Black Bean Burgers

I decided to make these after I baked some kaiser rolls and had leftovers. Because freshly baked bread can go bad pretty quickly, I wanted to use these up. I didn't want to make a traditional burger since I'm trying to eat less meat, nor did I want to just make a sandwich. Then all the stars aligned and Katie posted a black bean burger on her blog, Good Things Catered. Perfect!

It's funny, after being a vegan for 5 years and a vegetarian for another 5 years (betcha' didn't know that about me!), I had never had a black bean burger. I had veggie burgers a lot but a black bean burger was never something I was attracted to. Boy, was I missing out.

These were SO flavorful and had an absolutely perfect texture. And they were so easy and adaptable to just about anything you have on hand in your pantry! Even my hunter meat loving husband was impressed. I adapted the portions and the procedure because I don't have a food processor, and 4 big burgers were too many for us. To say I'll make these again is an understatement since I've already made them again! These are a new staple in our house!

Ingredients
Adapted from Good Things Catered

1 can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed well
1/4 medium yellow onion, minced well
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, shredded finely
1 egg
1/4 c. herbed bread crumbs
1 sprig thyme, chopped
3 green onions, green parts only, chopped finely
salt
pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment. Using a fine meshed sieve over the sink, add shredded carrots and press out all moisture using your fingers. Then in a large bowl combine all ingredients and mash well with a potato masher.

Using hands (if mixture is relatively goopy, don't worry), place bun-sized patties onto baking sheet. Put into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until edges have crisped up and burgers are cooked through. Remove from oven and serve on a fresh roll with nice thick tomato slices and fresh lettuce.

Brie Cheese and Roast Beef Panini

When my mom and I visited one of our favorite restaurants for lunch, I decided to try the special of the day. A roast beef panini with brie cheese and caramelized onions on sourdough bread. After the first bite, I was in panini heaven. The tender beef, soft onions and melty brie cheese all harmonized in one truly amazing panini. As soon as I finished it I knew I had to make it for my husband. It's really an easy panini to make and results in a great and hearty lunch.

Ingredinets
Adapted from one of my favorite restaurants

4 slices sourdough bread (for 2 sandwiches)
1 small onion, sliced
aprox. 1/2 circle brie cheese cut into think chunch and with the rind removed
thinly sliced roast beef
aprox. 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sugar
butter, softened

Directions
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add about 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Add onions and a pinch of sugar. Cook for about 10-20 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are wilted and caramelized. Set aside.

Butter 1 side of each piece of bread, and on the other side add roast beef, caramelized onions and pieces of brie cheese. Add as much as you want to each sandwich. Top with other slice of bread, buttered side out.

Place each sandwich on a preheated panini maker, and cook for about 5-10 minutes, until the outside of the sandwich is golden brown. Remove, and using a serated knife cut sandiwich on an angle. Serve hot, and with horseradish if desired.

Tomato & Mozzarella Panini

Yesterday I completely forget to take meat out of the freezer to thaw for dinner, so a coworker suggested soup and sandwich! What a simple but comforting meal. Also, my panini press is totally underused (I've used it once since my wedding almost 2 years ago) so I decided to pull it out!

I decided on tomato and mozzarella for something really simple but tasty and it was a huge hit. I mean, what's better then a kicked up grilled cheese with some butternut squash soup?! Yum! Sometimes the simplest meals are the most appreciated.
Ingredients
4 slices white bread
4 tomato slices, very thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
Mozzarella Cheese (a "real" ball of mozzarella would be best, but the shredded can be used in a pinch. I used shredded for this panini and it was fine!)
butter

Directions
Preheat panini press (or heat up a skillet) and butter one side of each slice of bread. On the "unbuttered" side of the bread, sprinkle garlic (aprox. 1/2 clove for each sandwich), line with tomato slices and top with mozarella cheese. Place other slice of bread, buttered side up, on top of cheese and place on panini press and toast to desired donenness. Enjoy!

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Over the weekend my husband and I had SUCH a taste for pulled pork sandwiches! I have never made them, and we haven't been to our local BBQ joint in ages! So I found a recipe on Colleen's awesome food blog: Cooking this and that and gave it a go this past weekend. The recipe couldn't have been simpler and the pulled pork couldn't have been more delicious! My husband and I agreed that this is a fabulous recipe and one that I will be keeping for the archives!
Ingredients
Adapted from Cooking this and that

2 lb pork tenderloin or cut of your choice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 bottle of barbecue sauce of your choice (I use Dinosaur BBQ Roasted Garlic Honey BBQ sauce which is amazing!!!)
salt
pepper

Directions

Pour a little BBQ sauce in your slow cooker to completely coat the bottom. Place pork tenderloin in slow cooker, and rub with a little salt, pepper and all of your minced garlic. Spread chopped onions over pork. Pour remaining BBQ sauce over everything to coat. Cook on low for 7 hours. Shred the pork with 2 forks and cook for 1 additional hour. Serve on fresh kaiser rolls.

Kaiser Rolls

I made pulled pork sandwiches over the weekend and decided to make my own kaiser rolls as well! I'm really glad I chose to make them rather then buy pre-made ones. The result was a super soft and fresh roll, resulting in a extra special pulled pork sandwich! This is a great recipe!
Ingredients
Source: King Arthur Flour

3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup water

Directions

Manual Method:In a large bowl, or the bowl of your electric mixer, combine all of the ingredients, stirring till the dough forms a cohesive mass and begins to clear the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, then allow it to rest for 10 minutes (which gives the dough a chance to absorb the liquid, and the gluten in the flour a chance to relax.) Knead the dough for an additional 5 minutes, or until it's smooth and supple. The dough should be quite stiff, but not at all "gnarly;" adjust its consistency with additional flour or water, as necessary. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till it's noticeably puffy, about 1 hour.

Bread Machine Method:Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your machine, program the machine for manual or dough, and press start. About 10 minutes before the end of the final kneading cycle, examine the dough's consistency; it should be quite stiff, but not at all "gnarly;" adjust it consistency with additional flour or water, as necessary. Allow the machine to complete its cycle.

Shaping:Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into six equal pieces. Shape the pieces into round balls, and place them on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Working with one ball of dough at a time, center your kaiser stamp over the dough. Press down firmly, cutting to the bottom but not all the way through the dough. This is important; if you don't cut deeply enough, the shape disappears as the roll bakes; if you cut too deeply (all the way through), the roll will form "petals" as it rises and look like a daisy, not a kaiser roll. Practice makes perfect! Repeat with the remaining rolls. (note: I do not have a Kaiser Stamp, so I just used my knife and made cuts in the rolls! I think it worked out quite well!)

Place the rolls cut-side down (yes-cut-side down--this helps them retain their shape) onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover the rolls, and allow them to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until they've almost doubled in volume. Turn the rolls cut-side up. Dip tops in milk and coat with poppy or sesame seeds, if desired. (I brushed an egg/cream mixture on the tops of my rolls for a high gloss finish!)
Bake the rolls in a preheated 425°F oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a wire rack.Yield: six large kaiser rolls.

Egg and Sprout Tea Sandwich

So this was originally supposed to be an "egg and cress" sandwich, however there was no watercress and my grocery store. I even had my mom go to her store, and she had no luck as well. So it turned into an egg and sprout sandwich. It was definitely the most popular sandwich at my tea party! But who doesn't love an egg sandwich?

Ingredients
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma "London" cookbook, page 75

6 eggs
3 tbsp mayonaise
salt
pepper
paprika
sprouts
10 slices of freshly baked white bread, sliced thinly

Directions
Bring a small saucepan 2/3 full of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Carefully lower the eggs into the water with a slotted spoon, return the water to a boil and boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Immediately plunge the eggs into an ice bath. After about 5 minutes or so, or when the eggs are cool enough to touch, peel each egg unter cold running water, being sure to remove every speck of shell. Let eggs dry.

Place the eggs in a bowl and finely mash with a potato masher. Add the mayonnaise and mash again. Season to taste with salt, pepper and paprika.

Spread 5 slices of bread with the egg mixture, dividing it evenly. Arrange the sprouts on top of the egg mixture, and top each sandwich with the remaining bread slices. Using a very sharp knife, cut crust off of bread. Then cut the sandwich on the diagonal twice, which results in 4 triangle tea sandwiches. Serve sandwiches immediately.

Cucumber Tea Sandwich

I know I'm committing a major food blog faux-pas, however I forgot to take a picture of these sandwiches and they were too good not to share! They are the quintessential tea party sandwich, and they are very delicious. If you've never had a cucumber sandwich, you definitely should try it. They are delicate and very tasty. I found the recipe here and it worked out fabulously. I love the addition of minced garlic.

Ingredients
Source: Great Party Recipes

1 large cucumber, peeled and sliced very thinly (I used 3 English Cucumbers...they are smaller then normal cucmbers and seedless)
Salt
3/4 cup soft butter
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
20 slices bread (I used about 8 slices of freshly baked bread)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pepper to taste

Directions
Lightly salt the cucumber slices and place them in a colander to drain for 1 to 2 hours. Then combine the butter and garlic and apply to 1 side of each slice of bread. In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper. Add the cucumber slices, coating them well. Arrange the cucumber on 10 of the bread slices, top with the other 10 slices, remove the crusts, and quarter. Serve immediately. Makes 40 tea sandwiches. (I made 16 small sandwiches)