Open-Faced Roasted Green Bean Sammie

Not much of a story to tell on this one. I was just hungry. That's about it. A simple meal for a semi-hectic day. Another variation on the green bean and tomato combination. A yummy open-faced sammie with a hot avocado spread and melted manchego cheese.

The avocado spread has just a nice little kick to it from the hot sauce that it adds to the sandwich. Sooo delish! You can cut up the green beans, if you don't want to have to bite into them while eating.


Open-Faced Roasted Green Bean Sammie

1/2 lb Green Beans (washed with ends removed)
2 Medium Tomatoes (quartered and deseeded)
4 Slices of your bread of choice
Cheese (slices or grated. I used manchego)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Dry Basil
1 Tbsp Dry Parsley
Salt & Pepper to season


Preheat oven to 450˚F

In a large bowl, toss the green beans and tomato with a nice long drizzle oof olive out coating each piece. Add in basil and parsley. Toss to combine. Season with some salt and pepper. Toss again.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake to 20-25min. Half way give the green beans a little stir to let it roast evenly.


Hot Avocado Spread:
1-2 Tbsp Hot Sauce
1 large avocado (mashed and pitted)
1 Tbsp Dry or fresh chopped Basil
1 Tbsp Dry or fresh chopped Parsley
Juice of 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients together into a mash. You may add more or put in less hot sauce to fit your preference.


Putting it together: Preheat the broiler. Take a slice of bread (toasted or untoasted) and spread on a nice helping of the hot avocado spread followed by some of the roasted green beans and tomato. Top with some cheese. Place the sammie in the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is nice and melted.

Asparagus in a Blanket with Cheese Sauce

I've been using a lot of chicken tenders lately because I had gotten a 5lb bag from Costco. Everything there is in bulk. So I'm trying to think of different ways to use those tenders aside from the obvious, which I will do, too. I figured why not use them as a wrap for some thing. I butterflied and pounded the tenders close to the thickness of bacon and wrapped them around some thin asparagus. As much as I love bacon, trust me...I could go for a bacon sandwich any day, we sometimes have to go for an alternative.

Very tasty. The top tips have a little crisp crunch to them. The body of the asparagus tender with a slight crunch at the center. The chicken baked just right and topped with some of the 4 cheese sauce. I ate 3 little bundles and it was the right amount to fill me up. Not the "guilty" full, but the "satisfied and just right" full. I still had room for dessert (i.e. leche flan). If using thicker asparagus, it'd be best to blanch them first.

This will make 6 bundles.



Asparagus in a Blanket with Cheese Sauce

6 Large chicken tenders
1 bundle thin asparagus (roughly 30)
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice of half a lemon (optional)


Preheat oven to 350˚F

Wash and cut the bottom ends of the asparagus off. In a bowl, toss them in some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Carefully butterfly the chicken tenders. (Cutting it from the side middle like a book. Be sure not to cut all the way through you still want it to be one piece.)

Then place the tenders in between two piece of plastic wrap and pound it a few times into a thin piece. I use the bottom of a pan since I don't a have a mallet.

Remove from plastic wrap and season both side with salt, pepper and paprika.

Take 4-5 asparagus sticks and wrap it in a slight angle in the pounded chicken. Like in a twist.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, ends facing down to keep it from unraveling while it cooks. Drizzle a little olive oil over the chicken.

Bake for 20 min.

Cheese Sauce:
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp All-purpose Flour
1-1 1/2 c milk or 1 12oz can of evaporated milk
Shredded cheese (I used Sargento 4 cheese Mexican mix with Monterey Jack, Mild Cheddar,
Queso Quesadilla and Asadero cheeses)
Salt & Pepper

Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add in the flour and stir to combine making a roux. It'll clump together. Then add in the milk. Stir to combine and melt the flour mix. Once it looks a little thicker add in the shredded cheese.

Stir occasionally until the cheese is melted and has a creamy consistency. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Putting it all together:
When the chicken and asparagus are done place on a plate and pour some of the cheese sauce on top. The cheese sauce is also good for fondue.

Enjoy!

Leche Flan

Flan. A classic dessert. In the Philippines it's usually called leche flan. It's the same name either way. Flan is flan is flan. I won't go into world history of it. Oyster Food & Culture would probably do a better job at giving you a descriptive history of this sweet dessert. I just eat them.

In the fridge were 4 egg yolks. I had tried making some meringue earlier in the week, only to have it end up being an epic fail. I was about to make an egg yolk scramble, but my mom had suggested leche flan. Ah, yes! One of my favorite desserts of all time. It was also something she had seen her ninang (pronounced nee-nahng, meaning godmother in Tagalog) cook many times before when she was a child.

The last time I had some was when I was in the Philippines exactly a year ago. My aunt makes then SUPER delicious. Getting a hold of those small tin can pans and diving in into the custard with all that syrupy goodness underneath. I was in heaven! This is how my mom remembered it and my interpretation in creating it. The result is one that brings back fond memories of her hometown.

The lemon adds a balance to the sweetness of the syrup. The key to making this is "low & slow".

This will make 3-4 small individual serving.



Leche Flan

Caramel syrup
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c water

In a sauce pan, melt the sugar over low flame until it's melted into a brown caramel liquid. make sure to stir occasionally to keep it from burning. There shouldn't be any lumps of sugar left. When it's fully liquefied, slowly add in the water. Not all at once. Then stir until the it forms into a syrup-like consistency.

Here's a good way to know when it is ready. Scrape a line down the center of the pan with a wooden spoon and if it takes a while for the syrup to cover the open gap your syrup is done. Don't ever cook it or at that point your making candy.

Then take 4 small tart containers or mini load pans and pour a nice layer of syrup in each. Make sure to coat the bottom evenly and let it harden. Set aside.


Custard
1 c evaporated milk
4 egg yolks (beaten)
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients into a small sauce pan on a low flame and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is slightly heated. Roughly 10-15min. Stirring constantly will help avoid the egg yolks turning into scramble yolks and combine all ingredients together. Then strain the custard mixture well into a bowl to remove any egg bits that may have cooked. Then ladle the mixture into the tart cups or mini loaf pans.

Cover the tart cups with wax paper or parchment paper and place in a steamer for 1 hour or until the custard is firm to the touch.

Note: You may use the water bath method if you don't have a steamer. Place the the tart cups in large deep roasting pan and put in an oven preheated to 325˚F. When the pan is in the oven, fill it with lukewarm water half way up the tart cup or mini loaf pan. This will prevent cross contamination of water and custard. The bake for 1 hour or until custard is nice and firm.


When finished, let it cool before placing on a plate. Serve with some ice cream or if you're going the Filipino-style serve with some Halo Halo. (I'll be doing that dessert soon.)

Cinnamon Almond Biscookie

What do you think? Is it a cookie or a biscuit? Tastes like a cookie, but looks like a little biscuit. Can't really be a biscotti because it isn't crisp on the inside and is only baked once. So I shall call this a biscookie. A hybrid of the two.

I made these to inaugurate the new cooling racks that I had won from a giveaway from Evil Shenanigans as you may have seen in my post the other day. I also needed to use up some leftover almond slices I had in the pantry.

A subtle hint on cinnamon with a taste of almond. Goes well with a cup of joe and/or a cold glass of moo juice.



Cinnamon Almond Biscookie
1/2 c butter or margarine
1/3 c sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c cake Flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c Almond slices
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven 350˚F

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Then beat in egg and add the vanilla. Add in the flour mixture and mix well.

Then mix in the almonds. Divide into 12 equal rounds and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 min.

Racks are cool and friends are too.

Sunday equals a lazy day. So this will be relatively short.

I recently won a giveaway from Evil Shenanigans. The prize...these awesome foldable and stackable cooling racks. I already have a couple round racks for cakes, but this is just what I needed for when I make cookies and bread and other baked goodies. It's a good thing too because I was just asked to bake a little something for a friend who's participating in a March of Dimes event. So I guess it's perfect timing. Thanks, Kelly!

I eagerly wanted to make something quick, you'll see from the pic some bread. I made a wheat version of the French Bread. The treat is on the top rack. Those yummy plump looking things. Recipe to follow. Maybe tomorrow? You'll just have to come back and find out. But I thought this pic would be a nice little teaser for you. Make sure you have a cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk on hand because it's a perfect companion for it.



Also, Rebecca at Chow and Chatter and Sweta at Bonne Nutrition were gracious in giving me the Friend award a week ago. Thank you for the recognition. I greatly appreciate it! Be sure to check these lovely ladies out as well as others in the blogroll, too.


Lastly, if you're looking for something else to read that's not food related, I also write another blog called The Misadventures of Little J. It's a weekly blog with postings every Sunday with occasional spontaneous posts as well. Stop on by and check it out. It's my ramblings on everyday life and, of course, entertainment related things.

Happy Eating!!

Pineapple Vinaigrette

Something a super simple today. It's the weekend. Weekends have to be easy and simple. When I opened the can of pineapple bits, I had all this lovely juice that came along with it. I didn't want to waste the tasty liquid. I usually drink it straight up, but I wasn't in the mood. So my other alternative was to make a dressing.

You can't tell too much from the pictures but the vinaigrette is on there over the avocado, tomato, romaine heart, baby cucumber and cheese.

It's a nice change from the usual the balsamic and honey-mustard vinaigrette.


Pineapple Vinaigrette

5 Tbsp Pineapple Juice
4 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
pinch of Salt & Pepper to season

Combine all ingredients and drizzle over you mix of greens. You can adjust the amount according to your taste. Enjoy!

Teriyaki Pizza

I did it!! I finished my script!! I wrote it in exactly one week. When I finally typed the words "The End," I wanted to cry. But I didn't. It's not yet perfect by any means. I am just relieved to get the first draft out and done. What does this have to do with food, you ask? Well, as with any accomplishment, you have to celebrate.

So to celebrate, I made myself a pizza. A teriyaki pizza. I can imagine the people at CPK quivering at the knees. (*insert evil laugh*) I used my glaze recipe as the sauce, but substituting minced garlic for the garlic powder. I also didn't have enough time to make my own dough, so I used the Pillsbury pizza crust instead. You can use other pre-made dough of your choice or make it from scratch.


Also last month, I received some seasonings in the mail. You may have seen some other bloggers write about these as well. I've lagging on using them. Amazing Taste. Appropriately named because it quite amazing. I used their Malibu seasoning. It contains ingredients similar to what I usually use when I season poultry. I cubed up some chicken tenders and coated each piece liberally and let it sit for 5-10 min to let the flavors soak into the pores of the meat and pan-fried them. I really liked it. It puts a nice "zing" to a somewhat bland chicken. Amazingly enough the flavors of the seasoning blends well with the other flavors of this pizza. Not overpowering. The meat itself was still juicy. It was really like a medley in your mouth and they were doing a hoedown. Check out their site (here) to see where you can get yourself some. And they're relatively cheap. Cheap is good.

All in all, a satisfying celebratory pizza.


Teriyaki Pizza

1 can Pillsbury pizza dough or your choice of premade dough.
4 large chicken tenders (seasoned and cubed)
1 large bell pepper (chopped)
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
1/2 c pineapple bits (no juice)
shredded cheese of your choice (I used 4 cheese mix from Sargento)

Teriyaki Glace/Sauce:
3 garlic cloved (minced)
1/3 c Soy Sauce
1/3 c Rice Wine Vinegar
4 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp Water


Preheat oven 375˚F

Season the chicken pieces with Amazing Taste seasoning or your seasoning of choice. Let it sit for 5-10min to let the chicken "marinate."

In a small saucepan, heat some olive oil and saute the garlic until almost brown. Then add in soy sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, brown sugar and heat until thickened. Set aside.

In another pan, coat the bottom with oil and heat. When hot, cook chicken roughly 5-8 min per side. Once cooked, remove from heat and let it cool to redistribute juices then shred into pieces.

Roll out the pizza dough onto a baking sheet and spread the teriyaki glaze/sauce. Be sure to leave a little room for the crust. Then layer on the cheese, bell pepper, onions, pineapple and chicken. Lastly sprinkle a little bit more cheese on top.

Bake for 15-20 min or until crust is golden brown.

CPK, eat your heart out!!!