Brussels Sprouts and Smoky Onions on Cheddar Toast, from Food and Wine, January 2010
1 pound brussels sprouts, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
4 slices of good bread, toasted
4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 350¬?. In a saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the brussels sprouts until they are just tender, about 5 minutes, then drain and pat them dry.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, cover and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is tender, about 10 minutes. If the onion starts to dry out, add a little bit of water to the pan. Add the brussels sprouts to the skillet and cook until they are tender throughout, about 5 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange the toasts on a baking sheet and top with the slices of  cheddar. Bake them for 2 minutes, or until the cheese is melted to your liking. Serve the dish by mounding the brussels sprouts and onions on top of the cheesy toast.

Manchego definitely gives a slightly different flavor than your regular fluorescent orange mac ‘n’ cheese sauce, it’s a bit more subtle and a lot deeper. The chorizo’s oil and paprika adds a nice kick, and the sweet piquillo peppers round things out quite well. Adding in some extra paprika (pimenton is the Spanish kind) gives some nice color and intensifies the flavor from the chorizo. This is a great version of mac ‘n’ cheese that delivers the cheesy, homey comfort you want from the dish, but with some slightly more adult and complex flavors. Enjoy!

Manchego and Chorizo Mac and Cheese
olive oil
4 ounces Spanish chorizo, thinly diced
8 green onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 piquillo peppers or roasted red peppers
16 ounces dried macaroni pasta
6 cups grated Manchego cheese
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups whole or skim milk
1/4 teaspoon hot paprika
1/2 teaspoon dulce paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 baguette, thinly sliced

Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan and saute the sliced chorizo. Remove the chorizo and saute the green onions and garlic in the chorizo oil. Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water until the pasta is just tender. Once it is cooked, drain the pasta and then add the chorizo, green onions, garlic, and the piquillo peppers and mix everything together.

To make the cheese sauce, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and let the roux cook for a few minutes while continuing to whisk it together. Slowly whisk in the milk until the sauce thickens. Season the sauce base with the paprika and let it gently simmer, stirring often, for 15 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in 4 cups of Manchego cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and mix everything together. Add a bit of olive oil to a frying pan. Once it has heated up, place the thinly sliced baguette slices in the pan and gently fry them until they are crisp and lightly golden. Remove the bread from the pan and let them drain on some kitchen roll.

Grab a large baking dish greased with olive oil spray and pour half of the macaroni mixture into the bottom. Sprinkle 1 cup of Manchego cheese over the top, and then add the rest of the macaroni. Top with the rest of the Manchego and arrange the crouton slices over the top.

Bake the macaroni and cheese in a 350 F degree oven until the croutons are browned and the cheesy top is bubbling. You can put the broiler on for the last few minutes to really crisp up the top.

Jose Andres, a Spanish chef with outposts in DC and LA, has offered what he calls “the modern way” to make pan con tomate. Instead of rubbing the tomato directly on the bread, you pass it through a grater, then mix the resulting liquid with salt, pepper and some olive oil, and spoon it onto the toast. I think one really great aspect of this method is that it’s not totally dependent on having the most perfectly ripe tomatoes. Because you’re pushing them through the grater, they liquefy a bit and deliver quite a bit more taste than if you rubbed an out of season Roma tomato on toast. Still, it’s worth finding some decent tomatoes so you get a good flavor. This recipe makes enough tapas for 4 people at 37 cents per serving.

Pan Con Tomate, The Modern Way, from Jose Andres’ Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America
2 large ripe tomatoes
4 slices rustic sourdough bread, toasted
extra virgin olive oil to taste
salt to taste

Cut the tomatoes in half. Place a fine grater over a large mixing bowl and rub the open face of the tomatoes onto the grater until all the flesh is grated. Discard the tomato skins. Add a liberal amount of olive oil to the grated tomatoes and season with salt to taste. Mix everything together.

Spoon the tomato-olive oil mixture over the toast to serve. This tomato bread goes really well with a few slices of Manchego cheese.

However, I’m also pretty open to new tastes, so we decided to make a truly fancy stuffing this year. I never used to like cornbread that much, but have recently become a huge sucker for it. In this stuffing recipe, the sweetness of the cornbread contrasts nicely with the spicy andouille sausage, and there are a few veggies thrown in there for penance since you are basically eating a dish made up of bread and sausage. This recipe makes more than enough stuffing for 8 guests at $1.34 per serving.

Cornbread Stuffing with Andouille, Fennel, and Bell Peppers, adapted from Bon Appetit, November 2009
1 1/2 pounds purchased cornbread, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 tablespoons butter, divided
12 ounces fully cooked andouille sausages (about 4), halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide pieces
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt plus additional for sprinkling
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus additional for sprinkling
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 large egg

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage pieces and saute them until they are brown, around 4 minutes. Transfer the sausages to a large bowl.

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fennel, onion, and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper, and saute until the onion is golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the veggies from the heat, and add them to bowl with the sausages.

Preheat the oven to 350¬?F. Add the cornbread, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to the vegetable-sausage mixture, and mix everything gently. Whisk together the 2 cups of broth and the egg in a medium bowl, then add the broth mixture to the stuffing and toss so that everything gets coated.

Place the stuffing in a large glass baking dish, and bake it uncovered until the stuffing becomes crisp on top, about 1 hour. Let the stuffing stand for 15 minutes to cool before enjoying.