Deli @ Home: Reuben

I love sandwiches. My hubby doesn't. The compromise? Reuben sandwich. A reuben is so much more than just a sandwich, especially this one. The Russian dressing spread, good swiss cheese, and freshly sliced corned beef brisket makes this reuben one of the best ones you will ever taste.

Reuben Sandwich

Reuben Sandwich
From Simply Recipes
Serves 2
Ingredients
Sandwich

• 1 tbsp of butter, softened
• 4 slices of rye bread
• 4 slices of Swiss cheese
• 1/2lb corned beef brisket, thinly sliced (get this fresh, from your local butcher or deli counter)
• 1/4lb sauerkraut
• 1/4 cup Russian Dressing

Russian Dressing

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 1/2 tsp horseradish
• 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Recipe

1. Butter one side of two slices of bread, and place the buttered-side down on a large piece of wax paper on a flat surface. Top each with a slice of Swiss cheese, and then divide half of the corned beef among them.
2. Squeeze out as much excess moisture from the sauerkraut as you can. Divide the sauerkraut among the sandwiches, and top each with one tablespoon of Russian dressing. Add another layer of corned beef and a second slice of Swiss cheese to each sandwich. Top with the remaining bread slices; butter the side facing out.
3. Heat a medium or large saute pan over medium heat. Cook the sandwiches on one side until the bread is golden brown. Use a spatula to carefully flip the sandwiches over and finish cooking on the second side. Cut the sandwiches in half before serving.

A November Morning: Cheesy Sunny Side Ups

It was chilly out and I loved nothing more than to stay home, enjoy a cup of french pressed coffee, and play with my puppy. This satisfying breakfast completed this perfect morning.
 

Sunny Side Up Eggs with Pepperjack Cheese and Mixed Herbs
Served with Rosemary Olive Bread


Cheesy Sunny Side Ups
Serves 2
Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup of shredded pepperjack cheese
• 2 slices of Rosemary Olive bread (or any other type of bread you prefer)
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and gently pressed with knife to release a little bit of juice
• 1/4 cup of pine nuts
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
• salt and pepper
• tabasco, for serving (optional)

Recipe

1. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Crack 2 eggs into the skillet, one at a time, slowly. Cook for 1 minute and turn the heat to low. Sprinkle oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper on top of eggs.
2. Toast bread with pine nuts in oven until pine nuts are slightly browned.
3. After eggwhites begin to set around yolks (about 2 more minutes), sprinkle pepperjack cheese on top of eggs. Cook for about 1-2 minutes more until cheese is just melted.
4. Rub cut garlic on top of bread slices. Place bread on 2 plates. Use a spatula and serve one cheesy egg on top of each of the two slices of bread. Sprinkle with fresh thyme. Serve warm.

Skye the Sheltie Puppy

Lazy Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan with Angel Hair

If you've sampled eggplant parmesans from different places, you probably noticed that they tend not to resemble one another. Each component varies greatly - from the thickness of the eggplant slices to the proportion of cheese to sauce. If you want it saucy and gooey, cut thinner eggplant slices. If you want it crunchy and crispy, cut thicker eggplant slices and fry them longer. I made mine more of the gooey version, but it's really all up to you!

Eggplant Parmesan
from Simply Recipes
Serves 8
Ingredients

• 2 lbs (about 2 large) eggplants
• Kosher salt
• 1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• Olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 lbs of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 cup grated high quality Parmesan cheese
• 1 packed cup fresh basil leaves

Recipe

1. Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant. Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. This would somewhat dehydrate the eggplant slices and avoid excess moisture during cooking. 
2. Combine tomatoes, garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
3. When eggplant has drained, press down on it to remove excess water, wipe off the excess salt, and lay the slices out on paper towels to remove all the moisture. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. In a wide bowl, combine and mix flour and breadcrumbs.  Pour beaten eggs into another wide bowl. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and pour in half an inch of olive oil. When oil is shimmering, dredge the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, then in the beaten egg. Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.
5. In the bottom of a 10x15 inch glass baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the eggplant slices. Top eggplant with half of the mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with one third of the Parmesan and half of the basil leaves.
6. Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce, remaining mozzarella, half the remaining Parmesan, and all of the remaining basil. Add remaining eggplant, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.
7. Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with pasta.

5 Star Makeover: Margherita Pizza the Chinese Way

This month's 5 Star Makeover theme is... pizza! Loved the theme because pizza allows so much room for creativity. For my pizza, I chose to make Margherita pizza, with a Chinese twist.

Chinese Margherita Pizza

I wrapped the typical Margherita flavors in a Chinese pastry bun. The slight tinge of sweetness in the dough made the classic Margherita pizza that much more interesting. Although the taste of this pizza bun resembles that of a Calzone, the key difference lies in the multiple layers of a Chinese pastry dough. The texture is light and buttery as opposed to heavy and chewy.

Chinese Margherita Pizza served with a Mozzarella, Carrot, and Arugula "stirfry"

Margherita Pizza the Chinese Way
makes 12 buns
Ingredients
Outer Pastry Layer

• 1.5 tbsp of butter
• 2 tbsp of sugar
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of cold water

Inner Pastry Layer

• 1 cup of cake flour
• 4 tbsp of butter
• 1 tomato, juice drained and chopped

Filling

• 1/4 cup of basil leaves
• a handful of toasted pine nuts
• 1 tbsp of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 oz of mozzarella cheese, cut into 1" x 2" rectangles

Other

• 1 egg, beaten
• Oregano, sea salt, and pepper for topping

Recipe

1. Mix outer layer ingredients and roll it into a dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
2. Mix inner layer ingredients and roll it into a dough.
3. Separate dough for each of the two layers into 12 balls. You now have 12 outer layer balls and 12 inner layer balls.
4. Roll an outer layer dough ball into a flat circle, envelope the inner layer ball and wrap the outer layer around it. Use a rolling pin and roll the combined dough ball into a flat oval shape. From the short side, roll it up and have the opening face downward on a surface. Let it rest for 15 minutes. Repeat this for all dough balls.
5. Preheat oven to 350F.
6. Flatten the rolls with rolling pin. Then, roll the flat dough up again into a roll. Roll it out into a flat circle. Repeat this for all dough balls.
7. Puree basil, cheddar cheese, pine nuts, garlic, butter in a food processor and season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. On the flat dough circle, put a small piece of tomato, a small piece of mozzarella, and some basil mixture. Enclose the dough around the filling and shape it into a round ball. Brush with egg mixture and sprinkle dough ball with oregano, salt and pepper. Bake the 12 dough balls for about 25-30 minutes until top is golden brown.

As always, thank you to Natasha from 5 Star Foodie and Laz from Lazaro Cooks! for hosting this month's challenge. Looking forward to September!

hosted by 5 Star Foodie & Lazaro Cooks!

1967 NY Times: Veal Chops Beau Séjour

New York Times' recipes are ones that people preserve, whether they are from newspaper clippings or handwritten notes. NY Times has been publishing recipes since the 1850s! Amanda Hesser from NY Times had a brilliant idea six years ago to collect the best of the best for a big community cookbook - The Essential New York Times Cookbook.

Among the collection of classic recipes, I saw Veal Chops Beau Séjour that was released in 1967. A reader wrote to the NY Times, "I'm still using the original copy from the paper, now deep yellow with age, fragile, held together with Scotch tape." I don't know what it was, but it made me want to try it almost immediately.

Veal Chops Beau Séjour

I served the veal chops with a light lemon arugula salad and Welsh Rabbit mac n' cheese.

for the Lemon Arugula Salad... 
Whisk together 1/6 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 2.5 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp of grated lemon peel for the lemon vinaigrette. Toss with 2 cups of baby arugula.


for the Welsh Rabbit mac n' cheese...
Make Welsh Rabbit (see the recipe here). Mix with cooked rotini pasta. Bake for 20-30 minutes in a preheated 350F oven.

Veal Chops Beau Séjour
Adapted from the NY Times (I mainly revised the servings from 6 to 4)
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 French-Cut Veal Chops (if it's not frenched already, ask your butcher to do this for you)
• Flour
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 4 tbsp of unsalted butter
• 4 peeled cloves of garlic
• 2 small bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup of chicken stock

Recipe

1. Lightly dredge the chops on all sides in flour. In a lidded skillet large enough to hold all 4 chops, heat the oil and 3 tablespoons of the butter. Brown the chops on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes total.
2. Scatter the garlic cloves around the chops. Cut each bay leaf in half. Place 1 piece on each chop. Add thyme, salt and pepper. Cook the chops, tightly covered, over moderate to low heat for about 20 minutes, or until they are cooked through and the natural sauce in the skillet is syrupy. Transfer the chops to a hot serving dish and keep warm. Leave the garlic and bay leaves in the skillet.
3. Add the vinegar to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until it has evaporated. Add the stock and ¼ cup water and reduce to your liking. Check the seasoning. Turn off the heat and swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Pour the sauce over the chops and garnish each chop with 1 clove of garlic and 1 piece of bay leaf. Serve immediately. 

Sinful Treat: The Welsh Rabbit

No, the Welsh Rabbit has nothing to do with rabbits.

Welsh Rabbit

You see? No rabbits. Welsh Rabbit, or Welsh Rarebit (which was a term coined later on to avoid confusion with rabbits), is basically hot savory melted cheese served over bread. It is an old British tavern food that has been around since the 18th century. I tried to stay true to the original version as much as possible. Mine is made with Guinness and aged cheddar cheese.

I got carried away researching the history of the Welsh Rabbit and the origin of its name. Why the funny name? Oh some say that rabbit is a poor Englishman's meat and cheese is a poor Welshman's meat. And there are some who say that Welsh peasants were not allowed to eat rabbits on the estates of nobility, so they use cheese as a substitute. Here is my favorite one of all - there goes the saying "if a Welshman went rabbit hunting, cheese would be his supper." I don't know how believable any of these are, but a Welshman knows his food.

Seriously, sinfully delicious. Trust me, it is worth it.

Welsh Rabbit
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup of good dark beer (I used Guinness)
• 1/2 lb of cheddar cheese, shredded (preferably aged, I used 4-year aged Wisconsin cheddar cheese)
• A few slices of wheat bread (or any kind of bread you prefer)

Recipe

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add flour, salt, pepper, dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce. 
2. Continue cooking and stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly, about 5 minutes.
3. Slowly add milk and continue stirring until mixture comes to a boil. 
4. Pour in beer and cook for another minute. 
5. Stir in cheese and mix until melted and well incorporated.
6. Remove from heat and ladle cheese sauce over wheat bread. Enjoy immediately.

Alinea's Transparency, of Manchego Cheese

As I lazily sipped on my sunday afternoon coffee, I couldn't help loving one of my many birthday presents from my husband - the Alinea book. Just the evening before, I was enjoying every page of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a thoughtful, much-desired gift from my best friend. I must confess that life is good.

Alinea

Reading Alinea is like being transported to a different world; a world of ideas, inspiration, and aestheticism. I have much respect for Chef Grant Achatz, a true artist and creator of today's culinary world. To Chef Achatz, the gnarly roots of an overturned tree has inspired him to create the famous dish Salsify; the accidental shattering of a wineglass makes him question how he can create raspberries that fragile. I started noticing details, things I have not seen before, and wondered how delicate it would be to replicate my memories through food.

Transparency of Manchego Cheese

Recent obsession of Manchego cheese has led my husband to conclude that we would have to create Chef Grant Achatz's Transparency of Manchego Cheese. The thinly sliced Manchego cheese melts over olive oil pudding, roasted garlic, roasted red and yellow peppers, fresh sourdough croutons, manchego squares and dice, dehydrated Niçoise olives, white anchovies, and garnished with baby arugula and spring flowers. Aside from Transparency's literal visual meaning, I believe Chef Achatz is also referring to the transparency and elements of traditional appetizers, such as cheese, olives, olive oil, bread, garlic, etc., being reassembled here.

So, the two of us spent the better half (conservatively speaking) of our day assembling the different components of the dish. Here are a couple steps along the way if you are interested...

We pitted and pitted those tiny olives...

Finally dehydrated, 5 hours later...

Charring peppers in open flame

Chilling olive oil pudding

Every bite was an explosion of flavors: salty, sweet, creamy, crunchy. I was eating through a million layers of flavors, at once - so amazing. And so delicious.