Panini and a New Cookie

So last night it was more panini for dinner. This time, cheesesteak panini. We had some steak leftover in the freezer from doing fondue on Christmas Eve – not enough to make a meal out of it alone, but definitely enough to make sandwiches. I used the Griddler to grill the steak – about 4 minutes using it as a contact grill. For the sandwiches I added provolone cheese, horseradish sauce, and sautéed mushrooms and onions. Easy and very good. DS commented that the steak wasn’t right for an authentic Philly Cheesesteak – I told him that’s because this was “real” steak – not the lower quality, though admittedly tasty, shaved steak they use for a real Philly variety.

I’m trying not to bake as many sweet treats, but I couldn’t resist this recipe that I found over at the CLBB. Val posted a recipe for whole wheat chocolate chip cookies and I was very intrigued. Val bakes a lot, so I really trust and respect her opinion, but I was still skeptical – I’m so picky about chocolate chip cookies. Skepticism aside, I had to give them a try. They were everything Val said they would be – delicious. This recipe is very much like the Toll House recipe, both in ingredients and in taste. The white flour is replaced by regular whole wheat and reduced to 2 cups, there is only 1 egg instead of 2 and the salt is reduced to ½ teaspoon.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

If I were doing a blind taste test between these and Toll House, I’m sure I would pick up on the texture differences – these are not quite as tender as a Toll House – the whole wheat definitely adds texture – and they are a little crisper. Other than that, though, the taste is amazingly similar – with that wonderful buttery dough that I love so much. I love this dough so much that I don’t even want chocolate to interfere with it, so I reduced the chocolate chips to 1 cup and it was just right for me.

As Val said, these cookies still can’t be considered exactly healthy with all the sugar and butter, but it does move a step in the right direction by using whole wheat flour instead of refined white flour. I might try these with raw, unrefined granulated sugar in an attempt to make an even more wholesome cookie. Unfortunately, for my tastes, there’s no cutting down on the butter – it’s what makes these cookies taste so darned good.

Playing with my new toy!

We stuffed ourselves silly last night at the Japanese restaurant. They serve sushi and have the hibachi-style grills, so we did both only no one kept track of who was ordering what kind of sushi and we ended up ordering almost a meal's worth in sushi rolls alone! We may have saved ourselves the effort of cooking and cleaning, but we didn't save ourselves from over-eating!

I'm still feeling blah today - nasty sore throat and congestion that just doesn't let me get a good night's sleep. I don't really feel all that terrible, but lack of sleep is definitely wearing me down. My dad was convinced it was the stress of having guests and although I definitely don't agree - my parents and brother are very easy to have around - it probably will be easier to lounge around and get a little more sleep now that it's just the four of us again.

But on to my new toy, the Griddler. I tried it out the other morning and was very disappointed when I couldn't turn out a decent pancake. The pancakes were limp, lifeless and pasty looking - ugh. I couldn't decide if it was the pancakes or the griddle. There are some design elements of the Griddler that could be better, but, no way could it be a complete flop - the trusted folks over at the CLBB would never steer me wrong!

To prove it was a bad batch of pancakes and not a failing of my eagerly-awaited new toy, I decided I would make another batch of pancakes this morning. It took me a while to find a recipe that did not call for buttermilk, but I finally found one. (I did not want to use the milk and vinegar method because so far, that's not turned out very well for me - and it may well have been the reason the last batch failed.) Anyway, I finally found a very basic recipe that called for milk alone and woohoo - success! One of the keys is to heat the Griddler to at least 400º, maybe even 425º, not 350º like the booklet claims. The pancakes were light and fluffy and very good. I tend to prefer a whole grain or heartier type of pancake, but sometimes a plain old, no-frills pancake just hits the spot. No pictures though - they were gobbled up too quickly for that!

Basic Pancakes

As I mentioned before, The Griddler does have a few things that could be improved upon. First, the heating element runs only along the outer edges of the plate, causing somewhat uneven heating. Snaking the coil back and forth across the area under the plates would have been a better way to go, IMO. I also think that the plates could have a little more heft to them - this would help them retain the heat better. As you use the Griddler, the plates tend to lose heat pretty quickly and take a while to come back to optimum temp. Still, now that I've had a successful run, I think these are things I can work around. The cleanup is really simple - one of my main reasons for putting the Griddler on my Christmas list.

The next test for the Griddler was grilling chicken and making panini. Making sandwiches for dinner not only allowed me to take a bit of a break from cooking, but it also allowed me to play a little more. Eventually I'll get around to trying new recipes, but for tonight, I stuck with a tried and true, the chicken, goat cheese and bacon sandwich that I modeled after a sandwich I had always enjoyed from Biaggi's. First I grilled the chicken on the Griddler, closing the griddle so as to grill on both sides at once. The chicken breasts cooked up in about 6 or 7 minutes (they were huge) and were nice and moist. I was tempted to try the bacon on the Griddler too, but decided it would be too messy, so I did that in the microwave.

Checking on the panini as they get nice and toasty............

Next I assembled the sandwiches, brushing the outsides of the bread with a bit of EVOO. I put them on the Griddler, closed the lid and minutes later - about 5 - delicious, toasty panini. Wow, I really liked the results. Grilling the bread like this gives it a great texture and I love the way pressing gently on the lid for a few seconds smooshes the sandwich down, making it much easier to eat. Doing these on the griddler was much easier than trying to toast them in a pan - flipping them without losing any of the filling was quite a challenge and they take twice as long to cook - in a regular pan, you're only cooking one side at a time. I can tell we'll be making good use of the Griddler for panini.........yum!

Mmmmm....panini.....

Next up, appetizers! When we're home for New Year's, we like to make a variety of appetizers to munch on all day - DH and I enjoying some wine and later on, champagne, the kids enjoying some sparkling cider. The hardest part? Deciding what to make!

Chicken Greek-a-Tikka Salad with Parsley-Feta Pesto

Source: Rachael Ray

4 flat breads or pitas, any flavor or variety (I used Gourmet Pita whole wheat)
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (recommended: McCormick Montreal Seasoning)
2 to 2 1/2 pounds white meat chicken, cubed into bite size pieces
1 heart romaine lettuce, chopped
2 vine ripe tomatoes, chopped
1/2 seedless cucumber, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
6 pepperoncini hot peppers, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Salt and pepper
Special equipment: metal skewers

Parsley Feta Pesto:
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup feta crumbles
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat a grill pan to high heat. Heat a toaster oven or oven to 250 degrees F.

Wrap breads in foil and place in oven to warm.

Combine yogurt and next 4 ingredients. Coat chicken in mixture then thread meat onto metal skewers. Brush grill pan with oil and grill meat 5 to 6 minutes on each side.

Combine chopped lettuce, chopped veggies, olives and hot peppers on a large platter or in a serving bowl. Dress the salad very lightly in lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil and salt and pepper.

Place all ingredients for pesto in the food processor except extra-virgin olive oil. Turn processor on and stream in extra-virgin olive oil.

Remove bread from oven and cut into wedges.

Place grilled meat on salad and top liberally with pesto. Place cut flat breads or pita wedges around the platter or serving bowl and serve.

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Cranberry-Orange Pancakes with Toasted Walnuts

Source: Joe's blog and King Arthur

1 cup Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tablespoon orange juice
zest of one orange
frozen cranberries (1-2 cups), boiled in water for a few minutes, drained, and chopped
toasted walnuts (about 1/2 cup)

Whisk together buttermilk, egg, orange juice and orange zest. Add pancake mix and mix until combined.

Heat griddle and add 1/4 cup batter. Sprinkle cranberries and walnuts over pancakes. Once pancakes begin to bubble and begin to set around the edges, flip over and cook through.

Serve with warmed real maple syrup.

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Garlicky Mushroom Quesadillas with Tomatillo-Chile Salsa

Source: A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop

Serves 4.

Tomatillo-Chile Salsa
1 pound tomatillos, husked and washed
2-4 medium jalapeno chiles
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves (we didn't have any on hand)
salt

Quesadillas
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, trimmed and thickly sliced
salt
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
freshly ground black pepper
8 8-inch flour tortillas
5 ounces cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 1/4 cups)

For the salsa: Move an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450º. Place the whole tomatillos and chiles on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, turning the vegetables once, until lightly browned and tender, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly and transfer tomatillos to a food processor. Cut off the stems of the chiles and add the chiles (seeds and all, for extra heat) to the food processor. Pulse just until combined and still chunky. Scrape the salsa into a bowl and stir in the cilantro and salt to taste.

For the quesadillas: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned lightly, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and pepper to taste and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Set the mushroom mixture aside.

Lay 4 tortillas flat on a work surface. Sprinkle the cheese over the tortillas, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge of each tortilla. Divide the mushroom mixture evenly among the tortillas. Top with the remaining tortillas.

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the first quesadilla and cook, turning once, until the tortillas are golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Transfer the quesadilla to a large plate (I keep my oven on 200º and keep the quesadillas in the oven on a baking sheet to keep them warm.) and repeat with the remaining quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into quarters. Spoon some salsa into the middle of each quesadilla. Serve immediately, passing the remaining salsa at the table.

Note: These could easily be prepared on The Griddler using the griddle plates. Place them on the bottom plate, put the top down and cook until golden brown.

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix

Source: King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking

Yield: 10 cups dry mix; a batch using 1 cup of mix will make about 10 (3 1/2-inch) pancakes.

3 1/2 (12 1/4 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
4 cups (1 pound) white whole wheat flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) vegetable oil

To make the mix: Grind the oats in a food processor until they're finely chopped, but not a powder. Put the ground oats, flours and remaining dry ingredients into the bowl of a mixer with a paddle. Mix on slow speed, and drizzle vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is
running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it holds together, it's just right. If it won't hold together, stir in 1 tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct. Store in an airtight container indefinitely in the freezer.

To make the pancakes: Whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (or you may use 1/2 cup plain yogurt plus 1/2 cup milk), 1 tablespoon orange juice (said to reduce the tannic tastes from the whole wheat) and 1 large egg. Let the batter stand for at least 15 minutes before cooking (it will thicken as it stands). Heat a nonstick griddle if you have one, or a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron. If your surface is not nonstick, brush it lightly with vegetable oil. When the surface of your pan is hot enough that a drop of water sputters across it, give the pan a quick swipe with a paper towel to remove excess oil and spoon the batter onto the hot surface, 1/4-cupful at a time. After 3 to 4 minutes, when the surface of the cake is no longer shiny and small bubbles are beginning to form around the edges, it's time to flip the cake. Cook other side until it's browned, 1 to 2 minutes more.

Nutrition Information per Serving (2 pancakes, 86g): 16g whole grains, 139 calories, 6g fat, 6g protein, 16g complex carbs, 1g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 44mg chol, 254mg sodium, 155mg potassium, 17RE vitamin A, 1mg vitamin C, 1mg iron, 67mg calcium, 133mg phosphorous.

I talked about this recipe HERE.

Basic Pancakes

Source: Joy of Baking

1 cup (140 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons (7 grams) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (28 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (240 ml) milk
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Plus extra melted butter for greasing the pan.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, milk, and melted butter. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, all at once, and stir or whisk just until combined. The batter should have some small lumps. Make sure you do not overmix the batter or the pancakes will be tough.

Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium high heat until a few sprinkles of water dropped on the pan or griddle splatter. Using a pastry brush, brush the pan with a little melted butter.

Using a small ladle or scoop, pour about 1/4 cup of pancake batter onto the pan, spacing the pancakes a few inches from each other. When the bottoms of the pancakes are brown and bubbles start to appear on the top surfaces of the pancakes (2-3 minutes), turn over. Cook until lightly browned (about 1-2 minutes).

Repeat with remaining batter, brushing the pan with melted butter between batches.

Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup.

Makes about 8 - 3-inch (7.5 cm) pancakes. Serves 3-4 people.

For Blueberry Pancakes: Sprinkle fresh blueberries on the tops of the pancakes just as bubbles start to appear on the top surface of the frying batter.

I talked about this recipe HERE.