Papa John's Emmental Pasta

What the heck is that?

Our daughter went with Mimi... So, for lunch I'm blending:

• leftover cooked rotini, plain
• one container Papa John's Garlic sauce
• two teaspoons basil
• one teaspoon four color pepper
• about three tablespoons shredded asiago from Aldi
• about 1/4 cup French emmental cheese, leftover from crôque monsieur night
  

Four Cheese Vegetarian Crôque Monsieur

Ah... finally!

Adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris:
Angel's four cheese vegetarian crôque monsieur

• 12 slices homemade wheat bread (each about half the size of store-bought bread)
• six slices Morningstar vegetarian bacon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons unbleached white flour
• 2 cups hot heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground four color organic pepper
• pinch nutmeg
• 2 cups shredded swiss cheese (I got French Entremont)
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
• less than 1/4 parmesan (I ran out)
• 1 cup shredded smoked gouda

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter over low heat and add the flour all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon for two minutes (is it supposed to end up as a lump? Because mine does.) Slowly stir in all the milk (oops I did mine fast) and whisk until sauce thickens (mine did fine, even if I neglected the subtle nature of the instructions).

Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, nutmeg, parmesan, 1/4 cup cheddar, and 1/4 cup swiss.
Stir until melted and set aside.

Toast the bread about five minutes on each side in the oven.

On the bottom halves of the sandwiches, pile 1 tablespoon sauce, about a tablespoon shredded cheese (at this point I mix all remaining the cheeses together), one slice vegetarian bacon (folded), one more tablespoon cheese sauce, then the lid, one more tablespoon sauce, then a little pile of cheese.

Return sandwiches to the oven until bubbly and browned.

Prepare some frozen peas and cauliflower and top with leftover cheese sauce. The remaining cheese sauce can be refrigerated and used for a killer alfredo sauce, or more sandwiches, or a really decadent fondue.

The new coffee contraption

My mother-in-law bought me a French press coffee pot for Christmas, a Swiss contraption, the Bodum Chambord.

From Wikipedia: A French press, also known as a press pot, coffee press, coffee plunger or cafetière, is a simple coffee brewing device, probably invented in France in the 1850s, but first patented by Italian designer Attilio Calimani in 1929, who made subsequent design improvements over the years, and further refined by another Italian, Faliero Bondanini.<sup>[1]

Now my mother-in-law didn't buy me any coffee and I'm not putting Folgers in this puppy. So, with some cajoling from my husband, we headed to Wegmans. He had every intention of getting ground specialty coffee. But as I didn't see us using this pot every day, I thought whole beans would store better and allow us to grind our own.

Of course, this required a coffee grinder and in true cheap fashion, I headed to the household aisle of Wegmans where I found a Cuisinart grinder on clearance for $15. And I just happened to have a $20 gift card to Wegmans which was essentially my Christmas bonus from the non-profit where I work.

Then to the coffee aisle. In college, I adore Viennese Cinnamon coffee. Closest Wegmans had was "cinna-nut." $7.99 for 12.2 ounces of whole beans. Plus some half and half and some milk. For a grand total of $28.12 minus the $20 gift card.

Now when we got it home, we carefully made the coffee. I ground some, measured it. Heated the Le Creuset tea pot. Boiled the water. Let it calm. Measured it in the measuring cup. Poured it into the press pot and let it brew 4.5 minutes.

We drank with half and half and a splash of French brandy. Fabulous!</sup>