French Dip Sandwich

04 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Lunch, Main Dish Tags: ,

Labor Day weekend already? It seems like it was just Memorial Day weekend!! Well there’s only 3 weeks of summer left. Soon the leaves will change colors and it will be chillly again. I can’t say I’m sad about that. This summer seemed to not be our typical Long Island summer. Too rainy. Too humid. Not many nice days at all. So while I’m usually summer’s biggest fan this year I say ‘bring on the fall’. I’m ready for boots and scarves and sweaters (yay!! get the cashmere out!!). 

Husband and I finally did some painting in our house that we should’ve done probably 3 years ago-but alas-we put things off like that. It felt really good to get it done and, as always is the case, it looks fabulous.  I knew it was going to be an active busy day so I planned ahead and had everything I needed for these sandwiches on hand. They were a HUGE hit! They were so tasty. They’re so tangy from the broth and the sweet onions were deeeeeelicious! And they came together really fast to boot.  A perfect sandwich for a day of doing things around the house or for a nice lunch at home. 

By the way-the color in the background of the photo below is Benjamin Moore’s Wood Ash the color we painted the room. It’s very nice if you’re looking for a warm neutral to go with dark furniture/and wood floors like we were.

French Dip

French Dip Sandwiches

Ingredients:

  • 1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, cut in half and sliced to 1/4 inch slices
  • Cooking spray
  • 2 tsp salt-free Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning Blend, divided
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp water
  • 2 cups fat-free, low-sodium beef broth or stock made from Better than Bullion Beef
  • 12 ozs thinly sliced Boars Head roast beef from the deli counter
  • 4 kaiser rolls, cut in half horizontally
  • 4-8 slices reduced-fat Swiss Cheese (or meunster)

Instructions:

  1. Heat a medium non-stick skillet over med-high heat and add the onion. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle in 1/2 tsp of the Mrs. Dash. Stir to distribute evenly and sautee about 13 minutes until onion is tender and golden brown. While the onion is cooking add the water 2 tbsp at a time until it evaporates, scraping the bits off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. While the onion is cooking combine the broth and remaining Mrs. Dash in a sauce pan large enough to hold the liquid and the roast beef and stir it. Cook the broth until hot. Remove the pan from the heat and add the roast beef, pushing it down into the broth and let it stand while you prepare the rolls.
  3. Place the bread cut side up in the toaster oven, top one side (or each if you prefer) with a slice of cheese. Toast to desired crispy/meltyness.
  4. Using tongs pick up some of the beef and let the broth drip back into the pan. Place the beef on the bottom of the prepared roll and top with onions.  Serve immediately with a side of broth if desired.

I opted to just drizzle a little broth over the onion/beef on my sandwich and then put the top of the roll on top.

Adapted from Cooking Light’s Fresh Food Fast cookbook.

 

 

 

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Grilled Chilean Sea Bass Sandwich with Homemade Tartar Sauce

12 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Condiment/Topping, Lunch, Main Dish Tags: ,

Recently I’ve had it in my head that I need to eat more fish at home. Seeing as though I live on an island with an abundance of fantastic fresh fish available it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.  I used Chilean Sea Bass for this sandwich but you could also use cod, grouper or any other white flaky fish.

Keeping with that thought I decided to make this sandwich and it was so fantastic!! Light, flaky fish and tangy, zesty tartar sauce. It wasn’t too big or too small-just right. These sandwiches came together in no time. While the fish is cooking you prepare the sauce. 

fish1

Grilled Chilean Sea Bass Sandwich with Homemade Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 5-6oz fresh Chilean Sea Bass filet, skin and any bones removed
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper for seasoning
  • 1 sandwich roll or hamburger bun (I used one Arnold whole wheat Sandwich Thin)
  • lettuce leaves

Instructions:

  1. Pre-heat a stove top grill pan to medium heat  (you can also use an outdoor grill).
  2. Drizzle fish with olive oil on all sides and then season with salt and pepper.
  3. Place fish on the grill and cook for about 3 minutes on each side (depending on the size of the fish) until fish flakes easily with a fork.
  4. Place fish, lettuce and tartar sauce (recipe below) on a bun and enjoy.

Makes 1 sandwich.

 

Homemade Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp chopped scallions
  • 1&1/2 tbsp finely chopped cornichons
  • 1&1/2 tsp capers, drained
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

  1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside to use right away or refrigerate until later.

Makes just over 1/4 cup of sauce.

 

Both recipies adapted from Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast cookbook.

 

Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes

24 May 2013 4 Comments

by sparksfromthekitchen in Lunch, Main Dish Tags: , ,

Yes I know I thought the same thing when I read the name of the dish–YUM!! Putting 2 classics together-that’s genius! I’ve seen a few different recipes for this floating around the internet and blog world for a while but never got around to making one. For this month’s blog swap I was given http://www.tasteofhomecooking.blogspot.com/ and it took me a while to decide to make this dish-Sarah’s got a ton of great sounding recipes on her blog.

I really did enjoy eating these yummy sandwiches. The recipe makes about 4-6 sloppy joes depending on how much you can load into the bun. I toasted the roll with a slice of provolone on each side and then put the beef mixture in the middle. I stuck to her recipe pretty closely with this one-the only changes being that I added a bit of worstershire sauce and used less onion and upped the steak sauce amount and then let it reduce for a while. I think the green pepper added a great depth of flavor too. Next time I make this I will use the leanest ground beef that I can find to cut down on the fat. The beef mixture also reheated extremely well.

 

philly1

Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup yellow onion, chopped small
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 4 tbsp A1 Steak Sauce (or similar)
  • 3 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worstershire Sauce
  • 1/2 cup beef stock
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 4-6 kaiser rolls
  • Provolone cheese-sliced thin

Instructions:

  1. Add the olive oil to a large skillet set over medium-high heat. when the oil is hot add the onion and geen pepper and cook until starting to brown and slightly soft. Remove the onions and peppers from the pan and set aside for later.
  2. To the same hot pan add the ground beef and brown, cooking through thoroughly. Drian any fat, add the peppers, onions and stir to combine. Then add the steak sauce, worcestershire sauce, beef stock. Bring it to a boil and then reduce heat and let it simmer about 10 minutes until most of the liquid is gone. Add salt and pepper if necessary to season.
  3. Cut the rolls in half, place one piece of provolone on each side and toast.
  4. Mound up the beef onto the rolls and either eat open face or as a sandwich.

Check out the other May blog swap recipies here. Thanks for hosting Sarah!!



Falafel Sandwich and Yogurt Sauce

07 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Lunch, Main Dish Tags: ,

I like Falafel. I rarely have it but I do like it. When I came across this recipe I was pretty excited to make it at home. Since I also had these pickled red onions in my fridge at home I knew it was going to be delicious. The falafel were so easy to make. I used my small food processor and it just fit-but it worked.

These had great texture and you can go either way with the herbs and spices-more or less.  They cook fast too. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I should’ve put them on a pita bread but I didn’t have pitas and didn’t want to buy a whole pack for 2 falafel patties. So I used  burritos. They worked great! I also made up the yogurt sauce to go on top. Recipe below.

falafel

Falafel

Ingredients

  • 1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • garlic clove, chopped
  • handful of flat-leaf parsley or curly parsley
  • 1 tsp ground cumin 
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1⁄2 tsp harissa paste or chilli powder
  • 2 tbsp plain flour

To serve

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • pita, tortilla, burrito or sliced bread
  • tomatoes
  • lettuce
  • pickled red onion (recipe here)
  • greek yogurt sauce (recipe below)

Instructions:

  1. Place chick peas in the food processor along with the onion, garlic, parsley, spices, flour and a little salt. Blend until fairly smooth, then shape into two to four (your preference) patties with your hands.
  2. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the burgers, then quickly fry for 3 mins on each side until lightly golden.

Fal

From BBCGoodFood

Yogurt Sauce

This is to my taste. If you don’t like dill or raw garlic change it up.

  • 1 small container plain greek yogurt (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp chopped fresh dill
  • 1/4 garlic clove
  • salt
  • fresh lemon juice

Mash the garlic and salt together to form a paste. Add it along with everything else to the yogurt and stir.  Schmear it on the falafel.

Shrimp Rolls! YUMMY!!!

13 Aug 2012 4 Comments

by sparksfromthekitchen in Lunch, Main Dish Tags: , ,

 A super-delicious, cool, light, yummy sandwich!!

These are SO easy to make and even easier to eat! My husband and I both loved them. The cornichons (gerkins) add a nice bit of sweet/tangyness, the mustard adds just a bit of spice and depth. There is a very small amount of mayo to hold it all together-only 3 tbsp for 1 pound of shrimp. I served mine with chips and kosher dill pickle spears.

Creamy Shrimp Rolls 

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 Tbsp whole-grain mustard
  • 1/4 cup cornichons, chopped, plus 1 Tbsp brine
  • Black pepper
  • 1 lb cooked, peeled and deveined large shrimp, coarsely chopped (I used fresh non-frozen)
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
  • 4 hot dog buns
  • 4 pieces romaine or green-leaf lettuce (I used boston lettuce instead)
  • Potato chips, for serving
  • Kosher Dill Pickle spears

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise mustard, brine and 1/4 tsp pepper.

2. Add the shrimp, cornichons and tarragon and toss to combine.

3. Line the buns with the lettuce and top with the shrimp mixture. Serve with chips, if desired.

Makes 4 sandwiches. Prep time: 10 minutes  Total time: 15 minutes

From: http://christinacooks.blogspot.com/2011/08/creamy-shrimp-rolls.html originally Woman’s Day