Portobello Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Wow, has it really been a week since I posted last?  Well, I have a back-log of recipes I plan on posting, so this week, posting should be a little bit more regular.  Last week, I was looking for easy week-night meals and spotted this one from Stephanie Cooks, adapted from Eating Well.  We aren't huge meat eaters, so I thought this would be a nice and healthy alternative to the traditional Philly Cheesesteak sub.  Oh man, was this good...and super fast, too!  Between the sub and the baked {microwaved} potato, I think dinner took all of about 7 minutes to prepare!  I wouldn't mind making this more often.

2 Sub Rolls
1/2 teaspoon Olive Oil
2 Portobello Mushroom Caps, gills removed
1/2 Red Bell Pepper (we omitted)
1/4 Yellow Onion, sliced thin
1/4 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1/2 tablespoon Hot Sauce
2 slices Provolone Cheese

Wash the mushrooms and use a spoon to remove the gills from the cap (optional step).  Slice the mushroom and pepper into thin strips.  In a large skillet, heat the oil.  Add the mushrooms, peppers, and onions.  Cook until they are soft.  Add the oregano, soy sauce, and hot sauce.  Stir and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.  Divide the mixture in two and top each pile with cheese.  Continue cooking until the cheese melts.  Place each pile onto toasted sub rolls.  Serve hot.

Spicy Grilled Cheese

Joel asked if he could make this week's menu.  He found recipes, composed a plan for lunch and dinner, complete with pictures, and showed me his final product.  Everything looked awesome...have at it, buddy!  He put together a shopping list and we went off to our co-op to use our 10% member appreciation discount.  I was slightly worried because usually, I do the shopping at our bigger grocery store, and I spend up to $80 for the week (and that is usually just dinner because I forget about lunch!) and whenever we go to the co-op, we manage to spend around $35 for just a few ingredients!  Somehow, we left with 2 bags full of groceries to feed us for breakfast, lunch, and dinner this whole week for under $50!  I think Joel may be in charge of meal planning and grocery shopping from now on!  When we came home from our shopping trip, he whipped up these sandwiches for lunch.  The jalapeños were a tad bit spicy, but they gave an otherwise boring sandwich a much-needed kick!

4 slices Bread
4 slices Provolone Cheese
1-2 Jalapeño Peppers
1/4 pint Grape Tomatoes, roasted
Butter

Mix the tomatoes with olive oil and place them in a foil pan.  Roast them on the grill until the skins become slightly charred.  Meanwhile, spread each side of all slices of bread with butter.  Grill the bread until it becomes brown and toasted.  Grill the jalapeños until the skin becomes blistered.  Cut the grilled jalapeño in half and remove the seeds and ribs.  Cut into slices, or leave as halves.  Place two slices of provolone onto a piece of bread.  Top with jalapeños and tomatoes, and cover with the other slice of bread.  Repeat for the other sandwich.  Bake the sandwiches in a toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 5-10 minutes, just until the cheese starts to melt.

Avocado Sandwiches

Wow, long time no post!  The end of the school year wipes me out so much that I've had just about no energy left to cook.  It's bad when as soon as I wake up, I think about when I can take a nap!  Anyway, Joel was in charge of dinner most of this week, so he suggested this recipe for dinner tonight that he found on My Cooking Diary.  It was so easy, and really cheap.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was, too!  It may just become a staple in our house over the summer, especially if our tomatoes and basil do well.

4 slices of Bread (we used a fresh garlic bread)
Spreadable Cream Cheese
Salt and Pepper
Tomato, sliced
Avocado, sliced
4 Basil Leaves

Toast the bread slices and spread them with cream cheese.  Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.  Top two of the pieces of bread with the avocado slices, tomato slices, and 2 basil leaves.  Top each with the other piece of bread and serve.  Makes 2 sandwiches.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

A summers ago, we took a weekend trip to Boston--one of my absolute favorite cities!  While we were there, we stopped into a restaurant (Stephanie's on Newbury) for lunch and I ordered a grilled vegetable sandwich.  I wrote down the vegetables that were in it, as well as the flavors that I tasted in the goat cheese spread, and planned on making the sandwich at home sometime.  Then, just about a year later, I found this recipe on Ezra Pound Cake.  It matched the sandwich I ate in Boston almost perfectly.  Joel was going through my saved blog posts the other day and found this one, so I added it to our menu for the week.  I modified it a bit, so my version is below, which is enough to make 2 large sandwiches and have plenty of leftover grilled vegetables to use in another recipe.

1 Yellow Squash, sliced 1/4 inch thick on the bias
1 Zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick on the bias
1 Eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
Salt
1 Green Bell Pepper, cut into 6 thick strips
1 Orange Bell Pepper, cut into 6 thick strips
3 ounces Goat Cheese, at room temperature
1 loaf Italian Bread, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices (homemade is best!)
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Place the eggplant slices on a wire rack and sprinkle them lightly with salt on both sides.  Let them sweat for 15-20 minutes.  Dab off the moisture from the vegetables.  Brush each of the vegetables with olive oil and grill them until they are lightly charred on each side, about 10-15 minutes.  Lightly brush the bread with olive oil and lightly toast them on the grill.  When the vegetables and bread have been grilled, spread one side of each of the pieces of bread with goat cheese.  Arrange the vegetables on the goat cheese covered slice of bread.  Drizzle the top with some balsamic vinaigrette and top with the second slice of bread, goat cheese side down.

For the Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
1 Garlic Clove, minced
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Put all ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine.

French DIp Sandwiches

Last week, we had a few crazy long days.  To accommodate our hectic schedule, I had planned some quick meals, so that I didn't have to spend all night in the kitchen resulting in 9pm dinners.  On our menu, I placed this recipe that I found from Rachel Ray.  I dressed it up a bit by adding some provolone cheese and making the rolls into garlic bread.  I made 4 sandwiches so we would have leftovers.  The next day I brought one for lunch and it was so good that I wish I had made more!

2 tablespoons Butter
1 Shallot, chopped (I used half of a small red onion)
1 tablespoons Flour
1 tablespoon Dry Sherry
2 cans Beef Broth (I used the au jus that came with the roast beef)
1 1/2 pounds Deli Sliced Roast Beef
Grill Seasoning or Salt and Pepper
4 Rolls (I used marco polo rolls)
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
4 slices Provolone Cheese

In a large, shallow skillet over moderate heat, melt the butter.  Add the shallots/onion to the butter and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the flour and cook for about 1 more minute.  Whisk in the sherry and cook out the liquid.  Whisk in the broth/au jus in a slow stream.  Bring the sauce to a bubble and allow to simmer over medium heat until ready to serve with the sandwiches.  Meanwhile, split the rolls in half, drizzle each half with olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic powder.  Place the halves on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, until the rolls are crispy.  When the rolls are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly.  When ready to assemble your sandwiches, dip the top half of each roll into the au jus sauce.  Pile your meat loosely across your cutting board or a large work surface.  Season the meat with the grill seasoning/salt and pepper.  Dip the meat into the au jus sauce, then pile them into the rolls.  Top each sandwich with a slice of provolone cheese and place the bottom halves of each sandwich (the half that contains the meat and cheese) under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese melts and starts to turn golden brown.  Remove from the broiler, top with the other half of the roll, and serve with additional au jus sauce for dipping.

Peach Bruschetta

On our last full day in San Francisco, we walked from Pier 39 to the Ferry Building (which I think is Pier 1).  We went to a place called Frog Hollow Farm, which is located inside the Ferry Building, for lunch.  Joel had an awesome braised tofu and avocado sandwich and I had peach bruschetta.  I'm not sure entirely what kind of cheese was used when they made it, but the taste and texture was like a combination of cream cheese and goat cheese.  All I do know is that this bruschetta was absolutely delicious!  The recipe below is my attempt to recreate it.

4 pieces of Bread, toasted (I used 2 whole grain artisan style rolls that I cut in half)
8 ounces Goat Cheese, softened
1 tablespoon Honey
1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped
2 Peaches, sliced
Fresh Black Pepper

Toast the bread.  Mix together the goat cheese, honey, and walnuts and spread it over the toasted bread.  Place the sliced peaches over the cheese and top with fresh cracked black pepper.

Greek Antipasto Pita

I've decided to try cooking my way through the Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers book, which is where this recipe came from. Its another one of the recipes we flagged as soon as we flipped through the book the first time. It was so incredibly easy and delicious! I think it would be perfect for a really hot summer night when you don't feel like being in the kitchen or by the grill for too long. I also think that minus the pita, it would be a great side dish salad to any main course you want. I may even try a version of this with cubes of bread as a panzanella at some point in the future too! I did make one minor change to the original recipe. I omitted the 1 stalk of celery that it called for. I had none left in my fridge and I didn't feel like buying a whole bunch just for 1 stalk!

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

1 tablespoon Dill

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Cucumber, chopped

1 small Red Bell Pepper, chopped

1/2 Red Onion, chopped

8 Kalamata Olives, chopped

2 Roma Tomatoes, chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

Pita Bread

Feta Cheese

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, dill, and garlic. Add the chopped vegetables and stir to mix well. Allow the vegetables to sit for at least 10 minutes to absorb the flavor of the marinade/vinaigrette. Add salt & pepper to taste. Spoon vegetable mixture into a pita pocket and top with feta cheese.

Back to Spain...

Last week, Joel asked when he could make dinner. We decided to try cooking on alternating weeks so we both get the chance to make the dinners we want to make. This week was his. Last night, he wanted to surprise me so he wouldn't even let me in the kitchen while he was cooking!

While we were in Madrid last summer, we went to a bunch of little cafes in the middle of a busy street around the corner from our flat. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. We would have long lunches and then walk around for a while before returning home to make dinnerl Joel's favorite lunch that he had while he was there was carmelized onion, Spanish ham, and cheese on an open face flat bread type thing. He tried to recreate that meal tonight. He made open face sandwiches with a side of garlic stuffed olives.

1 small Baguette (demi)

4 slices Spanish Ham (I'm sure it has a name but I don't know what it is)

Goat Cheese

2 Garlic Cloves

Olive Oil

1 medium Onion

Sugar

Butter

Parmesan Cheese

Cut the baguette in half both lengthwise and widthwise. Brush them with good olive oil and toast them in the toaster oven (you can also put them under the broiler but watch them carefully). Take them out and press a garlic clove on the baguette, spreding it around. Toast them a little more and then spread each half with goat cheese. Meanwhile, carmelize onions. Slice the onions relatively thin. In a frying pan with a little olive oil and butter, sautee the onions until soft. Add a spoonful of sugar and continue to saute until they start to brown. Take the carmelized onions and separate them between the 4 halves of baguette. Top each baguette with a slice of Spanish ham and a shave of parmesan cheese.

Carmelized Onion, Thyme, & Gruyere Paninis

I found this recipe on Good Things Catered. I needed a sandwich to make for our Asparagus Bisque that we made for dinner tonight. This sounded like a delicious addition to that dinner. And it was! Both Joel and I loved this panini. It was super simple, too. I didn't make the 6 servings that this recipe called for, so I scaled it down just to make 2 sandwiches.

1 loaf Ciabatta Bread

1/2 Sweet Onion, sliced thinly

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar

2 slices Provolone Cheese

Shredded Gruyere

Thyme (I used dried instead of fresh)

Add the oil to a frying pan and add sliced onion and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have become carmelized. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar to the onions and stir to mix well.

On one slice of bread, add a slice of provolone and top that with some thyme. Top with a pile of the carmelized onions, then add a handful of gruyere. Top with the slice of bread and put the sandwich into a panini press. Cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

I don't usually like chicken salad, mostly because of the mayonnaise dressing it sits in. However, when I saw this recipe (and picture!) for "Chicken Choices" on Elizabeth's Edible I decided it might just be time for me to give chicken salad another try. I'm so glad that I did! I had another swim meet tonight (we won!) so I by the time I got home, I didn't really feel like cooking for very long. This meal took no time at all to prepare!

I had bought a rotisserie chicken (or astronaut chicken, as Joel would call it) over the weekend so I used that to make this recipe. I served this chicken salad along side of spinach and feta cous cous-which happens to be the filling for these stuffed peppers. I can't wait for lunch tomorrow so I can eat the rest of this chicken salad!!

Dressing:

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

1/8 teaspoon Salt

Salad:

3 cups Chicken Breast, cubed (from rotisserie chicken)

1 cup Red Bell Pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon Dried Parsley Flakes

1 teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil (I didn't use this)

1/4 cup Pitted Ripe Olive Slices (I used kalamata)

1 can (14 ounces) Quartered Artichoke Hearts, drained

**I added a handful of feta cheese to the mix as well

Make dressing by whisking together all of the ingredients and then set aside. Saute red bell pepper in about 1 teaspoon of olive oil until tender. When they are finished, put the peppers, artichoke, spices, olives, feta and chicken in a bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and mix well. Serve on a roll.