A Most Delicious Sandwich!

    Last night was an adventure in reinventing! I was looking for something I could make for dinner that wouldn't heat up the house, when I came across an idea for an open-face sandwich. I decided to put my own twist on it and set to work whipping up a batch of homemade ricotta (Cover it an let it rest on the counter for the day. The result is a tangy, warm cheese) to go on the sandwiches. Here's my Grilled Open-Face Sandwich:

Sourdough Bread (leftover from Sunday's dinner)- Lightly coat with Extra Virgin Olive Oil on one side and place oil side down on a hot grill.

Sirloin Steak- Cut into strips. Season with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, coarse salt and fresh-ground pepper; place on the grill until cooked through (about 3 minutes per side).

Zucchini (just plucked from the garden)- Trim off both ends and cut lengthwise into thick slices. Brush each side with Extra Virgin Olive Oil; sprinkle one side with coarse salt and fresh-ground black pepper. Grill 4 minutes per side.

  Assemble: Spread a generous amount of fresh ricotta on the oiled and toasted side of each slice of bread. Lay strips of steak across the top; top with a slice of zucchini. Serve immediately (I served it with boiled new potatoes that I seasoned with butter, salt, pepper and fresh Italian Parsley).

  I decided that for appearance sake, as well as ease in eating, I would slice the steak into one long slice for each sandwich instead of individual strips.

Gas Grill Baking

You read that right! I tried it over the weekend. Check out how it went!

How To: Cook An Artichoke

  I realized the other day, that although I was taught how to cook artichokes in my early teens, it might not be something everyone is familiar with. So, here I am to help.

  The first trick is to pick artichokes that are a vibrant green color with leaves of similar size all the way around.

  Next, remove the stem with a very sharp knife and the bottom row of leaves. Cut the tips off the top of the artichoke as shown in the picture above. Rinse the artichoke very well under cold water, carefully pulling the center leaves apart as you do (this ensures the center of the artichoke cooks well).
  Fill a large pot, fitted with a steamer basket, with 4 inches of water; add 1 tablespoon salt. Bring water to boil over high heat.
  Place the artichoke in the steamer basket of the pot, cover with a lid and steam 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until tender.
  Serve with clarified butter or hollandaise.

Baked Eggs

  I came across this recipe a while back and filed it away in my brain under "recipes I want to try" (it's quite an extensive collection). I got the chance to try it last night and loved it! My husband's comment was "it's really good when I get a bite with lot's of bacon in it", so my guess is he wasn't as big a fan. I had a bit of a hard time deciding how long to cook them so the egg would be to my liking. What I decided was that they either needed to cook at 550 degrees on the top oven rack for 15 minutes or so, or on the middle rack under the broiler for 5-8 minutes. 

  Again, I thought they were absolutely delicious! Maybe a little too rich for breakfast, but perfect for dinner!

102 New Uses For Kitchen Items

  I received an e-mail today with a link to 102 new uses for everyday kitchen items and thought I'd share. I've gotten through about half of them so far. One of my favorite suggestions is to remove the lid from your cooked rice, just after the cooking time has completed, place a clean dishcloth over the pan and replace the lid. This allows the cloth to absorb any excess moisture in the rice, leaving it fluffy instead of a sticky pile of mush.

Swedish Meatballs

  I have been trying out Swedish Meatball recipes in search of a recipe that's quick and delicious. I just found it! I used my cookie scoop to make the meatballs and simply dropped them right into the pan of butter. I would suggest cutting the salt in the meatballs to about 1/2 teaspoon, (they were quite salty) and I cut the allspice down to about 1/8 teaspoon. Also, I did not have the red currant jelly the recipe called for so I simply omitted it, but I think it would have given the sauce just the right amount of sweet, helping to cut some of the richness of the cream. I served the meatballs and sauce over white rice, but I'm sure brown rice would be tasty as well. 

  Delicious! ...and so quick and easy!

Swedish Meatballs

(Sorry I don't have pictures, I was time-crunched for a class I was teaching last night. Just goes to show how quick they were to prepare.)

A Breakfast Treat Sure To Disappear!

  If you've been following this blog for long, you know how much I love breakfast food. This recipe is for a treat I had long forgotten about, but recently remembered while having one of my sisters stay with us. I like to make these as a side to scrambled eggs so I can feel better about eating one (or two, or three) of them.

Vanishing Breakfast Rolls

1 container refrigerator biscuits

1 tbsp. butter, melted

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

8 marshmallows

  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

  Flatten each of the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Roll marshmallows in melted butter, then cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place a marshmallow in the center of each biscuit; pull ends of dough up around the marshmallow and seal tight (if you don't seal it very well, the marshmallow will ooze out of the biscuit and you will lose the effect); do not get sugar on edges of biscuit or it will not seal.

  Place in oven and bake 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.

  I had a blast making these with my children over the weekend. Imagine their surprise when they bit into their biscuit to find the marshmallow had "vanished"!