Rosie Makes A Bleu Cheese Pesto Loaf.

 The Hawthornes had a party last week
for our regular group of renegades.
It was Rosie's birthday.


I started making a list of hors d'oeuvres
and #1 on my list was a Bleu Cheese/Cream Cheese, Pesto,
Sun-dried Tomato, and Roasted Red Pepper Loaf.
It's been a favorite at all my fêtes.

I know.
It looks a mess,
but people got into it before I could take a proper picture.

 Cheese Loaf

2 packages cream cheese (16 ounces), softened
6 ounces bleu cheese, room temp
1 cup pesto
a few tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes
a few tablespoons roasted red peppers

I'm using a 6 x 1 1/2 inch loaf pan
and  a 6-ounce round ramekin.
Line both with plastic wrap with enough overhang to cover.
Layer each with 1/3 of the  bleu and cream cheese mixture.
Spread out evenly.
Layer on 1/3 of the pesto and spread out.
Top the pesto with some of the dried tomatoes.
Add 1/2 the bleu/cream cheese mixture to both containers.
Layer with the rest of the pesto
and top with several roasted red pepper slices.
Finish both with the rest of the bleu/cream cheese.
Cover with plastic wrap overhang.
Refrigerate.

When ready to serve,
pull out with plastic and invert on dish.
Serve with crackers.

I have found that this freezes well.


My pesto is homemade.
Almost every year, in September or October,
I have a Hurricane Harvest of Basil
and make enough pesto to last me through the year.
That link has my pesto recipe.
Cut back accordingly
if you're not harvesting large amounts. 
Before that hurricane barrels through,
I go out to my basil patch and cut EVERYTHING down.
The hurricane will take it out if I don't.

 

 I let my frozen pesto thaw out
and I mixed the bleu and cream cheese together.

 Line the containers in plastic wrap
and spread a layer of the bleu/cream cheese mixture
on the bottom, which will become the top.

 Give it a layer of the pesto.

 Next some sun dried tomatoes.

I happened to have jarred tomatoes in oil.
If you have the real dried tomatoes,
pour boiling water over them first to cover
and let them soak for about 15-20 minutes.
Drain and pat dry before using.

 Spread evenly.

 A middle layer of the bleu/cream cheese mixture.

 Then another layer of pesto and some roasted red peppers.

 A final layer of the bleu/cream cheese.

 
 Pull overhanging plastic to cover.
Refrigerate.

 Back to the ramekin.

 I'm layering away happily on my little ramekin.
First the cheese mixture, then the pesto.

 Now a little sun-dried tomato.

 A middle layer of cheese.

 A layer of pesto.

 A layer of roasted peppers.

 The final plop of remaining cheese mixture.

Smooth it out.

And guess what I forgot to do.
I forgot to put the plastic liner on first.
Crap.

I'm freezing this one,
then I'll put it in a hot water bath
and hope it will invert well.

Otherwise, just dig in folks.
Taste is all there.

I FLOVE sun-dried tomatoes and pesto together.
This is sublime.
 

Steak And Salad For Lunch With Homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing.

Mr. Hawthorne wanted a salad and homemade Blue Cheese dressing for lunch yesterday, and seeing how he was all pitiful and cripple and licking his wounds from his toe surgery that morning, I was happy to comply.

My ingredients: 1/2 cup mayo 1/4 cup sour cream 1 TB rice vinegar 1/8 cup buttermilk 1 TB Poupon Dijon mustard 1 teas Lea & Perrins salt and pepper cayenne paprika oregano Tabasco sauce 2 TB fresh parsley 2 TB Blue Cheese (I used Rosenborg Danish Blue)

Mayo, sour cream, and vinegar.

Mustard.

Add in the worcestershire and spices to taste.

A few drops of Tabasco sauce.

Parsley.

Blue cheese. When I make up a dressing like this, I start with my basic ingredients - the mayo and sour cream, then gradually add in the rest of the ingredients, tasting after each addition, and adding more if needed. Always taste as you go along. And go light on the seasonings. You can always add more. Hard to un-ring a bell though.

Here are our salads.

The cheese there is my new favorite salad cheese - ricotta salata.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, green olives.

Sliced carrots and onions.

Mezzetta's Italian Mix Giardiniera which contains cauliflower, carrots, celery, peppers, pickles, and onions.

.

Croutons.

Peperoncini.

And here's my homemade blue cheese dressing.

Harris Teeter had beef tenderloins on sale the other day so we had a delicious fillet with onions and shrooms and the pan juices, deglazed with red wine. Every now and then, my body calls out for red meat and yesterday was the day. This hit the spot.

Kick Ass Onion Soup.

Gentle Readers, this will be a sublime dish.
Onion Soup a la Hawthorne.

Let's begin with the leftover half of pizza dough, albeit blurred, left to rise.

Looky, looky! My dough rose!

I punched it down, kneaded it,
then placed it in a buttered meatloaf pan, and salted and peppered it.
 Then at 9 this morning, I found the raw dough in the microwave.
 I forgot all about the dough last night.
So's, I heated up the oven, and cooked the bread.
At nine this morning.
And this is the loveliness I got.
 I know. It's got a sag in the middle.
 But, this bread IS.TO.DIE.FOR.

I sliced the bread.

Buttered it. And fought for this slice with Mr. Hawthorne.

Look at the see through. Bubbles from the yeast.
 From the overnight rising.

Let's move on to dinner. I took out my beef consomme.

OK. I'll get back on track.
 We're making French Onion Soup tonight
. OH, SCRATCH THAT.
We're making Hawthorne Soup!

Onion slices go into butter.

Salt and pepper and stir around.

Deglaze with some red wine.

Stir it up.

Slice Rosie's homemade bread.

Top bread with cheese slices. And throw into the toaster/broiler.

Add caramelized onions to beef consomme.

OMG!!!!!!!!
 Mr. Hawthorne just SANDRALEE'D it.
 He added Lipton onion soup mix to my HOMEMADE BEEF CONSOMME!!!!
 I feel faint.
Kill me now.
 Someone, catch me.
 I'm falling. Whew, Rosie.
 Take a deep breath.
Or maybe you should breathe into a bag and not hyperventilate.
 Mr. Hawthorne just ROSIEHAWTHORNED it.
 Yes, he RosieHawthorned it.
He added my 3-day, carefully tended, coddled, veal stock
 to the beef consomme.
 Mr. H., You are semi-homemade-redeemed.
Will a RosieHawthorne counter out a SandraLee?

Here are my homemade bread slices with melted cheese.

Mr. Hawthorne turned the bread/cheese slices upside down in my souffle dish.

Pour the oniony, beefy, stocky business onto the toasty bready upsidedowny cheesy thingies.

Lookin' good.

Top the onion soop with toasty magnificence.
 My homemade bread, toasted, goes on top.

Mr. Hawthorne strategically places slices of cheese on top of the bread toasts.

Oh!!! It looks like a souffle.

Cut into the soop.
 Is this Onion Soup not beautiful?

This was SUBLIME
 Absolutely delicious.

You won't find a French Onion Soup on a menu anywhere as delicious as this one was.

Oh My. Oh My.
This is French Onion Soop?
No. It's Hawthorne Soop!
And it's freakin' delicious.