Nebraska Beef Buns

I came across this recipe in the latest issue of Cook's Country  magazine and couldn't resist giving it a try. It's a regional favorite (also known as "runsas" or "bierocks") that features a soft and tender yeast roll that's filled with a mixture of ground beef, cabbage and cheese. It seems like a fussy recipe but in actuality, other than the time it took for the yeast dough to rise, this dish came together quite quickly and easily. Plus the dough was a dream to work with. My brain is already at work thinking about what else I could fill these buns with.

Nebraska Beef Buns

~makes 12~

Note* We liked these buns served with ketchup.

Ingredients:

the filling

4 t. canola oil, divided

2 lb. extra-lean ground beef

salt and pepper

1 onion, chopped fine

4 c. finely chopped green cabbage (about 1/2 a small head of cabbage)

1 c. low-sodium chicken broth

8 oz. Colby-Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 c.)

dough

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. water

6 T. unsalted butter

1/4 c. sugar

3 1/2 - 3 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. instant or rapid-rise yeast

1/2 t. salt

1 egg lightly beaten, plus 1 egg beaten with 1 T. water

Instructions:
1. Make the filling: Heat 2 t. oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil just begins to smoke. Add the ground beef, 1 t. salt and 1 t. pepper and cook, breaking up the meat until the liquid evaporates and the meat starts to sizzle, 10-15 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.

2. Return the pot to the heat, add the remaining oil and onion. Cook until just starting to brown, 2-3 minutes. Add drained beef, cabbage and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer, cover pot and cook until the cabbage is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until the liquid completely evaporates and the mixture begins to sizzle again, 5-7 minutes more.

3. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and let cool for 15 minutes, then stir in the cheese and let cool to room temperature.

4. Prepare the dough: Grease a large bowl and set aside. Combine milk, water, butter and sugar in a microwave-safe container. Microwave until it reaches 110 degrees, 1-2 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can do this by hand as well), add 3 1/2 c. flour, yeast and salt. Mix to combine. With the machine running on low, slowly add in the milk-butter mixture, then the lightly beaten egg. Mix until dough comes together, about 3 minutes.

5. Increase speed to medium-low and mix until dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom, about 8 minutes. If at about the 4 minute mark the dough still looks wet and sticky, add in the remaining flour, 1 T. at a time until the dough looks as it should. Transfer dough to the greased bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap, let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 40-60 minutes.

6. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower middle-positions and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal portions and roll each portion into a ball. Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap and let sit for 5 minutes.

7. Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the remaining dough covered in plastic wrap while you work. Roll out into an approximate 5 1/2 inch circle. Using a 1/2 c. measure, lightly pack the measuring cup with the beef mixture. Scoop out onto the rolled out dough. Bring the edges of the dough up the sides of the filling and pinch the seams together to close the dough around the filling. Place seam-side down on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Place 6 buns on each baking sheet, placing 2 inches apart. Cover baking sheets with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.

8. When risen, remove plastic wrap and brush each bun with egg/water mixture. Place the baking sheets, one on the upper rack, the other on the lower rack, and bake until golden brown, 22-25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets, front to back and top to bottom, halfway through the baking time. Remove buns to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe source: adapted barely from Cook's Country Magazine

Turkey Patty Melts

This blog has definitely given me the incentive to make some of those things I've always wanted to but just have never gotten around to. I've never made patty melts at home before today, but I've always been pretty sure that this would be the type of recipe that would be well suited to making at home. Diner food is so yummy, but often times I'll order something with a certain expectation just to be disappointed by what I ultimately get. Usually the complaint for me is that some of these "comfort foods" come out too greasy and/or bland. I was pretty sure that a homemade patty melt held a lot of promise compared to what I might get if I opted to order one from my local diner.

I decided to make my version using ground turkey instead of the standard ground beef. Recently I read a patty melt recipe in a cooking magazine that used torn up rye bread, soaked in milk to make a "panade" or paste to add to the patty mixture. I knew, like a meatloaf or meatballs, that this addition would add tenderness to the burger as well as flavor. Since I typically make both meatloaf and meatballs using ground turkey, I figured it would fit the bill nicely for this application. 

This recipe is pretty fast to throw together, like a "30-minute meal" caliber dinner. I was kinda surprised that it came together so quickly since patty melts are a bit of a multi-step process, caramelize onions, form and cook  burger patties, put together a sandwich and grill it. But it came together swiftly and only dirtied one skillet. 

When I offered up one of these patty melts to my 11-year old son, Caleb, he took one bite and said, "Aw dude, that tastes awesome!". I think that's good enough for me!

Turkey Patty Melts

~makes 4 sandwiches~

Ingredients:

2 large onions, thinly sliced

5 t. canola oil, divided

10 slices of rye bread

2 T. milk

1 T. worcestershire sauce

3/4 t. onion powder

1 t. salt, divided

1/2 t. pepper

1 1/4 lb. 93% lean ground turkey 

8 oz. swiss cheese, shredded

8 t. Thousand Island Dressing (plus additional for serving with the sandwiches, if desired)

2 T. salted butter

Instructions:

1. Heat 2 t. of the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add onions and 1/2 t. salt and cook stirring often until the onions are nicely browned and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Transfer onions to a clean plate and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, form the patties: Tear 2 slices of the bread into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large bowl place bread pieces, milk, worcestershire, onion powder, 1/2 t. salt and pepper. Mash with a potato masher until smooth, add ground turkey and using your hands, thoroughly mix. Shape into 4, 4x6-inch patties. When the onions are out of the pan, add remaining 3 t. canola oil. When the oil is shimmering again, add the patties and cook until well browned on the first side, about 5 minutes. Flip patties and reduce the heat to medium and cook until the patties are cooked all the way through, about 7 minutes more. Remove patties from skillet. Wipe out the skillet with paper towel.

3. Assemble the sandwiches: Divide half the cheese between 4 of the bread slices. Top with the turkey burgers and spread each patty with 2 t. Thousand Island dressing. Divide onions between sandwiches and remaining cheese. Top with remaining bread. 

4. Grill the Patty Melts: Melt 1 T. butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add two sandwiches and grill until golden brown on both sides, 3-4 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining 1 T.butter and the last two sandwiches. Serve with additional Thousand Island dressing, if desired.

Cuban Panini

Ok so.... I am posting another sandwich. I think ever since it hit me that April is National Grilled Cheese Month I have had hot and cheesy sandwiches on the brain. This time it's a cuban panini. I often say that my panini press is my favorite of all my non-essential cookware. I love how you can cram so much stuff into a roll, grill it in the panini press and it comes out all neat and compact, and the bread is nice and crispy. You can really put almost anything in a panini and it comes out alright. My hubby and I were just discussing what the weirdest thing we ever put in our panini, I think his putting leftover chicken teriyaki (leftover steamed broccoli included) might be the strangest one ever done in our house.

Anyway, I purposely picked up an extra-large roast the other day when I made pork roast so I could make these sandwiches. If you've never had a cuban sandwich before you should really give one a try.

Cuban Panini

~serves 4~

Note* You'll have to forgive me, I forgot to weigh the sliced pork so I could tell you how much you need for this recipe, but if I had to make a guess, I'd probably estimate 1/2 - 3/4 lb. leftover cooked pork should be enough.

Note** If you don't own a panini press, you can get a similar effect by grilling the sandwiches in a skillet with a tiny bit of oil or butter and placing a second skillet or a dutch oven on top of the sandwich to weigh it down as it cooks. 

Ingredients:

1/2 c. mayonnaise

2 T. yellow mustard

4 sub rolls, split in half

3 large pickles sliced, excess moisture blotted away with paper towel

leftover cooked pork, thinly sliced

4 slices of deli ham (I prefer black forest)

6 deli slices of swiss cheese

Instructions:

1. Mix together mayonnaise and mustard in a small bowl, set aside. Preheat your panini grill while assembling the sandwiches.

2. Spread about 1 T. mayo-mustard mixture on each half of the split rolls. Layer the pickles, roasted pork, ham and swiss cheese evenly between each roll. 

3. Grill each panini 5-7 miuntes until hot all the way through. Let sit for 2 or 3 minutes before serving.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

When I was a kid there were two breakfast dishes that I almost always ordered whenever I went out to breakfast with my family. And those two dishes were 1. Eggs Benedict and 2. the Monte Cristo sandwich. Now I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything but I think those are pretty adventurous dishes for a child.

Needless to say, my love of food started early.

A Monte Cristo sandwich combines so many yummy flavors. It's a little bit french toast and a little bit grilled cheese and it is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Usually, these sammies are either served with maple syrup or strawberry jam. I like to make mine just a little bit more on the savory side by mixing together strawberry jam with a little dijon mustard.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

~makes 4 sandwiches~

Note*I toasted the bread before I made these sandwiches, in the hopes that it would prevent the bread from becoming soggy when dipped in the egg mixture. Because whole wheat bread is heartier than white bread I found this step unnecessary. If I were using white bread I probably would toast the bread beforehand.

  

Ingredients:
1/2 c. strawberry jam
2 T. dijon mustard
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 T. milk
2 T. flour
salt
8 slices of bread (I used whole wheat here but white is more traditional, see note above)
8 thin deli slices of swiss cheese
4 thin slices of ham
4 thin slices of turkey
2 T. butter
powdered sugar (for serving)

Instructions:
1. For the sauce: Mix together the strawberry jam and dijon mustard in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Place the eggs in a wide, shallow dish. Whisk together the milk and flour, then add to the eggs along with a pinch of salt. Mix together thoroughly.

3. Spread each slice of bread with about a teaspoon of the strawberry-mustard sauce. Divide the cheese and meat evenly between each sandwich beginning and ending with a slice of cheese.

4. Melt 1 T. butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working with one sandwich at a time, dip both sides in the egg mixture. When the butter is foaming, add the sandwich and immediately dip another sandwich in the egg mixture and place in the pan with the first sandwich. Cook each sandwich until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side.

5. Wipe out the skillet using paper towel. Repeat step 4 with the remaining sandwiches and 1 T. butter.

6. Serve with powdered sugar and remaining sauce.

Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Tomato

I can't believe I got over halfway through the month before it sunk in that April is National Grilled Cheese month!

Thank goodness I still have time to redeem myself. So let's go...

Grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches will forever have a memory association for me of being at a Grateful Dead  show right after I finished high school.  Like literally everyone came directly there right after graduation.  We spent the entire weekend there in that big ol' community campout area and it was one wild weekend (if you ever went to one then you know...).

I remember during the day, walking around the campsites and cool people would be selling grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches made on camp stoves and sell for like $1. You could get cheap banana pancakes in the mornings and grilled cheese and tomato in the afternoon. They tasted so good after a night of extreme festivities.

Such fun memories from that weekend!

Anyway, I have some fool-proof methods for you, if you want to make the perfect grilled cheese and tomato sandwich and they are this:

1. The most important one is dealing with the tomatoes: you need to get rid of some of the moisture in the tomatoes, nobody likes a soggy grilled cheese sandwich. This is what I do. I slice the tomato about 1/4 inch thick and season both sides with kosher salt. Then I lay the tomato on a triple layer of paper towel, and cover them with another triple layer of paper towel. I then put a lightweight baking sheet on top of the tomatoes to further press them. I let them sit at least 10 min. Then the tomatoes are well seasoned and ready to use!

2. The cheese: I am a firm believer that shredded cheese makes for the best grilled cheese. More specifically, medium cheddar shredded on the large holes of a box grater. (No pre-grated cheese from a sack please.) Shredded as opposed to sliced makes for a more evenly melted and creamy grilled cheese sandwich every time.

3. Softened, salted butter. I use unsalted butter for everything but toast, rolls and grilled cheese. Important in  this gal's opinion.

4. Lastly, don't rush it. Slow and steady wins the race. The longer you let it cook, the crispier it will be on the outside and creamier it will be on the inside.

If you follow these methods I promise you will be enjoying a seriously delicious grilled cheese sandwich.

Classic Grilled Cheese and Tomato Sandwich

~makes 1 sandwich~

Ingredients:

2 slices of whole wheat bread (or whatever bread you like)

2-4 (1/4 inch thick) slices of tomato

kosher salt

1/2 c. (approximate) shredded medium cheddar cheese

1 T. salted butter, softened

Instructions:

1. Sprinkle both sides of the tomato with salt (just as much as you would like them seasoned). Place tomato slices on a triple-thick layer of paper towel. Cover with another triple-thick layer of paper towel. Place a lightweight baking sheet on the tomatoes and let the tomatoes drain for at least 10 minutes.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet (10 inch or 12 inch) over medium low heat while preparing the sandwich

3. On one slice of bread layer half the cheese, the salted tomato slices, then the other half of the cheese. Place the second slice of bread on top. Spread the top bread slice with half the butter. 

4. Place the sandwich in the hot skillet, buttered side down and spread the remaining butter over the other side of the sandwich. Cook over medium to medium-low heat about 10 minutes per side, until the sandwich is toasty brown and the cheese is ooey gooey.

5. Remove the sandwich from the pan and let sit for 3-5 minutes to let the cheese set a little (so it doesn't ooze out everywhere when you cut it). Cut however you like, or don't.

Vietnamese Banh Mi Steak Sandwich

Spring break is in full swing at my house. We are enjoying the proverbial "staycation" at the moment. These kind are ideal in some ways, but it can be a lot of work staying home with energetic kids.

 For instance:

I experienced complete mental taxation this afternoon was when my 7 year old came in to me with a huge, and I mean GIGANTIC spider that he caught while playing outside. He comes into me, smiling ear to ear like that spider is just the greatest thing ever. I tried to be a good sport about it but inside I think I was having a mini heart attack. (..mind over matter.. mind over matter..mind over matter..)

I flipping hate spiders!

So all day he had his spider box, lovingly collecting grasses and other little insects to add to it. While I tried to remain supportive and cautiously kept my distance. Thankfully the spider is back outside where he belongs now.

But other than that, today was an unexpectedly gorgeous day here. My husband got out and mowed the grass for the first time this year and we also pulled our patio furniture out of the garage. And that inspired me to make us an early dinner that we could all enjoy in the back yard together. Spring is in the air big time today and I love it!!

My happy countenance definitely helped this meal come to be.

 My kitchen was like an obstacle course this afternoon.

I had my 11 year old son working a delicate feat of lego brilliance all over the kitchen table.
While my little 7 year old shadow was running a restaurant right next to me, complete with setting up all kinds of little tables and props all throughout my kitchen.

And of course he needed to make food too.

On the prix fixe menu at Chez Jacob there were freshly peeled oranges, red grapes, pretzels and orange juice, (he is a man with a simple palate).

On a side note, he did make sure I was wearing my apron though, which I always seem to forget to do. So thanks for that, son.

To top things off, my 10 month old german loves to lay literally right under my feet when I am trying to prepare food. She has done this pretty much since the day we brought her home as a puppy. It's sweet...and annoying at the same time

My kitchen was in total chaos.

But in my heart I kept thinking, "this is what life's all about".

I couldn't have been happier.

Vietnamese Banh Mi Steak Sandwich

~serves 4~

Ingredients:

For the pickled carrots and daikon radish

1/2 c. peeled, matchstick-cut carrots

1/2 c. peeled, matchstick-cut daikon radish

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. rice vinegar

1 T. sugar

1/4 t. kosher salt

1/8 t. red pepper flakes

For the spicy mayo

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1 T. siracha hot sauce, or as much as you personally prefer, I like it fairly spicy

salt to taste

For the rest of the sandwich

1 baguette (I like to use a take 'n' bake baguette from the bakery of my local grocery store), split for sandwiches

1 lb. flank steak

salt & pepper

2 t. canola oil

english cucumber, sliced thin on an angle

cilantro leaves

Instructions:

1. Make the pickled carrots and daikon: Place carrots and daikon in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan combine water, rice vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper flakes. Bring just to a simmer. Pour pickling liquid over the vegetables. Set aside while making the sandwich. (At least 30 minutes, longer if you can.)

2. Make the spicy mayo: Mix together ingredients for the spicy mayo, seasoning to taste with salt. Set aside.

3. Sear the steak: Pat the steak dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat until the oil just begins to smoke. Add the steak and brown well on the first side, 3-5 minutes. Flip steak over and reduce the heat to medium, cook steak about 5-8 minutes longer (125 degrees on an instant-read thermometer for medium rare). Transfer steak to a plate and cover loosely with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly.

4. Assemble sandwiches: Drain the pickled vegetables well. On each side of a roll, spread some of the spicy mayo. On the bottom half, add a layer of cucumber, then steak, then pickled vegetables, then cilantro, then top the top half of the roll. 

5. Dig in!