Monday, May 9, 2016

Procrastination Recipe: Gorgonzola Garlic Bread

Two weeks ago I was in St. Thomas for a company trip. On our last night there I ate at Banana Tree Grille at Bluebeard's Castle. One of the apps I indulged in was the Oh My Gorgonzola loaf. Yep, it made me sick (it is very much NOT gluten-free). Yup, it was totally worth it. So this past weekend I set out to recreate it at home. It is incredibly easy and really delicious.


Ingredients:
1 loaf really good bread.
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
5 oz. Gorgonzola cheese (or any bleu cheese)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Really any decent bread will do but the grocery store my sister and I popped into had this whole glove garlic loaf that was perfect. If you're not a fan of garlic then a ciabatta loaf will do or even just plain french bread. 



On a baking sheet, place the sliced bread. Spread a generous helping of olive oil, spreading it (use your fingers) to cover nearly every inch.


We hit up TJMaxx the day before and I snagged this delicious, garlic-overload olive oil so I used that, but again, if you're not into heavy garlic flavor then use plain olive oil.


Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F until the bread starts to brown. (About 10-15 minutes.)




While the bread is baking you can make the sauce, starting with the roux. This is the easiest way to make a sauce and anyone can do it, I promise. The basics are: equal parts fat and flour. So I melted 2 Tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Once melted, I added in the 2 Tablespoons of flour (I only have gluten-free flour in my apartment but use whatever flour you have in your pantry). You want to stir really well to combine all of the butter and flour (see below). Once combined, you want to continue to stir as you cook it for another 30 seconds - 1 minute in order to cook the flour taste out of it. And now you have your sauce base.


Now you add the milk. Stir really well to combine. Over medium heat stir almost constantly. When you heat milk-based items you have to be careful not to burn it so make sure you stir so that whatever's at the bottom of the pan is getting moved around. It will take about ten minutes for the sauce to really thicken and then once it does you can add in your Gorgonzola cheese. I would suggest crumbling it with a fork beforehand so it melts quickly and evenly. 

Sidenote: What is the difference between Gorgonzola and Bleu cheese, you might ask? Gorgonzola is a type of Bleu cheese. Gorgonzola is an Italian cow's milk Bleu cheese while Roquefort is a French, sheep's milk Bleu cheese. You could use either for this recipe, whatever your preference might be.


 So once your bread is done, pull it out of the oven and cut into smaller pieces. If you're serving this for a party I'd recommend smaller pieces, whereas if it's just you and another person maybe just halves will do.


And then just ladle the sauce over the bread and serve! I made chili later in the day and since there was a bit of sauce leftover mixed some of the cheese sauce in instead of sprinkling cheese over top and the flavor is just fantastic. It would also be incredible over pasta. Or grilled veggies.


Happy Eating!!
~Stephanie

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1 comment

  1. I had no idea you recreated it! This looks just like the original. Loved your explanation of the types of blue cheese. Amazing idea to mix the sauce into chili. Chef Steph brilliance, yet again.

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