Pulled Pork Panini

Last week I took a day off work to spend with my best friend. She is the same age as me - early 30s - and owns three restaurants in the town of Belfast, Maine (a pub, an Italian place, and a Mexican place). She is pretty amazing.

So of course I had to make her an awesome lunch. Every time we go to visit her she treats us to lunch at whichever restaurant of hers that we want to go. Believe me, the good life is eating at a nice restaurant with the owner at your table.

I decided on pulled pork paninis and a curried carrot soup. We had recently had pulled pork and coleslaw (cabbage and carrots came in the winter CSA) for supper and I had made some bread just for this. I've been wanting to make a cake and decided this was a good opportunity. I'll include the pulled pork, coleslaw and panini recipes here and the cake one will be separate.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Source: Pioneer Woman

1 medium sized pork butt/shoulder
1 large onion, quartered
1 bottle soda (I used Dr. Pepper)
1/2 small can chipolte peppers
4 tablespoons brown sugar

Season the pork with salt and pepper. Lay the onion quarters on the bottle of the crock pot. Put the pork on top of them and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove the pork and pull, removing the fat from the meat. (Pioneer Woman suggests adding the pulled pork to the sauce in the crock pot but I think it would have been too spicy for my toddler so I left it as is and loved it.)

Creamy Coleslaw
Source: Martha Stewart

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I did half mayo and half yogurt)

1/4 cup sour cream

1 small green cabbage, finely shredded

2 medium carrots, coarsely grated

Whisk together mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, mayonnaise, and sour cream in a small bowl. Refrigerate dressing, covered, until ready to use, or up to 2 days.

Put cabbage, carrots, and onion (if desired) in a large bowl. Pour in dressing, and toss thoroughly. Refrigerate, covered, until slaw begins to soften, 1 to 2 hours. If not using immediately, refrigerate, covered, up to 2 days. Just before serving, toss coleslaw again.

Pulled Pork Panini
Source: ME!

Sour dough bread or focaccia

Salted butter

Pulled pork

Coleslaw

BBQ sauce (I used an awesome maple sauce made in VT)

Cheddar cheese, shredded

**I wanted to add caramelized onion but I forgot to make them ahead of time**

Heat panini press or grill pan on medium. Butter the bread and then layer all the ingredients on one slice, putting cheese on top and bottom. Top with the other piece of bread and panini press it! YUM.

Lobstah Salad Sandwich

Looks good doesn't it?

Lobster salad should be free of crap. A tiny bit of real mayo to hold it together. A few pieces of diced celery. Buttered and toasted bread (I would have prefered a hot dog roll but we didn't have any). That is it. Let the lobster speak for itself.

This looks a hell of a lot better than the ants on a log that I am eating right now.



Aarti's Chicken Salad

Have you watched the Food Network show, Aarti Party? I am in love with it. She is so cute and has the sweetest accent. And the food she makes is really creative but doable. This chicken salad recipe came from this month's Food Network Magazine. The flavors are pretty strong so if you don't like that kind of thing maybe move along or don't use so much curry, cumin and garlic. I, as you could probably guess, love strong flavors and love this chicken salad. The sweetness of the grapes and apples offsets the curry and cumin. Yummy!! Oh. And I used split chicken breasts because they are cheaper and I think they retain moisture better than a breast without the bone.


Lady Marmalade Chicken Salad

Source: Food Network Magazine

Yield: 4 servings


2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons orange marmalade

1 medium shallot, minced

1 green apple, diced

1 cup red seedless grapes, halved

Juice of 1 lime

1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt, mixed well

1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil

1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds or cumin seeds

1 clove garlic, minced •2 teaspoons curry powder

2 tablespoons roasted salted cashews, chopped

Fresh cilantro leaves, for sprinkling



Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Put the chicken breasts on the foil and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub until coated. Pop the chicken in the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 150 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes. Switch the oven to the broiler setting. Brush 1 tablespoon marmalade on each chicken breast. Broil, brushing occasionally with the pan drippings, until the chicken is cooked through and golden, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Meanwhile, build the salad: Toss the shallot, apple, grapes, lime juice, yogurt, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the remaining 1 tablespoon marmalade in a large bowl. Heat the canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the mustard seeds and garlic; cook until the seeds stop popping (cover if they're popping out of the pan). Quickly add the curry powder; cook, stirring, 30 seconds, then pour the spiced oil over the yogurt mixture. Stir until combined. Once the chicken breasts are cool, thinly slice them. Fold into the salad and adjust the salt and pepper. Top with the cashews and cilantro.

Beachy Birthday

I was lucky enough to have my husband for 2 full days on the weekend following my birthday. He normally has to work either Saturday or Sunday but I guess he really does love me because he took both days off.

Every summer we drive to the coast of Maine and wander around beaches, parks, little towns, and have such a grand time. We always pack a lunch but have dinner some place along the way.

This year we stopped in Wiscasset to look around in the shops, Damariscotta to check out the Maine Cloth Diaper Company, and settled in at Pemaquid Beach for a few hours.

Every year we pack the same sandwich for our lunch. A pressed grilled veggie sandwich on ciabatta bread. We both love this. I also pack fruit, this time it was cherries and we stopped for a box of native strawberries along the way.

After a few hours at Pemaquid we sort of reversed our way along the coast and stopped in Boothbay. This is where we had dinner, at 93 Townsend. Very yummy and we created some fun memories there too. Boothbay is great for people watching. There is a mixture of locals, lobstermen, and tourists...always entertaining.

Pressed Sandwiches

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart

Yield: Two Sandwiches

Pesto

1/4 cup olive oil

1 big clove garlic, minced

S&P

1 small zucchini, cut into long slices

1 small summer squash, cut into long slices

1 small eggplant, cut into long slices

1 red pepper, roasted and skin removed

Fresh Mozzarella

Cibatta Bread

Heat grill or grill pan to medium heat. Combine olive oil and garlic. Brush each side of the squash and eggplant with the olive oil and then season with salt and pepper. Grill until tender. Chill.

Remove some of the bread inards and fill with pesto, sliced mozzarella, and cold veggies. Add the other piece of bread, wrap in plastic wrap, tie with butcher twine and press overnight.

Portabella Sandwich

Hi friends.

Do you like mushrooms? How about fresh, warm, crusty rolls? Yes? Herbed Boursin cheese? Now I have your attention?

I saw this recipe in Hannaford's Fresh Magazine which you can get for free at any Hannaford supermarket. For the most part I skim through their magazine. Not too much for a vegetarian in there. The recipe defintiely caught my attention and I am so glad it did!

Grilled ciabatta rolls with marinated and grilled portobello mushrooms, boursin cheese and baby arugula. Oh yes. I loved these as did my husband. I served ours with oven fries. A healthy vegetarian meal.


Grilled Portabella Sandwich with Arugula
Source: Hannaford FRESH Magazine
Yield: 4 sandwiches

3 T EVOO
2 T fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
S&P
4 large portabella mushrooms, stems removed
4 ciabatta rolls
1 package garlic and herb cheese (I used Boursin)
2 cups baby arugula or watercress

Combine oil, lemon, garlic and S&P in small bowl. Place mushrooms in large pan and pour marinade over them. Allow to stand at room temp for 10-15 minutes.

Grill mushrooms until charred and tender, 4-6 minutes per side. Grill rolls. Spread cheese on one half of rolls. Thinly slice mushrooms and top cheese with them followed by the greens.