French Toast BLT

 

After the rousing success I had with the Beef Burgers with Bourbon Mushrooms, I thought I would try my hand at another recipe from that same 2016 issue of Sauce Magazine, namely, the BLT French Toast. I’m not going to lie to you, this did not sound good. I think I was more intrigued with the process, the fact that there was bourbon in the egg mixture, and that this was a savory dish involving French toast. As it turned out, I thought it was excellent, and something likely to be served at a high-end restaurant. I did not expect to taste the bourbon in the bread slices, but I did, and that really enhanced this knife and fork sandwich. It’s not difficult to make, but it takes some time due to the waiting in making the savory French toast. The garlic vinaigrette was a wonderful surprise, and I found myself really enjoying this restaurant quality sandwich that, I’m warning you, is big enough for two.

 Here is the recipe as printed. I cut it back by three.

French Toast BLT

5 eggs

2 c. heavy cream

¼ c. bourbon

6 1-inch slices challah

12 strips thick-cut bacon

2½ c. grated Gruyere

12 tomato slices* (about 3 small tomatoes)

Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

3 c. spring mix

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

 In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream and bourbon until well combined. Pour in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add the challah and soak 10 minutes. Flip the slices and soak an additional 10 minutes.

 Meanwhile, place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until just crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Spoon off most of the bacon fat from the skillet.

 Add 3 challah slices and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet, then repeat with the remaining slices.

 Bake the bread slices until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Top with the grated cheese and bake until the cheese melts, about 4 minutes.

 To assemble, place 2 strips of bacon and 2 tomato slices each on 3 challah slices and drizzle with the vinaigrette.

Toss the spring mix with enough of the vinaigrette to coat. Divide the greens evenly over the 3 prepared challah slices and top with the remaining 3 slices. Serve warm.

 Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

2 heads of garlic

¾ c. olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 T. sherry vinegar

1 T. Dijon mustard

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

 Slice off the tops of the garlic so the cloves are exposed. Place the garlic heads in a small baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil and roast until the garlic is golden brown, fragrant and softened, 20 to 25 minutes.

 Let the garlic cool, then squeeze the cloves into a blender, discarding the skins. Add the vinegar and mustard, and blend until smooth. With the machine running, add ¾ cup olive oil in a steady stream until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

*I used one large slice from a red Melissa's Produce Heirloom Tomato.

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Beef Burgers with Bourbon Mushrooms

 

I love a good burger, and have always lamented the fact that, in order to get one, I had to go out for it, because burgers in restaurants always taste better than those that I make at home. Until now. This recipe is an adaptation from one I found in a local publication, Sauce Magazine back in 2016. I amped up the seasoning, increased the amount of bourbon ever so slightly, and the result was phenomenal. If you love burgers, the way that I do, you need to add this recipe to your burger repertoire.

Beef Burgers with Bourbon Mushrooms

1 lb. ground chuck 

4 strips bacon, cooked and minced 

2 T.. Worcestershire sauce

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

1 t. Brown Sugar Bourbon seasoning

1 lb. crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced

6 Tbsp. butter, divided

¾ c. bourbon

Kosher salt, to taste

4 slices white cheddar

4 brioche buns, toasted

In a large bowl, mix together beef, bacon, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and Brown Sugar Bourbon seasoning. Divide into 4 even portions, form into 1-inch thick patties; set aside.

 In a 12” skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are golden-brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the bourbon and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, 4 to 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and cover.

 Increase the heat to medium-high, add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, and cook until butter becomes deep golden-brown, about 5 minutes. Add the patties and cook until seared and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium doneness.

 Divide the cheese between the patties and cover the skillet. When the cheese has melted, place the patties on the toasted buns and top each with the bourbon mushrooms.

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Chopped Hoagies

 

I’ve seen a number of recipes for sandwiches similar to this one online and decided to give it a try. The beauty of the sandwich filling is that it also works as a wonderful little side or main dish salad. Me? I prefer it mounded onto a hoagie roll. Everything can be prepped ahead of time, the dressing added, the ingredients tossed together, and you have a fresh and delicious sandwich. With the Super Bowl coming up, you might give this some consideration. Prep everything ahead of time, and mix it together at halftime to enjoy during the last two quarters of the game. It would work equally well at a picnic. Either way, give it a try.

Chopped Hoagies

Makes 2

 ¼ lb. Genoa salami

¼ lb. ham

¼ lb. mozzarella

¼ lb. Muenster cheese

1 c. chopped iceberg lettuce

¼ c. finely diced red onion

¼ c. Melissa’s pickled jalapeños, seeded* and chopped

½ c. diced cherry tomatoes

½ t. Everything But the Bagel Seasoning

1/3 c. Duke’s mayonnaise

1 T. Zesty Italian Salad Dressing Mix

2 hoagie rolls

Dice the meat and cheeses into nice little squares and place them into a large bowl along with the lettuce, red onion jalapeños, and cherry tomatoes; toss well to combine.

In another, small bowl, whisk together the mayo, Italian dressing mix, and bagel seasoning, until creamy and smooth.

Pour the prepared dressing over the meat, cheeses, and vegetables, toss to combine and mound into hoagie rolls.

 *If you like more heat, leave the seeds in.

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Olive Ham Salad

How did the holidays turn out for you? Ultimately, mine were reasonably good although they didn’t turn out entirely as anticipated. Due to illness, the dinner that I made for Christmas Eve was only enjoyed by my son and me. It was a pretty fancy dinner for just the two of us, but I think we really enjoyed not just the food, but the time that we spent together in such elegant surroundings.

 I sent him home with plenty of food, but I still had a good bit of ham left, as well as the ham bone. I set the bone aside to use in pea soup, used slices in casseroles and sandwiches, and decided to toss what was left into the food processor for ham salad. Generally, when I make ham salad I use sweet pickle relish, but because I had gotten a glazed ham that had a lot of its own sweetness, I decided to replace the sweet pickle relish for olives. It made a wonderful difference!

Olive Ham Salad

 ¾ lb. piece of baked ham, cut into chunks

1 rib celery, cut into fourths

1 scallion, cut in half

10 small pimiento-stuffed olives

1/3 c. Duke’s mayonnaise

1 t. Dijon mustard

Few gratings ground black pepper

Put all ingredients into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until. Cover and chill for at least a Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving to allow flavors to meld.

This will keep up to three days, covered and refrigerated.

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Lobster Grilled Cheese

 

It’s funny how one small thing can snowball into a day's worth of work. I succumbed to a sale on lobster tails at my local market. I bought three of them, and when I got home, I wondered what the heck I was going to do with these. The first one I cooked in the air fryer. Lobster perfection. The second I turned into lobster salad, also delicious. The third I used in a grilled cheese sandwich, unusual, right? I had read an article about a guy who made a lobster grilled cheese sandwich, and being a fan of both lobster and grilled cheese I wanted to give it a try. The bread that this concoction was on was jalapeño cheese bread, so before I could even make my sandwich, I had to bake a loaf of bread. Honestly, it took me until 2 o’clock in the afternoon (I’d arisen at 8 AM) to make one sandwich.  It was a good one, even though for the most part, it was a breeze to put together. I’ve heard that sourdough is a tasty replacement for the jalapeño cheese bread, so if you’re interested in trying this, I would certainly consider going that route.

Lobster Grilled Cheese 

 1 6-oz. lobster tail, diced

2-3 T. butter

2 T. garlic paste

Old Bay seasoning

Fresh chopped parsley

Jalapeno Cheese Bread

2 slices Havarti cheese

2 slices smoked Gouda cheese

 Place a medium-size pan over medium high heat. Add butter and garlic paste. Once the butter has melted down and blended with the garlic paste, add diced lobster meat. Season to taste with Old Bay seasoning and parsley.

 After your lobster has finished cooking, set mixture aside.

 Place two slices of bread into a heated pan with a bit of melted butter, placing two slices of Havarti cheese on one half and two slices of smoked Gouda on the other. Then place reserved lobster mixture on top of one piece of bread, topping with the remaining piece. Toast until golden brown and cheese is melted.

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Hoosier Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

 

I always keep buttermilk on hand because it makes an excellent marinade for chicken. What I didn’t know is that it works equally well for pork. This was a day of firsts because not only, for the first time, did I marinate pounded medallions of pork tenderloin in buttermilk, but, for the first time, used crushed saltines as a breading. Wow! What a difference that made from my usual breadcrumbs. I also, for the first time, had a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, native to the state of Indiana.

The late Mr. O-P and I spent a lot of time on the road, largely heading east. There was a gas station (yes, you read that right), now defunct, in Gnaw Bone, Indiana by the name of Gnaw Bone Food & Fuel that was alleged to have served the definitive pork tenderloin sandwiches. Unfortunately, we’d find ourselves passing through way too early in the morning to want to consume heavy gas station food, so when I found a recipe on the Food Network website I wanted to give it a try.

This sandwich is not without a bit of advance work and preparation. Both, however, are minimal, and the rewards are great. You can slice your tomatoes, onions, and shred your lettuce well ahead of time. Then it’s just a question of setting up your breading station, and spending six minutes time frying the pork tenderloin. It really is worth it. Definitely diner-quality food, and I mean that in a good way.

  Hoosier Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

Adapted from foodnetwork.com

 1 lb. pork tenderloin

1 large egg

1 c. buttermilk

1 T. Melissa’s minced garlic

½ t. salt

½ t. pepper

¼ t. cayenne pepper

 1 sleeve saltines

¾ c. flour

 Peanut oil, for frying

 Mayonnaise

Yellow mustard

Shredded lettuce

Tomato slices

Slices of onion

Sandwich slice dill pickles

 Cut the pork crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Put each piece flat on a cutting board and slice horizontally almost in half (stop about ½-inch from the other side). Open like a book. Sprinkle each piece with water, place between 2 pieces of heavy-duty plastic wrap and pound to ¼-inch thick with a mallet or heavy skillet.

 Whisk the egg, buttermilk, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne in a shallow bowl. Add the pork, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Pulse the crackers into coarse crumbs in a food processor; transfer to a shallow dish. Put the flour in another dish. Remove each piece of pork from the marinade, letting the excess drip off. Dredge both sides in the flour, dip in the buttermilk marinade again, and then coat with the cracker crumbs.

  Heat ¼” to ½” peanut oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360°F. Fry the pork in batches until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on a wire rack positioned over a baking sheet to catch drips.

 Toast buns on cut sides, and spread both halves with mayonnaise (top) and mustard (bottom). Layer the lettuce, tomatoes, and onion on the bottom halves. Add a piece of pork and a few pickle slices. Cover with the bun tops.

 Makes 4 sandwiches.

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Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ Chicken

Yesterday I talked about the fact that lunches can be boring, providing you with a nutritious vegetarian lunch idea as a nutritious and healthy change. Today I’m giving you another idea that is relatively quick, particularly if you make the various components ahead. It’s a specialty of Outback Steakhouse, served for dinner alongside mashed potatoes and vegetables. You can do that too, but here I have put it on a bun, topped it with their Bloomin’ Sauce, and it was sensational!

Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ Chicken

Slightly adapted from copycat.com

Bloomin’ Sauce

½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

2 t. ketchup

2 T. horseradish

¼ t. smoked paprika

¼ t. kosher salt

1/8 t. garlic powder

1/8 t. dried oregano

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

 For the chicken:

 2 c. flour

4 t. smoked paprika

2 t. garlic powder

1 t. kosher salt

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

½ t. cayenne pepper

1 c. buttermilk

½ c. water

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, flattened to 1/2” thick

Prepare the bloom sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve. 

 Place the flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper into a pie plate. Stir to combine.

Place the buttermilk into another pie plate, add the water, and stir to combine.

 Place a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet.

 Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess.

 Dip the chicken into the buttermilk and shake off the excess.

Dip the chicken into the seasoned flour for a second time.

Place the breaded chicken onto the wire rack and repeat for the remaining pieces of chicken. The chicken should rest for about 5 minutes before cooking.

 Pour 1 to 2 inches of vegetable oil into a skillet. Heat the oil to 350°F.

 Place 1 or 2 pieces of chicken into the oil and fry until done, about 7 to 8 minutes. Turn the chicken breasts over while frying to make sure both sides of the chicken are golden brown. Then remove the chicken from the oil and let it drain on a wire rack.

 To serve, place the fried chicken on a plate and drizzle some of the bloom sauce on top.

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Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

I love sloppy joes, but I don’t love standing at the stove browning ground beef, sweating onions and celery, or stirring occasionally as it simmers. The best way, in my opinion, to make sloppy joes is in the slow cooker. No standing at the stove, no browning ground beef, no sweating onions or anything else. Just crumble the meat into the crockpot, add all of the other ingredients, give it a mighty stir, and kick back and do whatever you’d like for the next six hours. When the filling is ready, drain well, pile it high on toasted buns, and wait for the accolades.

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

Adapted from afarmgirlsdabbles.com



3 lbs. ground chuck

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 c. finely chopped celery

6 large cloves garlic, minced

1 14.5-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 c. chili sauce

½ c. ketchup

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

2 T. prepared mustard

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

½ T. dry mustard

1 T. chili powder

1 T. cumin

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. espresso powder

½ t. paprika

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste

Play all ingredients into a 7-8 quart slow cooker, being sure to break up the ground chuck as you do so. Stir everything together until the beef is well coated in all of those wonderful spices. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Drain before using; freezes beautifully.

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Waldorf Chicken Salad

Chicken salad, of late, has been making the rounds on the web, but not just your average chicken salad, this year‘s trend seems to be toward making Waldorf chicken salad, based upon celery, nut, and apple Waldorf salad that began at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City in 1896. Because I tend to like fruit in chicken salad (An old family friend once served me chicken salad with bananas in it, and it was delicious! (I should have asked for the recipe.)), this one is right up my alley. What makes it special though is the dressing that is equal parts mayonnaise and honey mustard. I am sold on honey mustard. I had never bought a bottle of it before I made this, and now it is going to be a staple in my home. You might be wise to buy a bottle yourself, because I am going to be using it in as many future recipes as I see fit.

Waldorf Chicken Salad
Adapted from myrecipes.com

3 c. chopped cooked chicken
½ c. roughly chopped walnuts
1 c. Melissa’s red Muscato grapes, halved
1 large apple, diced
1 c. diced celery
½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise
½ c. honey mustard
Pinch of paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Stir together all ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for one hour before serving.

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