blue cheese

What's better than a plain grilled cheese sandwich? A grilled cheese sandwich with three kinds of cheese and caramelized pears and onions! This amazing recipe is another one from the book I'm currently obsessed with, Grilled Cheese Please! The thing that makes this sandwich so special is the butter: it's mixed with blue cheese before being slathered on the outside of the bread.

I've made it twice; once in a panini and another time on the stove, and I found that it works better in a sauté pan. When it cooked in the panini, everything oozed out the sides. Whatever way you cook it, this sandwich is absolutely delicious and I highly recommend you try it — it's perfect for meatless Mondays! Check out the recipe after the break.

When it's cold out, I crave hot soups, but sometimes, a crunchy salad with a warm component can be just as gratifying. Take this easy lunch salad for example. It's got piles of healthy spinach, salty almonds, and roasted pears. Instead of tossing in croutons and blue cheese, this delicious combination is served alongside the salad in fresh-from-the-oven toasts. I had planned on using dried cranberries for a pop of color but didn't have any in the pantry — feel free to add them in! If you dislike blue cheese, use goat cheese instead. Get the easy recipe.

Every once in a while, I unearth a dish that's good enough to be the recipe to end all other recipes. These discoveries are few and far between, but this weekend I found a baking recipe that's so delicious that it's ended my quest for the perfect savory cookie.

May I present the bacon cookie? The name says it all. Actually, it's a bacon, blue cheese, and pecan coin that's short and crumbly at first bite, then melts in your mouth with a nutty, sharp, cheese-like finish. You'll never — I repeat, never — be able to eat just one.

Serve it as a Christmas party appetizer, or wrap it up in cellophane baggies and give it to everyone you love. If you do, you're guaranteed to be a favorite this holiday season. Want the recipe? Yes, you do.

Still don't know what to serve on Sunday? How about grilled red, white, and blue pizzas?! This festive and fabulous idea comes from Chef Eric Lee of Simi Winery's Landslide Terrace Pizza Cafe in Healdsburg, CA. While you could enjoy these pies at the cafe, they are fun to make at home and absolutely delicious.

The red pizza is the most classic, with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and a BLT garnish. The white pizza celebrates the ingredients of the season with a fresh corn, zucchini, and leek topping. The blue is the most exotic, with Peruvian purple potatoes, blue cheese, and caramelized onions.

Get started a day in advance on preparing the toppings, then all you have to do during the barbecue is grill the dough and finish the pies. Serving the pizzas as a trio is an excellent conversation starter; each of my guests were eager to say which was their favorite. I loved them all! For the recipes, keep reading.

Sometimes I'll make a hurried salad by haphazardly throwing vegetables and oil into a bowl. Other times, I'll make a leisurely salad with homemade croutons and an elaborate vinaigrette.
This amazing dinner salad is the latter, because the vinaigrette has to be made in advance. Don't be intimidated though, once you've reduced the beer, the rest is easy. The ingredients — tangy blue cheese, juicy cherries, crunchy croutons, and bitter greens — come together perfectly, creating a salad that is sophisticated and filling. It's the kind of salad you'll want to serve to girlfriends at a bridal shower. Be sure to pair with a luxurious white wine like Forefront's classic Sav Blanc. I enjoyed this dish so much that I've already made it multiple times. Give it a try and get the recipe now.

When one thinks of the grill, proteins normally come to mind. However, I like to use the smoky barbecue to impart rich flavor on everything from vegetables to cheese to fruit. By placing circles of red onions and wedges of fresh peaches onto the grates, this recipe does just that. These charred and caramelized elements are tossed with crisp greens to create a salad that's scrumptious served with grilled chicken. Since salt and pepper are the only ingredients used to season the chicken, be sure to sprinkle liberally. Enjoy this uncomplicated meal on the back porch with a glass of white wine. Sound good? Here's the recipe.

For an all-natural version of cheese crackers worthy of serving at a party, OnSugar blog Fresh Tart turns to blue cheese and butter to create melt-in-your-mouth blue cheese shortbread. I'll confess. I love Cheez-its. I don't want to know what cheez is, and I endeavor to not eat the things (I forbid them from the house...most of the time), but I'm moved by their flaky, tangy, processed perfection. Addictive little beasts, grrr. But as tasty as they are, I'm obviously not bringing them to a party, at least not in this century. (I've brought much worse to parties, including little cocktail pumpernickel slices spread with herb processed cheese and topped with slices of Oscar Mayer salami cut into Christmas-tree shapes. It took me forever to free-form all those little salami trees. I...yeah. That was a long time ago.) These better days, I think it's nice to bring a host/ess something I've actually made myself, mad scissor skills aside.

See her fast and easy recipe when you keep reading.

For a quick and comforting meal, turn to instant polenta. The rich Italian staple is simple to prepare and fun to flavor. While you could top it with all sorts of vegetables and cheeses, this recipe uses mushrooms and gorgonzola. It makes for a satisfying vegetarian dinner that's elegant enough to entertain with. Serve a mixed green and roasted asparagus salad on the side and pour a light, smooth red wine. To make it an entire meal, offer olives, grissini, and burrata for appetizers. Follow the polenta and mushrooms with a no-fuss puff pastry strawberry tart. Get the recipe and read more

During December, many people host cookie swaps. Organizing a festive cookie party is a great way to cut back on your holiday baking. Instead of making a million cookies, you and your friends each bake a different cookie. Then you get together and trade cookies; everyone walks away with an assortment of treats. To ensure that you don't end up with 10 dozen chocolate chip cookies, ask your guests what type of cookie they will bring. Throw the party on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon in between lunch and dinner.

Don't worry about serving a bunch of appetizers, but do offer a couple of easy nibbles like mixed nuts, cheese, and homemade savory cookies. Thyme, lemon, and sea-salt shortbread is crisp and buttery, while blue cheese pecan crackers are rich and addictive. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see my suggested sweet cookie recipes, but you can learn the techniques for the salty shortbread and cheesy crackers when you keep reading.

I love blue cheese, but occasionally find that it can overpower a dish with its pungent flavor. But after appreciating its modest contribution to last week's buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese, I was ready to give it a starring role.

One of my favorite versions of macaroni and cheese in San Francisco is made by Solstice, a restaurant and bar in my neighborhood. One taste of the creamy, steamy, slightly sharp mac — which is foiled by tart green apples and toasted walnuts — and all of the day's problems have vanished.

Since I've enjoyed it so many times at the restaurant, I took a stab at recreating it in my own kitchen. My attempt wasn't too bad, although I decided next time I'll make a few variations to the béchamel, which are noted below. Curious to see how I made it? Find out after the break.