Hearty dinner for the hubby

My husband likes "hearty" food.  Think casseroles and meat.  Lots of meat.  Too bad he married a vegetarian!  I will say that we do have meat in our house and, sometimes, I make it for him.  Last night was a perfect example, T and I went out for lunch and she had a sandwich she was raving over.   So I figured I would recreate it for Markers at home.  Homemade pretzel "bun," caramelized onion, turkey, pepperoni toasted and then topped with shredded lettuce, tomato and mustard.  I added the onion and pepperoni to my version because I'm crazy like that.

Here's the recipe for the homemade pretzels*:

INGREDIENTS

1 packages active dry yeast

2 cups warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)

1/4 cup sugar

1t salt

2T butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg yolk

2 t water

coarse salt or, in my case Lawry's seasoned salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let sit according to package directions.

2.  Add sugar, salt, butter and egg. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of flour; mix well.

3. Continue adding enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Knead dough 8-10 minutes on lightly floured surface--flour your hands too!--until smooth (I actually just ran my bomb diggity Kitchenaid mixer for an extra 5 minutes.  I mean, it has a bread hook). 

4.  Shape into a 12-inch log then cut in half length wise and then width wise.  Cut each section into thirds.  Now you have 12 equal-ish  pieces.

5. Roll each piece into a 15-in. rope.   Coil the rope around itself into a round shape for use as a bun.  Twist a few into the traditional pretzel shape, or witch fingers** and place on a well-greased baking sheet.

6. Set aside and let dough rise for 30 minutes.  

7.  In a small bowl, combine egg yolk and water; brush over the pretzels. Sprinkle with coarse salt if desired (I used Lawry's seasoned salt and garlic salt on mine).

8. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

*Funny story:  the pretzel recipe is from my middle school home economics class--I still have the handout and a handwritten copy that I must have made as well.  I enjoyed this class and spent much time after class there.  Or was that because we purposely flooded the sink and another time I watched other kids wad up dough (or in one instance raw meatballs) and stick it to the ceiling?

SANDWICH BUILD

INGREDIENTS

2 T sliced onion

3 deli slices, turkey

4 pepperoni discs

1-2T shredded cheese (I used the "pizza" blend we already had opened)

DIRECTIONS
1. sautee up the onion

2. Remove pretzel bun from oven (see recipe above) and then top with sliced turkey, pepperoni, onions, shredded cheese

3. toast over medium heat for about one minute per side

4. remove from heat and top with fresh shredded  lettuce, tomato slices and yellow mustard

**witches' fingers:

paint sliced almonds with red food coloring and press them really hard onto 3 to 4-inch pretzel ropes, score in "knuckles" with a knife and then bake!  Thanks to Martha Stewart for the idea :)

 

Put a cork in it

We have amassed an excessive number of wine corks since moving into our new place this past June.   Our little collecter bottle was overflowing into a nearby drawer.  Awhile back I attended a bridal shower for a dear friend at her new friend's home.  And in that home I saw painted corks tossed into a large vase--apparently I packed that away in my memory because I took that idea as my own:

I chose two purple spray paint variations to match the new throw pillows I got and used some of the dozens of vases I have from our wedding still.  I think it turned out cute and adds some new color to the living room.  Too bad I accidentally sprayed some of the balcony (despite every effort to cover it with garbage bags).  As an FYI corks are kind of a PIA to spray paint but the mantle is high enough up that only tall people will look closely to see how they turned out. 

SPICY ASIAN....rice

Clever title, I know.   I'm a huge blogger slacker...so I will now post many in an attempt to cover my slacker ways.

For this dish I used Basmati rice and medium firm tofu and white wine vinegar (so fancy). But I just went with my generic soy sauce and I skipped toasted seasame oil b/c who has that?! And, to toot my own horn, while reading the NY Times I found out cooking oil is basically a gigantic rip off.  Oh yes, I also couldn't find scallions at the market...ahem, Kroger...so I substituted fresh chives. I think next time I will use softer tofu and add some crushed peanuts for a little crunch and overall pizazz but it was quite tasty!


Adapted from The Co-Op Cookbook, by Rosemary Fifield (Chelsea Green, 2000).

INGREDIENTS

1 cup aromatic white rice (jasmine, Texmati, or basmati)
1/4 cup silken tofu
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons vinegar (unseasoned) or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon tamari or good-quality soy sauce
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 scallions, thinly sliced


DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the white rice and 2 cups of water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.


2. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes, then fluff with fork. Keep the pan covered until ready to serve.


3. In a blender or food processor, combine the tofu, peanut butter, vinegar, tamari, lime juice, sesame oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Puree until smooth. Stir in the cilantro and scallions. Add rice, mix well, and serve.


Serves 6.