Martha Meets Lucy

Sherried Sardine Toast

Confession time: I hate bananas. Wait that’s not the right confession. Let’s try again, shall we? Confession: I love canned tinned fish. There I said it. And you know what? I’m not ashamed, even if Top Chef made me feel like I should be this season*. Tinned fish can be delicious. And so much more affordable than it’s fresh counterpart. Sure, some fish (salmon and tuna) are better after being mixed with mayo and some flavorful add-ins (this changed my life people. And I wish I were exaggerating.), but others are delightful without any help. Smoked trout or oysters? All I need is a fork.

 

Which brings us back to sardines. I love sardines. But not everyone does. Even people who have never eaten a sardine are quick to tell you how much they hate them. Ummm...why? They’re amazingly good for you. They're sustainable. And I'm not the only person that likes them.

 

 

I’ve been making this sardine toast for a couple years, and I am not alone. This is the perfect sardine introduction dish. The sherry vinegar cuts through the richness of the fish and the avocado, although lemon juice or apple cider vinegar work equally well. The herbs are easily changed too. Want to go South of the border? Swap parsley for cilantro and add some green onion (and Tapatio if you have it). Don’t have any fresh herbs? Dried dill works amazingly well. Make the recipe as written, but add a smear of Dijon mustard under the avocado, and suddenly you could be in France.

 

 

Ahhh, the powers of canned fish.

Croque Monsieur

I’m going to make a very, very gross assumption and say that all food bloggers talk to their food. I know that I have begged, pleaded, and bartered with food. I’ve showered it with compliments.

Yesterday, I cooed at it. Before I'd even cooked it.

"Look at you all teeny tiny. I could just eat you right up.”

“Who’s the cutest little sandwich ever? You are. That’s right, you are.”

There was more, but what little dignity I have insists that I stop.*

I love food in miniature, but little sandwiches with a formal name are extra cute.

This is going to become my new favorite brunch/cold weather/appetizer dish. They are so easy and everyone is going to love them. To quote my cousin Michael**, “They’re really good, but you cheated. You put melted cheese on anything and it is going to be amazing.”

Touché.

I did make the bread from scratch because I could not find mini brioche. And I didn't want full sized brioche cut into small pieces. I wanted mini brioche. I also didn’t look very hard because I looove making bread. But making the bread is definitely not necessary and as such I will not be sharing the recipe until later this week. Seriously, any good brioche would be amazing.

I haven’t even gotten to the best parts. It can be made in advance and the sandwich is cooked in the oven. The top gets all melty and gooey, and the bottom gets brown and toasty and I wish I still had some left now. Put a fried egg on it, and you have a Croque Madam, and a room full of amazed brunch goers (or Oscar party attendees). They don’t need to know how easy it was.

Lambstrami (Lamb Pastrami)

There are dozens of reasons someone learns to cook. Perhaps they tired of eating cereal. Or they live in the middle of nowhere. Or their parents couldn’t cook.

None of those reasons apply to me. I learned to cook because both of my parents are fabulous cooks. I grew up watching them cook dinner every night, and I really, really wanted to help. 

I still remember the first thing my mom let me slice. I was six, and she let me slice the mushrooms for dinner with a paring knife. She could have had it done in two minutes. My dad, demonstrating he cares more about speed and less about his fingers, would have done it in one minute. I’m sure it took me forever to slice the mushrooms, but it was amazing. And it sparked a fire in me to learn more. More about how to make food. More about other cultures. More about where my food comes from. More about how to make it taste good.

After she handed me that knife, the kitchen was never safe from me again. Avocados that were being saved for a salad for that night’s dinner party? I made them into guacamole. Peanut butter and chocolate chips went into the microwave to become... something.

My parents made the food nerd I am today. I had my first oyster on the half-shell when I was a year and a half. By four, I was eating entire buckets of steamed clams, and if the rumors being perpetrated by my parents are to be believed, those were “my clams” and I did not share. When I took meat fab, I was the only person in my class who had tried liver, sweetbreads, gizzard, tendon, tongue, or tripe.