Confession: We at BIK are former vegetarians. Actually one of us still is kind of vegetarian (don’t ask – existential crisis in progress). So, although we’re working on a chicken post, smoked pork, etc., many of the recipes we try will probably lean toward the veggie-centric. We love lentils, white beans, tofu and other vegetarian staples.

But don’t leave us yet, bacon-lovers. The best thing about cooking vegetarian is it forces you to rethink the composition of the plate (meat-potatoes-veggies), which opens up a whole new world of cooking. Deborah Madison is a master at this. She was also one of the early advocates of seasonal and local cooking, yet another way of thinking that pushes cooks of all stripes to be more creative.

Hence, this tasty dish from Madison: It’s basically cheese toast topped with a sauté of onions and Brussels sprouts. Wait!! Don’t close the window yet, this is really special! Here’s why: smoked paprika. If you’ve never cooked with it, wow, you should start, like, now. It adds a lush warmth to pretty much anything: scrambled eggs, quesadillas, a sauté of peppers and onions, simple beans and rice In fact, I find it can stand in for bacon in some dishes, adding a similar smoky richness without the fat.

I made the recipe exactly as it was printed in Food & Wine and wouldn’t change a thing. It’s a great lunch or would make a nice dinner with a salad alongside. The topping reheats well for a second go-round. Good thing, because I am in love with this recipe. I used a pretty burly whole-grain bread and it was a good fit, but you could go for something else if you like. Smoked paprika used to be hard to find, but now is available in many well-stocked grocery stores or online, such as here.

I would avoid substituting with a regular sweet or hot paprika, as the smokiness is really what makes this special. The other key is ensuring you salt the sauté – just keep tasting it until you get it right. It really brings out the sweetness of the veggies. Enjoy!

I have always loved cheese.  Cheddar, fresh mozzarella, gouda, parmesan, manchego, brie……but above all I love soft, creamy, somewhat stinky cheese.  After my first European “backpacking” adventure, which really was me schlepping a gianourmous suitcase around France and Italy with my friend, trying not to get skeeved out in a few of the neighborhoods we stayed in and taking in some glorious sites.  Really, my suitcase weighed 72 lbs, I weighed in Paris on the way home…I think most of the locals pointed and laughed when they saw me roll into town.   Either way, once I returned to the States, I fancied myself quite French and I think I lost ten pounds on a diet almost exclusively of brie, chutney and wine.  Cheese and I have always had a passionate, loyal relationship.  Cheese has never let me down, always brightens up a moderately delicious dish, comforts me in my times of need and cheese has never bit me in ass, nor has it made my ass too grand…. thus far anyway.

A few years ago I acquired some Camembert that was particularly stinky and, as these cheeses do, it stank up the whole fridge.  Each time my poor hungry husband rooted around for a snack he was repelled or nauseated by the wall of stench. His complaints (which were justified—I barely wanted to open the damn refrigerator!) led me to take a few years off from bringing stinky rich cheese into the house, until Friday.

Last Friday, my dear husband, knowing where my affections really lie, brought home some taleggio cheese, which is Italy’s answer to French stinky cheese.  Teleggio is a semi-soft, just-a-wee-bit-stinky cheese that is heaven.  HEAVEN!  It’s salty and buttery, and mild.  You will want to smear this over anything and everything, I promise!

I served it with some whole wheat foccacia, which was silly in and of itself, because foccacia should never be whole wheat as it ruins the olive oily, light flavor of the bread—and really, when you are eating rich, cholesterol laden cheese, who is counting carbs anyway?  My point is- go ahead and get yourself some taleggio. You can put it on anything or, really, it’s totally perfection all by itself!  Enjoy…

With all this croissant and poached pear talk, it’s time for a little dose of reality. Most nights, the BIK gals are not ensconced in culinary bliss and sporting cute aprons. Rather, we are stumbling home in sweaty workout clothes after a long day, dumping bags and mail onto the counter, feeding dogs and immediately getting sucked into the [insert cozy furniture object here] for a little bleary-eyed staring at Facebook or People.com. Perhaps that sounds like someone you know?

So, on days like that (basically every day) my go-to food is grilled cheese. Actually sort of a healthy grilled cheese that I eat sans guilt while tallying up all the good things I am doing for my body. Now, it’s not remotely low-fat, and I use a lot of cheddar because I require that all virtuous things in my life be balanced with a portion of cheese (or ice cream). But with spinach, avocado and tomato on whole-grain bread, this hearty sandwich is packed with stuff you can feel good about. And, bonus: It’s damn tasty. It’s also good with Colby-Jack cheese.

Go-to grilled cheese

2 slices whole-grain seeded bread

Cheddar cheese, enough to cover a slice of bread generously

Half an avocado, very thinly sliced (this amount is for avocado lovers. Go light if you are not a huge fan)

4 slices large Roma tomato (or 2-3 from medium slicing tomato such as Beefsteak)*

3 large spinach leaves or handful of baby spinach

2 small pats butter or cooking spray

*Any tomato is fine, but Romas are less juicy and help avert soggy bread.

Place skillet over medium heat. Butter or spray one side each of both slices of bread. Place one slice butter side down in pan, and top with cheese. Place last bread slice butter side up on cheese and let cook until golden and sizzling. Melting should be under way before you flip the sandwich.

Turn sandwich using spatula and cook the second side. When the second side is golden, move sandwich off heat and open bread to layer on veggies. Spread the avocado slices across melted cheese, top with tomato and finally spinach (putting the tomato in the middle helps stave off sogginess, although I only remember this about half the time – see photo evidence above). Top with the other slice and smoosh it a bit so the avocado doesn’t come shooting out when you take your first bite.