Monday, December 5, 2011

Spicy Sprouts, Havarti & Ham Sandwich

Mr Reed & I love sandwiches - but sometimes the same old get so boring we find ourselves dreading the lunch hour menu. Recently I have discovered that I am not as picky of an eater anymore & have ventured into new sandwich toppings that have now turned my boring meat on a bun pallette into a salivating desire to concoct a new version. A little tidbit I find to making the lunch bun that much more appetizing is to find a local bakery close by & every other night/day run in & pick up enough fresh buns for your family to cover 2 days. This simple fresh statement will make all the difference. This is the sandwich I made for Mr Reed & I today for lunch - in an individual sandwich breakdown.

1 bun
5 slices shaved lunch meat
1 tsp light mayo
1 large leaf of lettuce
3 slices jalapeno havarti cheese
1/4 cup spicy alfalfa sprouts
   pickles sliced in circles
   red onion slices
   mustard

1) Cut bun in half & spoon mayo mixture on the bottom

2) Place meat slices & then cheese & pickles

3) Add lettuce & then sprouts

4) Top with mustard, cover with top of bun & cut in half & serve

...how do I store fresh herbs to use later on?

 
 If you're anything like me you enjoy the valued addtional of using fresh herbs - but can never seem to use them up before they expire. Below is a trick that I use & works great! I purchased the trays from Dollarama & the style of them works perfect. Try this out with all your favourite herbs.

Herbs
Rectangle ice cube trays

1) Place sprigs evenly amongst ice cube trays

2) Cover with water & freeze for a few hours

 3) Once frozen remove from tray & freeze in ziploc bag

4) TO USE: Simply run lukewarm water over the ice to thaw then use as directed in your recipe

Friday, December 2, 2011

Potato Bacon Torte

The way to my husbands heart is bacon. If I could incorporate bacon into everything I made he would be a very happy boy. This year we celebrated American Thanksgiving at our home. We had several of Mr Reeds extended family come in to share the day together. I prepped this crust the evening before & served it for breakfast for Mr Reeds mom; himself & I then we got to work on prepping the delicious turkey dinner! This recipe is one that I pulled out of Food Network's December issue - & it was well worth it as this will be my new crust recipe from now on.

FOR THE CRUST
food pprocessor
2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup filled with 3 ice cubes & water

FOR THE FILLING
4 strips bacon (I opted for 1 cup precooked bacon pieces)
1 cup heavy cream
3 sprigs thyme, plus leaves for topping
3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
   salt & pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese
1 large egg yolk

1) Make the crust: Pulse the butter, flour & salt in the food processor until the mixture looks like a slightly wet sand
2) Add 8 to 10 tbsps ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough just begins to clump together

3) Divide the dough between 2 resealable plastic bags & pat into disks

4) Refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or overnight)

5) Roll out 1 disk of dough between 2 floured wax sheets of paper into a 10 inch round

6) Fit dough into a 9 inch pie plate & refrigerate

7) Preheat oven to 375F

8) Bring the cream & thyme sprigs to a bare simmer in a saucepan over low heat

9) Remove from heat; let steep 5 minutes. Remove thyme

10) Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

11) Remove the pie plate from the fridge & add a layer of potato slices over the dough in a circular pattern, overlapping

12) Season with salt & pepper & sprinkle with about 1/4 of the bacon

13) Continue layering until the pan is nearly full

14) Top evenly with cheese

15) gently pour the cream over the torte; allowing it to seep down between the potato slices

16) Roll out the remaining disk of dough into a 10 inch round floured surface

17) Lay the dough over the filling; press the edges of the 2 crusts together to crimp them closed

18) Beat the egg yolk with a splash of water & brush on the top crust

19) With a sharp knife, cut a few slits in the center of the crust to let the steam escape

20) Put the torte on on a baking sheet & bake until the crust is browned; 50 minutes to 1 hour (cover the edges with foil if they brown too quickly)

21) Let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges; top with thyme leaves