Chef Kerry Altiero at Cafe Miranda in Rockland knows that on a cold winter night, I love his Mac & Cheese, hot and bubbling right out of the wood-fired oven. Today he sent me a couple of recipes for two of his favorite hot cheese plates that anyone can do at home in a conventional oven.
"We do these on an oven-safe 9-inch serving dish, with an “underwear” (underliner) of a 10-inch plate with a doily to keep bubbling hot cheese from scarring our staff. Oh yes, and you’ll need an eight-ton Masonry Brick oven with a wood fire in it. Don’t have one? Listen up, we’ll make do.

In a regular old oven, place the rack 2/3 of the way down (or 1/3 the way up). A pizza stone is nice but not necessary. Now CRANK that baby up to its max, let it heat up, wait for 10 minutes, then go hit the broiler. Wait a couple of minutes and put your already prepared plate in there. What you are doing is impersonating a wood-fired brick oven. This works pretty well.

How many you can do at a time depends on your broiler size, so you can get coverage on the plates. Those of you with a separate gas broiler that is underneath and not part of your oven are out of luck. All of the following will require vigilance. One minute done, the next, POOF! BURNT, and try again.

NOTE! All cheeses have different cooking times as they vary in density, water and fat content. I’ll lay these out as for one- person, one-plate and you can just multiply by guests and the oven space you have available.

STOP & SMELL THE GORGONZOLA
Ingredients:
2 ounces imported Genuine Eye-talian Gorg. The domestic Gorg that is readily available does not work for this as it does not have the creaminess to melt well.
1 roasted red pepper cut into strips
2 basil leaves
Method:
Place the basil leaves on the plate. Schmear the cheese over them. Randomly arrange the roasted pepper slices around the plate. Cook using the above-described method.

Now for beverages. Gorg is a toughie as it smells like, well we ARE in polite company eh? Try a Bonny Doon Vineyard "Le Gigare Volant" from California.

ROASTED SHARP CHEDDAR & GARLIC CLOVES
Ingredients:
4 ounces sharp cheddar
4 roasted garlic cloves, peeled
2 basil leaves
6 “grape” tomatoes
A bit of olive oil to coat tomatoes
Kosher salt & cracked pepper
Method:
Slice the cheese into half-inch pieces. They are going to melt so they don’t have to be pretty, but the thickness will have to be close. Distribute the garlic on the plate. Arrange the cheese on top, without overlapping the slices. Place the tomatoes on the cheese.

This can be done days in advance. However, bring it to room temp if it was in the ice-box, as the plate can shatter with the temp change. All systems go with the oven? Yes? Toss that in and when it bubbles and browns, sit down to eat with some great Café Miranda Foccacia or Flat Bread!.

Try a Geary’s Pale Ale from Portland, Maine with this. Yum."