Teaser

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An amazing appetizer dinner! I'll post the full recipes tomorrow, for now, I hear my pillow calling my name.

Grilled Chicken Panini w/ Asparagus

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This was a thrown together meal. The Hubs wanted panini's and I didn't have any bread in the house, so he lucked out and got spoiled. I rarely eat white bread, but they had cute single serve breads at QFC in the deli.

Sandwich:
Diced chicken breast, reheated. Origionally, pan grilled with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Pesto spread
Canned artichoke hearts, chopped
Crumbled bacon
Provolone cheese

Grilled to perfection on my Cuisinart Griddler.

Asparagus:
Asparagus tossed in olive oil and pepper cooked in the oven on 350 for approx 20 minutes. Topped with diced tomatoes and feta cheese.

This is my new favorite way to make asparagus.

Amazing French Dips

I love French Dips. I use to make ghetto french dips in college, which consisted of roast beef thrown in a pan, seasoned with anything I could find and served with grocery store pre-made au jus. I'm sad to admit, I called that cooking, and even served it to the Hubs on more than one occasion.

I found a little bar in my new town, that has amazing french dips. After a few trips, I realized I didn't need to be in there a few times a week, eating a giant french dip, with greasy fries and washing it down with a cold one, so I set out to find something I could "downsize" at home.

My new favorite is a spin off of this recipe:
Rachael Ray Food Network

My recipe is for 2 servings.

1 Tbsp butter
1/2 shallot finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
1oz red wine
3/4 to 1 can of beef broth
1/2 pounds deli sliced roast beef
Salt and pepper to taste
2 sub style deli sandwich rolls, split
Cheese and/or horseradish sauce to taste

Directions
Melt butter in a shallow skillet. Once butter melts, add shallots and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add flour to pan and cook a for one minute. Whisk in red wine and cook liquid out. Whisk in beef broth. Bring sauce to a bubble and simmer over low heat until ready to serve sandwiches.

Chop/Dice meat to desired size. Season with salt and pepper. Using a pair of tongs or a long serving fork, dip meet into sauce and pile directly onto sandwich roll. Add cheese and/or horseradish sauce if desired. Serve additioanl sauce in a small bowl or ramekin.

Personal changes: I bought the rarest roast beef I could get my hands on. I was afraid the meat would cook too quickly even with just dipping it in the sauce. I added my meat to the sauce for 3 minutes and it came out still slightly pink in the middle, which is how I prefer roast beef. I also toasted my roll with a little butter prior to piling on the meat.