Grilled farmhouse cheddar sandwich with tomato consomme and butter fried chips

Core and halve the tomatoes.

Soak a dried chipotle pepper in hot water half an hour to soften, then drain.

Pulse the tomatoes in a food processor until finely chopped, in batches, adding the chipotle and its seeds with one batch.

Scoop the tomatoes into damp cotton kitchen towels, bring the edges up and tie with string to form pouches; two were needed for this quantity.

Hang the pouches from a rack in the refrigerator over a bowl and drain overnight.

For the brioche, combine one third cup of water at 110 to 115F with a packet of active dry yeast, let it sit 10 minutes, then stir until fully dissolved.

Sift the cake flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and sea salt together.

With the dough hook, beat in all six eggs on low for one minute.

Add the yeast mixture slowly and run on low five minutes; scrape the dough off the hook and run another five minutes.

Add the softened cubed butter a quarter at a time, beating about a minute after each, then run 10 to 15 minutes more on low.

Move the dough to a large floured glass mixing bowl, cover and rest three hours in a warm spot until doubled.

On a generously floured surface work the air bubbles out by folding the dough over a couple of times, return it to the bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Grease the loaf pan with butter, put the dough in and rise three hours in a warm place, until about half an inch above the pan. His took four.

Variation, off book: shape the leftover 30 to 40 percent of the dough into buns a little smaller than a baseball and rise them alongside.

Next day, pass the drained liquid through a strainer. The cookbook expects around two cups of tomato water; this gave three. Keep it chilled.

Slice the purple, red-skinned and Yukon gold potatoes paper thin on a mandolin.

To clarify butter, melt it over low heat without stirring, skim off the foamy milk solid layer and pour off the clear yellow butter, leaving the milky bottom behind.

Heat one cup of clarified butter with one cup of oil in a large saucepan to 300F and deep fry the potatoes two to three minutes at a time, keeping them moving.

The potatoes themselves cause the bubbling; when the bubbles stop the chips are crisp.

Drain the chips spaced out on paper towel and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Variation, off book: brush the buns with an egg glaze, add sesame seeds and bake 14 to 16 minutes; serve split with the tomato sauce made from the leftover drained tomatoes.

Bake the loaf at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes until well browned on top; his took 38. Turn it out onto a cooling rack immediately.

Carve an X in the skin of the cherry tomatoes, drop them in boiling water 10 to 20 seconds and slip the skins off.

Shave about six paper thin slices of white farmhouse cheddar.

Spread clarified butter on one side of each slice of brioche and lay the cheese on.

Cook the sandwich in a dry nonstick pan on medium heat until each side is golden brown and the cheese has melted, turning only once.

Cut the sandwich on the diagonal into two triangles and remove the crusts to match the cookbook photo.

Salt the chilled tomato consomme to taste, drop in a red, a yellow and a green cherry tomato and pour it into a coffee mug.

Plate the sandwich with around eight or nine chips; the consomme is served chilled.