the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!

One cold November day, I received a mysterious card in the mail. Bill? No. Credit card offer? No. Then what could it be? I anxiously tore it open while still in the elevator and gasped with surprise and sheer glee: a BID. Not just any bid, a neon pink bid card inviting me to join the most prestigious club in all the land: Cooking in the Hood!

The theme for December was easily agreed upon: BOOZE. Being the new girl, I had to do something pretty great. Well, aside from consuming alcohol, what's the next best thing you can do? Set it on fire.

I read a few different recipes for saganaki, the famous flaming Greek cheese (ironic now, isn't it, with the whole bid process. i digress) and picked my favorite parts of all the recipes. So here we go:

Kasseri is the most widely-used cheese for this--it should be a hard cheese, but melt nicely.















Cut into slices and place in shallow bowl.















Soak in brandy for 2 hours

When ready to serve, dredge in flour















and FRY in a hot skillet. (30 seconds to 1 minute on each side--you want a crust and it to start to get melty)















Oh, oil your pan first so the cheese doesn't stick.

I then transported the cheesy goodness to the secret Cooking in the Hood clubhouse, and rewarmed in the broiler.

As soon as the cheese is hot and melty (again, in my case) pour 2 tablespoons (or a generous shake from the bottle) on top of the cheese and light a match.

photo credit: ms. ashley

Prepare yourself for thunderous "oohs" and "aahs."

photo credit: ms. ashley

Now there are a couple tricks to this, which lead to why we don't have better documentation of the fire:
1. make sure your brandy is warm--room temperature is fine, but it needs to not be cold or it wont flame.
2. the heat from the cheese also help warm the brandy up to flamable temperatures so as soon as the cheese is out, the fire-lighting process must initiate.
3. nothing actually excuses the fact that i have no pictures. i am, after all, a terribly successful food blogger. shameless plug. i'm okay with it.

Squeeze some lemon on top to extinguish any lingering flames and serve immediately.

As the newbie (or pledge, depending who you ask), I'll be hosting January's meeting--can't wait!