Potluck Panini Party!

Happy middle-of-the-week everyone!  This past Friday, Mike and I played hosts for an awesome build your own panini party!  It was fun, creative and because we had guests bring some panini ingredients and side items, it was pretty cheap: )  How do you throw your own Potluck Panini Party?  Well I'm going to tell you!

Step 1: Decide what panini ingredients you want to purchase. Mike and I bought a 1/2 lb of 3 different deli meats (turkey, chicken and ham), 2 different kinds of sliced cheeses (swiss, mozzarella and we already had sharp cheddar slices on hand), pesto, a jar of roasted red peppers (to make roasted red pepper spread, see recipe at the bottom of the post) and bread (Italian)!  Oh and I also had some onion and green pepper that I sliced up for the sandwiches. It doesn't really matter what ingredients you pick...just pick your favorites.  I would recommend getting a fairly hearty bread.  Our Italian bread didn't quite hold up when we grilled the sandwiches.

Step 2: Figure out what awesome friends you are going to invite.  Yes, they have to be awesome.  You can't have a great party without great friends: ) It might also help to set a date and time for the party too!

Step 3:  Decide what to ask your guests to bring.  I always try to give my guests some choices for what they want to bring and keep in mind that everyone is on a budget these days.  One guest I asked to bring feta cheese ( It's her favorite so I knew she would be happy to bring it ) and some zuchinni.  Another friend of mine (actually, a couple) I asked to bring a side dish.  They brought a delicious broccoli, bacon and seeds dish! YUM!  And finally I asked yet another guest to bring a dessert (strawberry cheesecake! Man my friends have great taste: ). 

Step 4:  On the day of the party, prepare all your ingredients.  I sliced my onion and green pepper, tossed them in some oil, salt and pepper and sauteed them over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  I knew the onions and green peppers would not cook on the grill inside the sandwich.  I placed the slightly cooked veggies in a pretty bowl and put a serving spoon with them. I also spread out the cheese slices on a gorgeous little tray. I made my roasted red pepper spread and put that in a serving dish as well.  Then I spread out all the food and serving dishes on my counter.  When the zuchinni arrived, Mike sliced them super thin (about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick) and I tossed them in a small (less than a teaspoon) amount of oil and some salt and pepper.  These I didn't cook because zuchinni cooks relatively quick, especially when sliced so thin.  Oh and don't forget to decorate your dining table too!

Step 5:  When all your guests show up, start having a great time!  Have your guests assemble their panini's (no rules here, whatever they want!) and when everyone has theirs assembled, put the panini's on a preheated (350 degrees) griddle. Don't have a griddle? Use a large, flat pan over medium heat.  We also brushed a little olive oil on the outside of the bread so that it was nice and crispy.  Use a fairly heavy cake or pie pan to press the panini's onto the griddle.  When all paninis are cooked on both sides, serve them up and enjoy!

My panini party spread....

After we all ate dinner, the boys went out to play pool and the girls stayed in and played card games.  It was a blast!

Oh yeah!  The recipe.....

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

1 16oz jar roasted red pepper, drained
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 cup plain breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)

Place roasted red pepper in a food processor.  Use garlic press and add garlic (or chop garlic and add it) to red peppers.  Add the rest of the ingredients and process until the consistency is similar to basil pesto.  Spread on paninis and enjoy!

Easy Enchiladas

Hello everyone!  Just wanted to write a quick post with my enchilada recipe.  Well, I say my enchilada recipe but its mostly a recipe I learned from a friend of mine a long time ago.  I did, however, make a few changes.

Easy Enchiladas- makes 8 enchiladas

2 lbs ground beef

4 cups sharp cheddar cheese

2 cans kidney beans, drained

1 white onion
taco seasoning to taste (equal parts cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder with a little bit of cayenne pepper and oregano mixed in)

8 large flour tortillas

1 (14 oz) can tomato sauce

1 can cream of mushroom soup (condensed)

1-2 small cans enchilada sauce (mild, medium or hot depending on your tastes: )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Dice onion.  Brown beef in large skillet with desired amount of taco seasoning, add onion when meat is about halfway browned.  Drain beef and mix in kidney beans.  Spoon 1/8 beef/kidney bean/onion mixture onto tortillas.  Sprinkle cheese on beef mixture, about 1/4 cup.  Roll tortilla around contents and place in 9x13 baking dish.  Repeat process until all tortillas are filled and pan is full.  In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, cream of mushroom soup and enchilada sauce.  Pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, top with remaining cheese and bake for another 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and begins to brown.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

Breaded and Baked Pork Chops

I decided the best way to start this post was to show a picture of the wonderful meal I'm going to write about: ).  Breaded and baked pork chops, garlic and herb rolls and roasted veggies!  I already posted the recipe for the roasted veggies but here are some more beautiful pictures of them.

Before roasting.... (my pan may have been just a tad overloaded...oops!)

After roasting : )

And yes, they tasted even more delicious than they looked!  Anyway...moving on to the pork chops.

I decided this recipe would be an especially good one to post about because it gives me an opportunity to share some helpful tips for breading meat.  The best way to bread meat is to set up a standard breading station.  What is a standard breading station you ask?  Good question!  A standard breading station consists of 5 parts, as illustrated below:

If you are left handed and feel more comfortable setting up your station in reverse (right to left), that is just fine.  I find that pie pans and round or 8x8 cake pans work best for the middle three parts of the station.

Raw product:  This is pretty self explanatory. . .just your raw meat in a pan (or on a plate), trimmed and ready to be breaded.

Flour:  This step in the process helps the breading stick to the meat.  I usually add salt and pepper to the flour but you can also salt and pepper the meat before breading it.  Either way works just fine.  Your goal for this part is to get just a thin coating of flour on the meat.  Shake off any excess flour.

Egg wash:  This is a combination of eggs and a liquid.  I use milk but you can also use water.  Usually about 2 tablespoons liquid per egg.  Whip the two together with a fine wire whisk and you're good to go!

Seasoned bread crumbs:  A good ratio for seasoned breadcrumbs is about 1 to 2 tablespoons of seasoning per cup of breadcrumbs, depending on how seasoned you want your final product to be.  You can use whatever spices and herbs you like but some excellent standard seasonings are: oregano, basil, onion powder, garlic powder or salt, salt and pepper.  Also grated parmesan is a great addition.  Quick tip: because this breading station is set up for baking your product, it is okay to season the breadcrumbs.  If you want to fry your product, you can use the same breading station except the seasoning in the breadcrumbs.  Salt breaks down the frying oil so you don't want any seasonings in your breading.  Season the meat instead: )

Final product:  Again, self explanatory. This should be your finished product on the pan you want to bake it in.

Tip for breading:
     The easiest way to bread any product (whether for baking or frying) is to keep one dry hand and one wet hand.  The dry hand (for me it's my right hand) picks up the raw product, dredges it in flour and sets it in the egg wash pan (preferably without getting the hand wet...duh).  The wet hand (again, for me it's my left) coats the meat in the egg wash and deposits the product into the breadcrumbs (preferably without touching the breadcrumbs).  Then use the dry hand again to coat the meat in the breadcrumbs and place it on the baking pan. Why do all this?  Have you ever breaded anything before?  If you try to use the same hand for all tasks, you end up with a clumpy, gooey mess all over your fingers! You basically end up breading your fingers and I'm pretty sure that is not the goal.  If you're not used to doing this, it can take a while to remember to switch hands but the effort is well worth it: )

Alright already!  Enough breading station talk....lets FINALLY get to the recipe: )

Breaded and Baked Pork Chops (Italian-style)

4 pork chops
1.5 cups panko bread crumbs
1.5 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch salt
2 eggs
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) milk
enough flour to dredge meat in
salt and pepper to taste for flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Set up standard breading station.  Using the wet hand/dry hand method, bread the four pork chops.  Place pork chops in oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Garlic and herb rolls

Pre-made Dinner roll of your choice
2-3 tbsp melted butter or margarine*
1/4 tsp each of the following seasonings
- oregano
- basil
- garlic powder
- paprika
- whatever other seasoning you like

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine seasonings and melted butter.  Let sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, to allow flavors to mingle.  If butter solidifies, remelt it in microwave.  Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the rolls with flavored butter.  Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until roll is warm and begins to brown.

If I had been thinking properly when I made the rolls, I would have sprinkled some fresh, chopped thyme on top....ooops! Oh well...

*If using butter, you must clarify the butter before brushing it on the rolls.  Clarifying butter removes the water and milk solids from the butter, leaving just the butterfat.  Why do this?  Unclarified butter will burn on top of the rolls within minutes, before the rolls can even heat up.  How do you clarify butter?  Here's what my Professional Cooking book suggests:
Method 1
     Melt butter in heavy saucepan over moderate heat
     Skim the froth from the surface
     Carefully pour off clear melted butter, leaving the milky liquid at the bottom of the saucepan
Method 2
     Melt butter in heavy saucepan over moderate heat
     Skim the froth from the surface
     Leave the pan on the heat and continue to skim the froth from the surface as it forms.  The water at the bottom will boil and gradually evaporate.
      When the butter looks clear and no longer forms a scum, strain the butter through cheesecloth.

Whoa! That was a long one! Okay done now...hope you enjoyed it!