Soup and Sandwiches Archives | Page 5 of 6

Smoky Turkey and Kale Soup

December 22, 2010

I thought it was about time I do a post that shows we eat something other than cookies, breads and waffles around here. Lately I feel like Buddy the Elf with the four main food groups – candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup. Well, we do in fact eat veggies, fruit and meat.

My husband’s coworker from Brazil is traveling in the US and he brought his wife along with him for her first trip to the States. We spent time with them while in Brazil and they always showed us the best hospitality so we decided to return the favor and invite them to our new house for dinner. We recreated a Thanksgiving/holiday meal with turkey, cranberries, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, Brussels sprouts and holiday cookies.

Flash back to about 2 months ago…

I ordered our turkey from a friend here who has a small homestead. She had about a dozen turkeys – natural, free range on her property and organic. They were processed by an Amish community nearby.

Great, right? I knew the source of our turkey. I think I even met it. It might have been the one that pecked me on the butt the day I went to visit her alpaca. I’m not kidding!

The problem? The processed turkey weighed 34lbs! Yes, 34!

I could barely carry it to the car. We thawed it in a foam cooler in the guest bath tub, and then we got up at 6:00am on Sunday to battle it.

Honestly if you were keeping score, the turkey won.

We finally decided we had to do our best to cut it into pieces. We managed to get two breasts, the wings and the legs. I cut off other random pieces and made turkey stock out of them. The rest went to the grill.

Nothing like grilling in the winter.

We weren’t sure how tough the meat would be with such a large turkey so my husband had the idea to baste the breast in beer and butter in a pan on the grill. We added about a 7 lb turkey breast with 1 bottle of ale, 1 stick of unsalted butter and 1 sliced onion to a pan. It cooked on our ceramic grill for about 90 minutes at 300 to 350 degrees F.

It turned out great! It was juicy with great flavor. I highly recommend winter grilling!

As you can imagine, we’ll be eating turkey for a while. To lighten things up before our feasts this weekend, I decided to make some soup with the leftover turkey.

If you have smoked turkey, it adds such a complex flavor that makes the soup. I cut some breast meat and then I also placed a turkey leg in the soup to reheat for about 5 minutes, removed it and cut off some of the meat to add back to the soup.

You can do this with any leftover pieces, or you can simply add cooked and shredded or chopped turkey meat at the end.

Smoky Turkey and Kale Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 button mushrooms sliced
½ tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
7 cups turkey stock
5 cups kale, chopped
Cooked turkey leg or wing (if you have one leftover)
2 cups cooked turkey meat, shredded or cubed

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot and add the carrot, onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in the poultry seasoning, salt, black pepper and red pepper.

Add the turkey stock and stir in the kale. Increase the heat slightly and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and if using, place the turkey leg or wing in the soup. Partially cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove the turkey pieces, continue to simmer the soup. Allow the leg or wing to cool slightly to touch and cut off any meat. Add this meat and the additional cooked turkey meat to the soup. Continue to cook until the turkey is heated through and the vegetables are tender, about 3 to 5 more minutes.

Serves 6 to 8

This post has been submitted to the weekly Souper Sunday roundup at Kahakai Kitchen.

Acorn Squash Soup with Porcini Mushroom Cream and Wild Mushroom Goat Cheese Toasts

October 7, 2010

A Blogger Mushroom Recipe Challenge? I’d love to participate!

That sums up my response when I received an email from Justin of Marx Foods a couple weeks ago. I was invited to participate, and after accepting the offer, a box soon followed in the mail.

In this box were five – ½ oz sample packs of dried mushrooms – Porcini, Lobster, Morel, Matsutake, and Black Trumpet. To conclude the note that accompanied them, Justin wrote:

One of my own personal pet peeves is when restaurant menus say that a dish is made of wild mushrooms when it is only portabellas, shitakes, or other cultivated varieties. This box contains only mushrooms that are actually hand-foraged from the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

As you can imagine, I was even more thrilled I had accepted the challenge.

My mission? To create a recipe using any or all of the mushrooms in the box.

This recipe will be put up for a vote on the Marx Foods blog.

What could I win if my recipe is voted the favorite? Three shipments of fresh wild mushrooms, one of which can be Oregon Truffles instead of mushrooms!!

I knew right away that I wanted to draw on the flavors of fall and having bought an acorn squash just before the mushrooms arrived, I decided this winter squash would be the mushroom partner. I also decided I wanted to work with the three mushroom types I had received which I’d never cooked with before – Porcini, Lobster and Matsutake.

Having chosen soup as the main attraction, I needed some type of sandwich on the side. A simple toast with herbed goat cheese topped with caramelized onions and wild mushrooms seemed the perfect solution.

Just as I was hoping, the earthy flavor of the Porcini mushrooms in a rich cream sauce paired nicely with the slightly sweet acorn squash. It went together even better than I expected, if I do say so myself.

I think Lobster mushrooms may be my new favorite. The combination of the tart goat cheese with the mushrooms goes so well with the soup.

So here you have my entry to the Blogger Mushroom Recipe Challenge by Marx Foods. If you like it too, I’ll let you know where to vote around October 18!

Acorn Squash Soup with Porcini Mushroom Cream

Porcini Cream

½ oz dried porcini mushrooms
½ tbsp olive oil
2 tsp onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp white whole wheat flour
1 cup milk or cream (I used a half and half and 2% milk combo)
¼ cup fresh parmesan, grated
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Acorn Squash Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ large onion, chopped
2 tbsp apple, diced
1 pinch dried sage
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 acorn squash, roasted, flesh removed and mashed
2 cups of mushroom soaking liquid

Make the Cream:

Submerge the dried mushrooms in 2 cups of hot water for at least 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and pat dry, reserve the soaking liquid.

Dice the mushrooms. Heat ½ tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, mushrooms and garlic. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the onions and mushrooms are tender. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until incorporated. Add the milk or cream a little at a time whisking vigorously to prevent clumps. Continue to whisk as the sauce thickens. Once it reaches desired consistency, preferably when it coats the back of a spoon, remove from heat. Stir in the parmesan, salt, pepper and cooked mushrooms and onions.

Set aside, but stir occasionally to prevent a film from forming on the top.

Make the Soup:

Heat the olive oil in a small soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft. Add the apple, sage, salt and pepper, and cook about 3 minutes more.

Stir in the acorn squash and slowly add the mushroom soaking liquid. Heat through and allow to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth.

Divide the soup into bowls and garnish generously with the mushroom cream. Makes about 4 appetizer-sized servings.

Wild Mushroom Goat Cheese Toasts

½ oz mixed dried wild mushrooms (I used Lobster and Matsutake)
½ tbsp olive oil
¼ onion, thinly sliced
2 oz herbed goat cheese
8 slices toasted bread or baguette

Soak the mushrooms in hot water for at least 20 minutes. Dry on a paper towel and finely chop.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-heat. Add the mushrooms and onion. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until onions are browned and mushrooms are tender.

Spread an even amount of goat cheese on each toast. Top with the onions and mushrooms. Makes 8 toasts, two for each person.

Disclaimer: These mushrooms were sent to me free of charge for the Marx Foods Mushroom Recipe Challenge. I was not required to participate and received no compensation for doing so. 

Dreaming of Grilled Vegetables

March 23, 2010

For two whole summers I enviously read blog post after blog post about grilled vegetables from around the food blogging world. At that point we were in an apartment in Brazil with no grill of our own. Not to mention, while grills of Brazil and the foods they produce are quite nice, it’s just not the same as our version in the U.S. I’m also not sure a vegetable has ever touched a grill where we were living. Red meat, yes, veggies not so much.

My anticipation of creating my own grilled produce has been building all winter. Now, that we are finally in a house, there is a spot being held for a new grill. However, it has turned out to be the last thing on our shopping list. While we have filled the house with couches, chairs and desks, the yard is still looking a bit bare.

That will change soon enough, but today I just couldn’t wait. After finding some zucchini and mushrooms in the fridge I decided to grab the grill pan and make an indoor version of a grilled vegetable sandwich for lunch.

I sliced up the vegetables, drizzled them with olive oil, and then sprinkled them with this herb rub.

A friend of mine gave me this and it is from Herb ‘n Renewal, a Kentucky company that sells herb products. You may not have access to this exact combo, but you can see the ingredient list here if you want to mimic it.

I cooked everything for a few minutes on each side, layered everything on the bread (Flax Oat Bran from Great Harvest) and then grilled the sandwich itself to make it more of a Panini. It hit the spot, but unfortunately it has made my longing for grilled foods even stronger!

There really isn’t an exact recipe here, but I will list out what I added to my sandwich. You can add whatever veggies you like.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

2 slices of whole grain bread
4 slices of zucchini
10 rings of Anaheim pepper
2 white mushrooms, sliced
Sprinkle of olive oil and herb seasoning
1 ½ tbsp cream cheese
1 green onion, sliced
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ tsp garlic powder
Handful of fresh spinach

Place the veggies on the grill and sprinkle with olive oil and herb seasoning. Cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until tender. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, green onion, cilantro and garlic powder. Spread on one slice of the bread. Stack the grilled veggies on the second slice and top it with the spinach. Place the first slice on top, cream cheese side down. Return to the grill pan and grill for 1 minute on each side.

This post is being submitted to Souper Sundays at the Kahakai Kitchen.

Quick Broccoli Potato Soup for Two

February 3, 2010

Potatoes have been on sale around here lately so I left the supermarket earlier this week hauling out a 10 lb. bag. Now I’ve given myself the challenge of figuring out what to do with them while maintaining their nutritional value as much as possible. I happen to be a big fan of potatoes and feel they have a lot to offer such as vitamin C, vitamin B6 and potassium. Not to mention they are filling and hearty on a cold day.

I pulled out a Weight Watchers cookbook my mother-in-law got for me several years ago, called Dining for Two. I used it a lot before I boxed it up during our move abroad. Now, although the pages are bit bent from storage the recipes remain so I decided to modify a potato soup I used to make a lot.

The soup has a delicious flavor and even with the changes I made it still remains a favorite. I didn’t have any bacon and the original recipe calls for two slices. I decided to add in some smoked paprika with the seasonings which really made up for any lack of smoky flavor. I’ve also always liked this Baked Potato and Broccoli Soup from Itzy’s Kitchen so I knew I couldn’t go wrong with adding in some leftover broccoli I had on hand.

The best part about this soup is that if you have your broccoli and potatoes previously cooked in the form of leftovers, it is so quick to make. Even without baked potatoes ready I still got it done quickly. I stuck mine in the microwave, let them cool a bit and they were ready to chop up for the soup.

Quick Broccoli Potato Soup for Two

1 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 cups chicken stock (homemade if you have it)
2 large baked potatoes, chopped
1 cup cooked broccoli, chopped
1/3 cup milk (I used 2%, half & half would work too)

In a medium-sized pot, heat the olive oil then add onion and garlic. Cook until the onions are almost translucent, about 3 minutes on medium to medium-high heat. Stir in salt, peppers and paprika. Add chicken stock and heat for about 3 minutes. Stir in potatoes gently breaking some of them up in the process. Add broccoli and continue to cook until soup is heated through. Stir in milk, continue to heat through about 3 to 5 more minutes. Serves 2.

This post has been submitted to Souper Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen.

Spicy Pumpkin Crock Pot Chili

December 3, 2009

It’s funny how you don’t appreciate things until you no longer have access to them. Take bagels for example. I love them, but only ate them on special occasions before our move abroad. However, once in Brazil with no access to their chewy, soft goodness I craved them all the time. They were always one of my first food purchases when I visited the States.

A crock pot or slow cooker falls into that same category. We had one before our move, but I rarely used it. Then after we moved I kept coming across all kinds of recipes I wanted to try with no pot to cook them in. So when I came back to the US a crock pot made my birthday wish list. My husband’s parents granted me the wish by getting me a nice and shiny 5 quart Crock-Pot® as a gift.

I hadn’t had chili in a long time and I knew it was the first thing I wanted to try in the pot. The dilemma became the beans. I’m trying to avoid going back to the canned version after making them from dry for the past two years and I’d never made chili with dried beans.

After searching around online a bit I learned that I could just soak them as normal and put them in with the other ingredients no problem. Speaking of canned goods though, I did have to go for the canned tomatoes and I searched hard for some without HFCS. I found that the plain diced tomatoes without seasonings are the least likely to have it as an ingredient. Maybe one day I’ll have my own stash of home-canned tomatoes to turn to.

Last year, I made some chili with pumpkin in it and left the roasted pumpkin in chunks. When I was home for Thanksgiving my Dad sent a huge pumpkin back with me and I decided to roast it up and add the puree to the chili this time. The pumpkin flavor doesn’t come through as well with this method, but it does make the chili rich and thick. Pumpkin is becoming a regular addition to my go-to chili recipe. I really enjoy what it adds to the dish.

This version is nice and spicy, leaving a bit of burn in the back of your throat. The only way to have chili for me, but if you don’t want heat just leave out the red pepper and hot sauce. Also, many recipes I found for using dry beans said it would take 12 hours on low! I got up early to get it in by 6:30 am and it was ready to eat by 2:00 pm. So a good 8 hours is plenty.

Spicy Pumpkin Crock Pot Chili

2 cups beans (I used ½ black and ½ red, soak overnight, rinse and drain)
½ lb ground beef
1 lg onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lg can diced tomatoes (~28 oz)
1 can tomato sauce (~14 oz)
1 tbsp hot sauce
2 ½ tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 cups roasted pumpkin puree

Add the beans to the 5 qt pot and break up the raw ground beef over the beans. Add the onion and garlic then pour in the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir in the hot sauce, chili powder, cumin, red pepper, salt and black pepper and incorporate all ingredients. Next stir in the pumpkin.

Set the Crock Pot to Low and cook about 8 hours, stirring it occasionally. Serves 6 to 8 people.

New Kitchen, Back to Cooking – Acorn Squash Soup with Cranberry Sauce

November 16, 2009

I am happy to say that I’m back in the kitchen! I even have enough boxes unpacked to cook an entire meal. I was so excited when I found my Kitchen Aid mixer that I had to announce it on Twitter. I got all kinds of friendly responses.

I tend to spend a good amount of time just staring at my stove with a big smile of contentment on my face. It is actually the exact same model as I had in our house before our move abroad, but now it is like a brand new toy.

I’m just so darn excited here is a picture for you.

Last week I spent some time shopping around for the ingredients that I know I want to cook and bake with. I haven’t been able to find mascavo sugar here, or the exact equivalent, but I did end up trying out demerara sugar, which is unrefined sugar made from evaporated cane juice. The sources I’ve found so far state that it is the same, or very similar to, turbinado sugar.

It is a different consistency than the mascavo sugar I used in Brazil as it has much larger crystals. I know I can order the mascavo online so we’ll see how the demerara does in baking to decide which I like better. For coffee, it works great. (I’m trying to wean myself off adding sugar to my coffee, but I do still like it a little bit sweet. )

Along with my sugar I picked up some fresh cranberries which just happen to be one of my favorite parts of this time of year. I’ll be buying more soon to freeze for later use. I also grabbed an acorn squash. My parents tell me that they have plenty of squash and pumpkin for me at home from the garden, but I just couldn’t wait.

Finally, I found a great deal on grapefruit. After paying about 1 USD each for imported ones which would show up in the Asian market where we lived in Brazil, I gladly handed over $2.50 for a whole bag.

I decided to make a soup with it all this weekend incorporating turkey day flavors, of course. When it comes to Thanksgiving flavors I tend to like them combined in any way possible. I’ll take cranberry sauce on just about anything, add in turkey to my squash side dishes and eat walnuts or pecans on my sweet potatoes.

I’ll admit that this recipe may not be too terribly exciting and is very similar to a butternut squash soup I make regularly. There seem to be a lot of similar recipes out there on the web this time of year as well.

However, it is the first official recipe and meal to come out of my new kitchen so that alone makes is special.

Acorn Squash & Apple Soup with Cranberry Grapefruit Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large carrot, chopped
¼ cup onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 medium apple, chopped
¼ tsp ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp demerara sugar (or any type of unrefined cane sugar)
2 cups chicken stock
Flesh of one acorn squash, roasted (about 1 ½ to 2 cups)
¼ cup milk or cream
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

In your soup pot, heat the olive oil, then add the carrot, onion, garlic and apple. Cook on medium heat for about 7 minutes, stirring often. Add in the ginger, cinnamon and sugar and stir to coat the veggies and fruit. Pour in the chicken stock, cover the pot and simmer until the veggies and fruit are tender, about 10 minutes. (This is a good time to make the cranberry sauce.)

Next, stir in the squash until it is smooth and well incorporated. Remove the pot from heat and blend all ingredients using an immersion blender. You can also transfer the soup and blend in a standard blender. I leave mine a little chunky, but you can make it as smooth as you like.

Return to low heat and slowly stir in the milk or cream. Add more or less to reach your desired soup consistency and heat through. Salt and pepper to your taste.

Cranberry Grapefruit Sauce

1 cup fresh cranberries
¼ cup grapefruit juice
2 tsp demerara sugar
Chopped, toasted walnuts for garnish

Combine the cranberries and juice in a small sauce pan and cook on medium heat. Add in the sugar and stir until the cranberries burst. Allow the sauce to thicken to your desired consistency. It gets thicker as it cools. You might also want to add more sugar if you don’t prefer your cranberry sauce tart.

Ladle your soup into bowls. The recipe makes 2 to 3 servings. Top with some cranberry sauce and sprinkle with toasted walnuts.

Cauliflower & Mandioquinha Soup

June 26, 2009

I’ve been trying to find a bit of balance lately. I’m talking about the fact that it is winter here. Well, more like a Kentucky October, but they call it winter. Despite the fact that temperatures aren’t plummeting into the 30s, I’m still having overwhelming cravings for cold weather foods. At the same time for many of you, it is summer and a darn hot one from all info I’m getting.

So as you can imagine, staying in-season with cooking and food posts is a bit impossible. Or is it?

This week I’ve been trying to think about my favorite recipes (or ideas for new ones) that may comfort me, but use all that wonderful produce that many people are harvesting from the garden. So yesterday this Golden Potato-Cauliflower Soup came to mind. I’ve been making it often ever since I found it in Health Magazine in 2004.

The good news is that it uses garden favorites, but is suitable for winter-warming. I’ve changed it a bit over the years and yesterday I decided to use it with some mandioquinha I picked up at the market last weekend.

You remember it, right? That golden, sweet root vegetable native to South America also called the Peruvian parsnip, batata baroa or arracacha. I’ve decided I need to overdose on it for the next three months while I’m still here, by the way.

The substitution worked wonderfully. It was the potato version taken up a notch, smooth and creamy, comforting yet still light. While I know most of you don’t have access to it, I started thinking about all the other root veggies that might work well in this recipe. Turnips, red potatoes, parsnips? I don’t know. It may be worth a try.

Cauliflower & Mandioquinha Soup
Adapted from Golden Potato-Cauliflower Soup, Health 2004

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup onion, diced
1/3 cup celery, diced
2 cups mandioquinha, chopped (or your root veggie substitute)
1 medium cauliflower with broken into small pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups chicken stock
½ to 1 cup milk
Chives and grated parmesan for garnish

Heat olive oil in a soup pot and saute garlic, onion and celery for 2 to 3 minutes. Add madioquinha and cook for about 3 more minutes. Add in cauliflower and cook and additional 7 minutes. Veggies should be starting to brown a bit at this point, or at least getting tender. Salt and pepper to taste now or you can wait until the soup is combined.

Add three cups of chicken stock. This should almost cover the veggies, but not completely. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about fifteen minutes or until the vegetables are very tender.

Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender (or transfer to a standard blender) and blend all ingredients well, leaving no lumps. Turn the heat back on and stir in ½ to one cup of milk depending on desired consistency and heat through.

Transfer to bowls and garnish with chives and cheese. Take pictures. Oh, wait. You don’t have to do that one. Silly me.

Serves about 4.

Grilled Cheese Pageant: Arugula & Pear Grilled Cheese

April 16, 2009

I hope you will allow me this slight interruption to Mango Week.

Earlier in the week I came across the Grilled Cheese Pageant on the blog Panini Happy and knew I had to enter.

I’ve been reading this blog for a few months now and if you love warm, Panini sandwiches as much as I do you need to head over and check it out. It is full of wonderful ideas and beautiful pictures.

Variations of the grilled cheese have been a go-to meal for me since we’ve been living abroad. It is quick, easy and requires no heating of the oven which in turn heats up our already hot apartment. In addition, a little creativity takes the traditional grilled cheese a long way so it is fun to play with different combinations.

I went to our Japanese market this week and picked up some baby arugula and a couple pears. On the walk back I stopped in the bakery and purchased some of the wonderful Pão Francês (Brazilian French Bread) that is so plentiful here. Once I arrived home, I decided that the combination would go perfectly with some smoked provolone I had in the fridge.

So this creation serves as my entry into the Panini Happy Grilled Cheese Pageant. If you are interested in entering, you still have time. The deadline is tomorrow at noon PDT.

Arugula & Pear Grilled Cheese

1 small French bread, split
1/3 cup smoked provolone, shredded
1 small handful of baby arugula
½ medium pear sliced

Spread cheese on both pieces of bread. Place the top on the skillet to help melt the cheese. Once it begins to melt place the arugula on one side and the pear on the other.

Put sandwich together and continue to grill until the rest of the cheese is melted, arugula is wilted and pear is warmed through. Place a piece of foil on top and press with the bottom of a smaller skillet if desired.

I will be back tomorrow to finalize Mango Week and announce my very first recipe contest! I hope you’ll stop by!

The Roma

April 15, 2009

I wouldn’t say that the sandwich is a popular item with locals where we live in Brazil, but they are offered at most cafes and juice shops. Since I’m not one to enjoy sitting down to a plate of rice, beans and red meat for lunch on a hot day, I truly appreciate the attempt to offer the sandwich as a culinary choice and I’ve been introduced to a lot of new fillings and combinations.

There is a juice and sandwich shop in town called Jungle Juice. They serve excellent juices, açaí in a bowl and some tasty sandwiches. The first time we stopped by there one sandwich caught my attention and it has been my favorite ever since – The Roma.

I should probably tell you that if the quesadilla from yesterday was a bit out of your comfort zone regarding the use of a mango, this one might be too. The stars of the Roma sandwich are chicken, gorgonzola cheese and mango. I originally tried it because I wanted to be adventurous, and I was not expecting how wonderful this combination turned out to be.

The sandwich is served warm and I must admit that my recreation does need some practice. My version was good, but not exactly like the one at the restaurant. The lessons I learned include: 1) It needs mayonnaise. 2) The mango needs to be very ripe and very sweet.

I’m really not a big fan of mayo. I rarely get it on my sandwiches, however, to this particular sandwich it adds the moisture needed to make it more palatable. When it mixes with the gorgonzola it really takes away the identifiable mayo flavor.

The sweetness of the mango balances the saltiness of the cheese. The combination is excellent; much like what you get from gorgonzola and pears. However, the cheese is strong, so the mango needs to be very ripe and sweet to compete with that flavor.

Interested to try it?

The Roma Sandwich

2 French rolls or pieces of baguette (I used some whole wheat sandwich rolls this time)
1 ½ cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
2 to 3 ounces gorgonzola cheese
1 mango, chopped
Mayo to taste

First, toast the bread in the oven until it is nicely browned and set aside. You can do this while you are putting the sandwich fillings together.

In a skillet, heat the chicken. Toss in the mango and heat through. Next crumble the gorgonzola and add it to the skillet. Stir to heat and melt the cheese so that it is incorporated into the chicken and mango. Salt and pepper to taste if desired.

Spread a little bit of mayo on the toasted bread and fill each sandwich roll with ½ of the chicken filling. Serve warm.

Beef and Eggplant Stromboli

March 13, 2009

There is this local pizza joint in my home town the makes the most amazing Stromboli. It is a favorite of my whole family and any time we are together you can bet that at least one dinner will end up being Stromboli night.

I’ve never had anything comparable. They use the most amazing soft, white bread that has been toasted with butter giving it this perfect crisp, chewiness. The meat is of sausage type, very finely ground with a sauce that you can order mild, medium or hot made so with varying amounts of crushed red pepper. Each bite is just full of chewy, spicy, cheesy goodness. It is one of those things that, try as you may, you will never be able to replicate exactly. Good for them, I guess.

Despite failed efforts I still continue to make the occasional Stromboli. I seem to change it a bit every time and last night was a good example. Earlier in the week I had roasted an eggplant intending to make some Baba ghanoush only to realize that I was out of tahini. Not wanting to waste it, I thought why not incorporate it into my sandwich somehow for a bit of a nutritional boost.

After eating the Strombolis, I expressed to my husband how great they were. Sorry, I’m not at all afraid to be proud when I make something darn tasty. The opposite happens equally as often so I figure take credit of something good when you can.

I purchase bread at a local bakery here and this time I used pão francês; small roll-like breads that are a bit lighter and softer than a traditional baguette. Any type of roll would do though, just pick your favorite.

While I can’t pass on a Stromboli as tasty as the one I get in my hometown, this one isn’t so bad, as well as not being so bad for you.

Beef and Eggplant Stromboli

4 rolls or pieces of baguette, 3 to 4 inches in length
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ green bell pepper, chopped
½ medium onion, chopped
½ lb lean ground beef
Insides of one roasted eggplant
½ to 1 can of tomato sauce
1 tsp dried basil
1tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
Dash of salt and black pepper
1 cup shredded cheese

Split each of your breads and broil, cut side up, for 3 to 5 minutes until dried out a bit and slightly browned. Set aside.

Heat some olive oil in a skillet and add garlic. Cook for one minute then add pepper and onion. Cook for two minutes and add beef. Once beef is browned add in eggplant and heat through. Add sauce to desired consistency and seasonings, let simmer a few minutes for flavors to blend.

Spread ¼ of the sauce mixture on the bottom of each Stromboli bread. Use ¼ cup cheese for each sprinkling half on the meat mixture and half on the top half of the roll.

Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly. Assemble the sandwich and serve.