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I was invited to participate in the Frick’s Quality Meats Blogger Recipe Challenge this year and decided to make this delicious Parisian Pasta with Ham, Gruyere and Caramelized Onions.

This is a heavenly Parisian-style baked pasta dish made with a cheesy creamy Mornay sauce (a béchamel made with melted Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses), sweet caramelized onions, and delicious Frick’s Hickory Smoked Sliced Gourmet Ham, all baked into a pot of melty goodness, then topped with crunchy browned croissants and fresh chives and parsley.

Frick’s Quality Meats chooses only the finest handpicked cuts of meat, cured with real cane sugar which are slow-roasted in small batches over American hardwood to lock in their sweet, smoky flavor. They have a great selection of delicious products including Bone-in Half Ham, Sliced Applewood Quarter Ham, Gourmet Sliced Boneless Ham, Shingled (sliced) Ham, Bologna, Sausages, Smoked Meat and Turkey Drums – delivering a full range of delicious flavors that can transform any recipe into an extravagant dish.

First cook your pasta according to package directions (about 1-2 mins less than recommended cooking time, al dente). Drain and toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.

Next, caramelize your onions by sautéing them in butter until golden,

then add a pinch of salt and pepper and let them cook on low heat for about 30 minutes until caramelized, sweet and golden brown.

Cut the ham into medium size lardons.

Shred the Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses.

Make your mornay sauce by first cooking some flour in butter and add milk, whisking in to make your roux.

Add the Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses, some French grey sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and whisk together until you get a luscious creamy cheese sauce.

Spray a casserole dish with some cooking spray and start layering the pasta with caramelized onions and ham. Pour the cheese sauce over the casserole and mix together so sauce coats the pasta evenly, top with additional Gruyere and Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Top with torn croissants, turn the oven up to a high broil and cook for about 2 minutes until the croissants are crunchy and browned (being careful not to burn!)

Top with minced chives and parsley, serve immediately. Pair this luscious baked dish with a light white crisp wine (Sauvignon or Sancerre) and a mixed greens salad with a Champagne-Dijon vinaigrette dressing. Perfect for brunch or a cozy Fall dinner!

Bon Appetit!

Parisian Pasta Bake w/ Ham, Gruyere + Caramelized Onions

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4-6

Serving Size: 1 cup

This is a heavenly Parisian-style baked pasta dish made with a cheesy creamy mornay sauce, sweet caramelized onions, and delicious Frick's cooked ham, baked into a pot of melty goodness, then topped with crunchy browned croissants and fresh chives and parsley. Perfectly paired with a light white crisp wine (Sauvignon or Sancerre) and a mixed greens salad with a champagne-dijon vinaigrette dressing.

Ingredients

8 ounces dried pasta (Trivelle, Rotini, Campanelle, or Cavatappi)
MORNAY SAUCE:
2 tablespoons unsalted premium butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (or Fontina, Comte, Emmental)
1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Pinch of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon French grey sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
CARAMELIZED ONIONS:
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, sliced thin
Pinch of French grey sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
---
1 cup Frick's Cooked Ham, chopped into small lardons
1 large croissant, torn
1/4 cup fresh parsley and chives, minced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water for 8 minutes (cook 1-2 minutes less than recommended package directions, al dente), drain, toss with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and set aside).
Make the Mornay Sauce:
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk for about 1 minute to make a roux, being careful not to burn or brown.
Slowly add the milk, whisking occasionally, until you get a smooth sauce consistency.
Add the garlic and simmer for about 5 minutes, remove smashed garlic clove.
Stir in both of the cheeses, whisk until melted and you get a thick, creamy cheese sauce. Add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, to get a thinner sauce until thickness and consistency is to liking. You can also add more butter and flour (equal parts) to make the sauce thicker. Season with grey sea salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and reduce heat to low.
Make the caramelized onions:
Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium heat.
Add the onions and cook until lightly browned, then turn the heat down to low, add salt and pepper, and slowly cook onions for about 30 minutes, until sweet and caramelized.
Make the casserole:
Grease a medium casserole dish with oil spray or butter.
Add cooked pasta, top with cooked Frick's ham, caramelized onions and Mornay sauce. Stir together until sauce is coating all the pasta.
Top with additional shredded Gruyere and Parmesan cheese and bake for 15-17 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Turn oven up to a broil, add the torn croissants on top of the casserole, and broil on high for about 2 minutes until the croissants are browned and crunchy (be careful not to burn!)
Remove casserole from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes on a trivet. Add the fresh chives and parsley, serve immediately.

Notes

I used Gruyere and Parmigaino-Reggiano cheese in this pasta dish but you can also substitute any good melty cheeses such as Comte, Fontina, Emmental or Edam, or White Cheddar. Serve with a mixed greens salad with a Champagne-Dijon vinaigrette dressing and a crisp French white wine like Sauvignon or Sancerre.

https://www.theartfulgourmet.com/2018/10/parisian-pasta-w-ham-gruyere-caramelized-onions/

For more information on Frick’s Gourmet Ham, check out their website, Facebook, or Instagram

#fricks #smokedmeats #itsfrickingood

Note: This is a sponsored post in which I received product samples from the sponsor (Frick’s Quality Meats) in order to create an original recipe and blog post for the Blogger Challenge. All photos, recipes, text and opinions are my own.

So Old Man Winter is finally back in town, despite the crazy warm weather we’ve been having lately in New York City. Temperatures drop and there’s nothing better than a big pot of comfort food and a bottle of red to make a girl happy, right? Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that make everything OK…(*sigh). So I did just that this weekend, and made a huge batch of some classic Beef Bourguignon..you know, the classic French braised beef stew with veggies and red wine that Julia Child made famous.

I made it in a large 6-quart ceramic Dutch oven (KitchenAid brand is my fav!), and it’s chock full of savory deliciousness – sautéed pancetta, braised beef, shallots, garlic and carrots sautéed into a roux with some flour, flambeed brandy (my secret ingredient!), a whole bottle of red (yes, really!) and some beef stock, along with a bouquet garni of fresh herbs (1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, 3 sprigs of rosemary wrapped in cheesecloth) slow cooked in the oven for 2 hours.

The finishing touch of mushrooms and caramelized Cippolini onions sautéed in butter are added in at the end to add tons of buttery, savory flavor to the stew. YUM.

I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything so delicious in my life – and I’m quite sure if Julia was still alive, I would make her damn proud, if I do say so myself.

It’s a flavor bomb in a bowl, my friends, and perfect for a lovely holiday dinner party for a crowd. Serve in big bowls garnished with fresh Italian parsley over mashed potatoes, polenta or egg noodles, of course accompanied with a bottle of red (Pinot Noir or Burgundy) and some crusty French bread to mop up the sauce. All around a big table of friends and family to partake in all the goodness.

Happy Holidays!

Yum

Beef Bourguignon

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

This is a delicious heartwarming French Beef Stew made with beef chuck, red wine, brandy, fresh herbs, shallots, garlic, cippolini onions, carrots and pancetta. Perfect one-pot dish for Winter or the holidays!

Ingredients

5 pounds beef chuck, cut into medium-large cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound pancetta, diced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
5 large shallots, finely diced
3 large carrots, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
1/4 cup brandy
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 bottle dry red wine (Pinot Noir or Burgundy)
4 cups beef or veal stock
1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs thyme, 3 sprigs Italian parsley)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
5-7 small to medium Cippolini onions, quartered
1 pound mushrooms, sliced (White button or Cremini)
Flat leaf Italian Parsley, minced, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place beef in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and season with a couple teaspoons of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat for several minutes to get it hot.
Add pancetta and cook until crispy and browned, drain on paper towels and set aside.
Increase the heat to high and add the beef in to the pot in a single layer and brown on all sides, turning with tongs (be careful not to crowd or overfill the pot as you will need to cook beef in batches to get a nice browning).
Place the browned beef back on to the baking sheet and set aside.
Add the oil and diced shallots and carrots to the Dutch oven and cook for a few minutes. Lower the heat to medium-high and continue to saute until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes.
Add the brandy and flambe (light it in the pan with a long lighter or match) and let the flames keep going for as long as possible, until they go out to burn off alcohol.
Reduce heat to medium, add flour and stir together with the vegetables for a few minutes to make a roux base for the stew.
Next deglaze the pan by pouring in the red wine, a little bit at a time, stirring well to incorporate and remove any lumps, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan (these babies are full of flavor!)
Add 3 3/4 cups of the stock, browned meat and bouquet garni and bring to a boil over high heat.
Remove pot from the heat, cover and cook the stew in the oven for 2 hours, until meat is fork tender. (The meat should shred/fall apart easily when you pierce it with a fork - if not, place it back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes).
While stew is cooking, caramelize the onions in a medium saute pan with 1 tablespoon of butter and salt and pepper, until the onions are lightly browned.
Add the remaining 1/4 cup stock and cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and glazed and liquid is evaporated.
Transfer onions to a bowl and set aside.
In the same pan, turn the heat up to high. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter, the mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, sear over high heat until mushrooms are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and mix into the caramelized onions, set aside.
Remove the stew from the oven and gently stir in cooked pancetta, mushrooms and onions. Adjust seasonings (salt and pepper to taste).
Serve the stew in bowls with a sprinkling of fresh parsley over mashed potatoes, polenta or egg noodles, with a glass of red and crusty bread to mop up the sauce of course!