Amy's Peas and Thank You: Top 10 Sandwiches

Who doesn't love a sandwich, (well besides my super picky Owen)?  And with the kids going back to school here are a few ideas beyond the PB & J:

1.  Grilled Pesto and Mozzarella:  On sourdough or ciabatta smear butter on what will be the "outside" of the sandwich.  Inside one slice of bread, slather a thick layer of pesto.   Add sliced tomato and slices of mozzarella cheese.  Grill on both sides until golden and melty.

2.   Roast Beef and Bleu Cheese:  A sort of typical deli sandwich, but upgraded with tasty condiments.  In all honesty, I am a condiment lover, so I love this one.  On a toasty french roll layer roast beef, spinach and red onion (did you know if you soak your red onion in ice water first it will be a little more mellow and you won't spend all day with onion breath?).  In a bowl, add equal parts mayo and bleu cheese crumbles, slather liberally on the bare side of the roll.  Yum.

 

3.  Southern Style Tomato:  I am not from the South, but I would eat like I was every day if I could.  This recipe is so few ingredients that they really need to be top drawer.  Take a "country" style white bread, which is a little drier and slather it in good quality mayo, top with thinly sliced fresh basil and thick slices of tomato from the garden or farmer's market, and that is it.  This sandwich is definitely more than the sum of its parts.   

4.  Pulled Chicken:  Pulled pork is one of the most delicious things on the planet, all smoky, tender and sweet.  However, quick it is not.  If I am not up for making a pork shoulder I will sometimes make "pulled chicken".  Using a rotisserie chicken, this is super quick and easy.  Remove the skin and bones, shredding all the chicken meat.  Toss with warmed barbeque sauce, add to a potato bun (the squishier the better) and top with crisp, creamy coleslaw. 

Chicken Salad:  Paula Deen may be having a career crisis right now, but that woman can make some chicken salad.  You just can't improve upon this recipe, it is my go to: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/almond-chicken-salad-recipe/index.html 

 6.  Egg in the Hole:  Very simple, yet wholesome and delicious.  Now, I make mine the usual way, with a over easy egg.  But of course, Owen won't eat a runny yolk, so I make him a "scrambled egg in the hole".  All the fun of the original just much more kid friendly and very portable for busy mornings.  Melt some butter in a medium high skillet.  Using a glass or fun cookie cutter create a hole in the center of the bread.  Add to the skillet and toast for 1-2 minutes, until nearly brown on one side.  Mix your egg in a bowl (one egg per one slice of bread).  Add to the center hole and just like you are making scrambled eggs, pull the cooked egg up to let raw egg run underneath.  After set on one side, flip and cook through.

   
7.  Banh mi:   Vietnamese is my favorite Asian cuisine because they embrace French bread!  Banh mi is traditionally made with roasted pork, but I often use chicken breast.  Layer your choice of meat on a crusty French roll slathered in mayo mixed with chili sauce (Like "Rooster" sauce).  Mix a splash of apple cider or white wine vinegar with a teaspoon of sugar and toss shredded carrots, cucumber, radishes and cilantro thru it and pile the veggies on your sandwich. 

 8.  Croque Madame:  A croque madame is a croque monsieur with the addition of an egg and I really love anything topped with a runny, gooey, rich egg.  First make a bechamel sauce by melting a tablespoon of butter and adding a tablespoon of flour, cooking for 1 minute.  Add 1 cup of milk, salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg, cooking until thickened.  In an oven safe pan lay a thick slice of french bread, ham and swiss cheese.  Ladle the bechamel over, about 1/4 cup per sandwich.  Throw under the broiler until brown on top and bubbly, about 2 minutes.  While broiling prepare 1 egg per sandwich to your liking, I like over easy, and top sandwich to serve. 


9.  French Dip:  My sister Erin and friend Amber both love this recipe and when I tried it, I couldn't believe how easy and delicious it was.  This is THE recipe to catch a man, from All Recipes:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Slow-Cooker-French-Dip/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=french%20dip&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

10.  My Mom's Italian Hoagie:  Want to see my Mom look irrational, take her to a sandwich shop, have her order a "hoagie" and see them have no idea what she is talking about.  Hoagies are an east coast thing that aren't all that common where we live on the west coast, but they should be, everybody loves Italian flavors and this sandwich is divine.    Take a long loaf of Italian bread and drizzle it with olive oil, red wine vinegar and dried Italian seasoning.  Top with your choice of Italian meats, I like Ham, salami and turkey (although turkey isn't Italian at all), layer on provolone cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced tomatoes, red onion, and, what makes this sandwich in my opinion, diced pepperoncini.  Ohh, I am hungry now. 

GF Blueberry Muffins

Recently we started our youngest on a Gluten Free diet.  And for the most part, I have been appalled by the GF options on the market.  Everything costs about 4 times what it's non-GF counterpart costs and tasted like a spoon full of sawdust.  When I bought GF cinnamon rolls, my oldest thought it tasted like chicken, because that's what you want your cinnamon rolls to taste like. 

I have been experimenting with GF recipes for baked goods and think I came up with a pretty great one!  Trying to compensate for the dryness of GF flours, I added butter, milk and fruit (I am pretty sure butter makes everything better).  The fruit Owen and I picked at a local berry farm.  We even rode our bikes up to it, I felt very French. 

Let's make some GF muffins! Oui, Oui!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (or 1/2 stick) of butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup Bisquik GF baking mix (if you use something else, you will need to add another 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp baking powder.  The Bisquik mix has sugar and leavener already added.) 
dash of salt
1/4 cup milk
1 cup blueberries
lemon zest

Makes 6 muffins


Directions:

Add butter and sugar to your mixer and blend on med-high until butter/sugar is fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.

Add the egg and combine.

Toss your berries with a bit of the flour.  This prevents them from sinking to the bottom of your muffin.  Set berries aside until the end. 

Add salt and half the flour to your mixer.  Combine. 

Add milk, combine.

Add remaining flour and beat until just combined. 

Add lemon zest and berries.  I use a spatula to gently combine.  I find the mixer paddle will crush the berries. 

Batter will be fairly thick, place it in a muffin tin.  I like to add a sprinkle of sugar to the tops to make them all sparkly because there isn't anything I love more than sparkles.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden on top and and a tooth pick comes out clean.  

Sunday Suppers: Baked Ham with Mac Salad and Green Beans

I wanted to start a new feature on the blog, Sunday Suppers.  I often will make a big dinner with the idea to use that one meal to jump start several other meals through out the week.  Like this week's ham can turn into "lunch meat" that is wholesome and real instead of creepily uniform and hyper processed like deli meat.  It can also lead to a couple of dinners that are tailor made for busy week nights.

 Now when you head to the grocery store that big piece of meat may lead to a little bit of sticker shock.  However, think of it this way:  this $12 ham will roll into 2-3 dinners this week, provide sandwich fixins' for the week, and you'll be left with a big old ham bone for soup or beans at some point in the future.  And this recipe is Honey-Baked Ham store good; never again will I buy one of their $50 (!!!) hams.  

Some dinner ideas with left over ham include:

1. Eggs Benedict.  I serve this at dinner time with a side of roasted asparagus or sauteed spinach.
2. Ham and broccoli macaroni and cheese.  A complete dinner in one dish.
3. Hawaiian pizza, see previous post, Picadillo Calazones for my pizza dough recipe.  

I have to say, my kids were excited about this ham.  Owen calls himself a "meatatrian" and Noah tried to haul the uncooked ham off the counter and take it to the dining room table!

Orange-Ginger Baked Ham 

Ingredients:
1 bone in ham (mine was about 6.5 pounds which is a pretty average size)
For the glaze:
1/2 heaping and packed cup of brown sugar
1 tbsp grill seasoning
1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger **tip--buy a knob of ginger from the produce section, it will run you about $.30 and you can keep it in the freezer forever and just grate it frozen.

1/4 scant cup orange juice 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Remove all packaging from ham and place it cut side down in a large pan.  
 
Cook for 20 minutes per pound.  My ham at 6.5 pounds cooked for 2 hours and 10 minutes.  30 minutes before cooking is finished remove from the oven to apply the glaze.

To glaze:  use a knife to carefully score the ham in both directions to allow glaze to penetrate the ham.

 Make the glaze by combining the brown sugar, orange juice, grill seasoning, and ginger to make a paste.  Slather over the top of the ham and return it to the oven for the final 30 minutes.
 

It will come out looking mahogany and lovely. 

 Now let's make some side dishes!

Macaroni Salad
 Ingredients:
8 oz or 1/2 box macaroni pasta
2 carrots, grated
1/2 bell pepper, finely diced

 
For dressing:
1/3 cup Mayo
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
1 tsp sugar
several dashes tabasco to taste
salt and pepper  





Directions:  
 Boil the pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse in cold water,( this is the only time I would ever tell you to rinse your pasta! ).

I like to make the dressing in the bottom of the serving bowl, fewer dishes.  Add all the dressing ingredients and whisk, taste and adjust tabasco, salt and pepper.

 Add the cooked pasta, bell peppers, carrot and mix well with the dressing.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for an hour or so before serving to fully chill and meld the flavors.  


Bacon Laced Green Beans
This recipe was an attempt to get Owen to eat a vegetable without making gag-face.  
Ingredients:
2 heaping cups of fresh or frozen green beans, if fresh, snap off ends
2 strips bacon, chopped
1/2 a large tomato, finely diced
splash of red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp honey
maybe a 1 tsp of olive oil

Directions:
Toss green beans in a pot of boiling water.  I only cook them for about 2 minutes (for fresh, maybe 3-4 if frozen) to maintain a bright color and crisp bean.  If you like yours more well done, keep them under longer.  Drain and set aside.

Saute chopped bacon over medium heat.  When crisp remove the bacon from the pan and set aside.  Admire your bacon fat in the pan, is it about 1 1/2 tsp?  If not, add the olive oil to make about 1 1/2 tsp of oil/fat total.  Add a splash of red wine vinegar, about 1 tsp and the honey.  Give it a quick whisk.

Increase the heat to medium high and add the green beans and tomato. Warm up the veggies and give the green beans a bit of a char, about 2 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add the bacon.  

Enjoy!  
   
     

 
    

  

GF Cauliflower "Mac and Cheese" Style

GF WTF?

The what and the why about Gluten Free.  Now, I am not a nutritionist, just a woman on her soap box.   Disclaimers aside, I don’t think wheat is inherently bad.  The current Gluten Free craze smacks of a fad diet trend, however I think some people do have a sensitivity to wheat/gluten.  The American diet is probably a little too wheat based, with too much nutritionally light breads and pastas ("ummmm, bread and pasta" said in Homer Simpson's voice). 

That said, we are trying out a Gluten Free diet for my youngest, Noah, who experiences autism.  Some children with autism see their tummy issues alleviated and an increase in their cognitive clarity on the diet.  So far, we have seen a happier tummy and a surprise consequence, an increase in the types of foods Noah will eat.  Now, instead of stuffing himself like a Thanksgiving turkey with bread, he is eating vegetables and meats.  

As we are new to this diet, I am still experimenting with the different products out there.  I have tried a few different GF flour mixes: Trader Joe’s rice based wasn’t terrible but not great, Winco bulk bin garbanzo bean flour made me want to cry, super gritty and awful flavor.  I will report back on our GF product findings.  

Now on to the main event:  

 GF Cauliflower "Mac and Cheese" Style 

As I said in my introduction about me, my family is super picky.  And unfortunately they cannot agree on what they like and what they dislike, with the exception of Cauliflower, they all hate it.  At the farmer's market the other night, I tried to talk them into chocolate/beet cupcakes with no success.  Our compromise was they would try a new cauliflower recipe.  Seriously, it is covered in cheese sauce, so how could it not be good?!  Serves 4 or so as a side dish.

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, or a bag of frozen cauliflower

2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tbsp flour (using the Trader Joe's GF flour)

1 cup milk

1 cup cheese (I am using cheddar and smoked Gouda, that Gouda is my secret to great mac and cheese.  You can substitute Parmesan or just use a sharp cheddar.  If all you have is regular old cheddar, that will work, you may just want to add a little extra so your sauce doesn't just taste like milk.)  
1 squeeze of mustard, honey mustard or Tabasco  (optional)   

Directions:  

• Cut cauliflower into small florets and boil on the stovetop for 5 minutes.  Drain cauliflower and set aside while you make the sauce. 
• I used the same pot (save on dishes, yay!) melt the butter over medium heat.  When melted add the flour and make the roux.  Whisk the flour and butter until well combined and cooked for a minute.  
• Add the milk and whisk.  Continue cooking over medium to medium-high heat.  It is imperative not to allow your milk to boil however, nothing good happens when you boil milk.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, whisking often until the milk mixture thickens.  
• Add the cheese and  if you like an additional flavoring.  I added a squeeze of honey-mustard (thinking of my friend Amber and her love of honey mustard).  Add salt and pepper (I add a lot), kill the heat and whisk until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is smooth.  
• Add the cauliflower and combine.  If you are feeling decadent, add another sprinkle of cheese to the top. 
• Transfer to a oven safe pan and put into a 375 oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.      

Super Easy Baby Back Ribs With a Fresh Corn Salad

Super easy and ribs aren't concepts that usually go together.  My friend and neighbor, Mark makes amazing ribs on the grill.  They take him all day.  This option seems out of my depth, both because I am too lazy to stand at the grill all day and don't feel like I possess the barbeque prowess to pull this technique off.  I have since mastered making my ribs in the oven with just a quick char on the grill.  They taste so, so good and are super simple.

Ingredients for the ribs:
Rack or racks of ribs (one rack for 3 of us was plenty, but my Dad can put away a rack himself, so adjust as necessary for your eaters)

Dry rub mix:  To be honest, I just get out my spices and start adding the ones that seem "barbequey".  Today for one rack that meant:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
(I am not adding salt and pepper because the grill seasoning has a lot of it)

Sauce:
I use whatever jarred barbeque sauce I was able to coupon for really cheap, but to make it my own I like to add jam.  I don't share this secret with my husband Geoff because for some reason fruit with meat makes him irrational.  Today I added homemade peach jam at a 2-to-1 ratio.  Other stone fruits or orange marmalade are really tasty too.  

 Make up 2 bowls of sauce, one to use on raw ribs, one to use on cooked.  In each bowl (again for one rack of ribs, please do the math on your own to figure out how much you'd need for more racks) combine 1/2 cup barbeque sauce, 1/4 cup jam.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Slather the ribs with the dry rub and put in the oven.  After 45 minutes add one of the bowls of barbeque sauce and coat the ribs.  Cook for another 45 minutes (for 1 1/2 hours total).  To test for doneness, carefully grab a hot rib bone and wiggle it.  You want it to wiggle to demonstrate the meat is "fall of the bone" tender.  Now add the second bowl of sauce if you like a "saucy" rib or you can save to serve along side.

Fresh from the oven

You can do the above early and just let the ribs hang out until you are ready for dinner.  Seriously, I got the ribs in the oven and left the house to go to my son's baseball practice, that is how easy and mostly hands off this recipe is.

To finish:  preheat your grill or broiler on high, and lightly char ribs on both sides, 2-5 minutes each side.

If your bbq sauce is gluten free, so is this recipe.

Now on to corn salad...

Fresh Corn Salad

 I make several variations of this salad, for today's I used:

Ingredients:
2 ears fresh corn
1/2 orange bell pepper
1/2 large tomato
1/4 cup sliced fresh basil
1 squeeze of lemon
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper

Directions:
Prepare corn by adding to boiling water for 2 minutes.  Remove from water and allow to cool.  Cut kernels off the cob and add to the bowl.  Dice bell pepper, tomato and basil and add to bowl.  Add lemon, olive oil, honey and salt and pepper.  Mix it all together and you have a simple, fresh, summer side dish.

Variations:  Think of corn as your base and really you can change up the flavors so many ways.  In the winter I will just defrost frozen corn and use it in place of the fresh corn.  I sometimes go more southwestern with canned and rinsed black beans, sliced avocado, cilantro, peppers, tomatoes and lime instead of lemon in the dressing.  Oh, so good. 

Berry Crisp

My friend Susan came over the other day with a lovely berry cobbler.  This reminded me that I haven't really eaten my fill of berry-type desserts this summer.  I thought I would try my hand at a berry crisp.  The difference between a cobbler and a crisp is all in the cake/topping part.  Both have the fruit on the bottom, a cobbler is more of a biscuit/cake type top and a crisp is more streusel like. 

Berries aren't always the cheapest fruit to use for anything, but this is a case of freezer clean out.  I had strawberries and blueberries in there from previous purchases and a handful of fresh raspberries that were on their last day before they'd just be mush.  This recipe would work with whatever fruit you have on hand (except for maybe bananas, very little good comes from bananas).  Some great ideas would be stone fruits (peaches, plums, apricots) either mixed together or combined with berries, or even your classic grocery store staple, apples.

frosty berries

Ingredients for fruit portion:
4 cups fruit (I used strawberries and blueberries straight from the freezer and raspberries)
2 tsp flour
1 squeeze lemon

For topping:
1 cup oats (I used Snoqualmie Falls Lodge Oatmeal that I got at the Grocery Outlet)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp butter (just over half a stick)
dash of salt

Directions:

berries ready to be topped

In your baking vessel (an 8x8 pan would be a good one to use if you don't have a pretty red ceramic dish from the Salvation Army like I do) toss in your berries, 2 tsp of flour and a squeeze from a slice of lemon.

A controversial move, I know, but I am not sugaring my berries.  These berries were picked in season and the strawberries are the super sweet Oregon variety.  If I were making this with early, tart strawberries, I might add  a tablespoon or 2 of sugar in with the fruit.   

topping

 Please notice the pretty kitchen towel.  A gift from my Mom.  All my decent kitchen towels are from my Mom.  Apparently the fact that I think its perfectly acceptable to just cut up old towels and use them in the kitchen makes her sad.

In a separate bowl combine all the topping
 ingredients, working the room temperature butter in with a fork or your fingers. 

Goes in looking like this...

Add the topping to the top of the berries, leveling it out.  Place in a 350 degree oven for around 30-45 minutes.  If you are using frozen fruit, like I did, you'll be at the 45 minute end of the time frame.  You want to pull it out of the oven when the top is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling up around the edges. It is absolutely perfect served warm or cold with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

And comes out looking like this.