Moroccan carrot panini with goat cheese and olive tapenade

One of my favorite things about The Gourmet Cookbook is that it is so huge that I can count on finding something completely new every time I flip through it. And of course, the recipes are reliably awesome. I found this one when I was idly flipping through the salad and sandwich sections to get some new ideas and inspiration. As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it asap. The combination of carrots marinated in Moroccan spices, goat cheese, and green olive spread sounded pretty irresistible to me.

I loved this panini. It was so creative - I never would have thought to use carrots for the bulk of a sandwich filling - and it was filling, yet light. Not to mention packed with flavor. It does take some work to prep all the components, but it is totally worth it. I'm definitely going to keep this recipe in mind to serve when I have guests over for lunch.

p.s. After this post, I'll be taking a couple weeks off from blogging, because Andrew and I are heading to Turkey for a long-awaited vacation! I am so excited to see the sights, spend time at the beach, and of course, eat plenty of amazing food! Perhaps I'll have some Turkish recipes for you when I return...

Sweet potato sandwiches with goat cheese, arugula, and avocado

When I'm looking for a vegetarian option at a cafe, I'm always happy to try a sweet potato sandwich. I've had some great ones, like the one at 3 Little Figs, but I've also had some disappointing ones, with textures and flavors that don't quite work. Last week I had one that was just so-so and decided that I should try my hand at making my own version. Here's what makes a good sweet potato sandwich, in my opinion: 1) fully cooked sweet potatoes (seems like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised what some places serve), 2) goat cheese, 3) a dressing or sauce that is both sweet and acidic, 4) good hearty bread. For my sandwich, I made a dressing with maple syrup and balsamic vinegar to toss with arugula, and also added some avocado because well, everything is better with avocado on top, right? It came out wonderful - we don't eat sandwiches at home too often, but this one might have to make another appearance soon!

What is your favorite sandwich?

Tofu salad sandwiches

I bet many of raised a skeptical eyebrow when you saw the title of this post. Tofu salad? Who wants to eat that? Well, I'm here to assure you, this is good stuff. When the tofu is drained of excess moisture and chopped up, its texture is surprisingly similar to hard boiled egg whites. The tofu is mixed with scallions, chopped pickles, and mustard, which packs the salad full of flavor. To hold it all together, I used mashed avocado instead of mayo, which was a very good decision, if I do say so myself =). I thought the flavor of the salad was a good match for a dark German bread that I had around - it included a mixture of whole wheat and rye flours with caraway seeds. Feel free to use regular wheat bread if you prefer. 

p.s. When you are reading this, I should be in Singapore! My research adviser has a lab there, so the trip is for work. Hopefully my thesis work will be in good shape and I'll have some free time to go eat lots of delicious food! I'm definitely thinking of the Top Chef finale that was in Singapore a couple years ago...(by the way, I wrote and scheduled this post before I left, so you aren't going to get any more details right now about what I've been doing or eating).

What country would you visit just based on the food?

Roasted peppers and tomatoes baked with capers and olives

I am desperately holding on to summer in my kitchen. This weekend it really hit me that summer produce will be gone from the markets soon, and I had a minor panic attack about all the recipes I haven't made yet and won't be able to make until next summer - an eternity away! (yeah, yeah I know, #firstworldproblems). But then I remembered that even though Labor Day has come and gone, summer growing season hasn't actually ended yet. I calmed down and made an epic cooking plan for the week, making the most of the summeriest of fruits and vegetables. I even made some preserves, which I'll tell you about later. For now, I'm going to focus on this tomato and pepper dish, from Deborah Madison's Local Flavors. Big strips of roasted peppers and tomatoes are baked together with herbs, garlic, capers, and olives. The final product is a colorful, incredibly fragrant and flavorful dish that makes you feel like you are in some sunny Mediterranean country. It's very versatile - we ate it plain, on top of toasted bread, and stuffed into pitas with a spread of goat cheese. It would also pair well with hummus and would make a delicious sandwich with some mozzarella cheese. This recipe is definitely making it onto my Favorites page!

What are your favorite end of summer recipes?

Chipotle tempeh burgers

Have you ever tried tempeh? Do you like it? (In case you don't know, tempeh is a fermented soy product that is a good protein source for vegetarians). I'll admit that I have a difficult time with tempeh. It can be bitter and I think the texture is a bit weird in dishes like stir fries. I definitely find it to be a challenging protein to cook well. In fact, this veggie burger recipe is the only one I have ever cooked that made me truly enjoy tempeh. This recipe takes advantage of the texture of tempeh, using it to help add some chewiness to the burgers. The burgers are flavored with chipotle peppers, cumin, garlic, chile powder, and cilantro. Salsa and avocado complement these flavors well and make great toppers for the patties. Unsurprisingly, these burgers don't have the flavor or texture of meat, but they really are delicious! If you are new to tempeh or experimenting with homemade veggie burgers, this is a great place to start.

If you're interested in more veggie burger recipes, check out this post.

Kaiser rolls

A couple weekends ago, I was in the mood for some bread baking. I had roast beef on the menu for Sunday dinner, and anticipating lots of leftovers that would make delicious sandwiches, I decided to try making the Kaiser rolls from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I had tons of fun making the bread - it is so satisfying to start with a pile of flour and then pull these out of the oven at the end. If you enjoy baking bread at all, you should definitely try these. There is nothing complicated about the recipe, but it does require planning ahead, since there is an overnight fermentation step. The rolls were fantastic and made wonderful sandwiches with our roast beef!

Veggie burgers

Veggie burgers are my meal of choice when I go out for pub food. Really, all I want is the fries so I don't usually miss the beef too much. Although I've eaten many variations of veggie burgers at restaurants, I don't have much experience making them myself, so I was excited to see this recipe in this month's issue of Food & Wine. The recipe is by Richard Blais of Top Chef fame, and the list of ingredients is insanely healthy. I understand that this might not be as much of a selling point for you as it is for me, so I will also tell you that these veggie burgers actually taste really good. The texture is a bit too smooth for them to really be burger-like (this is probably my fault, because I used bulgur wheat instead of Isreali couscous), but they hold together well and the flavor is great. And, they're vegan!

The ingredient list is a bit daunting, since several of the components have to be pre-cooked, but the patties freeze well so one batch will probably last you a while. I've been eating these just with ketchup, but I think some quick-pickled veggies would add nice acidity and crunch. The original recipe suggests serving the burgers with greens tossed in lemon juice, and pomegranate ketchup (1/2 cup ketchup + 1 tbs pomegranate molasses), which also sounds good.

I've got a couple other veggie burger recipes that I'm thinking of trying, so hopefully I'll have a little veggie burger series up on the site soon!

Sandwiches

I like a good sandwich as much as the next person, but for me, sandwiches fall squarely into the lunch food category, not dinner food. I'm not sure why, since I consider burgers and quesadillas to be perfectly acceptable for dinner, and they're basically sandwiches...But in any case, I've started to rethink my position on sandwiches this week. Andrew and I were out of town for the long weekend and arrived back home late Monday night to an empty fridge. I haven't had time to do any grocery shopping since, so we've been making do with staples and freezer stock, as well as a loaf of bread and some apples that I picked up at the farmers' market near my office. Sandwiches have been on the dinner menu twice this week, and since our kitchen is always stocked with things like bacon, olives, and cheese, we've been able to make some pretty good ones.

With this post, I just wanted to give you an idea of some of the sandwiches that we're been making with the ingredients that we tend to keep around. We had bacon, apple, and cheddar sandwiches yesterday, and today I made an olive and tomato spread that went pretty well with grilled cheese (I had some slow-roasted tomatoes in the freezer, which came in handy). These recipes I've given aren't meant to be strict, and you should adjust the ingredient amounts to your liking.

What about you? Do you like to eat sandwiches for dinner? What are your favorite kinds to make?