Wednesday 23 November 2011

GIVING THANKS....

'HOME TO THANKSGIVING' A beautiful 1867 lithograph by Currier & Ives shows a farmhouse in Connecticut from an original painting by local artist George H. Durrie. Click to see a bigger version.

Monday 21 November 2011

BIG SHARING SANDWICHES.

PULL APARTS
Caring, sharing sandwiches are brilliant with a steaming mug of (hopefully homemade) soup, they are comforting, super-simple to prepare, impressive looking & a big delicious mouthful to share with your lover, your Gran or a bread loving casual acquaintance!
PULL APARTS take minutes to prepare...for two greedy people you'll need a soft batch loaf, a bread knife, an oven & your ingredients. Cut the loaf evenly into eight, taking care not to cut through to the bottom so all the slices stay connected...place your ingredients in each cut, then bake in a medium heat oven 15-20 mins until piping hot :-
CORNED BEEF, CHEDDAR, RED ONION & HORSERADISH MAYO - Slice that beef & onion finely!
TURKEY, HONEY MUSTARD, GRUYERE & MUSHROOMS - Thinly sliced turkey, saute the mushrooms in butter or olive oil.
SMOKED HAM & CHILLI CHEESE.
BRIE, TOASTED WALNUT, CRANBERRY & APPLE SAUCE - C'mon make your own apple sauce with bramleys...use some dried cranberries.
RAREBIT & PICKLED ONION - Make some Welsh rarebit mix then slather it in each slice with sliced pickled onions. Heres the Rarebit recipe:
4oz/100g Cheddar cheese.
3 tablespoons bitter or any beer.
1oz/25g butter.
1 teaspoon English mustard.
Melt these slowly together over a low heat.
PETIT RATATOUILLE, MOZZARELLA & PESTO - Cut the courgette, aubergine, peppers & onion small, roast rather than stew, add pesto to taste, & throw in a few olives.


PITTA MELTS
Get some big pittas, carefully slice open, add your filling ingredients, bake until hot & melted..chop up!
AUBERGINE PARMIGIANA - Roast garlicky aubergine slices, tomato pasta sauce, grated mozzarella, & lotsa parmesan!
PEPPERONI PIZZA - Sliced pepperoni, peppers, your choice of sauce & cheese....
You can really work this pizza theme, add ham, chilli, bbq chicken....got you thinking!
HUMMUS, SPINACH LEAVES & HALLOUMI - Add a bit of mozzarella for melting purposes, some chilli flakes too.
FRIDGIDAIRE -Whats in there?...Do they go together?..Have I created a pitta melt classic?....probably!

Sunday 13 November 2011

SANDWICH SPREE - QUESADILLAS

Whats Mexican for toasted cheese sandwich? Quesadilla! These are so easy, so adaptable & a couple of bites in - you'll be hooked! Before you get going make sure you have a non stick frying pan thats the same size as your tortillas, as well as tortillas/wraps you'll need some grated cheese- you can use Cheddar but I use a mixture of 1/3 medium Cheddar, 1/3 Gruyere & 1/3 Mozzarella.
Spread the grated cheese over one of the tortillas, top with another then cook 4 minutes over a medium heat in your frying pan, turn over, cook a further 4 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Cut into quarters....delicioso! You can dip your Quesadilla into salsa or spicy tomato ketchup or a Mexican chilli sauce like Cholula.
As well as dipping your Quesadilla you can add various ingredients to the cheese mixture before cooking....
PICO DE GALLO - basic everyday salsa - finely chopped chillies, tomato, onion, garlic & coriander.
PUMPKIN SEED SALSA - in a lightly greased pan toast about 2oz/50g pumpkin seeds, add some crushed garlic, 1/2 finely chopped red onion, 2 finely chopped green chillies, a handful of chopped coriander & a big pinch of cumin, cook a few mins & season.
GARLIC MUSHROOMS - garlic sauted sliced mushrooms, a handful of chopped parsley & coriander & a spritz of lime juice....season at the last minute.
SUCCOTASH - canned black eyed peas, sweetcorn & diced red pepper, moisten with a little salad dressing..your choice!

Holy Guacemole! Examine those tortillas carefully...you may see the face of JESUS! His image appears on tortillas more than any other bread type product.....examine your frying pan too, remember when JESUS appeared in the frying pan of a young Salfordian after he fell asleep whilst frying bacon after a night on the lash?
JESUS on a variety of foodstuffs (including tortillas (& the Salford frying pan!)) visit:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/jul/21/jesus-food-sightings
CHOLULA sauce visit:
http://cholula.com/

Sunday 6 November 2011

SANDWICH SPREE - HAWT DAWGS!

A hot dog is basically a sausage sandwich...first one I ever had was at the cinema, loved it! There & then I vowed that when I grew up I'd eat nothing but hot dogs & at least 6 per meal..lol! Although no way could I eat 6 hot dogs & I recoil from eating them every day...hot dogs still feel special, a treat & vaguely indulgent! They're ultra speedy...get the best quality sausages, soft white buns (oooh errr!) then some delicious add-ons to make your hot dog(s) with cold beers or coke floats, a favourite film & Ben & Jerrys into a meal event!
Probably German in origin-from Frankfurt(er) etc.. America has made them popular & fun...also they've become regional foods over there...here are some HAWT DAWG ideas to try.....

NEW YORK
Street vendors usually serve kosher beef dogs....if you can get them ..get them! This sauce that is slathered on top is a Manhattan favourite- fry some sliced red onions in a little oil until soft, add garlic, a good pinch of cinnamon, hot pepper sauce (like peri peri), tomato puree, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard & soft brown sugar- simmer until thick then top your dog!
NEW YORK ASTORIA
Just a plain dog with a little mustard in the bun, serve a Waldorf salad as a side -chopped red apple, sliced celery, & toasted walnuts bound with mayo.
CHICAGO
Classic Chicago dog- add diced onion & peppers, a whole jalapeno, dijon mustard, sweet green relish (the nearest ive found is Bicks cucumber relish), tomato & celery salt....in a poppy seed bun if pos. Serve with a dill pickle spear.
T E X A S
You need some beef chilli made extra spicy, grated cheese & jalapeno slices. HOT HOT HOT!
PHILADELPHIA
Saute some red & green pepper slices, red onion too, until soft, add garlic & season, top your dog then slather over some homemade or bought cheese sauce.
LOS ANGELES
Wrap your dog in smoked bacon... make the rasher longer & thinner using a knife to spread it out on a chopping board, grill the dog & top with homemade salsa. Serve with salad.
FRANK SINATRA
Do it your way!!!!

Heres how I like my hot dogs:
MANCHESTER
Top your dog with my caramelised onion relish, grated Gruyere or Emmenthal & homemade or bought coleslaw. My relish- finely chopped onion & garlic, saute in butter on a high heat until beginning to soften add a couple of tablespoons of soft brown sugar, salt & pepper, turn down & continue cooking until yummily sticky....pile it on!
Usually all these dogs are boiled in water for a few minutes, they can also be grilled like the Los Angeles dog.
For a good chilli & salsa recipe see 'Simple(ish) Dinner' 'Chilli Nacho Bake' in earlier Clipcanteen posts...enjoy!