Page 6 The INDEPENDENT, April 4, 2012 Food for Thought by Leslie Barnes BLACK FOREST HAM AND CARAMELIZED ONION GRILLED CHEESE Easter dinner is a great time share with family and friends. Leftover ham can be magically transformed into this delicious grilled sandwich. Happy Easter! SCALLOPED POTATO GRATIN Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Once the pan is warm, add a slice of bread buttered side down and top with the cheese, then onions, then ham. Close the sandwich with the other slice of bread, buttered side up. Cook until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Makes 1 sandwich. 1-1/2 cups heavy cream 1 tsp thyme 3 garlic cloves, chopped 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg Butter 2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a saucepan, heat up the cream with thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg. While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes. Serves 4-6. HONEY GLAZED CARROTS Salt 1 lb baby carrots 2 T butter 2 T honey 1 T lemon juice Freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add salt and then carrots and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the carrots and add back to pan with butter, hon- ey and lemon juice. Cook until a glaze coats the carrots, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley. Serves 4. Church Directory 1 T unsalted butter, softened 2 (1/2-inch-thick, 7-1/2-inch-long) slices light rye bread 2 oz thinly sliced gruyere cheese 2 T Basic Caramelized Onions 2 oz thinly sliced Black Forest ham How to Caramelize Onions Several medium or large onions, yellow, white, or red (5 large raw onions yields about 2 cups caramelized onions.) Olive oil Butter (optional) Salt Sugar (optional) Slice off the root and top ends of the onions, peel the onions. Cut the onions in half. Lay them cut side down and slice the onions lengthwise to desired thickness. Use a wide, thick-bottomed sauté pan for maximum pan contact with the onions. Coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil, or a mixture of olive oil and butter (about 1 tsp per onion). Heat the pan on medium high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion slices and stir to coat the onions with the oil. Spread the onions out even- ly over the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes, sprinkle some salt over the onions, and if you want, you can add some sugar to help with the caramelization process. Let cook for 30 minutes to an hour more, stirring every few minutes. As soon as the onions start sticking to the pan, let them stick a little and brown, but then stir them before they burn. After the first 20 to 30 minutes you may want to lower the stove temperature a little, and add a little more oil, if you find the onions are verg- ing on burning. As the onions cook down, you may find you need to scrape the pan every minute, instead of every few minutes. Continue to cook and scrape, until the onions are a rich, browned color. At the end of the cooking process you might want to add a little balsamic vinegar or wine to help deglaze the pan and bring some additional flavor to the onions. Store refrigerated for several days in an air-tight container. V ERNONIA F OURSQUARE C HURCH C OVENANT C HURCH V ERNONIA P IONEER B APTIST F ELLOWSHIP Carl Pense, Pastor 850 Madison Avenue, Vernonia 503 429-1103 Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 a.m. Children’s Sunday School Pastor John D. Murray 359 “A” Street, Vernonia 503 860-3860 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Sunday Worship Service 11:00 a.m. Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m. John Cahill, Pastor 939 Bridge Street, Vernonia 503-429-1161 www.pbfalive.com Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 a.m. Thursday Prayer 7:00 p.m. S EVENTH D AY A DVENTIST Larry Gibson, Pastor 2nd Ave. and Nehalem St., Vernonia 503 429-8301 Morning Worship, 11:00 a.m. Sabbath School 9:30 a.m. A SSEMBLY OF G OD Wayne and Maureene Marr 662 Jefferson Ave., Vernonia, 503 429-0373 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Morning Worship 11:00 a.m S T . M ARY ' S C ATHOLIC C HURCH Rev. Luan Tran, Administrator 960 Missouri Avenue, Vernonia 503 429-8841 Mass Sunday 12:00 Noon Religious Educ. Sunday 10:30 a.m. V ERNONIA C OMMUNITY C HURCH Ralph Young, Pastor 957 State Avenue, Vernonia 503 429-6790 Sunday Bible Classes 9:00 a.m. Family Praise & Worship 10:30 a.m. Wednesday Prayer 6:30 p.m. Thursday Ladies Study 7:00 p.m. Nursery 10:15 a.m. Vernonia Community Preschool N EHALEM V ALLEY B IBLE C HURCH Gary Taylor, Pastor Grant & North Streets, Vernonia 503 429-5378 Sunday School 10:00 a.m. Morning Worship 11:00 a.m. Nursery available Wednesday Service 7:00 p.m. V ERNONIA C HRISTIAN C HURCH C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST OF L ATTER D AY S AINTS Sam Hough, Minister 410 North Street, Vernonia 503 429-6522 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Sunday Worship 11:00 a.m. (meets in Youth & Family Center) Various Home Group Meetings Marc Farmer, Branch President 1350 E. Knott Street, Vernonia 503 429-7151 Sacrament Meeting, Sunday 10 a.m. Sunday School & Primary 11:20 a.m. Relief Society, Priesthood and Young Women, Sunday 12:10 p.m. Watch road for runners during Vernonia Marathon on April 15 Residents and visitors in Vernonia, Buxton, Manning and Banks will need to be on the lookout for runners on Sun- day, April 15, as they gather for the 2012 Vernonia Marathon and Half Marathon. The runners will be on the Banks-Vernonia State Linear Trail most of the time, but the marathon will finish at Banks High School, and participants are being asked to park at the school parking area. Shuttle buses will take participants to the starting area at Cedar Ridge Retreat, just outside Vernonia. In addition to the runners, there will be support people and spectators. Because the starting line is at Cedar Ridge, both the marathon and half- marathon runners will be on Keasey Road, State Avenue and other streets in town until they get to the trail. The limited parking area at Cedar Ridge is needed for the race volunteers and for bus turn-around space, so some traffic congestion is likely in Vernonia. There may also be congestion on Highway 47 at the Top Hill Trailhead, which will be the ending spot for the half marathon