I am so, so excited about this post. I’m practically bouncing in my chair with glee writing this because not only have I been waiting months to finally try this idea out, but it turned out to be an amazing success.

There’s no big story as to where I got the inspiration for this dish. I was musing to Rach in late July that I wanted to get an ice cream maker and play with flavors, and I mentioned the idea of a peanut butter ice cream/concord grape sorbet sundae, like “PB & J” – how fun would that be!? And then because for me it’s over-the-top or nothing, I wanted to go a step further and play with the “sandwich” idea even more, came up with this.  Concord grape sorbet sandwiched between peanut butter cookies.  “PB & J” turned up to 11.

This is one of those desserts where I’m clinging onto summer by my fingernails, refusing to let go.  Ice cream and sorbet will soon be replaced with apple tarts and pumpkin breads, so this is my final hurrah.  The tricky thing here is concord grapes are only in season for about a month – during Sept/October, thus me waiting a few months before I was able to make this. I stubbornly wanted only concord grapes since that’s the classic jelly pairing with a PB & J sandwich.  I had to call around a bit before I found a few pints at a Whole Foods nearby and snatched them up tout de suite. The flavor of the sorbet is so intense, so childhood-reminiscent turned grown-up complex it’s perfect for the beginning of fall and that back-to-school feeling in the air.  Sandwiched between sweet, sugary-rich peanut butter cookies… it’s hard to describe just how awesome it tastes.  You’ll have to try it yourself (now! go!) to find out.

Concord Grape Sorbet

Based on Martha Stewart’s recipe

Makes about 2 pints sorbet

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs concord grapes, stems removed
• ¼ cup water
• 2/3 cup simple syrup (refresher course here)
• 1 ½ TBL freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

1. Prepare an ice bath and set aside.
   
2. Combine grapes and the water in a medium saucepan and slightly squish them with the backside of a large spoon to get some juices flowing.
   
3. Cook over medium-high heat until the liquid begins to bubble and grapes start releasing liquid, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat, and simmer until juices are dark purple and grapes begin to break apart, about 3 minutes.
4. Pass mixture through a food mill. If you have a fine sieve or chinois, pass the mixture through that.  If you’re too poor (like me), you can use cheesecloth draped over a strainer.  The point is to keep the pureed pits and skins out, you want pure juice here.  Once you get it into the bowl set in the icebath, stir until completely cool.  Then stir in the lemon juice and simply syrup.
5. Transfer mixture to an ice-cream maker, and freeze according to your manufacturer’s instructions.  Freeze in an airtight container overnight.
   

Honey Peanut Butter Cookies

Based on the recipe from Taste of Home and adjusted for altitude.

I went on the hunt for a soft and chewy cookie here.  Since the cookies would be frozen eventually, I didn’t want a crunchy cookie to start with, and I saw this recipe referenced on several other food blogs, so I gave it a go.  It already got high marks for adding honey to the mix since, well, we previously discussed how honey-roasted peanut butter is my favorite thing, ever.  And now these cookies are amongst that ingredient in the ‘favorites’ list.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup shortening
• 1 cup creamy plain peanut butter
• 1 cup honey
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup plus 2 TBL sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Extra sugar for rolling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Line as many cookie sheets as you have with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine shortening, peanut butter, and honey. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture.  Mix until just combined.
5. Scoop cookies using a heaping tablespoon or cookie scoop if you have one. Roll into balls and then roll around in more sugar.  I press them down with my hand first and then finish with the classic crisscross fork pattern (We’re keeping it old school here).
6. Bake 10-12 minutes until slightly golden. Cookies should be soft and chewy.  Cool completely on wire racks and store in an airtight container.
7. To assemble sandwiches: Add about 1/2 cup concord grape sorbet between 2 cookies and either eat right away, or freeze in airtight containers.  Let thaw about 15 minutes before devouring.

Note: You’ll have about a dozen cookies leftover if you use all the cookies and all the sorbet to make sandwiches.  The recipes above gave me about 18 sandwiches. Yum.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cookies, dessert, favorite, fruit, indulge, sandwich, summer

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Oh, roast chicken leftovers, how I love you so.  Being at a photography shoot the past few days where all we’ve been shooting is picture after picture of gorgeous food (and eating awesome Thai Basil for lunch every day), my guilt over just eating cold chicken with a salad once I got home finally got to me.  Normally I would make a yummy chicken salad and serve it on fluffy, sweet wheat bread, but I saw this on Gourmet a few months ago and thought how it would be something great to do for when I had leftover roast chicken instead of just buying a rotisserie substitute.

Tstasiki is right up there with Dijon mustard in my list of favorite condiments, and despite knowing how easy it was to make, I never actually did it.  The lazier part of me just always picked up a container whenever I was in the store, and frequently my after-work snack is me dipping celery into the container (thankfully I live alone) while I put dishes away and make my lunch for the next day.  Cooling, tart and decadent without the fat, I use it as a sub for mayonnaise in chicken salad (great calorie reducer) and even as a salad dressing.

The tsatsiki is the only ‘recipe’ here, really.  The rest is tossing the chicken with some herbs and oil, adding some veggies and topping everything with the tsatsiki on some pita bread.  It’s a great fast weeknight meal and even better if you have the time to roast some potatoes with oregano alongside it. Otherwise, just enjoy on its own!

Chicken Gyros with Homemade Tsatsiki

Based on the recipe from Gourmet.

Makes enough tsatsiki for 4 servings.  Use as much chicken as you have around if you don’t have enough called for.

Ingredients:

• 2 Kirby (also known as pickling) cucumbers (These can be tricky to find sometimes. I see them at Wal-Mart but then my King Soopers didn’t have them. If you can’t find them, just use a few inches of English [seedless] cucumber.)
• 1 ½ cups 0% Greek yogurt (2 cup containers of Fage 0% are exactly 12 ounces so I used that)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, divided
• 6 garlic cloves, 2 minced and 4 sliced.
• About 1 cup roasted chicken meat (light or dark, whatever you have around)
• Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh mint
• ½ tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• Grape tomatoes
• Minced red onion
• Shredded iceberg lettuce
• Whole wheat pita bread

Directions:

1. Peel the cucumbers and grate 1 of them.  Squeeze as much liquid from them as you can, otherwise your tsatsiki will be bitter.  You can let them sit a bit over a strainer and then press them out.   Stir together the yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, and  minced garlic cloves.  Season to taste, adding about ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper each.  Refrigerate and let marinate while you prepare the chicken.
2. In a saute pan, heat a few turns of olive oil over medium-high heat and then toss in the remaining garlic, rosemary, mint, and oregano.  Cook for about 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant, and then toss in the chicken.  Saute a few minutes until well coated and heated through, then spoon the chicken out and set aside.
3. Return the pan to the heat and warm the pita bread in the pan with the leftover seasoned oil, turning a few times to heat through and coat somewhat.
4. Assemble your gyro.  Add some chicken to the pita and top with your choice of veggies in whatever amount you like.  Top with plenty of tstatsiki, and enjoy.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chicken, sandwich, savory

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Sandwiches. Quite possibly the most versatile of all dishes, and one of my favorite things in the entire world (notice I seem to say that a lot on here?). I know, I know, I’ve said breakfast is my favorite thing in the world (breakfast sandwiches being my favorite brekkie item, though!) but seriously, sandwiches are one of my biggest passions.  They can be dirt cheap, ridiculously expensive, cold, hot, room temp, sweet (Nutella and PB, drool), savory, and everything in between. I simply love sandwiches, and one of my many far-fetched dreams is to eventually open a small sandwich shop that seats a a few dozen people and is known for our awesome in-house made everything and great flavor profiles.  So coming up with sandwiches is not only something my stomach adores, but my heart is also very attached to it as well.

And that’s another reason why I love sandwiches – they’re really almost recipe-less.  Sure, you can cook ingredients that go inside them, but in the end it’s mostly just assembly and if you want to, grilling or pressing it.  Anyone can make a sandwich and what’s even better, anyone can make a sandwich exactly how they want, regardless of how weird the flavor combination may seem to someone else.  I’ve heard and seen some truly bizarre sandwich preferences in my life (my favorite being my sister’s penchant for mixing shredded colby jack cheese with A1 steaksauce and putting it between two pieces of white Wonder bread when she was young) but the sandwich I whipped up last night was a little more along the ordinary lines.

Most of the time when I come up with sandwich ideas it’s trying to incorporate multiple things I’m craving.  I used to work at Quizno’s Subs many, many moons ago and quickly became addicted to their red pepper sauce, which was simply mayo blended with roasted red peppers.  I’ve recreated it many times since, and the idea of it with some smokey chicken breast and tangy goat cheese was making my mind wander and mouth water all day yesterday.  So in the midst of packing and getting ready to fly to Charleston for a mini vacation with my best friend from Cornell, I threw this together with things I had in my fridge and pantry and welcome you to do the same, but with whatever you may have lying around.

Smoked chicken panini

Ingredients

• 1 5-inch portion of French baguette, or a split hoagie roll
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ½ roasted red pepper, either jarred or freshly roasted
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves (mine were very tiny)
• 1 ounce fresh soft goat cheese
• ¼ cup thick sliced red onion
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (Note: do not use your most expensive, 15-year aged stuff here. Cheap balsamic is fine since you’re going to cook it down anyway).
• ¼ lb shaved smoked chicken breast
• Salt
• Pepper
• Pinch of sugar
• Butter

Directions

1. Preheat your panini press, Griddler, or a sauté pan over medium high heat.
2. In the bowl of a small food processor, add the mayo, red pepper, and basil.  Whiz until smooth and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed.  Set aside.
3. In a small sauté pan, heat a half tablespoon of butter (more if you’re feeling indulgent) over medium heat and add the onions.  Season well with salt and cook for 15-20 minutes unless you have precooked your onions like I outlined above, in which you only need to cook them for about 7-10 minutes.  At the halfway point, add the balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar.  Cook for a few minutes and then taste for seasoning.  You want the onions soft and to have a nice color, but not be burnt.
4. Assemble the sandwich.  Spread a tablespoon of the red pepper mayo across the bread of your choice and then top with the chicken, onions, and goat cheese.  Press the top on firmly.
5. Spray your press, Griddler or sauté pan with some nonstick cooking spray and add your sandwich.  If using a sauté pan, press the sandwich down using either another heavy pan, cast iron skillet, clean brick, large can of tomatoes, or whatever you may have lying around that will work.  Grill the sandwich for about 6 minutes, turning halfway through if using a pan.
6. Serve piping hot with your side of choice (I prefer just a plain old dill pickle).

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: favorite, sandwich, savory

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© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: sandwich, savory, summer, tomato

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