Steak Sandwich

This is based on Ina Garten's steak sandwich recipe. My friend Xuan made it for me once and I loved it which is why this is one of those recipes I make again and again. I made a few changes to the recipe but for the most part stays true to the original. 

4 servings

Ingredients:

2 one inch New York Strip steaks

1 onion, sliced

1 focaccia bread

Arugula dressed with lemon juice, salt, pepper

Mustard-mayo spread

1. Caramelize onions. 

2. Make the spread. Mix 3 tablespoons mayo, 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard, and 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard. 

3. Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Cook to desired doneness. Let steaks rest for 10-15 minutes and slice. 

4. Drizzle olive oil on halved focaccia and toast. 

5. Spread mustard-mayo mixture on both sides of the bread. 

6. Assemble ingredients and eat!

Macaroni and Cheese with Sun Dried Tomato

I based this recipe very loosely on Ina Garten's recipe which I would love to try sometime.  I basically used her recipe as a guide for making the cheese sauce and tweaked the ingredients a bit depending on what I had on hand at home.

Melt a stick of butter, minus 2 tablespoons.  Add 1/2 cup flour and whisk.

Pour in a quart of warm milk.

Whisk.

Put in six cups of grated cheese.  I used half fontina and half sharp cheddar.

Season with garlic salt and pepper.

Take a cup of sun dried tomatos packed in oil and chop after draining.  You can skip this part or substitute with something else like bacon or shrimp.

I used a pound of gemelli, boiled 2 minutes under the suggested time.  I also used Xuan to transfer the pasta from the colander to the baking dish. 

Mix the pasta and cheese sauce.

Top with breadcrumbs.  I made whole wheat breadcrumbs using leftover bread I had.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  

I had it with baked scallops and roasted veggies for dinner.  Even after serving four people I had more than half of the baking dish left over.  If you're not planning on eating a whole pound of pasta (although there's no shame in that) I would cut the recipe in half to avoid having too much left over.  

Spicy Korean Braised Chicken

This is one of my all-time favorite Korean dishes that my mom makes.  There are many names for this dish including dakdoritang, dakbokeumtang, and dakgamjatang - whatever you want to call it, it's bomb!  The meat is super tender, the potatoes absorb the spicy garlicky sauce, and the sauce is really good over white rice.

I found this recipe on Maangchi's blog and quadrupled it because I had friends over for dinner.

serves 8-10

7-8 lbs of chicken drumsticks (approximately 20 pieces)
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup minced garlic
1 cup gochujang (Korean pepper paste)
4 tablespoons sugar
3 medium onions, chopped in large pieces
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into large 2 inch chunks
8 Korean green chili peppers
8 stalks green onions, sliced

1. Mix soy sauce, garlic, gochujang, and sugar in a bowl.  The mixture should be very thick.
2. Place chicken, sauce, and onions in a large pot.  Add about 4 cups of water and mix.
3. Cover the pot and turn on the stove to high.  Once sauce starts boiling set the timer to 20 minutes.  Turn down the heat to medium high.
4. Add in potatoes and peppers.  Stir everything with a wooden spoon.  Cover and cook for another 20 minutes.
5. Continue to cook with the pot uncovered to reduce the sauce for about 15 minutes.
6. Sprinkle green onions over chicken and devour with rice.

Arugula and Avocado Salad

This salad is also very good with watercress.  Any bitter salad greens would work well here. 

2 handfuls of arugula

1/2 avocado, sliced

2-3 slices of bacon, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

a pinch of salt

fresh cracked pepper

1. Arrange first three ingredients on plate.

2. Drizzle olive oil and squeeze lemon over salad.

3.  Finish with salt and pepper.

Photo: Shrimp and Wheat Berry "Fried Rice"

"fried rice" made with wheat berries, yellow squash, orange bell pepper, onion, edamame, corn 

+ shrimp cooked in sweet and spicy sauce 

= lunch for work

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe for very addicting cookies uses boxed strawberry cake mix which makes baking really easy and fast.  All you need are:

• 1 boxed strawberry cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

The only changes I made to the original recipe were adding less chocolate chips and scooping smaller amounts of dough.  I recommend letting the cookies cool completely before eating them, as they get a lot chewier cooled.  Try them! They are so simple to make and taste so good that you're going to think there's crack in them.  Plus, I can't wait to try tweaking this recipe using Funfetti cake mix. Mmmmm....     

Photo: Caprese Salad on a Stick

grape tomato + fresh mozzarella ball + fresh basil

I'll be having mine with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinaigrette.