarma!)

Welcome back to Please Pass the Muffins.  Here, we like muffins.  And you.