Looking for Chef-Inspired Recipes in Your Kitchen? Start With Breakfast!

Viking Soul Food Gratin

Restaurant owners spend countless hours fretting over food stock and prices, catering to customers, negotiating with suppliers and supervising staff. How does a super-busy food entrepreneurstay on top of business and make time for a healthy meal? We asked MeganWalhood and Jeremy Daniels, co-owners of the popular, Portland, Oregonbased Viking Soul Food, and the answer was: plan ahead and eat a good breakfast!

“One of the things we try to do as busy business owners is plan ahead when it comes to our food,” says Walhood. “Making big batches of soup can sustain a family throughout the week. Even a big batch of beans combined with different veggies, cheese, chicken, fish, etc., will create a variety of healthy, satisfying meals.”

Walhood adds, “Hunger can lead to overeating, so breakfast is an important meal that will often get us through lunch. We’ll prepare a vegetable and cheese gratin or frittata, using eggs from pasture-raised chickens. This makes a tremendous difference in taste, not to mention nutritional value. We shop daily at a local farm stand and buy seasonal, another way to ensure robust flavor.”

This gratin recipecan be prepped the night before. Walhood and Daniels suggest seasonal veggies, but you can substitute any variety. The frittata—found can be wrapped in a pita or flatbread for an on-the-go breakfast treat.When sautéing the vegetables, bear in mind that any tubers (potato, parsnip, carrot or celery root) require longer cooking than the softer greens and veggies.

VIKING SOUL FOOD GRATIN

1 tablespoon good olive oil1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped into thumb-size pieces
1-2 parsnips (or carrots), peeled and chopped into ½-inch cubes
1 bunch EACH kale and chard, stems and leaves separated and roughly chopped
1/2 head garlic, about 5-6 cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Kosher salt, ground black pepper
1 cup grated Jarlsberg cheese
Dash of vinegar
4 farm eggs, preferably from pasture-raised chickens

Heat olive oil in large skillet.  Add onion and parsnip and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Add kale/chard stems to pan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Add garlic slices and stir until they become aromatic. Add kale/chard leaves. Season with salt and pepper, stir well, and cover; cook about 4-5 minutes. Lay veggies in a roasting pan and top with grated Jarlsberg. You can stop here, cover and refrigerate, to finish the next morning.

Preheat broiler to medium. Heat a pot of water to just below a simmer; add a dash of vinegar. Gently crack 4 eggs into hot water and poach about 3-4 minutes. Do not let water boil. While eggs are poaching, heat vegetable dish in broiler until cheese is melty and golden.

Remove gratin from broiler. Using a slotted spoon, gently remove eggs from water and place atop the gratin. Season with coarse grating of salt and black pepper. Serves 4.

 FOR FRITTATA VERSION:  In ovenproof skillet, prepare and sauté vegetables as you would for the gratin, up through to topping with Jarlsberg.  You can also stop here, cover and refrigerate, to finish the next morning.  Instead of poaching 4 eggs, whisk together 6 eggs with 3 tablespoons half-and-half or cream.  Pour egg mixture over vegetables, moving veggies around a bit to evenly cover.  Place skillet in the 450o oven for about 15 minutes until the eggs are set and cooked through and cheese has melted.  Slice into wedges and wrap in pita, lavash or other flatbread to take on-the-go.  Serves 4 as a light meal.

Buttermilk Goat Cheese and Chive Biscuits

Eryn of Ugly Food Tastes Better provides a delightful brunch idea to fuel up for the Big Game. Use these biscuits to create what Eryn describes as “one of the best breakfast sandwiches I have ever made!” Thanks Eryn.

A beautiful thing,  goat cheese and chive breakfast biscuits filled with country ham and cheesy scrambled eggs served with fresh berries. How it can change your entire day, and build a solid foundation on which to drink a lot of foamy beer for the big game.

So I am big on not wasting food, and I wanted to share what I am doing with leftover cheese from the Jarlsberg Sculpture I made for the IACP launch party last week. The Chevrai went in to these amazing biscuits, and the Jarlsberg shreds went in to these super fluffy and delicious scrambled eggs. Sunday brunch is one of my favorite things ever, I love waking up whenever, putting some music on and cooking in my PJs while singing to myself. Paired with the country ham I brought back from my trip to North Carolina, this made for one of the best breakfast sandwiches I have ever made! And I have made A LOT.

I took this fabulous recipe from Simply Recipes. I had had my eye on it for awhile, and we used it for the biscuits for the party last week. I tweaked it a little, of course, and I personally do not keep buttermilk in the house. I don’t use it often enough to be necessary, and its incredibly easy to make. Before you start this recipe, pour slightly less than the cup of milk called for into your measuring cup and add a tablespoon of either lemon juice or white vinegar to it, and let it sit until ready to use.

Makes – 4 breakfast sandwiches, with 5 biscuits leftover

Nutrition – this is a happy meal, not a healthy one! But good energy to start the day. Best to eat food like this when you still have time to work it off!

Ingredients for biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter, diced
1/2 bunch chives
1 5-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese
1 cup buttermilk

Ingredients for Jarlsberg scrambled eggs and country ham

1 pkg good country ham
6 eggs*
1/2 cup finely shredded Jarlsberg cheese
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 TB milk

Preheat your oven to 400 and mix your dry ingredients in a bowl, add in the little cubes of butter and toss them in the flour, then squish them between your fingertips in the flour. Then I like to use my kitchen scissors to cut the chives in to the bowl. After this, add in the goat cheese with your fingers, crumbling in to little chunks. I like to use the same method as with the butter, tossing them in flour and squishing them a bit to incorporate.

Then add your buttermilk and mix until sticky with all the dry ingredients mixed in well. I like to use a Chinese soup spoon to scoop out the dough and plop it on to a greased baking sheet, its the perfect size and shape in my opinion, and I like these biscuits to have a rough shape to them, like little piles of happiness.

I made 9 piles on my baking sheet and baked them for 22 minutes, yours might cook faster, or need a longer time, as I have a crappy convection oven.

Take them out when they are golden on top and bottom.

While these are baking, heat a non-stick skillet and cook your country ham. This super salty ham is one of the first things on my list to get when I visit my family in North Carolina. It will cook in its own fat, and make your kitchen smell like heaven. While it cooks (about 15-20 minutes) crack 6 eggs in to a measuring cup and beat with a fork. Add your milk, cheese and black pepper and stir. When the ham is fully cooked, transfer it to your serving plates and add the eggs to the same pan, using the leftover ham fat to cook the eggs. I like to cook my eggs until they are still nice and wet, dry eggs skeeve me, but do as you please! Plate your eggs, and since your oven should be beeping about this time, add a biscuit and some fresh fruit to complete your beautiful brunch plate!

I like to plate separately and make sandwich bites as I go so nothing gets soggy, but I have food OCD, so you can just make sandwiches like a normal person and serve them that way. : )

NOW GO ENJOY YOUR CHEESY BRUNCH AND THE FOOTBALLING! : )

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This is a guest post contributed by Eryn of Ugly Food Tastes Better. Eryn says:

I am SweaterMeat, the knitting chef! I was born in Georgia, raised in various parts of North Carolina, and moved to NYC when I was 18, and have been happily settled in Brooklyn ever since. I am texture based. In designing sweaters as much as cooking, I like the way certain textures go together, how it feels to take various blades through different foods. I approach cooking with a Like Water for Chocolate mentality and I find cooking to be a form of meditation. but really I just love feeding people. : ) 

Whole Wheat Jarlsberg Crackers

Recently, Jarlsberg USA had the pleasure of working with two talented food bloggers, Eryn and Emily, who created a Jarlsberg sculpture for the IACP NYC launch party. The result was the fabulous three-dimensional installation pictured here:

Jarlsberg Cheese sculpture

Emily also brought her fabulous whole wheat Jarlsberg crackers to the party. Because, after all, what goes better than cheese and crackers? Luckily for us, Emily is willing to share her delicious recipe. Thanks Emily!

Whole Wheat Jarlsberg Crackers

 Ingredients

• 6 ounces [1.5 cups grated] Jarlsberg cheese
• 4 tablespoons [2 ounces or 1/2 stick] butter
• 1/2 cup [62 grams] whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup [31 grams] all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon minced dried onion
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, running the machine until the dough forms. It will take about two minutes.
2. If the dough has gotten warm, wrap and chill until at least room temperature, about 30 minutes.
3. On a lightly floured counter, or a counter lined with parchment paper, roll the dough out with a lightly floured rolling pin. You want to roll the crackers 1/8″ thick. Basically, you want to roll these practically as thin as possible – once they seem thin enough, do a few more passes of the rolling pin.
4. Using a cookie cutter of choice [or knife], cut the crackers. into desired shapes and transfer to a parchment-lined pan. If you have scraps, combine, re-roll and cut until no scraps remain. [This dough behaves very well for re-rolling!]
5. Bake the crackers for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool. Let cool completely before transferring to a storage container to keep the crackers crisp – any leftover heat will steam & the condensation causes softer crackers.

JARLSBERG USA WANTS TO HELP YOU MAKE MEMORIES AT EAT WRITE RETREAT

Jarlsberg wedge

As we work our way through the coldest months of the year, Jarlsberg USA would like to share some news that will warm your spirits. Jarlsberg is offering a scholarship to Eat Write Retreat, the fabulous food blogger and writer conference taking place May 4-6, 2012 in Washington DC.

As trees begin to green and flowers unfold in bloom, you could be enjoying a wonderful weekend of hands-on learning, dynamic networking and fabulous dining. You’ll come away with new friends, valuable insights on growing your blog, and–best of all–priceless memories.

At Jarlsberg, we believe that the best memories revolve around food. To enter the Eat Write Retreat Jarlsberg USA Scholarship sweepstakes, simply write a post about your favorite Jarlsberg memory. Could be a treasured holiday tradition that includes Jarlsberg, or a beloved family fondue recipe made all the more delicious with the addition of our nutty cheese.

If you don’t already have a Jarlsberg memory, there’s no better time to create one. Teach your kids how to make the World’s Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Jarlsberg. Carve out some time for a Jarlsberg after-school snack. Brighten Sunday brunch by adding Jarlsberg to your omelet and homemade biscuits.

Share your Jarlsberg memory on your blog, then come back here to share the link with us in the comments. One winner will be chosen at random from all qualified entries to receive an all-inclusive double-occupancy registration to Eat Write Retreat. (Transportation to and from the conference is not included, and is the responsibility of the winner.)

To make sharing your Jarlsberg memories even easier, feel free to use our facebook and Flickr photos in your posts. Simply download what you need! You have until February 29, 2012 at midnight EST to enter.

Rules and Restrictions

• Bloggers must be US residents.
• Bloggers will receive one entry for writing a post published on their own blogs focused on one of the following topics:

1. Favorite memory involving Jarlsberg USA (does not require a recipe, but feel free to include).
2. Creating a new memory with Jarlsberg USA (does not require a recipe, but feel free to include).

• Posts must include mention and link to both the Jarlsberg USA blog (www.jarlsbergusa.wordpress.com) and Eat, Write, Retreat (www.eatwriteretreat.com).
• Blogger must leave a comment on this post with the URL for their entry post.
• For a second entry to the contest, bloggers who have created a post may also tweet about the contest: I’m hoping @JarlsbergUSA sends me to @EatWriteRetreat. Get all the details here: http://wp.me/p1t5Y3-4T  Leave a comment here to let us know you tweeted!
• Winners are chosen randomly from all qualified entries.
• All travel/transportation and incidental expenses are the responsibility of the winner. (Prize is one all-inclusive double-occupancy registration to Eat, Write, Retreat.)
• Upon returning from Eat, Write, Retreat, winner will be asked to write a post about the event, to be published on his/her own blog as well as here on the Jarlsberg USA blog (as a guest post).

Additional sweepstakes rules:

No Purchase Necessary. Void where prohibited. Promotion open only to residents of US. Must be 21 years or older. Promotion ends February 29, 2012 at midnight, EST. One winner drawn at random from all eligible entries. Prize valued at approximately $749.

29 Ways to Leap Into Jarlsberg Dip and a Giveaway!

Another great way to enjoy Jarlsberg cheese during the Super Bowl (and beyond!) is to bring out the Jarlsberg Dip! The newest member of the Jarlsberg family, our dip is sure to become an instant favorite, with its creamy combination of shredded Jarlsberg, red onion and real mayonnaise. Visit our facebook page for a growing list of retailers who carry Jarlsberg Dip.

This month we’ve teamed up with 29 talented food bloggers at Kitchen PLAY to give you “29 Ways to Leap Into Jarlsberg Dip.” Each day Kitchen PLAY will post a new link to one of the fabulous serving suggestions, such as today’s idea, which comes from Lara at Good Cook Doris: Leap into February with Jarlsberg Dip

To celebrate the arrival of Jarlsberg Dip, we are also hosting a giveaway on our facebook page. Simply “like” Jarlsberg USA on facebook and let us know in the comments on our giveaway post over there. Better yet, give us your ideas for using Jarlsberg Dip!

The giveaway includes a tailgate tote stocked with:

• Jarlsberg Lite Cheese
• new Jarlsberg Cheese Dip
• Snofrisk (a Norwegian style cream cheese)
• crispbreads
• honey crèmes
• honey vinegar.

So head on over to our facebook page to enter. Then stay tuned to Kitchen PLAY for all “29 Ways to Leap Into Jarlsberg Dip.”

Sweepstakes rules: 

No Purchase Necessary. Void where prohibited. Promotion open only to residents of continental US (excluding Alaska). Must be 18 years or older. Promotion ends February 29, 2012 at midnight, EST. One winner drawn at random from all eligible entries. Prize valued at approximately $70.

Game Day Recipe Ideas!

Spiced Sausage and Mushroon Onion Sliders

Looking for ways to kick-start game-day party plans? Whether it’s tailgating by the stadium or watching on the big screen, here’s a delicious, quick and easy popper plus two sliders that will score big with your guests and won’t break the budget. Cheese Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers is an easy way to bring some heat to the menu.  They can be made ahead of time, wrapped in heavy foil and set on the grill or baked in the oven to be ready before the next time out.  These sliders—tasty alternatives to traditional mini burgers—can also be prepared in advance.  Jarlsberg’s mellow-nuttiness pairs perfectly with the apple-sausage combination and roast beef, onion and mushroom mixture.  For a winning spread, round it out with freshly made cole slaw, baked onion rings and potato tots!

Cheese Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers

Makes 16 appetizers

16 pickled jalapeño peppers, rinsed and drained

1 10.5 ounce log (or 2 4-ounce logs) fresh goat cheese

1 -1/2 cups grated Jarlsberg cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup diced green onion (scallions) or chives

Dash of hot sauce

Using small sharp knife, cut slit down one side of each pepper. Leave stem intact and remove seeds and veins. In bowl, mash goat cheese with Jarlsberg, parmesan, onion and hot sauce. Divide among peppers, stuffing each generously. Refrigerate. (Recipe can be made ahead to this point.) Arrange peppers in heavy aluminum foil packet. Grill 10 minutes or bake (350o, 15 minutes) until cheese begins to melt.

Wild Mushroom & Onion Sliders

1 tablespoon each olive oil and butter

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

2 cups chopped mushrooms

2 12-inch skinny baguettes or 12 slider rolls

12 thin slices roast beef, cut to fit baguette or rolls

12 slices Jarlsberg cheese, cut to fit baguette or rolls

Orange or tangerine marmalade

In large skillet, heat olive oil and butter.  Sauté together onion and mushrooms until mixture takes on a light golden-brown color.

Slice baguettes or rolls horizontally to open.  Place on foil-lined baking sheet and toast. Spread marmalade on top half of bread or each roll.  Spoon onion and mushroom on bottom half of bread or rolls. Add roast beef and top with cheese.  With roll (or baguette) tops to the side, broil 3-5 minutes until cheese begins to melt.  Cover with tops (slice into 2 inch sliders if baguette) and serve.

Spiced Sausage Sliders

1 pound thin sliced, roasted spicy sausage: Chorizo, Italian or Kielbasa

2 12-inch skinny baguettes or 12 slider rolls

Honey mustard

Relish (Sweet India or Dill Pickle style)

One large Fuji or Gala apple, cored and sliced thin

12 slices Jarlsberg cheese

To roast sausage, preheat oven to 425o. Spray a roasting pan with olive oil, and cook sausage until well browned, about 20 minutes.

Slice baguettes or rolls horizontally to open.  Place on foil-lined baking sheet and toast. Spread layer of mustard and relish on top and bottom halves.  Arrange sausage, apple and cheese on bottom half.  With roll (or baguette) tops to the side, broil 3-5 minutes until cheese begins to melt. Cover with tops (slice into 2 inch sliders if baguette) and serve.

It’s Time for a Twitter Party and Giveaway!!

Just in time for Super Bowl and the Academy Awards, Jarlsberg is hosting a Twitter party focused on Party Foods! We’ll be discussing strategies for indulging that will leave you feeling satisfied without being stuffed. Tweet along with our co-hosts Recipe Lion and Dara from Cookin’ Canuck during a fun-filled hour of food and prizes.

Join us for a chance to win one of two lovely Tailgate Totes from Jarlsberg USA, filled with these goodies:

• 1 Package of sliced (and 1 random cut) Jarlsberg Lite Cheese
• New Jarlsberg Cheese Dip
• Package of Snofrisk (a Norwegian style cream cheese)
• Package of crispbreads
• 1 honey crème
• 1 honey-style vinegar

It’s a dream of a prize that will help you entertain in style. So chat with us on Tuesday, January 24 at 2:00 PM EST. Follow #recipechat on Twitter, and join in on Twebevents, too!

Trendspotting Scandi Craze

Viking Soul Food Truck: love the helmets on the tables!

We’ve fallen in love with Viking Soul Food, a food truck in Portland, Oregon that features freshly made, Nordic-inspired fare. And we’re not the only ones. Recently Food & Wine Magazine ran a piece called “Trendspotting: Nordic Food and Style“, which featured a delicious recipe for Grilled Salmon Gravlax from Viking Soul Food, which they typically serve with lefse, a Norwegian flatbread made from potatoes. We asked Viking Soul Food owner Megan Walhood to come up with a great side dish for her gravlax, and she suggested Jarlsberg Rosti. Both recipes can be found below.

Grilled Salmon Gravlax: cured with Aquavit

Grilled Salmon Gravlax

One 2 1/2-pound whole salmon fillet, with skin
3 tablespoons aquavit
2 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Vegetable oil, for rubbing
Horseradish mayonnaise and radish salad, for serving

Set the salmon skin side down on a large rimmed baking sheet and rub with the aquavit. Let stand for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, coriander and cardamom. Rub the sugar mixture all over the salmon. Cover and refrigerate for 36 hours.

Light a grill or heat a grill pan. Pat the salmon dry and cut it into 6 portions. Rub the salmon skin and the grill with oil. Grill the fish, skin side down, over moderately high heat until the skin is crisp, about 1 minute. Cover the grill and cook the fish over moderate heat until rare within, about 6 minutes. Serve hot or chilled with horseradish mayonnaise and a radish salad on the side.

Grilled Salmon Gravlax in lefse

Jarlsberg Rosti

2-3 med-large potatoes, the starchier the better. Look for heirloom varieties from your local farmer if possible, but Idaho russets will do.
Kosher salt
butter
1 cup grated Jarlsberg

Grate potatoes, add 3/4 teaspoon salt, set in colander for 5 min. Squeeze most of the moisture from the potatoes and mix with the Jarlsberg. Form mixture into 3-4 inch round patties, approximately 1/4 inch thick.

Heat a frying pan (cast iron works well) to medium, add butter. Fry patties on both sides until crispy, approximatley 3-4 minutes per side. Drain on a grated cooling rack or on paper towels. Serve immediately, or hold in a warm oven if necessary while you finish the rest of the meal. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper.

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Viking Soul Food recently added the “Norsky Bord” to their menu options. According to their facebook page, the Norsky Bord features “A sampler of team V.S.F.’s pickles, salads, fish, cheese, etc. Served with a lefse and rye crisps.” Another great reason to visit Viking Soul Food!

Jarlsberg Rosemary Breadsticks from Kate at Food Babbles

Today we are thrilled to have a guest post from Kate at Food Babbles. Kate received a wedge of Jarlsberg cheese at Pie Party Potluck LIVE! this past fall, and used it to create these scrumptious Jarlsberg Rosemary Breadsticks. Thanks to Kate for sharing her recipe and photos with us! Read on for the recipe and to find out more about Kate and her delectable food blog.

As you may recall reading, I was a glutton this past weekend and stuffed myself full of more than 70 different types of savory and sweet pies at Pie Party Potluck LIVE! What a time we had thanks to all the talented attendees that each brought at least one (if not more) pies to the event, as well as our generous sponsors who made the entire thing possible and provided some amazing door prizes for all of us.

One of those sponsors was Jarlsberg cheese. Not only did they provide an incredible gift basket full of Jarlsberg goodies to one lucky attendee but they also gave Jackie, one of our hosts, some additional cheese to give to four other people. I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of the Jarlsberg generosity. Being a huge fan of Jarlsberg cheese already, I was absolutely thrilled!

Almost immediately, even through my pie coma, my wheels started turning with ideas of what I could make with my Jarlsberg. Jarlsberg is a semi-firm cheese that is mild, buttery, nutty, and even slightly sweet. It has such a wonderful flavor that makes this cheese very versatile. It’s perfect in fondues, in quiches, on sandwiches or just for snacking as it is. It’s often marketed as a Swiss cheese but it has a nuttier, stronger flavor than traditional Swiss cheeses.

For my Jarlsberg I decided I wanted to make some sort of bread. I decided that cheesy breadsticks were to be its destiny. I combined shredded Jarlsberg with fragrant fresh rosemary. Next, I made some dough, cut it into strips, dipped them in the Jarlsberg rosemary mixture and then baked them up. They were slightly crisp outside and soft inside which makes them the perfect accompaniment to any dinner. The nuttiness of the cheese combined with the hint of rosemary on these breadsticks was so delicious!

These are easy to make but not necessarily the quickest thing if you make your own dough. In a pinch you could also buy refrigerated breadstick dough which would make this recipe come together in mere minutes! Either way, you’re going to love these Jarlsberg rosemary breadsticks.

Enjoy!

~K

Jarlsbery Rosemary Breadsticks 

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 Tablespoon of sugar

3/4 cup of warm water

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon of salt

1/8 cup olive oil

1/2 cup Jarlsberg, shredded

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

olive oil, for brushing breadsticks

salt for sprinkling

- In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes until bubbly.

- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and oil. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Then use your hands to combine until it comes together in a ball.

- Lightly flour a work surface.  Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled, large bowl and cover with a light dish towel and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (about an hour.)

- When the dough is almost done rising, combine the Jarlsberg and fresh rosemary in a food processor. Pulse a few times until coarsely chopped.

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down a bit and remove it from the bowl. Lightly flour a work space and using your hands, press the dough into a rectangle.

- Cut the dough into 1 inch strips.

- Brush each strip lightly with olive oil. Dip the oiled side into the Jarlsberg and rosemary. Twist the breadstick slightly and lay on prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a little salt.

- Bake breadsticks at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until lightly golden.

- Enjoy!

*Disclosure: I was given a wedge of Jarlsberg at no cost to me. However, the opinions expressed here are my own.*

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Kate Donahue is a paramedic, foodie and amateur fotog in New Jersey sharing her love of food on her blog Food Babbles. Kate is a big fan of baking and all the sweet things that life has to offer. You can follow her on Twitter @KDBabbles or find her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/FoodBabbles). 

Jarlsberg Figgy Baguette

Bread, cheese and fig are a deliciously classic combination. This all-in-one baked stuffed bread makes for easy work in the kitchen for more time with your guests. Jarlsberg is an excellent melting cheese and its mellow-nutty flavor partners delightfully with the delicate sweetness of golden Calimyrna or dark purple Mission figs, two varieties readily available and offered by Sun-Maid or Blue Ribbon Orchard Choice.

Jarlsberg Figgy Baguette

Jarlsberg Figgy Baguette

1 (16-ounce) baguette
1⁄4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup finely chopped, stemmed Blue Ribbon Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid Calimyrna or Mission Figs
1⁄3 cup chopped, pitted kalamata olives
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb seasoning or oregano
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
11⁄2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Jarlsberg cheese
Salt and ground black pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 375° F. Slicing lengthwise, cut off top 1⁄3 of baguette. Hollow out inside of bottom of loaf, leaving a 1⁄3-inch shell.* (Save removed bread for bread crumbs or another use.) Reserve.

Combine olive oil and garlic in medium skillet over medium-low heat for a few seconds, until garlic sizzles. Remove from heat. Brush half of oil (2 tablespoons) on inside of loaf and cut side of top. Place top and bottom of loaf, cut sides up, on baking sheet; bake 5 minutes.

Return skillet with remaining oil to medium heat and add bell pepper and onion. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in figs, olives, herbs and vinegar. Cool. Stir Jarlsberg into fig mixture and add salt and pepper to taste.

Pack mixture into bottom of baguette. Place top on stuffed baguette. Wrap in foil. Return to oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove foil and cut into 1-inch slices. Serve warm.

Makes about 20 servings.

*For easier handling of long baguette, slice off top as directed, then cut loaf crosswise in half. Hollow out each half, leaving ends intact to hold filling.