• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

AU CROQUE MONSIEUR (WITH HAM AND GRUYÈRE)

A croque monsieur is French diner food: an open-faced grilled ham and cheese sandwich. We’ve taken those tastes and put them in a stuffed baked potato for a quick but hearty weeknight meal. Canadian bacon is basically smoked pork loin; have your butcher slice it thick for you, so you can cut it into thick cubes to add to the potatoes.

2 large baking potatoes, preferably Russets (about ¾ pound each), scrubbed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large leek, white part only, cleaned of any sand and roughly chopped

¼ pound Canadian bacon, roughly chopped

¼ cup heavy cream

¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup grated Gruyère (about 2 ounces)

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme

1. Position the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Puncture each potato in three or four places, then microwave on high until soft for anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes, depending on your microwave’s power and the potato’s size. Remove to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Alternatively, place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until soft, about 1 hour and 5 minutes.

2. Melt the butter in a medium skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the leek and cook for 2 minutes, or until soft, stirring occasionally. Add the Canadian bacon and sauté for about 1 minute, or just until warmed through. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside while you prepare the potatoes.

3. When they are cool enough to handle, slice the top third off each potato lengthwise. Use a small spoon to scoop the inside flesh of the larger sections into a medium bowl. Leave inch of potato flesh against the skin so that it will not collapse when stuffed. Scoop the insides of the cut-off top sections into the bowl as well; discard the top skins. Use a potato masher, a wooden spoon, or an electric mixer at medium speed to mash the potatoes for about 30 seconds. Add the cream, salt, and pepper; continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Using a wooden spoon, mix in ¼ cup of the grated cheese, the thyme, and the contents of the pan with the leeks and the Canadian bacon. Stir until smooth.

4. Place the large potato-skin shells in a shallow 1-quart casserole dish; divide the mashed potato mixture between them, mounding it with a spoon. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of grated cheese over each potato. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbling. Serve at once.

Pastas

Pasta dishes are perfect for small-batch cooking: open a small can of diced tomatoes, add a few vegetables and some cooked pasta, and dinner’s ready in minutes. In all cases, make the noodles before you make the sauce, because it will be done long before they are, if everything’s started at the same time. There’s also no reason to be fussy about pasta. Although we always call for a specific shape, use what you have on hand—with the exception of lasagna noodles or cannelloni tubes, of course! You won’t use the whole box or bag with any of these dishes: just 6 ounces of dried pasta in most cases. The rest will keep for months in your pantry, ready for the next time you want to make a simple but satisfying pasta dish after a busy day.

PASTA BOLOGNESE makes 2 servings

“Bolognese,” of course, just refers to any dish from Bologna, Italy—but it has come to mean a thick ragoût of ground meat, vegetables, and tomatoes, served over flat noodles such as fettuccine. The traditional preparation, while exquisite, takes hours to make: a slow-simmering, all-day task, and not exactly everyday fare for a busy cook. Fortunately, small batches cook faster than larger ones, and canned diced tomatoes speed up the process even more.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large shallot, minced

1 small carrot, minced

1 small celery rib, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

pound ground veal, or lean ground beef

cup milk (regular, low-fat, or nonfat)

One 14½-ounce can