Cuban Sandwich

On of the benefits of living with my wife (one of the many, I should say), is that when I grill a meat she usually has leftovers.  And that gives me the opportunity to re-purpose that in a sandwich.  I have preached on many occasions about how a leftover steak sandwich was one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten.  So when she suggested making Cuban sandwiches with her leftover pork chop, I was in!

When we were at the grocery store the other day, the smell of fresh baked bread was fantastic.  We bought a large loaf of Italian bread and just served that on the side when we grilled out.  But the next day I sliced into it to make a really great sandwich.  Having the right bread can really make a huge difference.  This was a pretty thick loaf, though, so I had to do some bread surgery to remove the center.  I believe when you're having a grilled sandwich you don't want it to be too bready.  I actually did a similar maneuver with the pork chop, slicing it into two cutlets with a very sharp knife.

So this is really, really simple.  But there's a reason these sandwiches are so popular.  They have so many bright elements to them: pickles, spicy mustard, TWO kinds of pork, and a rich melty cheese.  I'm sold.

Spread some spicy or dijon mustard on your bread, layer slices of ham, either provolone or Swiss cheese, dill pickles, and your pork.

(I nearly forgot the pickles -- which is why they aren't in this picture.  But I remembered them just in time.)

Close the top of your sandwich and put it into a panini press.  Close it tight so the sandwich is thin & pressed, but be careful not to squeeze out your filling.  Heat it until the bread gets a nice crunchy outer crust to it and the cheese is melted.  Then slice it diagonally -- for some reason that always makes a sandwich seem more special.

The pickles and mustard balance the richness of the pork(s) and cheese.  And biting through that great panini-pressed crunch and into gooey melted cheese makes it such a rewarding sandwich.

Great idea honey!

Southwestern Salad with Cilantro Dressing

My wife made this delicious salad; but I still need to get the recipe from her.  I know she made the dressing herself using olive oil and a ton of cilantro -- which meant she got to use the food processor, and this handy little salad dressing mixer & dispenser that we got from Crate & Barrel when we got married.

The salad had fresh corn, tomatoes, green onions, red bell peppers, and black beans.  I'll try to get the recipe from her tonight.  But let me tell you: it was delicious.  Her salad was the main item on the dinner menu.  My grilled pork chop was probably more like a side dish (at least in her mind).  

The salad was filling because it had corn & black beans in it.  There was a hint of sweetness from the corn & beans, but it was balanced by onion & cilantro.  I really liked it.  My only advice might be to add a little more olive oil to the dressing so it is easier to pour.  But otherwise I was very impressed.

Next up:  I'm grilling chicken drumsticks with the skin on to go with my wife's pasta salad.  We'll see if she edges me out again ... but I doubt it!  My drumsticks are a big hit.

Southwestern Pork Chop

I have said before that my wife will often choose an entree at a restaurant based on the sides it comes with.  So this was no exception.  She had picked out a delicious Southwestern Corn & Bean Salad to make for dinner with a homemade dressing.  She said I should pick out a meat to grill to go with her salad.  There was no mistake about it, her salad was going to be the main attraction.

So I ditched my normal seasoning/marinade recipe for a southwestern-inspired flair.  I still used my go-to combination of mustard powder and cayenne pepper.  I really, really like those two together on a pork chop.  But instead of pairing them with soy sauce and either honey or brown sugar, I opted to give this a flavor profile that would pair nicely with the salad she was making.  So I used fresh lime juice and cumin.

Once I was trying to make my own taco seasoning, and I was trying to figure out what that signature flavor is.  It's cumin.  I have never used cumin when grilling a meat before. So this was experimentation for sure.  I was hoping it would pair with the acidity from the lime juice and the heat from the cayenne pepper.  And I have to say, it was a very nice combination.  I finished the seasoning with a little bit of onion powder and some black pepper.  But cumin and lime were the most pronounced flavors when we bit into it.

I use a very high heat initially on the grill to get some nice grill marks and to sear in the moisture and flavor.  We used butterfly chops, so they cook pretty quickly.  Be sure not to overcook them or they will be very dry.

I topped it with some of the corn, black beans, tomato, and red pepper from the salad.  I think it all worked really nicely together.

Strawberry Milkshake

This brings me back to my college dorm days.  We used to eat at this brand new dining hall that was basically like a mall food court.  They had everything -- which probably explains why I gained so much weight my freshman year.

One of our favorite things to do after a meal was to go to the soft-serve ice cream machine and make milkshakes.  We would take the ice cream over to the waffle station and use either chocolate or strawberry syrups to complete our concoctions.  We got the process down really well after a while.  It should probably be called an "Icecreamshake" instead because you really only use a little bit of milk.  That took us a while to perfect.  At first, they were way too runny.

So I decided to make one at home using fresh strawberries.  I loaded a bunch of them into the blender so I would get that fresh strawberry flavor.

Then I added quite a bit of vanilla ice cream, and just a few dashes of milk.  Start by using a (very) little amount, mix it all up, and then see if you need to add more.  Getting the consistency right is the most important thing.

I like to be able to get it through a straw, but only if you have to work at it a little.  To be honest, I like to use a long spoon better.  This was a step up from my college milkshakes because I used a fresh berry.  The natural sugars are so delicious.  And it made me feel a little less guilty for eating a milkshake.  But only a little.

Seafood Dip

Last weekend my wife & I invited ourselves over to our friends'  new house for a dinner together.  I figured the least we could do was to bring an appetizer and desert.  That meant the appetizer round fell to me.

I looked through our pantry & fridge, then flipped through a few of our cookbooks until I decided upon this recipe.  As I was making it (and patting myself on the back for such a good idea), I remembered that my friend doesn't like mayo or sour cream.  Oops.  My bad.

This is made with a package of imitation lobster meat from the grocery store.  Then you use equal parts mayo & sour cream -- 1/2 cup each ought to do it.  Then add about 2-3 tbsp of diced red onion.  This doesn't have to be exact.  So really you could just throw a few slices into your food processor.  Add 1 tbsp lemon juice, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, and a few slices of jalapenos.  And since I have watched a crazy amount of Bobby Flay shows, you should always add a little salt & pepper.

Pulse everything together in the food processor to finely mince the onion and seafood, and that's all she wrote!  I brought it over anyway, thinking the other 3 of us would enjoy it.  But much to my surprise, the host was willing to try it.  And he even liked it enough to keep what we brought over so he could eat it later.

I wouldn't say I have converted him over to the I-love-mayo-and-sour-cream side.  But at least he knows that he can enjoy something where those are central ingredients.

It really isn't overly fishy.  And the onion, lemon juice, and heat add a nice depth of flavor.  It's great with some buttery Club crackers.  I think it was a win for me.  So my back-patting wasn't unwarranted.

Quick Queso

Everybody likes chips & queso, right?  I think when there are both salsa & queso as options for your dipping pleasure, most people tend to eat more of the queso.  It's sort of an added treat.  Outside of restaurants, most people just use the orange looking stuff out of the jar.  It isn't bad -- but you can easily do better on your own.

One quick way is just to mix Velveta cheese with Ro-Tel tomatoes & green chilies.  But I have another option for you.  I took some chunky salsa with corn and added fresh sliced green onions and a little sour cream.  Of course, I added a few dashes of hot sauce to up the heat factor too.

Then I added pepper jack cheese and tossed it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.

It was so painfully easy, you'll wonder if you ever need to buy the jar again.  My advice is to use more cheese than you think, though.  The salsa, sour cream, and hot sauce are all adding liquid to your mixture.  So if you like a thicker consistency, be sure to load up on the cheese.

I was just making a small little batch to tide me over until dinner.  But it was great.  And I think the onions add a nice element that is often missing from such a rich dip.  They work well with the heat to balance out all the heavy cheese and cream.

Elevating the Ordinary

Sandra Lee has a show on Food Network called Semi-Homemade. Sometimes that is how I cook myself.  It will really speed things along for when you're busy. But by adding your own touches, and some fresh ingredients, you can really elevate an ordinary pre-fab meal.

I started by dicing onion and green pepper.  I also sliced a (turkey) polish sausage.  Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium heat and add a little olive oil.  The turkey sausage is leaner, so there is less fat.  Then layer the sausage across the bottom of the pan and top it with the peppers & onions.  I seasoned it with parsley, cajun seasoning, salt & pepper and put the lid on.

I wanted to leave the sausage stationary so it would caramelize and get a nice brown crispy edge to it.  But I had the lid on top so the vegetables would get cooked by steam.

You can sort of see here that the meat is starting to brown, and the vegetables softened nicely.  After that has cooked to your liking, add two cups of hot water to deglaze the bottom of the pan (that's where all the flavor is).  And add a packet of red beans & rice.  Stir everything together, reduce the heat, and simmer covered for 7 minutes.

That's the semi-homemade part.  Let it rest for 2 minutes, then plate it with some cilantro, sliced tomato, green onions, and hot sauce.

I could have easily just heated up the dry packet and called it a day.  But by adding the fresh ingredients, seasoning, and garnishes you can really take a dish to the next level.  It was still really easy to do; and dinner was probably ready in about 20 minutes.

Strawberry Cake

When I came home from a weekend away, I was pleasantly surprised to see this beautiful cake sitting in the refrigerator.  My wife loves to bake.  For a while she wouldn't admit that -- but I think now she realizes it's true.  So while she had some time to herself, she decided to make a cake from scratch.

"Don't ask me for a recipe, though." Is what she told me. So I can only give you some insights into how she made this gem.

She told me it was a basic cake recipe, combining the dry and then the wet ingredients. I know that involved buttermilk.  I checked online, and I found the same ingredients in a few recipes.  Basically you will use butter, flour, milk, vanilla extract, eggs, and sugar.

She baked them in two round pans and let them cool.  Then she made this delicious icing using fresh strawberries.  She pureed the strawberries raw, and added cream cheese and powdered sugar.  She said it was "more than you'd care to know ... of any of it!"  So don't expect cakes to be good for you.  (Shocker! I know.)

Put the first layer of cake down, spread some icing, and then top it with the other layer.  Cover the top and sides with your frosting.  Now this is where The Mrs was very disappointed in her efforts.  I guess the icing was fluffy and voluminous when she first made it.  Then it melted everywhere and a lot of it ended up on the dish, as you can see in the photos.

I know you "eat with your eyes first" ... but it ultimately has to hit your tongue and stomach.  And that's what was most important to me.  It was delicious.  The cake was moist and rather dense.  It wasn't one of those airy little cakes with no bite to it.  And the icing was great.  The strawberries really added a fresh element to the powdered sugar.  It was almost like a combination of gelato and frosting.

Since The Mrs was disappointed in the outcome, she says she's going to make it again.

Lucky me!

Best Broccoli Ever!

I'm not kidding.  My mouth started to salivate now just thinking about this when I saw the picture again.  It was so good.  Often I'll make something, and my wife will just eat it and be content.  It's rare that I get a big, gushing compliment on anything I make.  But this one drew such praise.  She said, "Oooh. This is really good!"

Job well done.

The Mrs had bought fresh broccoli at the grocery store in an effort to get some vegetables into our lives.  I did a little quick research on preparation methods, and I found this great Asian-style recipe.  I actually steamed the broccoli in the microwave.  It is super easy, quick, and preserves that great bright green color.

After you trim of the large stalks, arrange your broccoli in a glass bowl and add 1 tbsp of water.  Cover it with cling wrap, but leave one side open just enough for a vent.  Microwave for 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan heat up 3 tbsp butter, 1/2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tsp minced garlic, 1.5 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp white vinegar, and some black pepper.  Stir this all together and bring it to a boil.  Let it reduce and thicken a little, then remove it from the heat.  Chop up some cashews or peanuts and add them to your sauce.

Drizzle the sauce over your broccoli, and toss to coat.  The garlic & butter are delicious together.  And the vinegar, brown sugar, and soy sauce really give that Asian flair to everything.  The combination is seriously delicious.  It will surely turn any broccoli haters over to the other side.

Enchiladas

I like to cook (obviously).  But it's also nice when somebody cooks for you.  One of my wife's signature dishes is enchiladas.  So I usually either request that, or chicken pot pie, when she's going to cook for us.  She decided to make a little twist on the traditional chicken enchilada recipe.  And here's how she did it:

She browned off ground beef with diced onions, garlic, cumin, and chili powder.  Then she added corn and diced green chiles to that.

Take soft flour tortillas and spread refried beans inside them, and top with your ground beef/corn/chiles mixture.  Wrap that all up and place them side-by-side in a large baking dish.

Mix together enchilada sauce with cream of mushroom soup.  Pour that over everything, and then top with a fair amount of shredded Cheddar cheese.  We like to add black olives as well.

Then bake everything until it is heated through.  You have already cooked the beef -- so you're just getting everything else melted and married together.

It sort of looks like one big casserole; but you can easily divide out your individual enchiladas.  We usually serve two together.

I like to top this with cilantro, green onions, sour cream, and hot sauce.  The corn and green chiles really add a lot to the beef & bean filling.  You'll get a real richness from the cream of mushroom soup and the cheese.  And the onion, cilantro, and hot sauce will help balance everything out.

Yum!  Thanks honey!