Veal Delicious

For years, one of my favorite comfort foods was pasta with cheese. That was it. Pasta, cheese, melt-in-my-mouth, let me die a happy woman.

And then I found out I needed to eat gluten-free, and

I thought, oh, no, what will I do? No more pasta. No more comfort.

Oh, poor me.

Well, for pity sake, that's not the case. I have found some fabulous gluten-free pastas over the last ten years that taste great. And with cheese and other goodies on top, you can't tell the difference. Really! {I've fooled many a guest.}

Recently, I discovered another yummy food. A cheese that I'd never tasted.

Havarti.

I have to admit, the name had always put me off. I thought of sour cheeses that I'd had in Greek food and my mouth puckered. I don't know what it was that I'd tasted way back when (maybe Haloume, sort of a ricotta-style cheese that is actually deliciously tart!), but I risked having Havarti cheese (big risk), and am I ever happy I did.

First rumor dispelled -- it's not from Greece. It's from Denmark.

Second -- oh, yum! It has a buttery texture and aroma, and it can be sliced, grilled, or melted. Perfect for cooking.

I made a Veal Parmesan substituting Havarti for half of the Parmesan and, wow, if I do say so myself. This is a meal that even my celiac friends can enjoy.

VEAL PARMESAN & HAVARTI

Ingredients:

1 pound veal cutlets

1 egg

¾ cup crushed rice chex cereal

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

2 tablespoons oil

½ lemon, squeezed juice

¼ cup chicken broth (gluten-free)

2 mushrooms, sliced

2 cups cooked spaghetti (gluten-free)

1 ½ cups mixed cheese, half Parmesan and half Havarti

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Directions:

Cook the spaghetti according to the package. While the water comes to a boil, do the following:

Meanwhile, whip egg in a pie tin. Drench the veal cutlets in the egg.

Crush the rice chex cereal. Add salt and pepper, and set in another pie tin. Dredge the veal cutlets in the rice cereal.

Heat the garlic in the oil on medium high. When the garlic is brown, set the veal into the oil and turn the heat down to medium. While the veal browns, squeeze in the lemon juice. Cook two minutes. Turn the veal, cook two more minutes and add the chicken broth. Cover and cook ten more minutes on medium low.

Now add the sliced mushrooms and cook two more minutes. When that is done, remove the veal cutlets from the pan and set into a broiler pan.

Mound the grated cheese on each of the slices. Set the pan under the broiler and broil four minutes.

To serve: set drained spaghetti onto a plate. Set one to two cutlets on each portion of spaghetti. Decorate with mushrooms and cereal “roux” from the saute pan. Sprinkle with parlsey flakes.

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If you'd like to know more about The Long Quiche Goodbye and want to download a few other recipes from me (on recipe cards), click on this link to my website: Avery Aames. I've posted recipes in the "morsels" section. There's lots of other fun stuff, as well. And sign up for the fan club to get in on the next contest...coming soon. October's newsletter just came out! You'll find it at this link: NEWSLETTER