Monte Cristo

As I was looking through my posts, I realized that I never published this one.  I guess it's a 3 for 1 type of Sunday!!

Even though I have been slacking blogging, I have NOT been slacking on the cooking part! I’ve still been trying new things on a weekly basis, but I have failed taking pictures and posting about it.

Last night was new recipe night and I was once again inspired to take a picture! I attempted making a Monte Cristo sandwich. The recipe I used called for griddling the sandwich instead of frying which is definitely healthier. I’m tempted to try the fried version though the next time I make this. Next time I also plan to fry the bacon instead of bake it. Baking it didn’t make the bacon done enough for my preference. I also couldn’t find white cheddar so I ended up using Swiss which was delicious. I did drizzle the sandwiches with syrup (after the picture, oops!), but that just turned into a messy dinner - so next time we might be dipping our sandwiches instead. This was an easy recipe and quick except for the 20 minutes in the oven for the bacon which I plan on changing the next time. Enjoy!

Here’s the recipe:
ABC Monte Cristo
Serves 4
Ingredients
12 slices good-quality bacon
8 slices good-quality peasant or round-loaf french bread
1/2-3/4 pound extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
2 golden delicious or gala apples, cored and very thinly sliced
3 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk or half-and-half (I used skim milk)
A little freshly grated nutmeg
Butter, for greasing
Warm maple syrup, for drizzling

Method

Bake the bacon on a broiler pan or a rack set over a baking sheet at 375°F until just crisp, about 20 minutes. Arrange 4 slices of bread with some cheese and the apples on top. Beat the eggs with the milk (or half-and-half) and a little nutmeg. Heat a large griddle pan over medium heat. When ready, arrange 3 slices of bacon on each sandwich and top with a little more cheese and 4 more slices of bread. Coat each sandwich in the egg batter. Grease the griddle with butter and griddle the sandwiches until deep golden on each side and the cheese has melted. Halve the sandwiches and drizzle with a little warm syrup.

Open-face Salmon Burgers with Honey Mustard

This week's new recipe was Open-face Salmon Burgers.  In my to try pile I have quite a few seafood recipes.  My goal has been to eat fish at least once a week.  I have a salmon cakes recipe that regularly appears on our meal calender, but that is about it for salmon so I was specifically looking for a new recipe with salmon.

This turned out really well.  Next time I might think of using canned salmon instead of salmon fillets.  I think canned might be cheaper and it's something that seems easier.  Although, the salmon fillets were really most and binded together well to make the burger so I might stick with the fillets after all.  I have been successful with frozen seafood.  Not too long ago I found a brand that I really like.  It might just be the general Walmart brand, but it comes in a red pouch and the fish are vacuum sealed in.  I first tried this brand when I bought mussels.  Next I tried the tilapia and most recently for this recipe I purchased the salmon.  All of these have tasted fantastic.  And with the tilapia I preferred the frozen over the fresh, because the fresh fish that I got smelled and tasted a little fishy.  I have not experienced that with the frozen variety though.  In general, I am not a big seafood eater.  I like eating some fish mainly because I know it's good for me.  I like tuna and salmon (especially raw in the form of sushi!), but white fish has never been my thing.  With all that being said, I am starting to really enjoy tilapia too and I am considering branching out again to try a new fish.  Maybe you have a recommendation of one that I could try next???

Ok, on to the recipe:
Serves 2
Ingredients
about 3 T dijon mustard (or spicy brown which is what I used)
about 1 T honey
2 salmon fillets, skinless
salt and pepper
2 T fresh chives (I just realized that I forgot this - oops!)
1 T Old Bay Seasoning (not used, I didn't even use any seasoning besides S&P, I think there's enough taste from the mustard)
1 t grated lemon zest (I used a few drops of lemon juice instead)
EVOO
butter, for spreading
1 English muffin, split and toasted (or just bread or a bun or whatever)
cucumbers and red onion for topping

Method
In a small bowl, stir together mustard and honey.  Using the food processor, pulse salmon to a finely chop.  (In an effort to be lazy, I tried to use a fork and break up the fillet, but I was unsuccessful).  Place salmon in bowl and season with salt and pepper and old bay and lemon zest.  Add the chives, and about 1 T of the honey mustard.  Form into 2 large burgers.

Drizzle some EVOO into a large nonstick skillet or griddle.  Add the burgers and cook, turning once, over medium-high heat for 6 minutes for medium rare or 10-12 minutes for well done.

Lightly butter the muffins.  Top each muffin half with the salmon burger, remaining honey mustard, sliced cucumbers and red onions.  Eat these beauties with a knife and fork!

Chicken Parm Salad Sandwich

Over Labor Day, I had a weekend get-a-way to Arizona where I was joined by 6 other friends. It was our girls’ weekend. We decided to pair up and cook some meals so that we wouldn’t be eating out the entire weekend. I paired up with Michelle and we had lunch so we decided to make a Rachael Ray chicken salad. We doubled the recipe..

Here’s the recipe from RR’s website:
http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=2803

This was my first experience with rotisserie chicken, and I was quite pleased. Michelle and I had 2 chickens to work with, but it wasn’t too bad. She worked on getting the skin and bones off and then I shredded up the chicken. We decided to omit the mint in the recipe and used dried parsley instead of fresh. But since basil is my new favorite flavor, we got some fresh basil like the recipe called for.

After we had all the chicken shredded up, we worked on the dressing. Using the food processor we used chicken stock, garlic, basil and fresh parmesan cheese. Then we streamed in the EVOO while processing. At first it didn’t look like there would be enough to coat all the chicken, but there definitely was.

Next we sliced up the onions and tomatoes. Since we were doubling the recipe, we had 8 plum tomatoes ready, but we only ended up using about 5 of them. It just seemed like plenty. Remember to get the seeds out of the tomatoes. The seeds can make things too runny/watery. The onion that we had was large, so I only used about half of it.

We got good reviews all around and we had some leftovers. Be warned though the basil and garlic from the leftovers are pungent. The next day when we opened the refrigerator we would be over taken by the smell. I recommend keeping the leftovers in a sealed container (we just had them covered with saran wrap).

This past weekend I made this recipe again so that Brian and I can have another option for lunch this week. It’s a really easy recipe, and I plan on making it regularly on Sundays so we can eat it throughout the week. Another tip is to get the rotisserie chicken the day before using it. Since it’s cold, it’s much easier to work with.