Smoked Salmon Breakfast Sandwich

Whenever the family gets together I always make sure we have smoked salmon on hand.  I also always have a good choice of fun, varied accouterments as well, so the creatvity can freely flow!

With the holidays coming, think of the most wild outlier possibilities and also put those ingredients on the counter early in the morning - and watch what happens as the coffee brews!

Good morning.
4 thin sandwich rounds
1/4 lb favorite smoked salmon,sliced
1/4 lb cream cheese
1/2 English cucumber, cut into half-moons
favorite savory cole slaw
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp small pickled capers, drained

Lay bottom of sandwich round each on a plate. distribute the cream cheese among the rounds evenly. Then distribute the salmon over the rounds.

 Garnish with cucumber and slaw, along with capers and onions on the side.

Serve with java and juice!

 Serves 4.

Chili Jam Smoked Salmon Open Face

The sweet heat of chili jam is just the right complement to the salty richness of smoked salmon.  Serve this as a quick brunch, lunch or appetizer.  Fresh, sharp, sweet, delicious.
2 pieces prepared pizza crust
3 Tbsp cream cheese
2 tsp sweet chili jam (I use Trader Joe’s)
4 slices smoked salmon
2 tsp non-pareille capers
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced

Spread the cream cheese evenly on the crust pieces.

Top with the chili jam. Lay on the smoked salmon. Garnish with capers and parsley. Serve with lemon wedges.

Serves 2 as an appetizer.

Cook's Note: You can use most any substrate such as halved pita bread, toasted English muffins, Indian naan, or a nice baguette.  Improvise!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Throw together your favorite spices and sauces with some pork into a crock pot, cook it up while you're at work, pull it apart and lay some on your favorite buns, with your favorite slaw.  Epic.  And Easy.
3-5 lb pork Boston Butt (shoulder), the higher, depending on amount of fat and bone
8 hard roll or favorite buns

1 8-oz jar favorite BBQ sauce
favorite hot sauce, to taste
1 cup cider vinegar
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, minced

Spice rub:
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 cup brown sugar

The night before, bone the pork and remove the skin and major visible fat from the meat. Cut the meat into three pieces. Rub the spice mix all over the pieces of pork. Salt and pepper the pork and place in crock of slow cooker. Cover and refrigerate. Mix together the BBQ sauce, hot sauce, vinegar, onion, garlic and jalapeño in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

The next morning, pour the BBQ sauce over the pork and cover the crock.

Place crock in slow cooker and cook on low for 10 hours. If you are around, turn the pork over once or twice. Otherwise, don't worry - I'm never around, and it turns out fine! When you return from work, turn the pieces over in the sauce. Then remove them onto a cutting board and pull pork apart with two forks.

Split buns and spread 1-2 tablespoons sauce on the base of each bun. top with pork. Serve pork sandwiches with your favorite cole slaw. Serves 8.

Cook's Note: reserve the remaining sauce; it's packed with flavor. You can use it to bake BBQ chicken. Place about 2-3 cups sauce into a 13x9-inch casserole. Lay pieces of a whole cut-up chicken (about 8-10) on top of sauce. Spray chicken with oil, salt and pepper, and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. Done.

Chickpea and Artichoke Sandwich Salad

A great spread for sandwiches and salads, toasts and pizzas. Veggie based and full of rich flavors.
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 carrot, peeled and quartered
1 clove garlic
2 green onions
1 Tbsp purple onion
Palmful fresh parsley leaves
8 oz marinated artichoke hearts, drained
2 Tbsp good real mayonnaise
dash red pepper flakes

Pulse the carrot and garlic together in a small food processor, until finely ground. 

Transfer to a bowl. Add the chickpeas to the processor and pulse only a few times to just break up the beans to a very coarse mix. Transfer to bowl with carrots.  Add the green and purple onion along with the artichoke hearts to the processor and pulse to a fine chop. Add to the bowl with the chickpeas.

Add the mayonnaise and red pepper flakes to the mix and stir well. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the refrigerator.

Serve in sandwiches, pitas or as a salad on greens.

Serves 4 in sandwiches or served as salad.

Basil Lox and Flatbread with Fresh Ricotta

The remoulade sauce, fresh basil and horseradish really make this a special lox open face.
1/2 cup Remoulade aioli
4 servings favorite flatbread
1/4 lb cream cheese
2 Tbsp purple onion, finely diced - as preferred
12-16 leaves fresh basil
1/4 lb smoked salmon (lox)
2 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp grated horseradish
1/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese
1 tsp dill weed (fresh, preferred or dried

Divide remoulade sauce evenly among the flatbreads and spread evenly. Then do the same with the cream cheese. Evenly distribute the purple onion over the cream cheese and then lay 3-4 basil leaves on top of each serving.

Next, divide the salmon evenly, covering the cream cheese on each flatbread serving. Now sprinkle the capers evenly about each flatbread and follow with the horseradish. Then dot each serving with a few dollops of ricotta and garnish with the dill weed.

Serves 4 for breakfast or as an appetizer.

Cook’s Note: Of course you could use your favorite bagel or toasted English muffin - I just think there are so many great new flatbreads out there these days, that might be slightly lighter than a thick bagel. Go with your whim.

This works as a great appetizer - just slice or cube the flatbread into bite-sized pieces.

Over-Easy Brunch Open-Face

Time for a lazy Sunday brunch?  Work these up over a cup of Jo.
1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced
4 eggs
2 english muffins
4 Tbsp cream cheese
2 Tbsp salsa verde

Toast muffin halves. Heat a small non-stick skillet with a dash of oil. Crack the eggs and tip into pan over medium-high heat. Gently break the yokes and cover pan. Cook for a few minutes, until the yokes just about cook through, but not fully. Salt and pepper to taste.

Spread cream cheese evenly on the toasted muffin halves. Lay sliced avocados on top of cream cheese.

Place an egg on each muffin half. Top with a dollop of salsa verde.

Serve with sliced oranges, if desired.

Serves 2-4.

Grilled Chicken and Prosciutto Grinders

Road trip!  You pick me up, and I'll make the sandwiches.  Always make something decidedly delicious for someone giving you a ride - especially during the holidays; especially if you think you might need that ride again :-))

No reason not to eat great on the road!
4 boneless chicken breast halves

Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
palmful basil leaves, julienned
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (I use Marukan)
2 cloves garlic, minced

4 Ciabatta or other favorite deli rolls
4 Tbsp pesto
4 Tbsp good real mayonnaise
2 cups baby spinach leaves
4 slices Provolone cheese
4 slices Prosciutto
1 cup roasted red peppers, drained

Pound the chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap, until about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. In a large bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients and toss the chicken in with the marinade. Marinate for at least an hour or even better, overnight.

Heat a grill. Grill the chicken for about 4-5 minutes on each side, until the chicken is browned and cooked through.

Remove from the grill and cool.

Meanwhile, split the rolls and spread one tablespoon pesto on one half and one tablespoon mayo on the other half. Lay a quarter of the spinach on each roll half with the mayo, followed by a quarter of the red pepper.

Lay each chicken breast on the roll half with the pesto. Top with a slice of cheese and Prosciutto. Carefully flip the two halves together and slice the sandwich in half.

Makes four sandwiches.

The Wide World of Hummus

Our friend Kini always brings hummus to our son's road bike races - a great quick energy boost. We asked each other why we didn't eat hummus more often, because it's so good. So I have been making much more of it lately and finding many great variations. It is great as a dip for veggies, pitas or crackers if you are 'carbing-up'! But it is also great as a sandwich or wrap filling.

The first recipe is basic hummus, but I add cilantro and green onion for deeper flavor - you can omit them if you prefer, for a great basic hummus. The variations are endless - try hummus with roasted garlic, or sun-dried tomatoes, or olives - or variations below.
Cilantro Green Onion Hummus

Palmful cilantro
1 clove garlic
1 green onion
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 can chick peas, drained
Juice of 1 lemon, about 1/4 cup
3 Tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp sesame oil

about 1/4 cup water, as needed

In a small food processor, process the first set of ingredients to mince. Add the second set of ingredients and process until creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add as much of the water as necessary to make it creamy - this will depend on the moisture content of your lemon, tahini and chick peas, and how creamy you like your hummus.

Variation: Sweet Potato Chipotle Hummus
1 medium sweet potato
Grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp powdered chipotle chilies, or to taste

Pierce the potato with the tines of a dork several times. Bake the potato in a microwave for 10-15 minutes, turning at least twice, until very soft. Remove from oven, slice in half and scoop out potato to a bowl. Mash and mix with a generous amount of nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. This should give you about a cup of potato.

Process 1/2 cup of the potato with the humus and chipotle in the processor to form a smooth dip. Swirl humus in a serving bowl, forming a well in the center. Spoon remaining potato in the center of the humus.

Variation: Roasted Red Pepper HummusAdd 1/3 cup roasted red pepper
Omit the green onion and parsley or cilantro

Swirl in a serving bowl and drizzle a bit of olive oil over the hummus - always a welcome enrichment!

Hummus makes a great wrap - just add some grated carrot and greens like baby spinach or cilantro.

Croque Madam

I continue my quest of cooking recipes we had in France this summer. OK, staying on the toaster oven theme, I attack the Croque Madam - basically Croque Monsieur (open-faced grilled ham and cheese), with a fried egg on top. Those French - they'll put an egg on anything!

My version:

Ordered in a cafe in Paris:4 slices bread
4 eggs
4 oz cheese (Gruyere or Swiss is classic, and I also like horseradish Cheddar)
4 thin slices low-salt ham
Dijon mustard
fresh parsley
paprika

Preheat the toaster oven to 450F (Pizza setting). Very lightly spread just a bit of mustard on the bread. Top each slice with ham, and equally distribute the cheese and parsley on top of the ham. Sprinkle each slice with a dash or paprika. Bake for about 8 minutes, until bubbly and beginning to brown.

Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter and just a bit of olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Fry the eggs to desired doneness. Place one egg on each slice and serve.

Tuna Melt Habanero

What's not to like about an open-face melt after a good long bike ride?! I love my toaster oven because I'll take a tuna melt over a tuna sandwich any day. Like a panini press, which seems to make any sandwich better, the toaster oven can transform an otherwise mundane collection of bread and foodstuff into a little bit of heaven.

I use this formula - some kind of bread, muffin or crust - tortillas count, then some kind of sandwich filling material, some cheese almost always, and something fun for the top. Bake in toaster oven at 450F for 7-10 minutes. 1-2-3-4 voila.

1 large or 2 small cans tuna, drained
4 slices bread
dash of dried dill weed
1 tsp lemon juice
4 oz sliced habanero cheddar or jalapeno pepper jack cheese
1 doz grape tomatoes
a bit of fresh cilantro or parsley

Preheat toaster oven to 450F (Pizza setting). Prepare the tuna with the lemon and dill and a bit of mayo to your liking. Divide tuna on bread slices, spread evenly about each slice. Distrubute cheese on top of tuna, and then tomatoes on top of cheese. Top with a bit of cilantro or parsley. Bake 7-10 minutes, until bubbly and hot.

...and if you don't have tomatoes, use peppers or onions, or olives, or capers or...

Chickpea Sandwich Spread

1 carrot, peeled, cut into 6 pieces
2 green onions, cut into 6 pieces
1 clove garlic, peeled
palmful fresh cilantro, or parsley
1 15-oz can chick peas, drained
½ tsp salt
½ tsp favorite curry powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp good real mayonnaise
juice of ½ lime

In a small food processor, chop the carrots until very fine. Turn into a mixing bowl. Then chop the onions, garlic and cilantro until minced. Tip into mixing bowl with carrots. Then process the chick peas by pulsing and stirring several times, until chick peas are finely chopped but not puréed. Turn into mixing bowl with carrots. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve over crackers or in a sandwich.