It’s already February. It’s already February, and I haven’t written one post about the cooking I did over the Christmas holidays. If January went by this fast, it’s sure to be Easter in no time. And then summer. And then Thanksgiving. And then Christmas again. If this is aging, I don’t mind so much because the yuckiest month is over. It’s already February!

Having done a lot of cooking for Christmas celebrations, I took it easy when it came to cooking during my quiet Christmas staycation. I didn’t stretch as far as last year and roast some flesh. Instead, I roasted some squash. Slice in half (I had a butternut), place face down on parchment in a 400-degree oven, and about 45 minutes later, you have a lot of roasted gourd to play with. Then, remove the peel and mash by hand or puree it with the help of a blender. Portion it out, refrigerate it or freeze it. You’re good to go. A healthier side dish than potatoes, a suitable mash to add some moisture to your baked goods, and a vitamin-packed, high fibre, low calorie orange veg that will help you balance any overeating damage you did in honour of baby Jesus.

Taking a cue from the many sandwiches I see featured on Serious Eats, I concocted a grilled cheese with some of the mash. The squash’s sweetness added a nice contrast to the saltiness of the cheese, and its texture added great mouth feel. No, this isn’t exactly diet food but it IS delicious.

Grilled Cheese and Squash Sandwich

Everybody usually has their own tricks and preferences for making a tasty grilled cheese. I tend to like mine only with Gruyere, but I had some leftover Fleur d’Aunis from the Christmas cheese plate, so I added it for some extra goo.

I have no measurements, but the basic idea is:

- Preheat your heavy duty frying pan to medium low.
- Butter the outside of two slices of bread.
- Smear some dijon mustard on the inside of one slice of bread, butter the inside of other.
- Spread a few tablespoons of squash on the mustard’d slice, sprinkle some fresh parsley, then load on your cheese. Top with the other slice of bread.
- Place in your pan and be patient. A good grilled cheese is made like a braise: low and slow. Don’t turn up the heat. You’re looking at about five minutes per side to get perfect golden brown bread and cheese that oozes.

One of my first far away adventures was to Chile. Just after final exams wrapped in my third year of university, I flew standby with my two besties to go visit our other bestie in Santiago. Of all the sacrilegious crimes, I was a vegetarian when I went. Yes. To the meat capital of the world. No completo hotdogs, no chacareros, no meat empanadas. I need a re-do. Luckily my meat aversion is well behind me, and some years ago at a little long gone Edmonton restaurant called Churros King, I met the Lomito sandwich. Tender pork, sauerkraut, avocado, mayonnaise, tomato. Piled on a tender Chilean bun, it really is a perfect sandwich.

This week when my sweet uncle showed up at my door with a dozen (still warm) buns from the Chilean owned Latin Bakery, I could not get the Lomito out of my head. With a bit of “Lomito” googling and a quick call to my Chilean bestie who is happily back in Edmonton, I was set. I opted for slow roasting the pork and it really turned out gorgeous. Falling apart beautiful. As a bonus, the pan fried pork leftovers made a yummy companion to soft scrambled eggs the next morning. I can hardly wait to make these sandwiches again. For friends.

Lomito Sandwiches
serves 2 1/2

1 pork tenderloin
2 cloves of garlic
2 avocados
1 tomato
olive oil
sauerkraut
mayonnaise
Chilean buns (or ciabatta buns would be an appropriate substitute)

For the pork:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place whole pork tenderloin in a covered roaster or dutch oven. Fill water to almost cover. Add a few generous pinches of salt, freshly ground pepper, and the 2 whole garlic cloves. Slow roast the pork with the lid on for 2 hours or more. Remove from the roaster and shred. If you wish you can smash the soft roasted garlic and add it to the mix with a little of the remaining pan juices.

For the fillings:
Smash the avocados and add a squeeze of citrus if you plan to let them sit to prevent browning.
Thinly slice the tomato and sprinkle them with kosher salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
Warm the sauerkraut.
Warm the buns in the oven.

To assemble:
Pile the warm shredded pork on the warm bun. Top with sauerkraut, tomato, avocado, and loads of mayonnaise.

Oh, and don’t forget a stack of napkins.

To meat! Cin cin.

Today’s Special: Roast turkey on a roll, Torrisi Italian Specialties
Ah, New York. It’s my favourite place to be. And although I missed out on a traditional Thanksgiving meal, it’s my favourite place to be during my favourite long weekend. Anything you might have heard about autumn in New York is true, but add that a July-like heat wave is possible. I could hardly believe my luck.
To offset my lack of a proper turkey and fixings meal, I made sure to still have some gobbler while in the Big Apple. First, I went for Henry Public‘s amazing turkey leg sandwich and then, to the roast turkey at Torrisi Italian Specialties. Substituting their fresh ricotta for the mayo, it was hard to believe at first that a white roll, with lettuce, tomato and “spicy sauce” atop herb-roasted breast meat would yield one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. But on second thought, it wasn’t. There was something magical about that sauce. And the meat itself… it doesn’t happen very often where I stop to think about how delicious the herbs are on a piece of meat. Who cares that it was breast meat? It was juicy and flavourful and perfect for Thanksgiving weekend. Worth the hype. Worth the wait.

I must mention again that it was like 25 above, and I ate it on a park bench. I heart NY.

Torrisi Italian Specialties
Mulberry & Prince, New York City

Image courtesy of www.wednesdaychef.com

The internet is a great source for all things foodie, and we’re constantly bookmarking, starring, and emailing intriguing recipes, food porn, and inspiration. Here’s a selection of clippings we think are worth checking out.

A tomato salad sandwich sounds like a perfect solo supper.

Although it’s unlikely that my cherry obsession will allow me to do anything but eat the sweet spheres by the handful, I think these roasted cherry brownies might be worth the effort.

The same thing goes for blackberries, but I could also make the effort for large, buttery blackberry oat scones.

After polishing off the brownies and scones, I should probably lighten up a bit and try this yogurt pasta carbonara.

Completely unrelated, how ’bout we make this beef rendang?

Photo courtesy of www.joythebaker.com

The internet is a great source for all things foodie, and we’re constantly bookmarking, starring, and emailing intriguing recipes, food porn, and inspiration. Here’s a selection of clippings we think are worth checking out.

I’ve made rice pudding with brown sugar a few times, but this recipe makes me want to do it again, risotto-style.

Ahhhhhhhhh…monster cookies! These remind me SO much of the 80s. I want some. Now.

This sandwich seems to make good use of the often overlooked nectarine.

More drool-worthy pudding. With millet? Go figure. (Still in Turkey pudding obsession mode.)

Candied jalapenos. I’m totally intrigued.

Today’s Special: Grilled vegetables and burrata on ciabatta, La Ghianda
My favourite restaurant in Vancouver, La Quercia, has a sister daytime deli across the street. Of course I love it also, but given its location, it’s not the most convenient for workday lunches. My frequency there is much less than I’d like it to be. I’m fully on the burrata bandwagon so when I saw it was a star of one of their home-baked ciabatta sandwiches, I couldn’t say no. For me, it’s almost like the cheese world’s equivalent to whipped cream. So of course it’s going to make vegetables extra delicious and be the perfect textural contrast to the chewy bread. Cannot.get.enough. Word of warning: unless you possess some stealth etiquette moves, that flour is going to be all over you. But, when things taste this good, who the f&*k cares?

La Ghianda
West 4th Ave & Alma, Vancouver

Today’s Special: Pear, prosciutto and blue brie baguette, Finch’s
A beloved sandwich in a place as cozy as a grandmother’s parlour.  It’s hard to find anything wrong with this combination of a fresh, chewy baguette, creamy, strong cheese, ripe pear and melt-in-your-mouth prosciutto. It’s hard to do anything but find time in your calendar to try and make this sandwich happen once again.

Finch’s
Homer & Pender, Vancouver

Today’s Special: Smoked ham sandwich
We all love sandwiches, especially when done well. I hope you’ll see many sandwiches featured here. This one comes from the new-ish little deli and sundry that’s attached to The Dirty Apron cooking school, which is of the Chambar and Cafe Medina family.  Cheese, ham, pickled veg, grilled bread and happiness.

The Dirty Apron
Beatty & Pender, Vancouver

Chicken leftovers #1.

I resisted for a long time, but now I freely admit to enjoying Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  I still can’t stand Guy Fieri, his overuse of stupid phrases, his flip-flop jokes and the constant trips back to the mid-90s.  The endless shots of too much are often too much, but I can’t stop.  It’s become a guilty pleasure.   Too much butter, too much cheese, too much meat.  A double bacon cheeseburger contained within two grilled cheese sandwiches? I’m sure that’s been featured on at least three episodes.  I’m all for supporting the small and local and enjoy that the show focuses on that.  But the American excess steals the show.  Is it the post-recession moment that causes us to turn to such TV trash?  The mountains of meat and cheese and fries and BBQ that can all be had for only $4.99?

While I may view it as the Food Network equivalent of reading tabloid magazines, my eyes feasted on the Christmas marathon.  Visual indigestion led to inspiration.  A cilantro-jalapeno pesto from a tailgating episode.  Because I was going to be putting it on a sandwich with cheese, I ended up making more of a Provençal pistou — a loose pesto without cheese and pine nuts.  As the flavours I wanted were present, I didn’t mind the lack of body.  Matched with pickled onions, roasted red peppers, provolone, fresh ciabatta and roasted chicken, it made my first round of leftovers totally… money.

Dining companion:  Misfits (A good chunk of my holidays were spent watching the first two seasons of this British series.)

Cilantro-jalapeno pistou

2 handfuls of cilantro
1/2 jalapeno, sliced (remove seeds and ribs if you want less heat)
1 clove of garlic
a few tablespoons of olive oil

In either a food processor or with a mortar and pestle, crush the cilantro, jalapeno and garlic together.  Slowly add the oil until it all comes together.  Continue adding oil until you reach a pesto-like consistency.  You can also make it thicker or thinner with less or more oil.  Cover remaining with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Quick pickled onions

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup white sugar

Stir sugar in vinegar until it dissolves.  Add onions, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 2 hours.  They will keep for a few days.

]]> http://creamandsugar.ca/cilantro-jalapeno-chicken-sandwich-recipe/feed/ 4 http://creamandsugar.ca/sandwich-recipe-croque-monsieur/ http://creamandsugar.ca/sandwich-recipe-croque-monsieur/#comments Mon, 06 Dec 2010 00:29:48 +0000 cream http://creamandsugar.ca/?p=1501

When I started making this famous French sandwich one night and thinking of its inspiration — my friend and former classmate Sarah’s blog Edible Witness — I was reminded of a very fond sandwich memory of when I attended school with Sarah in Toronto.  Having just started graduate school, budgets and studying meant that socializing on a Saturday night was rare.  Of course that quickly changed, but in the early days, we took our mountain of reading very seriously. So, it goes that I met Sarah and Mike for lunch one Saturday and will never forget three things from that day:  the amazing booth that’s Sarah’s apartment had, the introduction to what would become one of my fave T.O. spots, Terroni, and the process of conversation becoming friendship.

When Sarah posted a recipe for a Croque Monsieur, I knew a solo supper would be raised a few notches with the bechamel-oozing bistro classic.  There’s technique in the making of the roux, but just keep stirring and remember to not let it brown, the nutty aroma of cooked butter and flour (almost like fresh baked shortbread) is a sure sign you’re there.

Dining companion:  The Trip

Croque Monsieur
Serves 1.

1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup hot milk (warmed in the microwave a minute or so)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup grated gruyere cheese
Dijon mustard
4 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
6 thin slices of Black Forest ham

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toast bread on a baking sheet for about five minutes and set aside.

Melt butter on low heat, then add flour and whisk vigorously to form a roux. Stir constantly for a few minutes until the roux begins to absorb the butter and the flour cooks.  Add the hot milk, whisking in gradually to avoid lumps. Heat and stir until sauce thickens (coats back of spoon), then stir in salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat and stir in half the cheese.

To assemble sandwiches, spread mustard on one half of sandwich, then top with three slices of ham, some grated cheese and about a tablespoon of the sauce. Place other slice of bread on top, then spread with more bechamel and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat.

Bake sandwiches in oven for about five minutes, then broil for a few minutes until tops lightly brown and bubble.