Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Sakay

Recipe Source: Samuelsson, Marcus.  The Soul of a New Cuisine.  John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, 2006 p. 61

My usual rule of thumb is to avoid using two recipes from the same source close together.  I break that rule when there is an important ingredient, such as a spice paste, in one dish that can be used in other dishes.  This spice paste from Madagascar is an important ingredient in the dish I'll probably be posting tomorrow, a mixed vegetable dish, but is delicious and wonderful in its own right. 

I made a couple of changes to the recipe, but they're minor changes.  I used minced jarred garlic (to finish off the jar), but I was concerned about a possible lack of garlic flavor in the finished product.  I added a little bit of garlic powder to compensate.  Also, I substituted olive oil for the original peanut oil, because I'm allergic to peanuts. 

The recipe makes about 12 ounces of paste and will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator. 

Sakay (makes 12 ounces; approx. $0.26/oz)

3/4 cup chili powder (I used Chili Powder Extra Hot, because that's what I have)

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup olive oil

Equipment:

• Mini-prep mini food processor
• Saute pan

1. Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. 
2. Add the spices and garlic.  Toast until fragrant.  Trust me when I tell you that you will know when that is, but the book says about one minute.
3. Remove from heat. 
4. Transfer the toasted spices to the mini-prep. 
5. Add the salt and blend well on low speed.
6. Add the olive oil.  Blend until a paste forms. 

Recipe: Spinach and Turnip Bhaji

Recipe Source: Wickramsinghe, Priya and Carol Selva Rajah.  The Food of India.  Murdoch Books, Millers Point, 2008 p. 165

Until I moved in with my husband, I had never eaten a turnip.  Turnips figured prominently in bad jokes about life Behind The Iron Curtain, and that was about it.  My husband, though, really likes turnips.  As in, REALLY likes turnips.  Since I love him, I've been trying to experiment with turnips, and do you know what?  I like them too.  Not as much as he does, mind you - I'm not about to start eating raw slices of turnip.  But I'm starting to think of them as a proper vegetable in their own right, not just a special treat for the Spouse when I'm feeling magnanimous. 

This recipe was originally supposed to have 2 pounds of greens, mixed spinach and amaranth.  I didn't have any amaranth and my fresh spinach had gone messily bad.  I did however have some frozen spinach.  This altered the composition of the dish in favor of more turnips, but didn't otherwise ruin dinner or anything.  I also substituted paprika for the chili powder called for in the original.  Some of our guests simply cannot eat spicy food, and the only chili powder I have on hand is Chili Powder Extra Hot. 

Spinach and Turnip Bhaji (serves 4; approx. $0.73/serving)

7 ounces small turnips, peeled and finely chopped

1 pound frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons grated ginger

1 onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Equipment:

• 2 large saucepans

1. Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. 
2. Add the turnips.  Cook 1 - 2 minutes.
3. Add the spinach and paprika.  Cook 2 - 3 minutes or until all the water has evaporated.
4. Mash the mixture to the best of your ability and remove from heat.
5. Heat the oil in the second saucepan over low heat.
6. Add the ginger and onion.  cook 2 - 3 minutes. 
7. Add the vegetables from the first saucepan. 
8. Mix well and toss until everything is well seasoned. 
9. Serve with the lemon juice. 

Recipe: Concord Grape Jam

It may seem a little early for a Christmas post, but it will make sense (hopefully) as I go on.  Lately I've been kind of frustrated in buying Christmas presents.  There's less and less variety in the stores available to shop in.  Every mall has the same stores now, and while there are occasionally variations in the product mix (I've never seen the orange sweater I bought The World's Best Small Child at the Gymborees here in Boston, but I found it at the Gymboree in Syracuse) for the most part I figure that if Williams-Sonoma has something that my aunt wants she's probably already picked it up herself.  Even some of the smaller boutique stores - the nice, pretty places that you find in the better sort of tourist towns - carry a lot of the same items.  Heck, even Harvard Square has become a giant outdoor mall, with all the same stores I can find at the South Shore Plaza with the added hassle of public transportation to boot. 

My husband has been "subtly encouraging" more homemade gifts for a while.  He - rightly - thinks that for most people, a homemade gift has more meaning than some crap you buy at the mall.  The problem is that I have all of the artistic ability - visual artistic ability, anyway - of a drunken vole.  I've tried embroidery (with someone else's design) and I lack the attention span.  I don't quilt, and if I did no one would ever want the produce.  I have one talent, and that is cooking.  It's hard to wrap a lasagne, though, and it would start to smell after a couple of days under the tree.  I thought to myself, "I'm always seeing fancy-type jellies and jams and preserves in tourist shops, why don't I give that a try?" 

Last year I ordered myself a Home Canning Kit, and it sat there for a year.  It sat, however, in the room that we had reserved for the Fearless Fetus, and we've started shoveling that room out.  This year I decided that I was actually going to do it.  Granted, jams and jellies don't last a lifetime, and several of my family members don't use them anyway.  But for those that do, I'm hoping that they'd rather have something from my kitchen than yet another ugly sweater that they could have bought themselves had they wanted it. 

So this is my first preserve.  It will not go into the gift baskets.  I was only able to get two small jars out of this batch, and these are special Concord grapes.  These are the grapes from my parents' backyard, the ones that grew there when my grandmother lived there.  I can't get more, although I suppose I could buy some grapes somewhere else and make a bunch of jam.  But this one is special.  I'm keeping one jar for myself and giving one to my sister.  Rachel, if you have no use for a jar of Concord grape jam let me know now. 

Concord Grape Jam (makes 32 oz or 2 16 oz jars; approx. cost per serving not available)

2 quarts Concord grapes, stemmed

6 cups sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Equipment:

• 2 clean 16-oz canning jars (don't recycle old commercial jars, like from store-bought jelly, for this purpose.  They are intended as single-use items and may not be able to be completely sterilized or withstand the canning process again.)
• 2 lids and rings for 16-oz canning jars
• Large saucepan
• Fine strainer
• Bowl
• Large stockpot
• Candy or instant-read thermometer
• Saucepan
• Water-bath canner
• Canning tongs

1. Put the jars in the large stockpot with enough water to cover.  Bring the water to 180 degrees and keep at that temperature. 
2. Put the lids and rings in the saucepan with water to cover generously.  Bring the water to 180 degrees and keep at that temperature.
3. Put the grapes and lemon juice in the large saucepan.  Over medium heat, cook the grapes until they yield up their juices. 
4. When the grapes have given up as much juice as they're going to, strain them into the bowl through the strainer.  Use some sort of utensil - the back of a spoon will work just fine - to press out as much liquid as you can from the solids.  Discard the solids. 
5. Combine the grape juice and the sugar in the saucepan over medium-low heat. 
6. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved and melted.  Boil until the gelling point is reached, about 220 degrees.
7. Meanwhile, half-fill the water bath canner with water and bring to at least 180 degrees. 
8. When the water bath canner is ready, fill the jars with the jam and seal with the lids.  Tighten the rings down to fingertip-tightness 
9. Lower the jars into the canner so that the water covers them.  Add boiling water if necessary.
10. Bring the canner to a rolling boil.  Cover and process 30 minutes. 
11. Remove from the canner and let cool 24 hours in a cool place.  Tighten the lids as needed and set aside until ready to use. 

Recipe: Bacon and Pecorino Quiche

Recipe Source: Staib, Walter.  Black Forest Cuisine.  Running Press, Philadelphia, 2006 p. 87

For those of you who have not yet experimented with this for yourselves, allow me to save you the trouble: beef bacon smokes up much, much faster than pork bacon.  We're talking some serious smoke here.  This doesn't mean that you shouldn't use beef bacon.  It just means that you should probably put your vent hood on before you start and should probably consider using two frying pans. 

You may be wondering why there is bacon at all.  After our Pork Fest back in April, where this was only one of the many bacon dishes served, I was pretty adamant that there would be no bacon in my home for a very, very long time.  Does six months count?  And I can't eat pork anymore - apparently the Fearless Fetus has some strong objections to the stuff and as long as we're sharing a digestive system, I have to yield to her tyrannical will.  But there are so many tasty-looking recipes that require bacon, and they're so perfect and seasonal for fall!  I decided that I would try a substitute for pork bacon.  Bacon at all was a substitution in this recipe, which originally called for Black Forest Ham.  Since I'm pretty sure that Black Forest Ham is made from pig (I could be wrong here, this isn't a part of the world I know much about) I was going to have to substitute anyway.  I also switched pecorino for the gruyere, because I had it on hand, and some whole milk when there wasn't enough heavy cream in the container. 

Bacon and Pecorino Quiche (serves 8 - 10; approx. $1.78/serving)

1 1/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

5 tablespoons ice water

7 eggs

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

3/4 cups whole milk

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 bunch chives, chopped

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup grated pecorino

1 cup chopped beef bacon, crisped

Equipment:

• Tart pan with removable bottom
• Bowl
• Whisk
• Aluminum foil
• Pie weights (I use dried beans)
• Food processor

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, 1 t salt, butter, shortening and ice water in your food processor.  Process to a dough. 
3. Press the dough up the sides of a greased tart pan.  You will have just about enough. 
4. Dock the dough in a few places with a fork.
5. Line the crust shell with aluminum foil, then fill with pie weights.  Bake blind 15 minutes.
6. Remove the crust from the oven.  Reduce heat to 375, remove the pie weights and foil, and set aside. 
7. Combine the milk, eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, pepper and chives in the bowl.  Whisk well.
8. Spread the pecorino over the bottom of the crust. 
9. Sprinkle the bacon bits on top. 
10. Pour the egg mixture on top. 
11. Bake 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 
12. Serve.   

Recipe: Broccoli Dal Poriyal

Recipe Source: Padmanabhan, Chandra.  Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine from South India.  Periplus Editions, North Clarendon, 1994 pp. 36-7

There is a widely held belief in this country that vegetarianism should involve sacrifice and suffering.  The idea is that if you're giving up meat, you're also giving up the enjoyment of food.  If the only vegetarian food that one has encountered has been pseudo-meat (products, usually made from soy, that are intended to resemble some form of meat), I can see where that belief comes from.  Veggie burgers are a sin against God.  My sister once suggested that I make a tofurkey.  I think - I hope - she was joking.  And I've seen these things that are intended to represent boneless, skinless chicken breasts - I can't even describe them to you.  Food like that isn't food, it's a penance. 

But vegetarian food doesn't have to make you feel like you're atoning for your sins.  There are plenty of vegetarian dishes and food items that are meatless but still taste delicious.  They make you happy to eat them.  I've accidentally served whole meatless meals without any complaints from a backyard full of carnivores. 

I really enjoyed this dish.  I love broccoli in almost any form (I don't care for broccoli in cheese sauce and I'm not a fan of cream-of-anything), and I enjoy lentils.  Initially, my husband didn't care for it.  He couldn't get past the lentils for several minutes, but eventually he got over it and had seconds.  I made a few changes, starting with broccoli instead of green beans (because we had broccoli on hand, left over from something.)  The chiles were a combination of cayennes and lemon chiles from our garden.  I couldn't find the split peas or urad dal, so I omitted them.  (I really need to do something about that cabinet!) 

Broccoli Dal Poriyal (serves 4; approx. $0.91/serving)

1 cup red lentils

3 cups water

6 red chile peppers, divided (5 chopped, 1 halved)

1/2 teaspoon asafetida

1 lb broccoli, chopped into florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin

8 curry leaves

Equipment:

• Saucepan with lid
• Wok or saute pan with lid
• Blender

1. Cook the lentils in the water until the lentils are soft, about 20 minutes. 
2. Put the dal and the chiles in the blender with the asafetida.  Process to a smooth paste. 
3. Put the broccoli and a little bit of water - maybe 1/2 cup, maybe a little more - in the wok or saute pan.  Bring the water to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and cover the saute pan.  Cook the broccoli until just tender.  Remove from the pan and set aside.
5. Heat the oil in the saute pan.
6. Add the mustard seeds, halved red chile, cumin and curry leaves. Cook until spluttering.
7. Add the lentil paste.  Reduce heat and saute, stirring, until the mixture begins to resemble breadcrumbs.
8. Add the broccoli and cook 2 - 3 minutes.  Serve. 

Recipe: Carters' Millet

Recipe Source: Chamberlain, Lesley.  Russion, German & Polish Food & Cooking.  Anness Publishing, London, 2006 p. 68

I've been trying to explore different grains lately.  Regular wheat bread is all well and good - actually, very good, when done right - and I've always had a strong preference for white rice.  Unfortunately, the nutritional content of both is kind of ... well, low.  They've got calories.  That's about it, especially for the rice.  I've never learned to enjoy brown rice, possibly because I never manage to cook it right.  So I've been trying to find some different grains that have more nutritional value.  I came across some millet in the market the other day, and decided that I would try it. 

Unfortunately, when I made this dish, I had already used up the bacon it called for.  Rather than go back out to the store - something I always try to avoid if possible - I decided to make it a vegetarian Carters' Millet.  I can't see why a carter shouldn't be a vegetarian, after all.  I made up for the lost fat by using butter.  I also omitted the mint, since my husband is allergic to mint.  The result was a tasty if mild side dish.  For all involved - cook as well as guests - this was the first exposure to millet, but I'm certain it won't be the last. 

Carters' Millet (serves 5; approx. $0.81/serving)

1 1/4 cups millet

2 1/2 cups water

4 ounces butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 cups Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Saucepan with a lid
• Frying pan

1. Put the millet in the saucepan with the water.  Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, 30 minutes.
3. In the frying pan, melt the butter with the olive oil.
4. Add the onion and mushrooms.  Cook until the onions are beginning to brown and the mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Add the contents of the frying pan to the millet.  Season to taste.  Re-heat gently before serving, if it's gotten cold. 

Recipe: Roasted Shallot and Squash Salad

Recipe Source: Spevack, Ysanne.  Farmer's Market Cookbook.  Anness Publishing, London, 2003 p. 153

I had half a butternut squash left over from a previous recipe.  Ordinarily that would not bode well for the squash.  I don't generally care much for squash.  It's sweeter than I'd like, although I am making a concerted effort to get to enjoy these seasonal vegetables.  I'm also trying very hard to minimize food waste lately.  I wouldn't call myself an environmentalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I do feel kind of funny filling up landfill space with what could have been a perfectly serviceable dish. 

Enter the Roasted Shallot and Squash Salad.  I started out halving the recipe, but eventually some other quantities changed significantly.  The red chiles we used were cayenne peppers from our garden in an attempt to use them up before the first frost.  My husband, who ordinarily abhors squash, loved this dish.  (I think I will no longer believe him when he says he doesn't like squash.)  I was okay with it - not overwhelmed, as the squash bits were very sweet - but okay.  The sweetness actually worked well with the vinegar and the walnuts, and the chiles gave it the right amount of kick. 

Roasted Shallot and Squash Salad (serves 2 - 3; approx. $3.31/serving)

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

6 shallots, peeled and whole

3 fresh cayenne chiles, or other red chile

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 ounce chopped fresh parsley

5 cloves garlic, crushed

3 ounces walnuts, chopped

2 1/2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Equipment:

• Roasting pan
• Bowl
• Whisk

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the olive oil, vinegar and soy sauce in the bowl.  Add kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
3. Put the shallots and two of the chiles in the roasting pan, then pour the contents of the bowl over them.  Toss to coat.
4. Roast 15 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
5. Add the squash chunks.  Roast another 30 - 35 minutes, stirring once.  Remove from oven.
6. Transfer the contents of the roasting pan to your serving bowl. 
7. Add the remaining ingredients.  Toss well and serve.

Recipe: Apple and Cheese Tartlets

Recipe Source: Domine, Andre.  Culinaria France.  H. F. Ullmann, 2007 p. 158

I know I've talked about this before, but I simply adore apples.  My husband does too.  Unfortunately, while I prefer to eat raw apples, he strongly prefers his to be cooked.  He loves apple breads, apple pies, whatever.  I decided to use this recipe in an attempt to find savory uses for cooked apples. 

I made a few changes, of course.  First of all, this recipe was supposed to be made with Epoisses cheese.  I didn't have any.  I couldn't find any.  I did however have exactly the right amount of smoked gouda, so I used that.  I used my family pie crust recipe, because I tend to have bad luck with pastry and wanted to just use something that I knew would work.  The original called for creme fraiche; I used fat-free Greek yogurt.  The original wanted ham.  I can't do pork at the moment; the Fearless Fetus objects very strongly to any kind of pork product.  I substituted chicken sausages that I'd purchased for another recipe instead. 

I really liked these tartlets.  That said, they were certainly very filling, and I was only able to hack my way through one and a half of them before I just couldn't do any more.  My husband was able to eat more than I was, and he really loved them. 

Apple and Cheese Tartlets (makes 5; approx. $2.56/ea.)

1 pie crust recipe of your choice (single crust, store bought is fine)

3 eggs

3 1/2 tablespoons fat-free Greek yogurt

9 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, diced

3 apples, peeled, cored and diced (I used Macs)

2 links hot Italian chicken sausage, casings removed

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Equipment:

• Bowl
• Whisk
• Spoon
• Frying pan
• 5 tartlet pans

1. Preheat your oven to 390 degrees.
2. Divide your pastry into five equal pieces and press them into the tartlet pans.  Set aside.
3. Quickly brown the sausage in the frying pan, breaking it up with the spoon as you go.
4. Combine the eggs, yogurt, salt, pepper and nutmeg in the bowl with the whisk.  Combine thoroughly.
5. Add the apples, cheese and sausage.  Stir well to ensure that everything is well mixed and that every other component gets some of the egg mixture. 
6. Fill the tartlets with the mixture from the bowl. 
7. Bake 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 355 degrees and bake 30 minutes.
8. Serve.

Recipe: Pomegranate Chicken Wings (Guest Post from Fearless Grill)

Recipe Source: http://www.tasteoftheseacoast.com/Food-Recipes/Swingin-BBQ-Wings-with-Pomegranate-Barbeque-Sauce.html

As those of you who read this site regularly are doubtless aware, Jess is a big fan of pomegranates. She was going out for the day, and I decided to surprise her with a nice dinner. I hadn't made ribs in a while, and I get the inspiration to try making beef ribs with a pomegranate BBQ sauce as a glaze. I went online to look for a sauce idea, and ended up finding this recipe, written by a chef named Taylor Miller, for pomegranate chicken wings. "Great", I thought. "I'll use that sauce for my ribs." Unfortunately, when I went to the butcher shop, they were all sold out of beef ribs. I had already purchased the ingredients to make the sauce, so I decided to give it a try on chicken wings, as the original recipe called for.

I made a couple of changes to the recipe. First, I cooked the wings on my Big Green Egg smoker, rather than pan frying them as suggested in the recipe. I prefer how the wings come out smoked – they end up crispy outside, juicy inside, with a smoky flavor you can't get any other way, and it's healthier than frying them in butter or oil. If you don't have a smoker, you could also grill the wings on a gas or charcoal grill rather than pan frying them. Also, I added some additional hot chili powder to the sauce, as I felt it didn't have any kick at all when prepared as written. I didn't want to overpower the pomegranate flavor, but I think BBQ should have at least a hint of spice. Finally, I left out the fresh pomegranate seeds, since I didn't have a pomegranate and was too lazy to go back out and get one.

Note that the first step of the recipe calls for toasting the spices in a pan on the stove. When I did this it smoked up really quickly and set off the smoke detectors. Not really sure why, as they didn't actually burn, but make sure you have your vent hood on when you perform this step.

These wings came out pretty good. They were definitely different than any wings I have eaten before. They weren't too sweet, weren't overly spicy, and the pomegranate flavor definitely came through. These would be great to serve at a party where Buffalo style wings might scare some of the guests. Luckily, I had plenty of leftover sauce from the recipe, which I froze pending the acquisition of some beef ribs, so I can try my original idea.

Pomegranate Chicken Wings (Makes 36 pieces. Approx. Cost Per Serving Not Available)

Equipment Required

_ Big Green Egg or other smoker

 Wood chips or chunks for smoking

18 whole chicken wings or 36 separated wing parts

salt and pepper (for a rub)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoons hot chili powder

1 teaspoon ground chipotle peppers

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 1/2 cup finely diced onion

2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup pomegranate molasses

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup whole-grain mustard

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds (optional)

1. At least 2 hours before you plan to serve, heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. As mentioned above, turn on your vent hood. Add the cumin, chili powder, chipotle, coriander, and mustard seed, and toast in the bottom of the pan for about 2 minutes, or until the spices begin to release a pungent, toasty aroma.
2. Add remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours.
3. While your sauce is simmering, prepare your smoker for cooking. In my large Big Green Egg, I set up for indirect cooking using my plate setter legs up, with a drip pan between the legs. I used apple wood for smoke flavor. Let the temperature stabilize at 375 degrees.
4. If you're using whole wings, separate the drumstick from the wing, and discard the wing tip. Sprinkle the wings with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Cook for about 40 minutes. Pull the wings out of the smoker, and put into a large bowl. Pour about 1 cup of the pomegranate sauce over them and toss to coat. If you decide to use the fresh pomegranate seeds, put them in with the sauce. Use remaining sauce for dipping, or freeze and save for a later occasion.

 

Recipe: Molettes

Recipe Source: Milton, Jane with Jenni Fleetwood and Marina Filippelli.  The Food and Cooking of Mexico, South America and the Caribbean.  Anness Publishing, London, 2009 p.116

I made these for a recent Sunday dinner.  They might have been the easiest dish in the whole world.  If the original recipe wasn't simple enough, I simplified it even more by offering purchased bottled salsa instead of making it myself.  I did this for a simple reason: my husband and I like food, including salsa, that would make your hair stand on end.  Many of our usual guests prefer milder foods, and some of them actually consider black pepper to be dangerously hot.  (We like them anyway.)  At any rate, offering two types of salsa and letting people determine how much of which to use resolved the capsaicin issue. 

I will also point out that this was the recipe for which we originally made the Sandwich Rolls that we posted a few weeks ago.  I did not use them when I finally got around to making this dish.  They were too good!  They would have had to be made ahead of time, and that would have resulted in our eating the rolls plain, filling ourselves up, being too full to function and having nothing to offer our guests.  We used store-bought rolls this time. 

Molettes (serves 8; approx. $1.90/serving)

12 rolls, split

2 ounces olive oil

2 14-oz cans refried beans

10 ounces grated cheddar cheese

Around 8 ounces salsa to serve, whatever kind of salsa you prefer (or mix it up)

Equipment:

• Saucepan
• Baking sheet
• Pastry brush

1. Brush the crumb sides of the rolls with the olive oil.
2. Remove a little bit of the crumb from the rolls to make a hollow spot. 
3. Preheat your broiler.
4. Broil the rolls until crisp and golden.  Watch carefully so they don't burn - the original recipe gave a time of 5 minutes, but every broiler is different.  Remove from the broiler, but leave it running.
5. Heat the beans over low heat in the saucepan.
6. Fill the little hollow spot in the rolls with the beans, then top with the grated cheddar. 
7. Broil until the cheese is melted. 
8. Serve warm, with salsa to serve to taste on the side.