Today, Victor had a craving, and I was the lucky beneficiary!  😛 Although he’s thwarting my attempts to lean into being vegan.

Sunday’s Late Lunch

While at Alon’s to get cheese for Monday’s potluck, he developed a hankering for a grilled cheese sandwich and homemade potato chips. So he grabbed a beautiful loaf of focaccia, came home and got to work. First he started the chips, shaving the potatoes paper-thin on the mandoline. Wish I’d snapped a photo during the process, as there were these gorgeous, delicate slices piled atop the cookie sheets waiting to be tossed into the oil. He fried them to a crisp, and hit them with just a whisper of smoked applewood salt. And into the iron skillet went the focaccia, piled high with cheese and topped with fresh raw sweet onions, then pressed flat and grilled stovetop. After that, the sammie went into the oven to get more golden and delicious, cheese oozing out ever so slightly.

Feeling the need to have a little green to pretend I was making it healthier, I added a little arugula and sorrel to mine, along with a drizzle of truffle oil, ala Toscano & Sons‘ famous Giovanna. The gooey cheese nestled happily between the focaccia sheets and the greens added a nice little pop of lemony, peppery freshness to the sweet onion and salty, luscious cheese. I thought the focaccia was a great choice, as it didn’t get too crunchy as some breads can tend to do, and it gives way, allowing easier biting and melding of the flavors of the rosemary-scented bread into the rest of that yumminess!

The potato chips were truly the star of the plate: little lacey, almost see-through slices of comfort that melted almost the minute they hit the tongue, although with such a nice satisfying little crunch. Lighter than air, they were. So that even after consuming a crazy big pile of them, you feel like you just had a virtuous meal. And you did. Or I did. Yum.

What’s for dinner, honey?!