Bahn Mi

I have a thing for cilantro.  And for good sandwiches.  So when my hair guy was telling me about his family recipe for Bahn Mi sandwiches my mouth started watering.  There are some great Vietnamese delis and restaurants in the area, especially by our old house, but I don't have time to drive that far.  Plus, after listening to my hair guy and researching recipes, the ingredients are pretty basic.

First, I warmed 1 c. rice vinegar with 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. sugar.  Once the sugar had dissolved, I added about 1 c. julienned carrots and 1/3 c. finely chopped white onion. This mixture needs to sit for a couple hours or overnight.

To make the chicken, I sliced up two boneless chicken breasts and marinated in 2 chopped cloves of garlic, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp five spice powder, 1/2 tsp ground pepper.  Let sit for 4 hours or overnight if possible.

I cooked the chicken on the stove and to assemble the sandwiches I took a slightly warmed french baguette and layered on thinly sliced cucumber, cilantro (I used a lot), the pickled carrots/onion mix and the chicken slices. I also squeezed a big wedge of lime over the sandwich fixings and sprinkled on red pepper flakes to get a nice kick without altering the flavor.

Presto! An amazing sandwich that would be great for lunch or dinner.  It is very light but very filling.  This sandwich can't be too unhealthy for you either... no mayo, cheese, or processed meats.  Just fresh veggies and marinated chicken (with bread and some sugar thrown in!).

This will be showing up at a future football tailgate party - pretty simple, full of flavor, and a crowd pleaser.

Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Blue Cheese

I about fell out of my chair when I read the title of this recipe.  Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Blue Cheese.  How could a sandwich get any better!?  I immediately added the ingredients to my shopping list and couldn't wait to give this a try for dinner.

Bacon frying...

Shallots warming up.

With some Dijon.

I used spinach to toss with the bacon and dressing.

Piled it all on the bread as a nice bed for the fried egg.

And, the finished sandwich.

That Smitten Kitchen sure knows how to get my attention. Bacon. Blue Cheese.  Married in a sandwich.  A nice and rich, but not too heavy, sandwich that is great for dinner.  Click here for the recipe!

Avocado and Egg Sandwich

I despise lunch.  I used to look forward to lunch, especially when I worked downtown surrounded by a plethora of restaurants.  Pasta, mexican, sandwiches, seafood, american.  I never got bored of my options, but my wallet sure didn't like it. 

I have worked from home for almost nine years and it is rare for me to be able to leave the house to pick up something for lunch during the week.  Nothing ever sounds great for lunch at home, and its a bonus when I have leftovers from the previous night's dinner. I've been trying to come up with some new ideas.  Something quick and something not overly painful to make, especially for weekend lunch when I'm making food for four.  What do you like to eat for lunch?

For today's lunch with the family I surveyed the fridge and planned on a BLAT sandwich (bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato).  I had already cooked the bacon so the only work would be slicing the avocado and tomato.  Then I recalled a Barefoot Contessa sandwich that used a fried egg along with bacon and avocado.  So we toasted up some bread, added bacon, fried egg, sliced avocado, salt/pepper and some cream cheese mixed with chopped green onion.  An excellent change from the usual coldcut sandwich.  Great flavors, good crunch and kept us full through the afternoon. 

Tea for 2 - the Details

Today was C's 2nd birthday party.  The 'Tea for 2' theme was too much fun!  I had so many more ideas, but knew they'd be lost on our little guests.

The Details.....

Each guest took home a little box of animal crackers that were by our front door.

I filled pink, purple and white Glassybabys with roses and baby's breath and placed them throughout the party areas. I also filled a few of my grandma's (C's namesake) with roses as well.

For food I borrowed a few fun ideas from other toddler parties I found on the internet.  Paper cups filled with individual servings of strawberry yogurt:

Tea sandwiches made of cream cheese and jam, soynut butter and jam, soynut butter and banana, all cut in to small triangles or heart shapes (I used a heart cookie cutter).  We also had some mini blueberry muffins, and pinwheel sandwiches for the adults.

And for a buffet tablecloth, I spread a few yards of inexpensive pink fabric across my kitchen counter.

My favorite idea! Fruit salad served in ice cream cones.  Brilliant!  The kids seemed to enjoy biting the fruit off of the cone and then eating the cone too! This also helped avoid the mess of fruit rolling all over each person's plate. I plan to do this for an adult party soon...maybe our summer pool party?

Dessert was vanilla cupcakes with pink vanilla buttercream frosting, topped with shiny sprinkles.

Great Grandma C's teacup and saucer filled with roses.

A banner for some added decoration.

As well as pink balloons and poms that I made out of varying shades of pink tulle.

Another fun food idea for toddlers... a cereal bar!  I found these great containers for only $4 at Ikea and used a scoop for serving the cereal on to plates.

Each guest received a teacup and saucer and a personalized spoon.

The food spread.  Drinks for the kids was milk (you could do a pitcher of pink milk for older kids and decorate rims of glasses with pink sugar).  Drinks for adults was pink champagne!

We put a big sheet of butcher paper on our table so the kids could color or create fun tiaras with stickers.

The birthday girl wearing her crown and blowing out the candles.

What a great day and a fun event.  Now its time to sit back and relax, and start thinking about B's 5th birthday party in a few months!

Easy Peasy

Some days call for a very easy and basic dinner.  Tonight I sliced some previously bbq'd chicken breasts (I usually cook four breasts for use throughout the week), and layered with lettuce, avocado, and bacon.  We couldn't resist making tater tots as a side.

I highly recommend making a bunch of chicken in advance for use that week.  You can cook it on the stovetop or on the bbq. Store in an airtight container or plastic bag.  Slice it up and add to a salad, make a wrap with some shredded lettuce, cheese and dressing of your choice (caesar or ranch...or our fave, Dorothy Lynch), make tacos, soup, sandwiches... The options are endless and really cuts down on your cooking for dinner, or lunch.

B.L.A.T.

Yup, it is true.  I dislike tomatoes.  They are mushy, smooshy, and have a very odd flavor.  But, I do love ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and even caprese salad if the tomato is extremely firm. I also love growing tomatoes but only because they are super easy.

Get a grape or cherry tomato near me and I will run away.

But when I saw this massive softball sized heirloom tomato at the market I couldn't resist. I had to have it.  Bonus - it was also very firm!  I also purchased applewood smoked bacon, a perfect avocado and fresh sourdough bread.  The makings of a perfect BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato).

And the best side for a hearty BLAT?  Sweet potato fries of course!

Chicken and Bacon Sandwich

Sometimes you just want a sandwich for dinner.  It is hot out and you don't really want to deal with anything.  I bbq'd some chicken breasts, and baked some bacon in the oven (much less messy than cooking on stovetop).

To cook bacon in the oven, place a big sheet of foil in a cookie sheet.  Turn up the edges of foil so it acts like a pan to catch drippings, and to hopefully keep your cookie sheet pretty clean.  Put a metal drying rack over foil and lay bacon across.

Place sheet in a 400-415 degree oven and bake for about 10 minutes.  Turn bacon and cook a couple more minutes or until desired crispness.

Our sandwiches featured bbq'd chicken breast, sliced avocado, bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, and mayo that I mixed with some lemon zest.  Pretty tasty combo!

Pulled Pork Dinner

Today we had Tony's mom, Rick, grandma and my mom over for dinner.  We smoked a pork shoulder for 7+ hours and made some amazing pulled pork sandwiches.  For sauce, I didn't want to risk making my own.  I've got a killer BBQ sauce, but pulled pork needs a tangy vinegar based sauce and Tony had the answer.

BBQ Pete's makes great sauces.  Their regular Puyallp Fair sauce is a great traditional BBQ flavor, and their 'zesty pulled pork sauce' is exactly as it says.  Tangy, zesty and a perfect combo with smoked pork. You can find Pete's at most local grocery stores.  They're also the BBQ restaurant at the Puyallup Fair!

For dessert I made a peach and blueberry cobbler.

All sugared up and ready for the dough.

Baked and ready for eating!

Peach and Blueberry Cobbler
Filling:
1 lb peaches, pitted and cut in to 1" chunks
3 c. fresh blueberries
3/4 c. sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:
1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c. unsalted butter, cut in to chunks

3/4 c. buttermilk

Sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 9x13" pan with butter.

Mix all of the Filling ingredients together and pour in to baking dish.  Bake until filling is hot and bubbly, usually 20-30 minutes.

In the meantime, make the topping by stirring together the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt in bowl.  Add butter and mash with hands or cut in to dry ingredients until mixture looks like coarse sand.  Slowly add buttermilk while stirring.  Mix together just until dough forms.

Take fruit out of oven and reduce temperature to 375.  Drop the topping by sproonfulls on to fruit and sprinkle with some sugar for added sweetness.  Bake for 15-25 minutes or until topping is golden.  Test topping with toothpick to make sure dough is baked through before pulling out of oven.  Let cool slightly and serve with homemade whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream. YUM!

Chicken Caesar Club Sandwich

I have been eyeing this recipe for months.  I've heard rave reviews from friends.  So I finally got on board and made Ina Garten's Caesar club sandwiches for our Sunday dinner.

To save time I purchased a whole roasted chicken and cut up the two breasts (I'll use remaining chicken for lunch tomorrow when my mom is over).  Not only does this dramatically reduce prep time, it also allows you to make more sandwiches as we had a lot of the Caesar dressing left over.

This recipes says it makes 3 sandwiches.  I'd say more like 4-5 depending on how big you make 'em.  We (husband, mom, and Blake) all agreed this recipe gets two thumbs up and will definitely be put on our rotation of favorites for lunch or dinner.

In addition, you could use bacon instead of pancetta if you want a stronger flavor or already have some at home.

Chicken Caesar Club Sandwich, Ina Garten

2 split (1 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on (I used 2 precooked chicken breasts)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
1 large garlic clove, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 tsp anchovy paste
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 c. good mayonnaise
1 large ciabatta bread
2 ounces baby arugula, washed and spun dry
12 sun-dried tomatoes, in oil
2 to 3 ounces Parmesan, shaved

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan skin side up. Rub the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until cooked through. Cool slightly, discard the skin and bones, and slice the meat thickly. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place the pancetta on another sheet pan in a single layer. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Place the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until minced. Add the anchovy paste, mustard, lemon juice, and mayonnaise and process again to make a smooth dressing. (Refrigerate the Caesar dressing if not using it immediately.)

Slice the ciabatta in half horizontally and separate the top from the bottom. Toast the bread in the oven, cut side up, for 5 to 7 minutes; cool slightly. Spread the cut sides of each piece with the Caesar dressing. Place half the arugula on the bottom piece of bread and then layer in order: the sun-dried tomatoes, shaved Parmesan, crispy pancetta, and sliced chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and finish with another layer of arugula. Place the top slice of ciabatta on top and cut in thirds crosswise. Serve at room temperature.