Caprese Sandwich

I previously posted a recipe for Caprese Pasta Salad so this weekend I decided that I would try making a Caprese sandwich. Here's how I went about it.

Ingredients

Basil pesto sauce
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Whole fresh basil leaves
Sliced mozzarella cheese
Sliced sun-dried tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes, whatever you prefer)
Whole wheat ciabatta bread

To assemble sandwich, slice ciabatta bread horizontally in half. On one half, spread pesto sauce. On the other half, spread balsamic vinaigrette. On either half of the sandwich, stack the sliced mozzarella cheese, basil leaves, and tomatoes. Combine both bread halves together and consume.

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Spicy Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup with Snow Peas, Shiitake Mushrooms, and Cilantro

Now that winter has finally, sorta hit here in Los Angeles, I'm craving to have warm soups and comfort foods more often. Here's a great recipe from Serious Eats slightly modified using reduced sodium ingredients. I also used snow peas instead of sugar snap peas because I love snow peas. I like this recipe because it's spicy and uses a lot of fresh veggies. The result reminded me of pho.

Ingredients

24 fluid ounces reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha or other chili sauce
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 3 inch strips
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
3 tablespoons chopped scallions
1 cup snow peas
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/8 inch strips
1 teaspoon lime zest
6 ounces soba noodles
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a large pot, combine broth, chili sauce, soy sauce, ginger, brown sugar, and lime juice. Bring to a boil then cook, boiling, for 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium and add chicken and mushrooms. Let simmer for 15 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, fill a medium pot with cold water. Bring water to a boil, and add soba noodles. Cook for four minutes, then drain noodles and set aside.

Add scallions, snap peas, red pepper, and zest to broth. Let cook one minute. Take off heat.

Divide noodles among serving bowls, then ladle in soup. Garnish with cilantro. Add more Sriracha or other hot sauce if you want it to be more spicy.

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Balsamic Vinaigrette

Over the past few years, I have come to love homemade salad dressings. They are extremely easy to make, and I personally think they taste better than the most expensive bottle of salad dressing that you can buy off the shelf at the market. I also noticed that when eating salads with homemade dressings, it encouraged me to eat salads more often. I typically pour this dressing over romaine lettuce with black olives, garbanzo beans, and sun-dried tomatoes. It tastes great!

Ingredients

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, and garlic. Add the oil in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bottle for later use. Shake well before pouring.

Reference
Balsamic Vinaigrette

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Italian Antipasto Salad

I love antipasto salads. They are light but full of flavor thanks to the dressing, meats, and pepperchinis. I also love black olives and garbanzo beans! With this salad, I didn't indicate quantities for the ingredients because you can adjust for your liking. If you like more meats, then add more meats; if you like more garbanzo beans and olives, then add more of those. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Reduced fat salami, sliced
Reduced fat pepperoni, sliced
Part-skim mozarella cheese, shredded
Reduced sodium garbanzo beans
Romaine lettuce, diced
Pepperoncinis, sliced
Reduced sodium black olives, sliced

Dressing:

1 large garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried orégano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, the vinegars, the rosemary, the basil, the oregano, the red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste, add the oil in a stream, whisking, and whisk the marinade until it is emulsified.

In a salad bowl, toss the romaine lettuce, meats, cheese, garbanzo beans, black olives, and pepperoncinis. Top with dressing.

Reference
Mixed Antipasto 

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Artichoke Pasta Salad with Roasted Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I love love love this recipe. I pretty much used Alton Brown's Artichoke Pasta Salad recipe with a few small changes to quantities and a couple ingredients. The herb oil is fantastic! I have been making this dish over and over again over the past couple of weeks because I can't get enough of it. So good!

Ingredients

2 cups cooked whole wheat penne pasta, cooled
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons herb oil, recipe follows
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned 
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup roughly chopped roasted chicken
1/4 cup roughly chopped marinated artichokes
1/4 cup sliced black olives
2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large bowl toss all of the ingredients. Serve or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Herb Oil:

1/2 bunch parsley
1/2 cup packed fresh basil
1/2 bunch fresh thyme
1/2 cup packed fresh oregano
1/2 orange, zested
1 whole dried arbol chile
1 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
2 cups canola oil
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a 1-quart mason jar or glass container, place all of the herbs, zest, chile, and peppercorns. Pour both oils into a saucepan and heat to 200 degrees F. Pour the hot oils into the jar and cover with a kitchen towel. Let stand overnight.

Place cheesecloth or strainer over the top of the jar and replace the outer rim of the lid. Invert and strain oil into desired container.

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Burrito: Refried Beans, Chorizo, Avocado, and Queso Fresco in a Whole Wheat Tortilla

This recipe is inspired by Serious Eats' Crusty Torta With Black Beans And Chorizo. I love chorizo and avocado so I wanted to try this, give it a lighter spin, make a burrito instead of a torta.

Ingredients

4 ounces fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed
1 fifteen-ounce can fat-free refried black beans
3 ounces part-skim queso fresco
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
Sliced black olives
Romaine lettuce, diced
Hot sauce (I used sriracha)
Salt

Toss the chorizo into a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for about 8 minutes or until the fat has rendered, breaking up the meat until it is crumbly.

Dump in the whole can of refried beans into the skillet. Stir until combined and cook for 10 minutes at a simmer. Add a little water if it becomes too dry. Season with salt to taste.

Warm a tortilla on a stove burner. After tortilla is warmed up, you are ready to assemble your burrito.

Smooth the chorizo-bean mixture onto the center of the tortilla. Place diced lettuce, crumbed queso freso, sliced black olives, and slices of avocado on top. Lightly salt the avocado to bring out the taste. Wrap up the tortilla into a burrito.

If you want more spiciness to your burrito, add some hot sauce. I added Sriracha to mine and it was fantastic!

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Iceberg Wedge Salad With Bacon And Lite Blue Cheese Dressing

I absolutely LOVE this recipe. Adapted from Serious Eats' Iceberg Wedge With Warm Bacon And Blue Cheese Dressing, I made a lighter version of the blue cheese dressing and used reduced sodium bacon. Thanks Serious Eats! You are the best!

Ingredients

1 ½ cups lite mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from one lemons
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons reduced fat buttermilk
1 cup crumbled reduced fat blue cheese
½ pound reduced sodium thick-cut bacon
1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into six wedges, each with some core attached
½ red onion, thinly sliced

For dressing: Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, black pepper, hot sauce, and buttermilk to medium-sized bowl. Whisk to combine. Stir in crumbled blue cheese. Set aside.

Take 2-3 stripes of bacon and cook. I used the easy microwave method but you can cook it in a skillet per the directions on the packaging too. After cooking, break up bacon into smaller pieces.

Place one wedge of iceberg lettuce on plate. Spoon two tablespoons or so of dressing on top. Sprinkle some bacon and red onion on top. Repeat with five remaining wedges.

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