Flourless 'Cloud' Buns

This is a fluffy alternative to shortbread biscuits, and a carb-&-gluten-free alternative to hamburger buns or for sandwiches (you can leave out the sugar, though they're not overly sweet to begin with). Pictured below with fresh peach slices and whipped cream...drizzled with caramel. 

Ingredients:
3 eggs, separated 
¼ tsp cream of tartar
3 Tbls ricotta cheese*
1 tsp sugar
 * substitute with sour cream, cream cheese, or cottage cheese 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°. Lightly coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a small bowl stir together egg yolks, ricotta cheese and sugar until very smooth. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until fluffy with stiff peaks. Gently fold in egg yolk mixture, taking care to preserve the fluffiness.

Scoop by heaping spoonfuls onto baking sheet (makes 6 large buns/cakes). Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown and lightly crispy at edges.

Camembert-Caramel Apple Grilled Sandwich

I've discovered a few 'gourmet' grilled cheese sandwich combinations that I really enjoy. This one -- with salted caramel, chives and thyme -- really intrigued me. The mild camembert gives it that melted cheesy goodness while letting the other flavors come through. And who doesn't love a little salted caramel even before you get to dessert?!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/camembert-apple-grilled-cheese-with-salted-caramel-recipe/index.html

Fried Sage and Gruyere Deep Dish Quiche

...with Ham and Caramelized Onions

The fried sage and Gruyere get top billing in the name simply because they were the inspiration for this quiche...originally from an omelette recipe (FoodNetwork?) that included them in combination. The ham and onion got in on this one -- in smaller amounts -- simply because I had half an onion and the end of a ham to use up!

Ingredients:
6 eggs 
½ C sour cream 
½ C half and half (or heavy cream) 
½ tsp salt 
¼ tsp pepper
pinch each of nutmeg and cayenne pepper
6 oz gruyere, shredded 
¼ C fried sage leaves
olive oil
4 oz ham, small diced
½ onion, thinly sliced
1  9" deep dish pie crust

Directions :
Preheat oven to 350°.

Line a 9" pie pan/dish with crust. Spread diced ham over bottom. Set aside.

Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat; add sage leaves. Fry the sage leaves, turning as they just begin to brown. They should be just crisping. Remove from heat and drain leaves on paper towel. I started with 8 or 9 fairly large sage leaves which gave me about a ¼ cup of crumbled leaves to add to the quiche.

Return sauté pan to medium-high heat, adding another tablespoon of olive oil. Add thinly sliced onion to pan; saute 10-12 minutes until well caramelized. Spread evenly over ham in pie dish.

 Whisk together eggs, half and half, sour cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Stir in 4 oz of the shredded Gruyere and crumbled sage leaves. Pour egg mixture over ham and onion in pie crust.

Bake 40-45 minutes or until eggs are slightly browned on top and firm in the middle.

Hasselback Baked Potatoes

From Cooking Light's September 2013 issue..."Hasselbacks" -- which get their name from Hasselbacken, the Stockholm restaurant where they were first served.

A "baked-potato-meets-oven-fries" approach to herbed, seasoned potatoes. Other Hasselback recipes include parmesan, romano, or other cheeses along with the olive oil and herb drizzle, seasoned with salt & pepper. So...plenty of variations to explore!

I kept mine fairly simple: olive oil, salt & pepper, garlic, and rosemary...mostly because that's what I had on-hand fresh. Find the recipe (more instructions than a full recipe) here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/79518/hasselback-potatoes/