California Grilled Veggie Sandwich

I'm warning you right now that this sandwich is a little hard to eat (or at least hard to eat gracefully). So maybe you shouldn't serve it at a fancy garden party. But if it's just for your friends and family, definitely give this one a try. If you can't be a slob in front of them, eat it alone. Or get yourself some new friends (I was going to add family to that, but that seems a little cold, even for me). 

I was surprised at how much I loved this. The garlic mayo and soft, warm feta is just unbelievably delicious with the lightly charred vegetables. Plus using homemade rosemary focaccia didn't hurt. I've never gotten all that worked up over a grilled vegetable sandwich before, but this one has me wondering when I'm going to make it again.

CALIFORNIA GRILLED VEGGIE SANDWICH

Yield: 4 servings

1/4 cup mayonnaise

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sliced red bell peppers

1 small zucchini, sliced

1 red onion, sliced

1 small yellow squash, sliced

2 (4- x 6-inch) focaccia bread pieces, split horizontally

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1.      In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator.

2.      Preheat the grill for high heat.

3.      Brush vegetables with olive oil on each side. Brush grate with oil. Place bell peppers and zucchini closest to the middle of the grill, and set onion and squash pieces around them. Cook for about 3 minutes, turn, and cook for another 3 minutes. The peppers may take a bit longer. Remove from grill, and set aside.

4.      Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on the cut sides of the bread, and sprinkle each one with feta cheese. Place on the grill cheese side up, and cover with lid for 2 to 3 minutes. This will warm the bread, and slightly melt the cheese. Watch carefully so the bottoms don't burn. Remove from grill, and layer with the vegetables. Enjoy as open faced grilled sandwiches.

from allrecipes.com by Heather Johnson

mayonnaise, garlic and lemon

red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash and red onion

veggies on the grill

If you like to grill small stuff, I suggest you get one
of these grill pans (it really cuts down on food loss
between the grill grates and makes it easier to take
things on and off the grill).

getting grilled

homemade rosemary focaccia

focaccia sliced, spread with garlic mayo and sprinkled with feta

focaccia on the grill

grilled focaccia

The feta doesn't look all that melty, but it's
warm and soft (and the bread is toasty). I bought
a really good quality feta and it was so worth it!

zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper added

topped off with onions

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Rosemary-Feta Beer Bread

You'll notice at the bottom of this recipe it says barely adapted. That's because after making this I decided I should up the feta cheese next time. I find as a rule, increasing the cheese improves most recipes (and whatever other problems you may have in life). Unless of course your problem is lactose intolerance or being allergic to dairy. In which case, you should ignore what I just said and probably stop reading my blog altogether (because I'm a dairy loving fool with no plans to slow down any time soon).

Anyway, I liked this bread. But not as much as my almost seven-year-old. In fact, I gave her a slice and then tried to take some photos, but she wouldn't stop trying to snatch some more (see the little arm in mid-snatch above). It was partly because she really, really liked the bread and partly because she thought it was hilarious to mess up my photos. And the more I glared at her, the funnier she thought it was. Her sense of humor is really coming along. I'm so proud.

ROSEMARY-FETA BEER BREAD

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

12 ounces beer

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tablespoon dried)

1 1/4 cups feta cheese, crumbled

1.      Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease an 8-inch loaf pan.

2.      Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, rosemary, and feta in a large mixing bowl.

3.      Slowly stir in beer and mix just until combined. Batter will be very thick.

4.      Spread in loaf pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

5.      Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool 10 more minutes.

6.      Serve warm or at room temperature.

barely adapted from A Whisk and a Prayer (originally adapted from Farmgirl Flare)

fresh rosemary

crumbled feta

everything but the beer

pouring in the beer

dough mixed

dough in pan

baked

removed from the pan

sliced

Just like with a dog with her tennis ball, I had to
throw a slice across the room for my daughter to fetch,
so I could distract her long enough to snap this shot.

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Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw

I love these tacos. I feel like ending my post right there for dramatic effect so everyone really feels how much I mean that. I realize they might not look like much, but I fell in love with the combination of hot & cold and soft & crunchy with the fresh herbs, salty feta and touch of lime. Mmmph. This one is getting made again and soon (like possibly later today if I can find the time to run to the store and get more beans). In fact, I might have to leave this post up here for a while, just so more people will see it. Word needs to spread through the taco loving community. Tell all your amigos y amigas.

BLACK BEAN TACOS WITH FETA AND CABBAGE SLAW

Makes 4-5 tacos

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

5 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

2 cups coleslaw mix

2 scallions, chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4-5 white or yellow corn tortillas

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

bottled chipotle hot sauce or other hot sauce

1.      Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash.

2.      Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, scallions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.

3.      Heat 3 teaspoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.

4.      Fill tacos with feta and slaw. Pass hot sauce alongside.

barely tweaked from Bon Appétit, February 2009 by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen

chopped cilantro (front) & chopped scallions (back)

adding lime juice to the slaw ingredients

black beans and cumin

mashed

corn tortillas with black bean mixture

folded over

sprinkled with feta

topping with slaw

black bean taco with feta and cabbage slaw

spicing it up with a few shakes of tabasco

going in for a bite

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Greek Pizza

This recipe and I go way back (I consider it a classic in my culinary repertoire). I discovered my love of cooking soon after moving out of my college dorm and into my first apartment in NYC. It was so much fun cooking for my friends/roommates and experimenting with new cuisines and ingredients (when I could afford to buy them).

I'm pretty sure this recipe was my first attempt at using filo dough. I remember how pleasantly surprised I was at how easy it turned out to be (and how thrilled I was when I tasted the results). This pizza was so popular, I always made at least two at a time, no matter how many friends were (or weren't) over...and believe me, it never went to waste. The leftovers (if you have any) are outstanding cold for breakfast.

GREEK PIZZA

(Yield: 4 to 6 servings)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

6 large cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed basil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 lb. fresh spinach (cleaned, stemmed & chopped)

   or 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach (thawed and water squeezed out)

1/2 lb. filo dough, defrosted

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lb. grated mozzarella cheese

2 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese

2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

1/2 cup fine bread crumbs (optional)

1.     Preheat oven to 400° F.  Butter a large baking sheet.

2.     In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onions, garlic and salt; cook until the onions are clear and soft. Add basil, oregano, lemon juice and spinach, and cook over fairly high heat, stirring, until the spinach is limp and the liquid is evaporated.

3.     Combine the melted butter and olive oil. Layer the sheets of filo dough on the buttered baking sheet, brushing the entire surface of each sheet with a generous amount of butter/olive oil mixture.  Continue layering the pastry leaves until you’ve used them all.  Brush the top surface of the stack with the remaining butter/olive oil mixture.

4.      Use a slotted spoon, transfer the spinach mixture from the skillet to the filo stack, leaving behind whatever liquid failed to evaporate.  Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the filo, leaving a 1/2-inch border of pastry.

5.     Sprinkle on all the crumbled feta, plus half of the mozzarella.

6.     Dredge the tomato slices in bread crumbs (optional). Arrange the tomato slices on top of the pizza, and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the tomatoes.  Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes (start checking at 20 minutes).

adapted from “The Enchanted Broccoli Forest” by Mollie Katzen

juicy tomatoes

onions and garlic

lemon
(sometimes I wonder if I should bother with these captions)

I used frozen spinach to save some time.

paper thin filo dough

brushing the filo with butter/oil

all the filo sheets layered

spinach mixture spread on top of filo

crumbled feta (buy the good stuff)

feta and half the mozzarella sprinkled on top

tomato slice dredged in bread crumbs (you can skip this
step if you want, but I like the flavor of the bread crumbs).

tomatoes layered with remaining mozzarella sprinkled on top

just look at all those golden, crunchy layers

dinner is served (I used a pizza cutter to slice)

This stuff leaves such a great aftertaste in
your mouth...you'll never want it to fade away.

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Corn with Mint-Feta Butter

I hesitated to even try this recipe because corn-on-the-cob is so great all on its own, I don't usually even bother putting regular butter on it. But my curiosity won out and I gave it a shot. It's so simple, but really, really tasty. Definitely a little messier than plain corn-on-the-cob, but I'm not very graceful eating it plain either (and at least this way, I'm not the only one who looks like a big slob).

CORN ON THE COB WITH MINT-FETA BUTTER

Serves 8-12

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

7 ounces feta, finely crumbled (1 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup finely chopped mint

8 large ears of corn, shucked, each cob cut crosswise into 3 pieces

________________________________________________________________________

1.      Stir together butter, feta, mint, and a rounded 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.  Can be made 2 days ahead and chilled.

2.      Cook corn in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer with tongs to butter mixture and toss until well coated.

barely adapted from Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez

mint leaves

block of feta

crumbled feta

butter, mint and feta

mint-feta butter mixed

boiling the corn
I don't usually cut my cobs, but I discovered that I like it
smaller. It fit better in the pot and was easier for the kids to eat too.

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