Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?

This week's meal featured the all so fabulous Grey Poupon mustard.  Are you guys old enough to remember those famous commercials (driver of a Bentley pulls up to a car and the guy in the backseat rolls his window down and says "Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?").  I was in Junior High when these commercials were at their peak.  We would do this in our mom's car, at stoplights.  Really funny, right?  Well, this meal was anything but funny!

So, both the main course and side dish contained this special ingredient.  Which was a Croque Monsieur, with a dijon spread, and a chilled asparagus salad, with a dijon vinaigrette. 

The sandwich starts with nothing less than JAK's homemade bread.  It was extra good this week.

Thick slices, good for piling high with ham and cheese and toasting.

This ham was unbelievable.  I am not a huge fan of ham, as it tends to be on the fatty side.  The slice, was so thin and very lean though.  It was also smoked, which gave it a great flavor....especially with....

......all the shredded gruyere cheese!  Second to gouda in my book!

Eggs being beaten, for the wash on the sandwich.  This gives it an extra crispy outside crust!

Grey Poupon being spread on the bread!

Four slices of ham, with plenty of gruyere cheese on top.

Piled high, baby!

After being grilled on the top-stove, and placed under the broiler.  Crunchy, yummy, ooey, gooey.  Notice the asparagus salad, and small dish with the dijon vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette contained garlic, shallots, dijon, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  The asparagus salad was boiled for two-minutes, placed in the fridge to cool and then hit with salt before serving.  It was so good!

And, as always....a finished plate!

I have included the recipe for this amazing sandwich below.  Enjoy!

JAK’S CROQUE MONSIEUR

       

       

        8 slices white bread

        2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

        4 ounces butter, softened

        4 slices ham

        4 slices gruyere cheese

        2 eggs, slightly beaten

        1 tablespoon water

        salt

        fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.

Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each and ½ of the cheese.

Beat the eggs with the water, add salt and pepper to taste. Dip the sandwiches into the egg mixture, coating all sides well.

Bake them for 2 ½  minutes on each side (we prefer to bake the sandwiches on a preheated cast iron griddle with a little bit of butter on it). Now, sprinkle the sandwiches with the remaining Gruyere, turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Until next time....A la cuisine!

I could have sworn that was steak!

Yes, it is Thursday and I am just now writing/posting our experience from this past Monday.  My sincere apologies to our followers and to the "J" and "A" in our JAK.  Let me summarize my tardiness as this: This week has definitely not been a mundane one!  Busy, busy. 

But, lucky for you, this past Monday was so spectacular I can still vividly remember it all!  No "theme" this week, other than...."Seriously Jack Frost, stop nipping at our toes!".  Oklahoma weather is funny.  We can get a full week of 80 degree weather, to then be hit with 40 degree weather the next week.  Sure, 40 degree weather isn't bad (when you are comparing it to minus 2).  But, when you get that first wave of warmness in Spring that you've been waiting for all Winter, and then you get a cold spell....it hurts.  But, that didn't stop JAK from using the grill again this past Monday!  We just bundled up, and drank some wine!

(again, sorry for the flipped photo...errrr!)

On that topic, our first few glasses were provided by my own father.  He makes his own wine, and it is wonderful!  His father had a few (more like 4 rows) of a concord grape vine.  When he passed away, one of the few things my father took was a vine of this.  He transplanted it to his yard, and has watched it grow each year.  This all happened in the early 90's, and just a few years ago my father decided to put those grapes to use.  So, the wine is not only good....but has some incredible sentimental value as well.

Okay, on to the main dish!  "J" decided to do a grilled sweet potato fry for our appetizer and a grilled salad and shrimp for the main course.  Yes, grilled salad.   

Romaine salad, sliced long-ways (perfect for the grill)

First few shrimp added to the spicy marinade

The shrimp after marinating a while

Sweet potato wedges, ready for the grill!

Yeah, so what if the device holding the sweet potato fries is designed for a fish?  It works!

This was a mixture of kosher salt, cayenne and lime zest.  We sprinkled this on top of the fries once they came off the grill.  WOWSER!  Flavor alert!  This mixture would also be incredible on popcorn!

Cast iron skillet with the shrimp, cooking away!

Salad wedges added

The shrimp plated, with fresh cilantro on top.  They were cooked to perfection, and had the perfect combination of heat and tangyness (from the lime).

The grilled salad.  While it was finishing on the grill, we added blue cheese crumbles.  I used red wine vinegar as the dressing, "J" used balsamic and "A" went with the traditional blue cheese dressing.  This portion of the meal is where our title comes into play.  "I could have sworn that was steak!".  I'm not kidding folks.  First, I have never had nor heard of grilling a salad!  Although skeptical, it turned out awesome.  Second, I truly (if eyes were closed) would have sworn I was eating a steak!  We couldn't figure out what could cause such a flavor in a salad, other than the grilled flavor and blue cheese crumbles.  It was so delicious, hearty and satisfying.  I want to eat all salads this moment forward, grilled only!  Yummo!

My wedge demolished

Dessert took the cake as well!  Well, the danish.  These are freshly made apricot danishes, from a local German baker.

Sliced up, and ready for their bath

Their bath is this amazing creamy mixture

Taking it all in....or, soaking it all in I suppose

Another cream mixture, which went in between the layers of the sliced danishes.

Yep, "J" made a bread pudding!

Creamy mixture for the layers

Sauce heating up (this went on top of the bread pudding, and included a touch of whisky at the end!)

Almost ready.......

But the sauce is the final touch.  The sauce was so good, period.  That's all.

So pretty.  Seriously, restaurant style.

And, I leave you with this.  "J" and "A's" strawberry plant.  It already has flowers, which we know is the sign of a strawberry to come!  Gosh, we just can't wait for summer.  And Jack Frost to leave us for good (at least until November)!  Have a fabulous weekend friends, and we'll see you next week!

Until next time, A la cuisine!

Follow me, follow you!

JAK is pleased to announce that we have our first follower recreation!  One of our loyal followers recreated our grilled cheese sandwiches for their monthly office luncheon.  Word on the street is that the participants of the luncheon were VERY impressed!  We are honored to be a part of your Not So Mundane.....life; however, we must report our sadness towards you.  "You" as in you First National Bank and Trust followers who are following but not officially!  You read our blog, recreate our recipes, but haven't joined our site.  Ladies, I have received word that it's because you don't have a google account.  It isn't hard to set one up.  Call one of us, and we'll walk you through it.  By the end of next week, JAK expects to have at least 5 more followers.  :)  Thanks!

PS-Again, if I have a photo that is taken vertically--I flip the file and save it horizontally....but, the photo down loader on this site flips it back.  Sorry!

If any of our other loyal followers have their own blog and can give me a tip on how to fix this....I welcome it!

Watch out Wedge Pizzeria, you're about to get JAK'd!

With the first day of Spring recently being celebrated (this past Sunday, thanfully), JAK really wanted to get outdoors and use the poor grill that has been covered from the sunshine for the past 4 months.  But, JAK couldn't just do a boring (or mundane, hehe) grilled hot dog.  So, we used our creative juices and decided to do a grilled pizza.  But, we couldn't just do one type of grilled pizza.  No, that wouldn't be good enough for JAK.  We decided to attempt 4 different types.

For those of you who live in Oklahoma, you are definitely familiar with the Wedge (a local pizza joint, that specializes in unique pizza toppings/flavors).  For those that aren't familiar, this blog will get you familiarized.  Why?  Because on this Not So Mundane Monday JAK created very unique pizzas, that would give the Wedge a run for their money!

Pizza 1: Mushrooms, Spinach, "A's" homemade Alfredo Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese and Fontina Cheese
Pizza 2 (we did this pizza a half and half): Side 1-Figs and Monte Enebro Cheese.  Side 2-Dates, Picante Prosciutto, Mozzarella Cheese and a second cheese that "K" didn't write down (shame on me).  It was a very pungent cheese though (almost like a blue cheese)
Pizza 3: Mozzarella Cheese, Ricotta Cheese, Fresh Basil (from JAK's garden!) and Garlic salt.

Below are photos documenting the entire process! 

Of course any pizza that is going to give a noted pizza joint a run for their money has to start with a fabulous dough, for an awesome crust!  "J" used his amazing bread recipe.  Why not?  It works, and is amazingly tasteful.  And, without fail, it made for an incredible crust.

Here is the dough rolled out.  What we loved best about it, it gave us a New York style crust (nice and thin and crunchy)!

Here are just 4 types of cheese that "J" used.  He also used a ricotta. 

Cheeses shredded!  Yes, we used every morsel.  Talk about ooey gooey and rich!

The figs being sliced. 

"A" making her homemade alfredo sauce.  "A" is known for making a killer gravy, but this alfredo was seriously tasty.  So impressed. 

Stirring caught in action!

Mushrooms being sliced.  "K" loves her some mushrooms, and had never experienced them grilled.  Being grilled gave them such a different flavor.  Plus, not having them soaked with butter (as they are normally prepared in her household over the stove top) was a nice "springy" change.  :)

"J" grabbing some basil leaves from his own garden!  Can't wait to use more of these fresh ingredients when they start growing in.

The charcoal ready.  I have to say, I grew up on a propane grill.  A true charcoal grill is much better!  I have to compare it to cooking certain foods in a cast iron skillet compared to a regular skillet.  Just brings out the flavors in the food out, in such a different way.

As the charcoal was getting ready for the pizza, JAK enjoyed a crab dip supplied by "K".  You read it right, "K" (myself) actually contributed to the food items!  There is a really funny story behind this crab dip, which makes the recipe an original JAK one.  Here's the story: I followed a recipe, but when it was time to put the dip in the cooking dish, it was soupy!  I thought "well, perhaps once it starts cooking it will firm up".  But, that didn't happen!  When it was time to take it out, load it in the car and head to "J" and "A's" it was still a soupy mess!  So, improvise.  But, with what?!?!  I grabbed a package of shredded cheese.  Threw half of it in, and stirred.  That helped, but didn't do the trick.  So, anxiously rummaging through my cabinets...I looked up on the top shelf, and there was my answer.  Panko bread crumbs!  They don't have much of a flavor, but a great crunchy texture and would definitely thicken it up.  Couldn't hurt it, right?  I added several handfuls, and in no time the dip thickened.  I cooked it for another 10 minutes, and it came out amazing!  So amazing, I will make this dip again in the future, and in just the way I accidentally had to make it this time!

Okay, back to the important stuff.  "J" throwing the pizza dough on the grill.

Pizza dough bubbling up, ready to be flipped!

Look at the professional grill marks!  I'm telling you, the thinness of the crust and crunchiness combined with the charcoal taste.  Yummo!

First pizza.

First pizza slice!

Second and third pizza cooking (the half and half pizza) with "J" placing the prosciutto on top!

Final product.  The prosciutto side was everyones favorite, but the cheese used on the fig side was the best!

Last pizza-the White pizza!  This was everyones overall favorite.  It was very creamy, and had the perfect amount of "cheese" flavor.  Nice and soft, on top of the awesome crunchy crust. 

"J" certainly out did himself once again.  The pizza chefs at the Wedge with their brickoven better watch out, because JAK is coming at you with our hot charcoal pizza grill!

Until next time....A la cuisine!

And the winners are......

So, as you will remember we announced two loyal followers as our Holy Mole winners.  Miss Laura and Miss Jenny!  Below are photos of them receiving their cup.  JAK looks forward to both Laura and Jenny creating their very own Holy Mole and reporting back (with lots of pics)!  If they are up to this task, we've asked that they send their photos in and we'll report back to everyone on their mole story.  Thanks to everyone who enjoys our Monday posts!
JAK

Of course in staying true to JAK, we've disguised their faces.  What better way, than disguising them with the mole!  :)

Until next time....A la cuisine!