Recipes Discovered

Vietnamese Sandwich Recipe

In Hawaii, there is a popular Vietnamese shop called Ba-Le Sandwiches & Bakery. They specialize in serving bahn mi, which is essentially a Vietnamese sandwich. Bahn mi are served on a french bread or baguettes, and are filled with pickled carrots and daikon (Japanese radish), cucumber, onions, and a choice of meat. Lemongrass chicken was always my favorite. These unique sandwiches had amazing flavor and such a range of textures. The bread was crisp on the outside, but fluffy on the inside. The chicken was warm and spicy, but the vegetables were cool and sweet. Since moving, I have been trying to find all of the ingredients to make my own bahn mi, and it has been a long process. I think I finally found the recipes and the ingredients though, so here is my version of the Vietnamese Sandwich. >> Read more

Black Bean Burger Recipe

I’m always open to trying new things, so when I saw a recipe for a black bean burger, it just struck me as something I had to try. The ‘burger’ is just what it sounds like, replacing the meat with black beans.

There are a few steps to making these burgers. First, I drained and rinsed a can of black beans, and then mashed them into a paste. I used the blender to chop the onions and garlic (I didn’t add the green pepper the recipe called for), which I’m not sure was such a good idea. It did make very fine pieces, but it also pretty much pureed it, which I think made the mixture a little runny. I may just try mincing the onions and garlic very fine next time. I mixed the onion mixture with the mashed beans. In a separate bowl, I beat an egg and added chili powder, cumin, and Thai chili sauce, and then added that mixture to the bean mixture. Instead of breadcrumbs, I added oatmeal to hold the burgers together. >> Read more

Grilled Pear and Chicken Sandwich Recipe

This sandwich is a great alternative to a traditional grilled ham and cheese. The original recipe from Big Book of 30-Minute Dinnerscalls for an apple, Canadian bacon and swiss cheese. I have made them a lot and they are always good, but I had pears and sliced chicken instead, which I thought would be even more of a unique twist.
The sandwiches are easy to assemble. Just split open English muffins and spread the cut side with Dijon mustard and the outside with butter. Layer thinly sliced pears, deli-style chicken breast, and cheese between the muffins and place in a hot skillet over medium-low heat. They take about 5 minutes on each side, and I usually cover the pan to help the sandwich heat through.
They are simple to make, but have amazing flavor. I really like the texture of the English muffin rather than regular bread for some reason. The fruit mixed with the meat and cheese adds a nice sweetness to the sandwich. I prefer the apple over the pear because the apple also adds a little crispness, but the sandwich really has endless possibilities. Mix and match any fruits, meats, and cheeses you like to create a unique sandwich all your own!

Prosciutto and Brie Panini Recipe

There is a sandwich shop in town that serves paninis and charges $15.00 for them. Now I realize that a panini is supposed to be a specialty sandwich, but come on, 15 bucks? That’s ridiculous. I don’t have a panini press, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t make a pressed sandwich myself.

Since a panini is an Italian sandwich, I went with the classic ingredients of ciabatta bread and prosciutto, which is just Italian ham. I also added brie and spinach to the sandwich. Any ingredients will work, and you can use whatever you like. I buttered the outside of each piece of bread, just like I was making a grilled cheese sandwich, layered my fillings inside, and topped each sandwich with a piece of buttered bread facing up. Then I made sure my skillet was hot and brushed it down with a little bit of olive oil. I added the sandwiches and to press them down, I put a large soup pot on top of them and weighted it down with a big can of tomatoes. I grilled the sandwiches for about 5 minutes and then flipped them over and put the soup pot back on top. After another 5 minutes, they were hot, melted and golden brown. They tasted just as good as the sandwich shop and they didn’t cost $15.00.