Recipe: Grilled cheese with scamorza, apple and speck

Oh, more grilled cheese.  The possibilities are endless and I never get tired of playing around with the options.
For this sandwich, I decided to use the speck and smoked scamorza that I'd used to make the Cauliflower and Speck Quiche last week.  I also used 1/2 an apple to add some crispness and a bit of sweetness to combat the saltiness of the speck.  It was delicious.

Ingredients:
2 slices bread
finely sliced scamorza
speck
butter (approximately 3 pats)
1/2 apple, sliced thinly

Layer the scamorza and apple slices on bread.
In a pan, lightly sautee the speck in a pat of butter. Remove just as it starts to change color. Then add the speck onto the bread, cheese and apple.
Grill the bread in some butter until the cheese begins to melt.
Let it get golden brown (don't let it burn like I did) and put the 2 halves together.
Eat while warm.

Restaurant Review Florence: Il Panino del Chianti

Such a cute sandwich shop

So I went to Florence again last weekend. I didn't eat very much while I was there but on Sunday I got
to grab lunch at Il Panino del Chianti. I'd eaten there once before in 2012 when my mom was visiting. It's right by the Ponte Vecchio and therefore wasn't in my everyday path. It's a little touristy but has fantastic sandwiches for 4 and 5 euros. Plus it has a wonderful selection of wines ranging in price.
They have twelve sandwich options which all sounded wonderful and you could even create your own panino with 3 ingredients as well. You could get your sandwich on regular bread for €4 or on schiacciata for €5.
I ordered my sandwich on schiacciata which is a typical Tuscan bread.  It is oven baked focaccia dressed with olive oil and salt and is utterly delicious. La schiaccia has a crisp, salty exterior and a soft interior.
I ordered my panino with finocchiona, pear and pecorino.

Finocchiona is a typical Tuscan salami made with ground pork, red wine and fennel seeds. It is lighter than a regular salami and very flavorful thanks to the fennel seeds. It paired beautifully with the fresh crispy pear and the delicate flavor of the also typically Tuscan pecorino.
The sandwich was toasted and served warm. It was utterly delicious and made me very very happy.
The shop itself is adorable and very traditionally Tuscan in appearance. It's very comfortable but generally quite crowded. There are seats but it's often very full so I would recommend grabbing sandwiches to go and then eating them in Santo Spirito, a beautiful piazza nearby.

The long line is worth it. 

Recipe: Grilled Pear and Gouda Sandwich

Blatantly I'm becoming obsessed with grilled cheese sandwiches.  But I can't seem to help myself. They are delicious (if one loves cheese) and pair well with countless other ingredients, including completely surprising ingredients like fruit.
This was such a light but delicious combination for a grilled cheese sandwich.  The gouda was mild in flavor and melted beautifully while the pear incredibly crisp yet not overly sweet. I think the pears would work well with other stronger cheeses as well like gorgonzola.

Ingredients:
2 slices of bread
butter
1 pear
gouda cheese
basil
salt and pepper to taste

Thinly slice your gouda and layer it on both pieces of bread. Make sure there are no gaps, you want cheesey goodness in every bite. Make the layer as thick or thin as you like. I like lots of cheese so my layer of gouda was pretty thick.

Then melt your butter in a pan over low heat and add your bread. Keep a close eye on the bread so it
doesn't burn but in the meantime thinly slice your pears and place on the gouda. I used 3/4 of a medium pear and then ate the rest of the pear as a snack.
Let the cheese melt evenly and sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from the heat, close the sandwich and eat while warm.
The cheese will be melted and gooey while the pears will remain crisp and sweet with the bread toasted and buttery.  The salt, pepper and basil really add some nice warmth to the sandwich, so I hope you enjoy!

Loved this presentation to see the layers of delicious!

Grilled Cheese...

I keep seeing these amazing posts, lists of grilled cheese. I don't know why but there are so many people talking about grilled cheese right now. It's a little crazy.
I love grilled cheese.
I have always loved grilled cheese especially non traditional grilled cheese.  Grilled cheese with American or cheddar cheese is great. But I also love grilled cheese with Brie and Raspberries (the same way that I love weird combinations on non grilled sandwiches as well) so I was extremely excited to see these various lists.

1. 40 Amazing Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
2. 31 Grilled Cheeses that are Better than a Boyfriend
3. The Grilled Cheese Academy (Beware! the website will talk at you!) 

The first two are lists with beautiful pictures of amazing grilled cheese. The first has links that bring you to the actual recipes while the second does not.  The third is actually a site dedicated to grilled cheese specifically made with Wisconsin cheeses.  

I really liked the idea of some of the grilled cheeses so I saved pictures and names on to my computer and in the next month or so I'm going to try to make some of them, well, my versions of them anyway. Then I'll post up the recipes here.
I'm challenging myself to try some new grilled cheeses. I'm also challenging myself to keep track of them!  We'll see how well I do!  

One of my grilled cheeses: French Toast Grilled Cheese

How to Make the Best Ham and Cheese Sandwich

I used to work at Subway many, many years ago so I know my sandwiches.  It's a lot of fun trying to get the perfect blend of ingredients to take a plain ham and cheese sandwich into a true winner.  So last week I made myself this amazing combination.  It really hit the spot and I took pictures of each step too!

What you need:
1 Italian Bread Roll (you can use multi grain or wheat, but go for a thick cut of bread)
spicy mustard
mayonnaise
cranberries
fresh spinach (go for organic or locally grown because there's more flavor)
several slices of ham
thinly sliced gouda cheese
thinly sliced plum tomatoes (2 or 3)
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Cut your roll on a slight angle and open it up.  On one side spread a generous helping of spicy mustard. On the other side a light layer of mayo. You can skip the condiments if you really want to, but I think that they really bring the sandwich together. They add some additional moisture and flavor.
 Toss some cranberries onto the mayo side.  I didn't put many because I was saving my cranberries. They're hard to find in Italy so I didn't want to waste them (which is silly because I'll eat them all anyway).  What would be even more ideal would be a cranberry sauce or relish to thinly spread over the mayo.

2.  Next, layer your thinly sliced tomatoes onto your mustard.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper to taste.  On the other side, put a very generous heaping of fresh lettuce. Seriously, put as much on as you can fit.  The spinach adds a wonderful freshness and kick to the sandwich.

3.  Next layer your ham onto the tomatoes.  I used 3 slices of ham.  They were not thinly sliced, otherwise I probably would've doubled the amount.  This cut of ham was from the shoulder so it was quite thick and a little more fatty.

4.  Then layer the sliced gouda onto the ham.  My slices weren't super thin because I cut them myself from a wedge of cheese.  That being said, I kind of liked the texture supplied by the thickness of the cut.  It gave a little more bite to the sandwich and really showed off the flavor and softness of the gouda.  Add some more cranberries on top of the cheese and then very carefully close your sandwich.  I always use the knife to make sure my ingredients stay where they belong.


And that's that.
The sandwich is really quite simple to make and utterly delicious in its combination of flavors and different textures.  Enjoy and take a big bite!!

 

Recipe: Lemon Chicken

I have been craving lemon, something lemony for the last couple of days.  I’m not sure why, but lemon has seemed very appealing to me. When I went to the grocery store a couple of days ago, I bought chicken and a lemon with the intention of making myself some lemon chicken. I didn’t have time right that moment so I froze the chicken legs in packets of 2. Finally, on Monday I got a chance to experiment and make some lemon chicken—my style.

My Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken legs FROZEN

¼ cup flour + extra for sauce

Basil

Red pepper flakes

1 lemon

¼ - ½ cup lemon juice (ideally I would’ve used another lemon, but I only had one)

¼ onion diced finely (almost minced)

1 garlic clove crushed and diced finely

Olive Oil

Water

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Mix a ¼ cup flour with a pinch of basil and red pepper flakes. Take your frozen chicken and rinse in warm water to defrost slightly (let it sit in hot water for about 5 minutes if the chicken is frozen together).  Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and rub over skin, then lightly dredge with the flour mixture.

Heat a tablespoon or so of oive oil in a medium saucepan over a low flame. When the oil is nice and hot, add in your chicken. Watch your fingers when you do this, if the oil is hot enough it may start to sizzle.  Since the chicken is frozen keep the flame low and allow the chicken to brown on each side.  Add olive oil if the pan gets too hot or if the chicken starts to stick. Don’t let it burn. 

The chicken will NOT cook all the way through so don’t worry. 

When each side has begun to get nice and golden, remove from the heat.

Place the chicken into a heat proof baking dish (Note: do not throw away the oil, you’ll need it for the sauce) and put it into the oven.  Keen an eye on the chicken and turn in about 15 minutes.  It should take about a half hour or more to cook through since it was frozen through. 

Place the previous pan (with the same oil) over a low heat and once it is hot again, add in the onion and garlic. Cook slowly and squeeze the fresh lemon into the pan carefully. Before cutting the lemon in half, roll it on the table, the juice will squeeze out more readily. Pour in a ¼ cup of water at a time as the mixture cooks down. Stir continuously so the onion and garlic do not burn.  Taste and add additional lemon juice if the lemon taste is not strong enough.  Continue to stir and cook down. 

Add dried basil, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in a pinch of flour at a time mixing constantly until the sauce has thickened sufficiently.

After 25 minutes (after the chicken has already been turned once), cut into the thickest piece to see if it has cooked all the way through. You can also use a meat thermometer to see if the chicken has come to the correct temperature inside. I cut into the chicken, the juices were still running a little pink so I turned the chicken again and let it back for another 5 to 10 minutes.

The Perfect Plate

This gave me enough time to play with my lemon sauce. I added a little more water and flour since the lemon flavor strengthens as the sauce cooks down.  I didn’t want it to be TOO lemony.

When the chicken is cooked through, serve it hot with a generous helping of the lemon sauce on top.

We had our chicken with a lovely light salad made with lettuce, tomato, onions and chick peas lightly doused

with a creamy balsamic vinegar reduction. Since the sauce was so tasty we used some wheat bread to sop it up. The meal would have been utter perfection with potatoes but sadly I didn't have any at home so next time, I'll have to make some delicious, creamy mashed potatoes to serve as a side.

My light and perfect lemon chicken sandwich

The next day with my left over chicken, I decided to make a sandwich. I went to the market and bought some beautiful, fresh bread and lots of crisp, fresh spinach. It made and absolutely stunning sandwich.  In fact, I want another one, right now.    

Starting and Finishing the day right

Well, yesterday I started my morning right. I woke up early. I cleaned my room. I did laundry. Then I left for work early.

All on an empty stomach because I really can’t eat in the morning. Yes. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but when I try to eat first thing I get nauseous. I can’t eat breakfast for at least an hour after waking up.  Then I usually have a snack or something breakfast like to pick at so my energy levels don’t drop.

I wound up having a yogurt drink at that point yesterday. It was delicious and good for me too, full of protein and all sorts of good bacteria.  And since it was in drink form I could have it on the run on the way to work.

Then at work, I was pretty bad. Since I had a lot of lesson planning to do, I went downstairs and got myself a small macchiato coffee (similar to a cappuccino but espresso sized) and a bombolona which is the equivalent of an Italian donut. And it’s cream filled. Cream filled and rolled in sugar and therefore utterly delicious. I was so excited about it.

I was not wrong to be excited about it.  I ate it while fiddling with my creative projects for the children. The sugar and the caffeine helped me through exam making too. It was great. Definitely not good for me, but well worth it as far as I’m concerned.

I figure, I walk at least 45 minutes a day and I’m on my feet, up and down, running around after children so a cream filled fried pastry is absolutely allowed once or twice a week as a treat. 

Then I forgot to eat lunch, so I accidently made up for it.  I got so side tracked with work and was so full from the donut like creation that I neglected to eat lunch until my work day was pretty much over.  DO NOT DO THIS. Goodness knows I’m going to try not to do it (in fairness, it will probably happen again simply because I get scattered during the day sometimes when I have a lot to do).  If you haven’t eaten much in the morning, you should absolutely eat a hearty lunch. I was supposed to eat a fresh salad with lettuce, tomato, chick peas and three meatballs on the side. 

I would have made it through my baby class a lot saner if I had eaten it.

As it is, I’ll eat it tomorrow for lunch.  By the time I was done, it was after 6pm, so I snacked on a meatball (only 2 for lunch tomorrow) and went home.  I stopped in the grocery store which I probably shouldn’t have done while I was so hungry. Hunger shopping means you always come out of the grocery store with far more food than you absolutely needed.

Last night was no exception. But that’s okay because I got the makings for sandwiches, fried polenta and tortellini. 

I won’t have to go to the grocery store for a while which works out well since I won’t have time to go until Sunday (maybe). 

Sandwich with ham, tomatoes, cheese, spinach and cranberries

 I built myself the most beautiful sandwich. I’m not kidding. It was GORGEOUS. I’m going to have to post up exactly what’s in it, because it was quite delicious and not just because I was hungry. 

After finishing up every last morsel of my sandwich, I had a clementine while chatting with my roommates.

So I started and finished my day strong in terms of food.  The middle was a little wonky, but I was really efficient at work which is good.  

Makeshifting my lunch

Everyday I try to bring lunch with me, that way I save some money (it definitely costs more to get pizza or a premade sandwich) and eat a little healthier.
On some days I make myself salad and on others I try fun variations of sandwiches.

Last week I brought a colorful and tasty salad with me. It had cherry tomatoes, some pesto chicken, lettuce, raddichio and roasted red peppers in it. The flavors were a good blend with a lot of different textures. I also made a little balsamic, olive oil and oregano mixture to drizzle over it. I went very very light though since the peppers and chicken already had a lot of flavor.

This week was a week of sandwiches for some reason. I made a couple of different varieties though so it was a lot of fun.

Pancetta, turkey, cheese, and cherry jam

I came to work on Monday with no lunch so I took a quick spin to the grocery store and found a
long baguette for €0.59 so I knew sandwiches for the week were going to happen. I found pancetta which is similar to bacon, except sliced super finely so it can be eaten raw. I also found turkey and a sliced cheese (similar to American cheese except white and more creamy). I decided to put it all together with a bit of cherry jam. It added moisture and a great flavor contrast to the salty pancetta.

Delicious lunch #2

Tuesday's lunch was vaguely similar with another pancetta and turkey sandwich. Except I used
fresh tomatoes for moisture instead of cherry jam and served it with pasta in my homemade tomato sauce. I had leftover sauce that I wanted to use before it went to waste. It had started out with eggplants but I ate them all, so this was just a spicy sauce to go with my pasta and grated cheese. It was absolutely delicious.
I had another similar sandwich yesterday but I didn't take a picture of it because it looked very much the same, but I ate it with a helping of chick peas which were nice and light.

Mozzarella, prosiutto and honey

Today I went back to the store and had to refresh my supply of bread and cold cuts. I got ciabatta which is a wider bread that's not as long. I also got prosciutto crudo and mozzarella.  Then I added a little drizzle of honey for a nice touch of sweetness.
I know, I'm a little strange, but I really enjoy the combination of salty and sweet. It doesn't work for everyone, so I recommend experimenting a bit with flavors until you find the right combinations for you.

So far this week, I've had some really good sandwiches and we'll just have to see what I cook up for tomorrow!

A Quick and Healthy Lunch

Ok, so I'm on a blogging roll. We shall see how long I can keep this up!
Honestly, let's face it, I'm avoiding packing. The mess in my room, ok, the explosion that was formerly my room is making me nervous, so I need a break. And goodness knows I needed to eat, so why not blog about it??

I had a really quick and healthy lunch and am quite proud of myself. I could have had leftover chinese, or the frozen burritos, or the mac and cheese in the cupboard... Instead I made myself a healthy sandwich.

It wasn't just any sandwich, but actually healthy. So no mayo or heavy sauces, nothing fried and a light wheat bread.

Hummus, Pepperjack, La Bomba and Lettuce

My sandwich was delicious with hummus, pepperjack cheese, la bomba (a spicy Italian vegetable spread), and lots and lots of lettuce.  I would have loved to add some turkey to the mix, but sadly we finished it all so I just doubled the amount of hummus I used for some additional protein. Twice the hummus also means that the sandwich stayed moist so I didn't need to add mayo. La bomba made a nice addition for some heat and since it's made of vegetables is still relatively good for you. I also added a lot of lettuce to the mix for the crunch. It doesn't have a lot of flavor but added a lot of crispness and substance to my sandwich. It hurts nothing that I burned more calories chewing the lettuce than the calories that actually exist in lettuce.
So good.  So healthy.

So much lettuce!

And now back to packing... and maybe some baking. There are apple cupcakes to be made! I'll be updating again soon.

Restaurant Review: The Wicked Hop

The Wicked Hop is in the Historic 3rd ward of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It's downtown on the corner of St. Paul and Broadway very close to the Milwaukee Public Market. We actually walked past it early in the day and I was fascinated by the sign and the great outdoor seating area. We met our other friends there just in time for Happy Hour or rather their Hoppy Hour and a good meal.

The staff was super friendly and the menu was reasonably priced. Plus everything was delicious. Their Hoppy Hour and specials drink menu was great and varies on a daily basis. And they have a long Happy Hour, Monday through Friday it goes from 11am to 7pm which is absolutely fantastic. While there I took advantage of their $5 margaritas and my friends really enjoyed the $3 Mexican beer.  Also, on Tuesdays they have $5 Bloody Marys (voted "Milwaukee's Best Bloody Mary" by Shepherd Express and On Milwaukee) and currently they have pints of Spotted Cow (I assume beer) for just $2.
In terms of food, their menu was a lot of fun. They had traditional burgers and wraps but also had some unique ingredients and dishes.  For example, I ordered the Bronzed Duck Quesadilla which had Maple Leaf Farms pulled duck breast, goat cheese, smoked mozzarella and fresh green chives stuffed in a 12 inch flour tortilla, grilled crispy. It was served with a beautiful cherry salsa and sour cream.  It was absolutely delicious and started my month long fascination with quesadillas. The duck was beautifully cooked and the quesadilla was crip with a great cheesiness on the inside. And the salsa... I really just wanted more of that delicious salsa. It was sweet and a little spicy which I augmented with a little hot sauce too. It was perfection.
Their appetizer listing included Bacon Jam Bruschetta which seemed really interesting but I didn't have the courage to try it right then. Toasted baguette with a "Tuscan bruschetta medley" served over fresh arugula and drizzled with a balsamic glaze. What made it unique was that it's served with a mason jar of house made bacon jam. The Cuban Missles also looked interesting, crispy wonton wrappers stuffed with smoked pulled pork, ham, baby swiss and bread & butter pickles served with avocado mustard lime aioli. Next time I get out there, I'm definitely going to have to try that one.
The sandwiches looked great as well and I got to try a bite of the BBQ Chicken Strip wrap (and my friend got fruit salad on the side instead of fries.

The chicken was cooked wonderfully and their original bbq sauce was quite delicious. I thought the Wailer also sounded quite good with caribbean jerk chicken and a champagne mango mint vinaigrette. Yeah, I want that. I was too full after my quesadilla to think of ordering something else, so I'll have to try it another time. Their entrees also looked great, if a little more costly. The Rue Bourbon Bayou Pasta definitely took my fancy. It's Creole-spiced chicken breast and andouille sausage sautéed with onions, peppers and celery served over cavatappi pasta in a Cajun crème. Mmmmm. My mouth watered just reading it. Sometimes I really wish that I had 3 stomaches.

All in all I really enjoyed this restaurant. The food was great and so was the helpful staff who were constantly on hand to refill our water glasses (we were super thirsty from wandering around all day) and to see if we needed anything else.  

Recipe: Savory French Toast Sandwich

I love french toast and I especially love making sandwiches with French Toast.  It's easy to make and fun to get creative with.

Savory French Toast

4 pieces of thick sliced bread (challah or whole wheat)
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne (even a little more if you like spicy)
1 tbs white white (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Whip the eggs with the spices and white wine. Soak the slices of bread in the egg mixture.  Heat a small amount of oil or butter (if you want to go healthy, you can also use cooking spray) and then place the slices down on the hot surface. If you're using cooking spray, it will heat faster and possibly begin to smoke. I prefer to use butter because I like the taste best, but oil gets a great golden color as well. Let cook for about a minute on each side or until golden brown.

At this point you can either serve the french toast with syrup and bacon or you can do what I often do and make a sandwich.

Tonight I decided to make a vegetarian french toast sandwich using fresh spinach, cheddar cheese, cream cheese and cranberries. I spread the cream cheese while the french toast was still warm and then sprinkled with shredded cheddar (it starts to melt right away). You can slice the spinach leaves or place them whole on the bread if you prefer and then add as many cranberries as you like. It adds a nice sweet kick that isn't too jarring.  It was utterly delicious and I highly recommend trying it.  And it paired really well
with my Once Upon a Vine Chardonnay.

Recipe: Turkey sandwich with caramellized onion

 A turkey sandwich is probably one of the easiest dishes to make, but to make it with flair? That could be a challenge.  How does one transform a standard turkey sandwich into something fun and delicious.
I was in the mood for a turkey sandwich that would have been the envy of every lunch box and brown paper bag in high school! (Granted, my lunches were pretty envied anyway thanks to my mothers famous italian sandwiches of all of my friends)
I decided to take the simple turkey sandwich up a notch.



Best Turkey Sandwich
1 piece of frozen turkey breast (a thinly sliced cutlet is perfect)
2 tablespoon butter
1/4 of a onion diced
1 clove of garlic (if you would like a stronger taste of garlic, finely dice the clove)
2 slices of american cheese or mozzarella
1 tsp mayonnaise
salt and pepper
arugula
cherry tomatoes (sliced or quartered)

In a flat skillet saute the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of butter. As the onion begins to become transparent add the turkey and cover. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn when slightly golden on one side.
Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on each piece of bread and cover with a slice of cheese. When you flip the turkey, check on the onion, if it has started to brown remove it from the pan so it does not burn and place the mixture onto the slices of bread. (If you have not finely diced your garlic, you can discard the clove at this point). Add the other tablespoon of butter to the pan and then place the bread on top.Let the cheese melt as the turkey finishes cooking. When the turkey has browned remove and cut into slices. Place the turkey on the bread with lettuce and tomato.
Serve with a side salad and balsamic vinegar.

 

~Raspberry Truffle