Thursday, November 29, 2012

MY FAVORITE SANDWICH

This sandwich+ is something I have made at one of my favorite counter-style neighborhood restaurants called G's Coffee Shop on 207th Street and Cooper Avenue.  It's not a fancy place, but a comfort food place.  I told them to make this sandwich and they used to freak-out when I added my toppings.

Take a toasted roll.  Top it with two, over medium eggs.  Then add three slices or more of bacon.  Top that with two or more slices of swiss cheese.  Then top the swiss with 4 slices of avocado. 


I top the whole thing with two sauces:  hot sauce and my version of vinagrette.  I mix equal amounts of red wine vinegar and olive oil with a little bit of sugar, so it's tangy and sweet.  When you bite into the sandwich, the over medium eggs ooze with golden goodness.  Then put both sauces on top, hot sauce and then vinagrette. The sauces really make the sandwich POP! Spicy, gooey, tangy,  and sweet! Super Yum!

Quick and Unique Salad Dressing - Add Babaganoush!

I always look for intriguing dressings that I can use in multiple ways.  Today, I am sharing my recipe for a tahini-soy sauce dressing.

Take a cup of olive oil.  Mix in three tablespoons tahini, three tablespoons of soy sauce (preferably tamari instead of regular soy sauce) and juice from a lemon.  Mix thoroughly.  You can add salt if you like and you can add more of each ingredient depending upon your taste.

Serve with salad or over chicken.  I like to make a chicken flatbread sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, feta, and onion.  Then I top the whole thing with the tahini dressing. Perfecto!

You can use it as a dip with toasted pita chips or vegetables.  If you really want to get creative, add a few tablespoons of babaganoush to the dressing.  I love all those flavors!

HOLIDAY TREATS - POUND CAKE AND FRUIT DESSERT

I love quick desserts that are decadent.  If you have pound cake, you have at least two quick desserts.  First, you cut pound cake into 1/2 inch thick slices and set to the side.

DESSERT ONE

Next, the filling:  Take 2 cups (or more) of any kind of berries you want - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and mix them in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.  Mix well and you will see the juice emerge from the berries. 

Then take two cups of whipping cream and 4 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar and use a mixer to combine the two.  When the cream is nice and fluffy, stop mixing or you may make butter. (Ha! Ha1)

Now, it's time to combine the ingredients.  Place a slice of pound cake on a plate.  Then take some of the juice from the berries and put it over the surface of the cake. This juice infuses the pound cake with tantalizing berry flavor. Then take about 3 tablespoons of whipped cream and spread over the cake.  Then add the same amount of berries and spread them over the whipped cream and add another layer of whipped cream.  Top with another slice of cake and repeat the process, but do not put another slice of cake on top, unless you want more than two layers of cake. Top the last coating of berries with whipped cream.



DESSERT TWO

You can take this dessert and turn it into a parfait. The only difference is that you will have to cube the pound cake and use multiple cubes for each layer depending upon the glass or container you are using.  Make the first layer the whipped cream and then layer in the cake.  Do the same process as the first cake dessert, alternating berries, cream and cake.  Again, the whipped cream should be the top layer, but you can sprinkle a few berries on top for decoration.

P.S. - You can use other cake, biscuits, or cupcakes, too, instead of pound cake.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Holiday Dips - Artichokes and Sundried Tomatoes

I love simple dips that combine crowd pleasing, easy to find ingredients. Today, I have a delicious topping/dip that will be accessible to everyone.

You need the following ingredients:

Equal parts sundried tomatoes and artichoke palms (both from brands of jars submerged in oil)

3 cloves of garlic

1 cup (or to taste) of olive oil

Take a food processor and finely process the sundried tomatoes. It doesn't matter how much you use, as long as you have an equal amount of artichoke palms.  So, 1 cup sundried tomatoes and 1 cup artichoke palms.  It's important that they are in from jars that stored them in oil to enhance the flavor.  If not, just add enough olive oil to taste.

After processing the sundried tomatoes into a paste, add the artichoke palms and just pulse them into a small chop.  You want the slight texture of the artichokes.

Then add the olive oil (about a cup for every two cups of the artichoke/sundried tomato mixture, but remember it depends on the consistency you want - dip or topper?More oil for a dip to make it smoother and more spreadable) with the garlic.  Be sure that the garlic is well ground at least to a minced level, unless you like bigger, but still tiny, chunks, which I do! 

Remove from the processor into a bowl and stir to be sure that everything is mixed nicely.  Serve with a crostini, over pasta or rice, cheese toast/grilled cheese, mix with goat cheese or blend with feta, or whatever you think would be fantasticly delicious!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Spunto is Magnifico!

I know that New York is the capital of pizza, but all pizza is not created equal. Some people love huge, thick crusts.  I do not.  I feel the toppings get lost in all of the bread.  So, I was so thankful when I discovered a wonderful pizza place in the village called Spunto.  I first went there a year ago and I am a frequent customer. 

Spunto makes thin, gourmet quality pizza.  At first, I was skeptical because the pizza was so thin.  I thought to myself, "This is not going to be filling!" But it was!  The ingredients are top notch and rich.  I always get the meat lovers pizza with pepperoni and sausage.  It is scrumptious!  I get a caesar salad which has the creamiest, most satisfyingly fantastical taste.  I even put some of the dressing on my pizza.  (I am a sauce queen!)  I see many people ordering the mushroom pizza, too.  There are many non-vegetarian and vegetarian selections, so there is something for everyone.

The thin crust allows you to really taste and revel in the toppings.  It's so simple and so wonderous, you'll wonder why you ever ate any other pizza. Spunto is located at 65 Carmine Street, @ 7 th Avenue South.