Steamy Kitchen Recipes » Sandwiches/Wraps

Super Frico Grilled Cheese Sandwich

SteamyKitchen — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:40:39 +0000

Usually, the kitchen is loud….or should I say “lively” – the boys are running through with their Nerf guns, old-school Madonna playing on Pandora, me singing, “borderline….feels like I’m going to lose my mind…you just keep on pushing my love….” and Coco at my feet, waiting for me to drop a morsel of food as I fling my arms trying to dance my Madonna.

Yeah, that’s usually the scene.

Last week, I was alone in the house during the day – the kids were at school and Scott was in New York to be with his very ill dad – my kitchen was very quiet. I liked it that way, I had forgotten how the sounds of cooking can be soothing.

the “pop” as my sharp knife breaks and pierces the skin of a taut, ripe tomato.

chorus of scratching as I grate parmesan cheese.

gentle tzzzzssssss of bubbling butter in a pan.

if you can hear with your eyes, the sucking and drawing up of hot melted butter into the spongy pores of the bread.

fllllueeaappp as the face of the sandwich falls back on the pan after you flip it.

zzzahhhhhhhh as grated parmesan relaxes, melts and spreads out.

(smile) thanks for listening….

This recipe is from my friend, Michael Natkin, who happens to have one of the most happy smiles I’ve ever encountered. Michael runs Herbivoracious blog, which is all about vegetarian recipes. His very first book is just out - Herbivoracious and I’m so giddy proud of him.

Of all the recipes, I chose Super Frico – only because after seeing that recipe name, I couldn’t stop singing, “She’s a super frico, super frico. She’s super-frico, yow”

Come on! Be a dork and sing with me!

That sandwich is pretty kinky
It’s a super frico
The kind of lunch you read about
In foodie magazines

That cheese is pretty wild now
It’s a super frico
I really love to taste it
Every time we meet
She’s all right, she’s all right
That sandwich all right with me, yeah

Super Frico, baby

Make your standard grilled cheese sandwich (I like adding tomato to mine)

Remove the sandwich and sprinkle in your grated parmesan cheese, roughly in the same size as the sandwich.

Once it gets a little bubbly and melty, put your grilled cheese on top.

Press with a ginormous spatula to weld the cheese to the sandwich.

Lovely.

SuperFrico Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipe

Servings: 1 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes

Recipe from Herbivoracious Cookbook by Michael Natkin. Michael says, "Everyone knows the best part of a grilled cheese sandwich (not to mention lasagna, gratin, mac & cheese, ...) are the bits where the cheese gets brown and crispy. So one night I said to myself, why can't there be more crispy? What happens if I just make a frico (cheese crisp) right there in the skillet and weld it to my already delicious grilled cheese? Would this not be a fine extension of an already superb late-night supper?

The answer was a resounding yes, so much so that I don’t make grilled cheese any other way now. It only takes a minute or two more than the standard sandwich, but the extra dimension of texture takes it to a whole new level."

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
2 slices bread
2 slices provolone cheese (or other cheese of your choice)
2 slices tomato
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (use large holes of box grater)

Directions:

1. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat with the butter. When the butter is melted. Lightly moisten both pieces of bread in the butter. Top one slice of bread with the provolone and tomato and cover with the other slice of bread. Cook until golden brown on both sides, flipping a couple of times.

2. When the basic grilled cheese is done, remove it from the pan. Turn the heat to medium. If the pan seems very dry, melt a touch more butter in it. Sprinkle the Parmigiano in the still-hot skillet, in a shape roughly the same as the sandwich.

3. Now watch closely, as the cheese melts. You'll see the fat start to cook out and the cheese begin to brown and crisp. When it has just begun to brown, put the sandwich back on top and press down with a large spatula to weld the frico to the bread. Let cook for one more minute then serve.

Stuff from the store

Need a cheese grater? I love this one.

I’m a big fan of fat spatulas…this one is nonstick.

Best Parmegiano Reggiano – big love for Whole Foods, the only company I know who has “crack parties“

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2012. | Permalink | 25 comments

Broccoli Spanakopita

SteamyKitchen — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:14:00 +0000

Rule #1 of food blog design: Never launch a new design or features the day before you go on vacation or travel.

I thought I had learned this lesson, oh…..5 WordPress themes ago, but apparently I underwent a momentary lapse of good judgement last Friday. Not only were we going on a family vacation at Disney World, but we were hosting Food Blog Forum in Orlando at Disney World for 100 attendees and their families. (More on those fun times in another post!)

Scott and I started getting emails from readers that, “Your site be broke!” as one so eloquently wrote. But our energy was dedicated to creating magical moments for FBF attendees and our boys, and not for freaking out on a broke site. So we stopped checking emails and just had fun.

It was harder than I’m making it sound. There’s no such thing as “stop checking emails” or “turning off phones” for geeks like us. But we did our best and you know what? Our weekend was one of the best eeeevvveerrrrr!!!

Broccoli Spanakopita…or Broccolikopita

Spanakopita is a Greek pastry, usually filled with spinach and feta cheese folded in layers of filo dough. Most of the time, I see them folded into triangles (kinda like how you fold an American flag), but I decided that rolls were easier to shape, easy enough for my boys to help me in the kitchen.

Instead of spinach, we used fresh broccoli, something we had plenty of in the garden. Crispy, flaky and savory.

The first step is to lightly saute the onions, garlic and broccoli in olive oil. Season with a pinch of ground nutmeg and salt and pepper.

The broccoli should still be a little crunchy and bright green. Let the pan cool a bit and then stir in the raw egg. If the pan is too hot, the egg will cook. Remember, this all goes in the oven later for 20 minutes, so everything will be perfectly cooked.

Lay out a sheet of filo, brush with melted butter, then add another sheet. Spoon a couple tablespoons of the broccoli filling in the middle, near the bottom.

Fold over both sides.

Roll up.

Once you’re done with all of the rolls, brush the tops with butter.

Bake for 20 minutes and serve hot!

Broccoli Spanakopita Recipe

Servings: Makes 10 rolls Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 head broccoli, finely chopped
pinch ground nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup feta cheese
1 egg, whisked
20 sheets filo dough (about 1/2 package), covered with barely-damp towel
4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Swirl in the olive oil and saute the onions until transluscent. Add in the garlic and the broccoli and saute for 3 minutes, or until the broccoli is just starting to get tender but still bright green. Season with nutmeg, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Remove from heat and let cool until no longer steaming. Stir in the egg and the feta cheese.

2. Preheat oven to 400F.

3. Lay 1 filo sheet on clean surface. Brush completely with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the broccoli filling 1" from the bottom edge, in the middle. Fold the left side of the filo sheet over, then fold the right side over. Fold the bottom edge towards to top and roll. Place on baking sheet seam side down. Brush the top with melted butter. Repeat with remaining to make 10 rolls.

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown and crispy.

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2012. | Permalink | 45 comments

Hot Dogs with Kimchi Relish

administrator — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:18:43 +0000

I’ve been on a kimchi rampage lately, using it like relish for everything like hot dogs, hamburgers, eggs and even making kimchi butter to top a perfectly grilled steak. Kimchi goes with everything. I think most would expect me to also say that, “the spicier, the better” but in reality, I’m not a dragon-mouth chili-head. I do enjoy chilies, but just the milder version. In fact, in my cookbook, I couldn’t even decide how to spell chile: Chile, Chili or Chilli or Chillie.

In many Asian countries, the correct spelling is Chilli with a double-L. I had an entire convo with Michael Ruhlman about this and he pulled up some reference guide by some famous food historian dude. So, I went with “chili” for the book. ~~But honestly, I think I’m a single-L and an E gal, so from now on, “chile” it is~~. Okay, okay, I just can’t do it. I can’t argue with Ruhlman. CHILI.

This recipe is from The Kimchi Chronicles by Marja Vongerichten, and if you recognize that last name, you’ll know her husband is the one and only Jean-George Vongerichten, or as I affectionately call “J-Vo”

Marja is Korean and the cookbook is a collection of Korean American recipes that her family enjoys. Most of the recipes are accessible for the home cook, with a couple of odd-ball dishes that J-Vo had a hand in (not in a bad way) – like Korean Baeckeoffe and Jeju Bouillabaisse.

Some of my favs from the book:

Spice-Rubbed Korean Chicken – uses gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder)
Bibimbap
Kimchi Fried Rice
Kimchi Bloody Mary

For the Korean food lover, I absolutely recommend this book!

The Kimchi Chronicles, by Marja Vongerichten is available on Amazon)!

Continue reading Hot Dogs with Kimchi Relish...

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 26 comments

Flank Steak with Goat Cheese on Toast

SteamyKitchen — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:02:20 +0000

While we were in Mexico for Food Blogger Camp back in February, I got a sneak peek at the photos that my good friends, Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple shot of Cristina Ferrare’s new cookbook. I’m sure you heard of Cristina – she’s got a cooking show, “Big Bowl of Love” on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Diane and Todd shot all the recipe photos as well as “lifestyle” shots – i.e. a dinner party with friends – if you have a chance to pick up this book, please do. Not only is it chock full of gorgeous food shots (every recipe has a photo) but the recipes featured are non-fussy — what I call “easy sophistication.”

I’ve got so many recipes bookmarked that this book will keep me busy for a while. Today’s recipe, Flank Steak with Goat Cheese on Toast, is inspired from the book. I had originally planned these for a Spanish Tapas party my friend, Wendy was hosting, but we ended up with an obscene amount of food, so I kept the marinating steak in the refrigerator and made the dish the following day.

***

Our Spanish Tapas Party

While Tom’s prepping his dish, Wendy and her sister in law, Kelly are the background with Spanish cookbook in hand reading the recipe.

Tom and his wife, Patty – right here smiley-happy next to the cheese – own the Tae Kwon Do studio that the boys and Scott go to. And yes, the boys can kick mama’s butt.

This was just appetizers….by the time dinner was ready, the entire table was full of food. Most of the dishes were Spanish tapas – we had some wonderful Spanish Tapena wine to go with our dinner party, courtesy of the winery. Tapena wines has recently gotten some amazing reviews and awards – the 2011 Monterey Wine Competition awarded them Import Wine of the Year.

While boys were outside fishing, the gals hung out by the apps and wine.

Tom made these crispy-light rice cakes topped with manchego cheese. I never knew he had this cooking talent!

Even Andrew loved the Manchego Cheese wrapped with Jamon Serrano — hungry after fishing!

After dinner? A single malt scotch tasting in the ultimate “man cave” – complete with leather chairs, cigars, deer heads (Shawn goes hunting once a year) and bull-horn chandelier.

I encouraged Scott to write a post on Scotch tasting, it would be his first-ever post on Steamy Kitchen. He declined until I told him that if he starts a “Scott’s Scotch Corner” on Steamy Kitchen, all his scotch would be a “business expense”

Look for a post from him soon.

***

Flank Steak on Goat Cheese on Toast

The flank steak is marinated in red chili flakes, smoked paprika, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Toppings included goat cheese, roasted red bell peppers and a balsamic fig and onion “jam” that I found at the market.

You can substitute with any sweet-savory jam or chutney. Mango chutney would be wonderful too. I have a list of recipes for jams at the end of the post.

Slice the roasted red bell pepper thinly.
Continue reading Flank Steak with Goat Cheese on Toast...

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 30 comments

Kimchi Pizza

SteamyKitchen — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 17:37:53 +0000

Kimchi Pizza Recipe over at New Asian Cuisine!

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments

Green Eggs and Ham Sushi

SteamyKitchen — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:58:24 +0000

Hey guys ‘n gals – it’s Green Eggs and Ham 50th Anniversary this year and to celebrate, rock stars Melissa d’Arabian, Michael Symon, Mitzi Dulan and I created some fun recipes using…you guessed it…green eggs and ham. Together, we’re on the consumer advisory council for the Pork Board.

I’ll tell you what though, my toughest cooking challenge ever was making green eggs look appetizing! My first experiment with green food coloring in the eggs resulted in a gnarly concoction that looked more like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

uhh….hmm….ha!

Okay, so Dr. Seuss books aren’t great for appetite and I’m suspiciously eyeing that Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook. I wanted to create food that wasn’t just for show and tell but a dish that was actually appetizingt o both little kids and big kids.

So, Green Eggs and Ham Sushi was born (hat tip to American Style Sushi Cookbook). The eggs are mixed with chopped spinach, lots of chopped spinach.

By the way, did you know you can also get the book with Chinese and English, French (les oeufs vert et jamon) and even Italian (proscuitto e uova verdi). The boys really love the animated DVD (it’s only $5.99!)

Below are step by step photos on how to roll the sushi – please try it with your kids! They’ll have a blast making sushi with you!

Take a look at more Green Eggs and Ham Recipes -
Melissa d’Arabian: Ham and Green Egg Mini Tartlets
Mitzi Dulan: Ham and Avocado Deviled Eggs
Michael Symon: Ham Sandwich with Greens and Eggs

oooh and before you go…can I humor you with An Ode to Spam in the Style of Seuss?

Green Eggs and Ham Sushi

Servings: 4 (makes 4-6 large rolls, about 24-36 sushi pieces) Prep Time: Cook Time:

A few tips: Make sure you get sushi rice and not long grain rice. Only short grain rice is suitable for sushi making. I buy seasoned rice vinegar - which already contains sugar and salt. If you only have unseasoned - simmer 1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Let cool before using. Buy very thin ham slices, deli-style thin is best.

Ingredients:

Sushi Rice
2 cups short-grain sushi rice
2 cups + 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegarSushi Spinach-Egg Filling:
1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach, defrosted
1 teaspoon cooking oil
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon saltSushi Rolls:
6-8 thin ham slices (thin deli-style sandwich ham)
6 sheets sushi seaweed (nori) 7 1/2" x 9" sheet
bamboo sushi mat, completely wrapped with plastic wrap on both sides
Sushi Rice

Directions:

Make the sushi rice : Place rice in fine-mesh colander and rinse well to remove excess starch; drain. Transfer to a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan. Add water. Cover with tight fitting lid and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low or medium-low. Very gently simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, for 15 minutes. Transfer rice to a large baking dish or large bowl. Slightly cool. Sprinkle with rice vinegar; very gently toss until combined. Cool to room temperature. Cover with damp towel to prevent rice from drying out. When making sushi, you want the rice to be close to room temperature (hot, steaming rice will make the seaweed soggy).

Meanwhile, for the spinach-egg filling, squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible.

Finely chop the spinach. Gently fry the eggs with the spinach and season with salt. Let cool before rolling sushi.

To roll the sushi, have all your ingredients ready.

Lay out the sushi mat, with the bamboo running horizontally. The sushi mat should be completely wrapped in plastic wrap (otherwise the rice will stick to it). Lay the nori on the mat.

Wet your hands, fling off excess water and grab about 3/4 cup of the sushi rice. Damp hands will prevent the rice from sticking. Use your fingertips and gently spread out the rice all over the seaweed.

You don't want too much rice - just enough to barely cover.

Lay down the ham.

Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the egg/spinach mixture. Move the nori so it is flush with the bottom of the mat.

Now bring up the edge of the mat.

Begin rolling - but keep the edge of the bamboo mat up on top of the rice. Roll with one hand, and use the other hand to gently tug the mat. This will ensure a tight roll.

See how I keep the edge of the bamboo mat up? Continue rolling and gently tugging until roll is complete.

Give it nice final tug back to tighten roll.

There you go. See how even the roll is?

Dip the tip your knife in water, and slice into 6 even pieces. A wet knife tip will prevent sticking.

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2010. | Permalink | 28 comments

Salmon Burger Recipes + video on how to form patties

SteamyKitchen — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:50:38 +0000

I love me a good salmon burger! Or crab cake or lobster cake. Or….okay, okay, I LOVE SEAFOOD! But one of the hardest things about making seafood burgers (or patties) is keeping the darn thing together while its on the grill or cooking in the pan. There’s nothing worse than watching your precious fish fall through the grates of your BBQ grill. Sure, you could use more wet filler to bind (like egg or mayo) but there’s a balance…the right balance between fish, binder and breadcrumbs.

Too much binder and the patty turns out soggy bleh. Too much breadcrumbs and that’s all you taste!

Want to know how to I form the patty so that it stays together? (p.s. the recipe is below, first link)

Salmon Burger Recipe – on Steamy Kitchen on TLC (I used salmon, panko, shallots, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley)

Asian Salmon Burger Recipe (one of my very first posts EVER on Steamy Kitchen!)

Salmon Burger Recipe a la Mark Bittman from Ezra Poundcake

Salmon Burgers a la Martha Stewart & Rachael Ray from YumSugar

Salmon Burgers with Chipotle Aioli by One Perfect Bite

Perfect Salmon Patties by Dana on Tasty Kitchen

Salmon Burger with Wasabi Soy Glaze on Kitchen Daily

**Big thanks to Smith Bites for creating my “sonic brand” (giggle!) the jingle that you hear in the video, as well as the animation. We’ll be sharing the process of how we came up with that jingle soon!

Hawaiian Luau Burger

steamykitchen — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:20:22 +0000

Ted Reader is a man I’ve referred to as someone who tiptoes the fine line between genius and lunatic, and that’s exactly why I love this man.

His cookbooks are big, bold and absolutely nuts. Ted just came out with king of all burger books – Napolean’s Everyday Gourmet Burgers.

Meet Ted and the Ultimate Cheeseburger Melt. It’s as big as his head and includes 5 different cheeses and a side of heartburn.

The Schwarzenegger Burger has 2 bacon-covered sirloin/ground pork burgers on either side of a hot dog, grilled on a cedar plank. I’d make this just for giggles.

The Steak Oscar Burger is a bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin burger topped with lump crabmeat, asparagus and dijon mustard sauce.

The Halibut King Crab Burger includes wild rice, grated carrots, onions and red bell pepper on top of a broiche bun.

The over-the-top Billion Dollar Burger is made with smoked shredded beef brisket, foie gras, Kobe beef, Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee Whisky. And that’s just the patty. Top the burger with a seared piece of foie gras, shaved truffles, caviar and surround with morel mushrooms.

So which one would you try?

I’m all over Ted’s Hawaiian Luau Burger – a pork patty topped with grilled pineapple, tomatoes, red onion and shaved smoked ham. The recipe for the Luau Burger is over at Steamy Kitchen on TLC.

Recipe for the Luau Burger is over at Steamy Kitchen on TLC.

Bobby Flay’s Grilled Steak Sandwich with Steak Sauce Mayo

steamykitchen — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 08:54:55 +0000

Do you know who I love? This man, right here, B.Flay. I used to watch him on Food Network religiously, especially his grilling shows.

I want his backyard. I want his kitchen! Wait, don’t tell me it was just a designed studio set!

Well, I had a chance to ask Bobby Flay a few questions, courtesy of The Real Food Project, and gave a shoutout on Twitter to source the questions.

Bobby’s team answered them, so I have no idea if he really answered them or what….but heck, who cares….I’m 2 degrees away from B.Flay!

For Bobby Flay’s Grilled Steak Sandwich Recipe and to read the questions/answers, head on over to Steamy Kitchen on TLC!

Open Face Salmon Sandwich with Sweet Mustard Sauce

SteamyKitchen — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:41:27 +0000

I can be pretty boring with salmon, it’s so easily mastered with just the bare-bones salt, pepper and a hot grill. So why mess with simple and perfect?

Well, because chef Marcus Samuelsson says so….and I agree. Marcus’ Sweet Mustard Sauce is a 15-second whisk of Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon that’s a perfect addition to grilled salmon.. In fact, whisk in a more olive oil and it turns into a fantastic honey mustard salad dressing if you want to ditch the sandwich idea and serve the salmon on a bed of lettuce instead.

Marcus Samuelsson on Blogging

A few weeks ago, my good friends at Be Everywhere social media agency (hey James, Danica and Tamara!) invited me to a Macy’s Culinary Council event in D.C. I couldn’t go, so I sent two bloggers to go my place, Mrs. Wheelbarrow and and the mysterious W. Mark Felt. Mrs. Wheelbarrow shot a quick video, asking Marcus about blogging (see below) and I’ll publish Felt’s article later this week.

Sooooo….Marcus, what do you think of blogging?

YES! Marcus blogs and tweets! Though, someone needs to tell him that he’d be much more successful at social media if he actually talks back with people once in a while. Open up comments on the blog! Respond to nice tweets! There’s a reason why the word “social” is in social media….it’s not soapbox media.

Okay, getting off my little rant and onto the recipe…simple ingredients…

And of course the sweet mustard sauce….

Food Styling: Salmon Sandwich

If you’re interested in seeing my step-by-step food styling and photography leading up to the money shot, I’ve posted on Food Blog Forum.

I’ll show you the itty-bitty details that I notice when I’m looking through the lens as I’m taking the photo.

Open Face Salmon Sandwich with Sweet Mustard Sauce Recipe

Servings: 4 Prep Time: Cook Time:

recipe adapted from Marcus Samuelsson New American Table Cookbook

Ingredients:

For the Sweet Mustard Sauce2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepperFor the Sandwich1 egg
Four 4-ounce salmon fillets, about 1 inch
thick, skin removed if desired
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons Sweet Mustard Sauce, (see above)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tomato cut into four 1/2 -inch slices
1/4 red onion, sliced thinly
8 slices dark rye or multi-grain bread
Mixed leafy greens
1 avocado halved, pitted, and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 teaspoons capers, drained

Directions:

1. To make the Sweet Mustard sauce, whisk together the mustard and honey in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking continuously. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

2. To hard boil the egg, put the egg in a small pot and fill with water to cover the egg by 1-inch. Bring the water to boil and immediately turn the heat off. Let the eggs sit in the hot water for exactly 7 minutes. Drain, rinse under cool water and peel when cool enough to handle. Cut the egg into quarters, lengthwise.

3. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Brush salmon fillets with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and grill for 2 minutes on each side.

4. Wipe the grill pan clean, brush the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil on the bread and grill the bread for 30 seconds each side, until nicely toasted (or use a toaster)

5. To assemble sandwiches, first cut each piece of salmon into 2 pieces. Layering leafy greens, tomato, avocado, egg, red onion, grilled salmon and capers on each bread slice. Spoon the sweet mustard sauce on top and serve, opened faced.