Pastrami Pockets

Yo yo yo and ho ho ho. After living in fast forward with two weeks of finals, two weddings in two days, two Dakotas in two days, and two Iowa cities in two days things have finally slowed down. Internet speed included.

During the two weeks of finals I did a minimal amount of cooking, and I took even fewer photos. These pastrami pockets were one of the few things that made it out of my kitchen that are worthy of posting. The day I discovered pastrami was a day my life changed forever. I've always been a fan of corned beef, but pastrami is like corned beef version 2.0. Upgraded and enhanced. When you sandwich it with good bread and some cheese, it's hard to beat. Or cheese, hot peppers, and pie crust, as the case may be.

I got this pie mold a month or so ago at Williams-Sonoma for about $10. Like many of their products it's a little unnecessary, but I really like the idea of serving a pocket of meat in the shape of a heart. If you're a kid, or just act like one like me, I would recommend this little gadget. You can still make pocket pies without one, though, so nobody has to miss out on the fun.

Pastrami Pockets

Makes about 8

1 recipe of pie crust

1/4-1/2 lb. thinly sliced pastrami

A few ounces of swiss or cheddar

Dijon mustard

Giardiniera

1 egg

After making batch of pie dough and refrigerating it, place in on a floured surface. I used a wheat crust that I'd made a few weeks before and stuck in the freezer, but any kind of pie crust is fine.

Roll out the dough until it's fairly thin. Just kind of eyeball it and make a guess at how thin it has to be to get about 16 cut outs. You don't want it too thick or the dough will take away from the filling.

Stamp out shapes with the pie mold or use a bowl or cookie cutters to get an even number of pieces.

Place one piece in the mold and spread a little mustard or some kind of sauce up to about 1/4" from the edge. You can spread it much more liberally than I did in this photo.

Add some cheese.

Add a little giardiniera. I wish I would have added more than this to ensure a little spice in every bite, and I definitely will next time. I made a few pockets sans hot peppers because Matt isn't as into them as I am, so feel free to leave them out if they're not your thing.

Top it all off with a little pastrami. You don't want to go so overboard with the fillings that you can't seal the pocket, but don't skimp either.

You should brush the edges with egg wash before adding the top layer and pressing them together, but I completely forgot. It still worked out fine, but I'll try to remember that step next time. If you don't have the pie mold you can just use a fork to seal the edges.

Place the pockets on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush with a little egg wash, and bake at 375 for maybe 15 minutes or until the tops are golden.

I heart you, pastrami.

Ham and cheese pockets are good, too. Just make sure you add some kind of sauce or they're a little on the dry side.

Peanut butter and Nutella pockets are a tasty dessert. I might even heart peanut butter and Nutella more than I heart pastrami. Yeah, I said it.

Greek Turkey Sliders

In the last few days before leaving for vacation I was trying to use up a few items in my fridge that probably wouldn't survive my 10 day absence - a cucumber, a little spinach, a chunk of feta, and the remainder of a can of olives. I wanted to make either lamb meatballs or mini burgers, but they didn't have ground lamb at the store and I wasn't up for grinding any meat. Instead I picked up some ground turkey and cute mini pitas to make turkey sliders with a Greek twist. I had leftovers the next day by throwing everything into a regular sized pita, and it was quite tasty.

Start with a pound of ground turkey and in a large bowl dump about 1/4 cup bread crumbs, a couple tablespoons of dijon mustard, a generous sprinkle of dill, a little salt and a few dashes of cayenne pepper. If you're looking for more specific amounts you could use this similar recipe: Dill Turkey Burgers

Mix the ingredients well, and form into patties about 2" around and 1/2" thick.

Grill the burgers or cook them in a little oil in a pan for about 6 or 7 minutes or until cooked through.

Mini pitas! I'm a sucker for anything miniature. I'm talking about you, Shetland ponies!

The pitas didn't end up splitting in half like I had hoped they would, but unevenly split pitas never hurt anyone.

Aren't they cute?

To go with the burgers I mixed up some peeled, seeded chunks of cucumber with a bunch of dried dill and some plain yogurt.

Sliced cucumbers, olives, and chunks of feta rounded out the toppings.

We ate our sliders with hummus and tots. Sometimes you just have to eat tots. I've just figured that out in the last five years or so. When I was a kid I hated tater tots, probably due to the sad, mushy tots they served for school lunch. I remember eating dinner at a friend's house in maybe 3rd grade, and my friend's mom made tater tot casserole. I asked for it without the tater tots. I feel horrible about that now.

If you're not into finger foods you can stuff everything in a pita instead. Yum!

Grilled Cheese + Tomato Soup Revisited

Two of my least favorite foods are canned tomato soup and American cheese. Matt tells me I'm a snob, but I really just don't like the flavor. I've never liked canned tomato soup; it's unnaturally sweet, and it doesn't taste all that much like a tomato. As much as I wanted to, I've never really liked American cheese, either. It's an insult to America to name that cheese after it, and it's an insult to cheese to classify it as such.

I should note that I haven't always had such a bad attitude about American cheese. When I was little I would beg my mom to buy Kraft Singles because I thought individually wrapped cheese was as exciting as slumber parties and the Christmas Barbie. When she would finally give in a buy a package I would slowly unwrap a slice like I was opening a birthday present, peel off the sticky little square of cheese, take a bite, and want to spit it out immediately. I would always force myself to eat a few slices over the next couple weeks so my mom wouldn't get mad at me for making her buy it, and I really wanted to learn to like the taste of American cheese, but it just never happened. When the mostly full package got thrown away several months later (not because it went bad; I'm pretty sure it could survive a nuclear holocaust), my mom would swear that she was done buying sliced American cheese. I can still hear her saying, "Kirsten, never again" as the package fell to the bottom of the trash can with a thud. Inevitably a few months later I would see Kraft Singles at a friend's house, and I would desperately want my own mom to be one of those moms who buys individually wrapped slices of cheese. I would run home and beg my mom to buy Kraft Singles, and the cycle continued...

It took until about five years ago and a broadening of my cheese horizons for me to come to terms with the fact that I do not like American cheese and probably never will. Growing up I absolutely hated Swiss cheese or anything slightly resembling it. Then one day when I was 21 I was eating lunch between a couple of lakes in Switzerland, and I took my first bite of Emmentaler. Before that bite I had no idea what I was diving into. Had I stopped to think about the fact that I was in Switzerland, the home of Swiss cheese, and this mysterious cheese sitting on my plate was probably Swiss cheese, I never would have taken a bite. Sometimes it pays not to think before eating, though. While that first shocking bite did anything but win me over, for some reason I gave it a second and third and fourth chance, and in a matter of five minutes I learned to love Swiss cheese. Emmentaler, as it turns out, was my gateway drug into the wonderful world of cheese. Once I got over that hump I realized that there are so many varieties of cheeses worth eating, and there are very few kinds that I don't like. Smoked cheeses and American cheese are in the latter category.

I think the lesson to be learned is that if I can learn to love cheeses that I absolutely hated when I was a kid, but I still can't enjoy a cheese that I desperately wanted to love, then American cheese has no hope. And in case you were worried about me being, um, un-American for not loving grilled cheese and tomato soup, you can relax. Dinner last night (and lunch today) was an awesome batch of homemade tomato soup and a grilled fig and cheese sandwich.

For an awesome and very easy recipe for tomato soup: 101 Cookbooks

For a tasty sandwich and pictures of soup in the making: keep reading

I basically doubled the recipe from 101 Cookbooks, making some minor changes as I went. All of these tomatoes are from Matt's mom's garden - thanks, Ann! Some of them were dented, bruised, and just plain struggling, but once they were roasted and pureed you would never know.

Cut out the stems and slice the tomatoes into quarters (or eighths for the larger tomatoes). Lay them skin side down on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with salt.

Cut a few yellow onions into large pieces, toss with olive oil and salt, and spread them out on another lined, rimmed baking sheet. Add some unpeeled garlic cloves to the onions. The original recipe called for 5 tomatoes, 3 medium onions, and 5 garlic cloves; I used about 10 tomatoes, 3 medium-large onions, and 10 cloves of garlic.

Cook the tomatoes and onions at 375 until the onions start to caramelize and the tomatoes start to sink a little. I cooked the onions for about an hour.

The tomatoes took about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Peel the garlic and add it to a large pot with the tomatoes and onions.

Using a hand blender (or doing small batches in a real blender) puree the vegetables.

Stir in low sodium chicken broth one cup at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. I ended up using four cups of broth. The original recipe stops here, but I moved the pot to the stove and let it cook on low for another 30 minutes or so. I also added a little more salt and a dash of cayenne. Matt and I both really liked this soup. It's pretty smooth, but the tomato seeds and pureed skins provide a little texture, which I enjoy. It's only as sweet as a fresh tomato is, and it actually tastes the way a tomato tastes.

This is actually the sandwich I made for lunch, which was better than the one I made last night. Last night in my excitement over being reunited with my long lost friend, havarti with dill, I went a little overboard with experimentation. Just so you know, a grilled muenster and fig sandwich is a lot better than a grilled havarti with dill and fig sandwich.

A layer of cheese, a layer of fruit, two slices of good bread, and a little butter is all you need.

Hopefully seeing me make sandwiches like this will help my mom forgive me for those Kraft Singles purchases. Sorry, Mom.

Apple, Brie + Turkey Panini

After Matt and I took a trip to the apple orchard last weekend I have apples out the wazoo, and I couldn't be happier. I've been snacking on them plain, dipping them in almond butter, making an improvised version of Waldorf salad, and making heavenly scones. One of the first things I made, though, was a panini. I'd considered making some kind of wrap with apple slices, but I knew I wanted brie and the only thing better than brie is molten brie.

Apple, Brie + Turkey Panini

Bread

Turkey

Apple

Brie

Dijon Mustard

Spinach (optional)

For the bread I used one of the bake at home baguettes from the grocery store. Instead of baking it completely I baked it for about half the time, figuring it would be grilling long enough that it would finish cooking then (and it worked, in case you were wondering). Once it came out of the oven I spread a little dijon mustard on one half because there is nothing worse than a dry panini. A little apple butter would also be really good, but I didn't want to shell out $7 for a teensy jar of it at the grocery store. I can make my own for far less, thank you very much. And I'll let you know if I do.

First came the turkey. I used two or three pretty big slices.

Then spinach. You could definitely leave this part out if you prefer. I just wanted something green in my sandwich. There were a few bites where it was a little overpowering, but overall I enjoyed it because it made me feel like I was being a tiny bit healthier.

I piled some slices of brie on top of the spinach. And then I cut myself an extra slice to eat right away because I haven't had brie for a while and I could not live another second without it.

One of the keys to making a great sandwich is layering the ingredients in a way that holds everything in place. While slices of turkey don't have a tendency to slide right out of a sandwich, things like apple slices and small leaves of spinach do. Putting the cheese in between those things will act as a binder once it melts, and it will help keep everything in.

Next were the apple slices. Try to slice them thin enough that you can pile them on a sandwich and get your jaw around the sandwich, but not so thin that they're overshadowed by everything else. Plan on using about half an apple per sandwich, and you'll probably have a few extra slices for snacking on.

Top everything off with the other piece of bread and give it a little smoosh to help everything stick together.

If you don't own a panini press or pan, a George Foreman works just fine. Preheat the grill and throw your sandwich right on. I've found that it helps to shift the top piece of bread towards the back of the grill about half an inch because when you lower the lid it pushes that top piece forward. Make sense? Let me know if it doesn't.

It took a good 10 minutes until the brie started to melt. Cooking times will vary depending on the device you're using, though, so keep an eye on it.

Molten brie - exactly what I was going for. Success!

KGB Sandwich (with a little ORT)

I've long contemplated paying tribute to Soviet intelligence in the form of a sandwich, and the day has finally arrived!  I'd like to introduce you to the KGB, a decidedly un-Russian combination of kale, guacamole, and bacon layered between two slices of homemade bread.  Oh, and let's not forget the ORT, oven roasted tomatoes, but that kind of throws off the whole USSR theme.  Unless you want to call it a KGBORschT.  Then you have the fun combo of secret police and beet soup.  I might be on to something here...  Creating variations on the BLT is like culinary scrabble, and I just can't get enough.  

Russian jokes aside, this sandwich is AWESOME.  A Wonderfully Enjoyable Sandwich Overtaking My Emotions.  And this is really hard for me to admit, but it's not the bacon that makes this sandwich so good; it's the tomatoes.  They add a completely new dimension to the sandwich that will make you never want to eat a raw tomato slice again.  You really have to try them.  Immediately.  

KGB (with ORT) Sandwich

2 slices bread

2-3 strips bacon*

2T guacamole

A little kale

2-3 oven roasted tomatoes 

*For a vegetarian version you could substitute cheese or tempeh for the bacon.  Or that weird fake bacon stuff if you're into that.  

Here's the lineup.  Pretty hard to resist, right?  

For the guacamole I just mashed up an avocado, a long green pepper of some unknown variety from Matt's mom's garden, a clove of garlic, and a little salt.  The bacon is Amana peppered bacon.  I have three packages of it in my fridge and one in my freezer, so I figured I should put a little dent in the stash.  In case you were wondering, I am aware of how absurd the amount of bacon I have is.  Very, very, very absurd.  And slightly embarrassing.  

Uh.  Mah.  Gah.  (translation: Oh.  My.  God.)

And Kelly, this morning I woke up and thought, "TGINIR."  

Dill Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers are the perfect way to go when you're craving a burger, but you want something a little on the lighter side.  After making several batches of less than stellar turkey burgers, I finally made some good ones the other night.  They were neither dry nor flavorless - a turkey burger success!  These can be made in about 20 minutes from start to finish, so they're great when you don't want to spend hours in the kitchen.  

Dill Turkey Burgers

Adapted from Martha Stewart 

1-1.25 lbs ground turkey

2 shallots

1/4 cup dill

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt & pepper

Olive oil for cooking

Finely chop the shallots.  

Heat a little oil in a pan over medium heat, and then add the shallots.  Sauté for a couple minutes until they are soft and translucent.  I usually skip the step of cooking shallots or onions before mixing them in with the meat because I am lazy and don't want to have to wash more dishes, but I realized that the cooking really does make a difference.  After being cooked they are much less noticeable to certain people who complain about the presence of shallots and onions in burgers.  The same thing goes for chopping them as finely as you possibly can.  

While the shallots cook, rinse a good handful of dill.  

Then finely chop it.   

Combine the turkey, shallots, dill, and mustard.  Season with salt and pepper.  

Form into 4 patties.  

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat.  You could also grill them, should you be so fortunate to possess a grill.  

Cook for about 5 minutes on one side or until the bottom is browned.  Flip and cook for another 5 minutes or so on the other side or until cooked through.  The Martha Stewart recipe suggested cooking them for 3-1/2 minutes on the first side then 4 on the other side, but mine took longer than that.  Just keep an eye on them because they dry out quickly.  

One of the most important things I learned while living in France for a summer was that baguettes make excellent burger holders.  Hamburger buns are fine and all, but a chewy, crusty baguette takes it to another level.  Try it with hot dogs or brats, too.