Week 43 - Toasty Deli Hoagies

My goodness, this was a tasty sandwich. If I owned a deli, I would definitely include this as an option on the menu. It would work well in almost any restaurant that serves lunch.

• 1 loaf (1lb) French bread
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 lb thinly sliced deli turkey (flavor of choice) I used peppercorn crusted.
• 1/2 lb thinly sliced deli ham. I used honey ham.
• 6 slice hard salami
• 1 medium sweet yellow pepper, julienne
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb sliced provolone cheese
• 1-1/2 cups guacamole

You toast the bread in the oven even prior to stacking the ingredients. Then after stacking everything but the gaucamole, you bake it an additional 7-8 minutes and then broil for 3 minutes so that the cheese is lightly browned.

The mayonnaise, lemon juice and garlic sauce combination worked quite well. It added that elusive magical pop to that sandwich. There really isn't anything that I would change about this recipe.

The first rendition was delicious. I can think of so many purposes for this sandwich. I think it's going to be on the menu for my next tailgate get together.

I think it would be interesting to experiment by adding banana peppers or jalapenos. It might also be tasty with pepper jack cheese. There are definitely variations that one can try. Even by switching up the peppers, from yellow to red or orange, it might contrast nicely.

Overall, I will give this 8.5 out of 10 stars. The sandwich gets a bit big and can be difficult to eat. Other than that, there are no complaints from me.

Week 42 - Parmesan Breaded Porkchops

I don't know what my problem is but I am not able to make anything breaded to save myself. Here is yet another attempt to bread a hunk of meat...

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 cup crushed butter-flavored crackers (I used townhouse)
• 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 6 boneless pork loin chops

I think several things went awry in this particular attempt.

1.) The meat had an old, gamey flavor to it. I suspect that regardless of the seasoning and preparation, the meat probably would not have turned out as well as it could have.

2.) I don't think I cooked it long enough. Instead of a gold brown crust, I had soggy, buttery mush. It somewhat reminded me of pig food... Ironic, given that it was pork.

3.) I think it needed more seasoning. Townhouse crackers aren't exactly known for their aromatic properties...

I am bound and determined to figure out how to bread something properly. However, I think I need to look elsewhere for a better concept. I give this recipe 3.5 stars out of 10. It just didn't quite do it for me. I actually threw some of it away which is almost unheard of for me.

Week 41 - Glazed Mushrooms

I attempted to make mushrooms with a soy sauce glaze only to realize that I didn't have any soy sauce available in my culinary arsenal at the time, much to my dismay. So instead I made mushrooms with a worchestershire sauce glaze. It turned out quite well.

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 (8 ounce) package sliced white mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons worchestershire sauce
• ground black pepper to taste

There really isn't much to say about this. It was simple, yet tasty.

In this blogging process, I really am just trying to expand upon my cooking techniques and recipes. I want to then document my adventures. Sadly enough, I was never exposed to something like glazed mushrooms when I was a child.

I think one could even serve this as a side dish. This would work quite well alongside a grilled steak. To some extent, worchestershire sauce and soy sauce are very similar. It can be a bit salty at times. So definitely take that into consideration when you are throwing this together.

Overall, I give this 7 out of 10 stars. It seems too basic to warrant more and doesn't really stand as a meal on it's own. Otherwise, it was good!

Week 40 - Chicken Marsala

So I decided to deviate from my normal Chicken Marsala recipe.

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast tenderloins, pounded 1/4"
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry
• fresh basil, shredded

I may or may not have added a bit of whipping cream to that. Egads! (Sorry, I must have made this last January or February. That's how far behind I am. This is completely unacceptable!) Anyway, I think I will add the whipping cream next time. It sounds like it might enhance the flavors a bit. Also, it would be interesting to add some sort of cheese as an accent to final product. I enjoyed the sherry in this recipe. It added a nice complexity. This is essentially the main deviation from my initial recipe. I can also guarantee you that I added more mushrooms than what I have listed above. I always use the full 8 oz.

Overall, I enjoyed this rendition. The sauce was a bit thicker and creamier which has me nearly convincd that I did add the whipping cream... Oh memory, why do you fail me. I really enjoy chicken marsala, so I will definitely continue to play around with this. For now, I will give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Week 39 - Eggplant Indian Concoction

This was the first time that I ever tried cooking with eggplant. There are days where I plan my entire meal around a new ingredient.

• 1/2 Eggplant, cubed
• 3 potatoes, cubed
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• olive oil
• 2 jalapenos, minced
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• fresh parsely, chopped

This recipe taught me one thing. I don't really think I like eggplant that much. When it comes to food, there is an internal struggle. I feel as though there is no reason why I shouldn't be able to appreciate all types of food and ingredients (within reason of course). Eggplant, good lord, is throwing my entire equilibrium for food appreciation off. I still haven't given up on it completely though. Perhaps it just needs a different recipe or different method of preparation. The original recipe called for an entre eggplant but I prudently decided to use half of the eggplant and then substituted more potatoes for the other half. It certainly wasn't an awful recipe but I found myself picking around the eggplant the entire time when eating it. I wasn't able to allow the flavors to blend together as it were intended. This would be a good base recipe for various vegetables. It has a flare of Indian flavor but isn't really what I would consider true Indian food. (Nevermind the fact that it was given to me by an Indian friend..lol ) It has a relatively basic spice combination. I would consider adding garam marsala to it or tumeric in the future. So overall, I give this recipe a 5.5 out of 10 stars.

Week 38 - taco dip

I was given "strict" orders to bring the authentic taco dip for this past Christmas. Normally, I would have put up a fight since I really enjoy my taco bean dip. However, given the ease of this recipe and the frenetic pace of the holidays, I completely submitted.

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (16 ounce) container nonfat sour cream
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2-3 chopped tomatoes
• 3-4 chopped scallions
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can black olives, drained
• Optional - 1/4 head of lettuce

Overall, this recipe was quite suitable for the standard taco dip. I didn't add the lettuce on this particular attempt. I really am not convinced it belongs on a dip despite the outcries of my younger sister.

Overall, I would give this recipe 7 stars out of 10. It was good for a taco dip but I am only a moderate fan of the concept. I will make it again if and when taco dip is requested.

Week 37 - Nacho Cheese Beef Bake

Oh this looked soooo good on paper... The end result was disappointingly bland. I guess that's what I get when I try to use processed cheese soup as the main form of seasoning.

• 2 cups uncooked egg noodles
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (14-1/2 oz)
• 1 can (10-3/4oz) condensed nacho cheese soup, undiluted
• 1 can sliced black olives
• 1 can (4oz) chopped green chilies
• 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream on the side

I found this recipe in the Taste of Home magazine. It needs more depth of flavor. The original recipe did not call for any spices whatsoever. This is very curious because it certainly needed. Even at the end of the day, the cheese flavor went missing in action. If I were to make this again, I would try including jalapeno peppers and try to spice it up with some Italian or Mexican-based spice combinations. I would also consider using a different type of cheese. Perhaps Velveeta would bring out the flavor that I was looking for? However, that is an insanely processed food. There probably isn't even any cheese in Velveeta... In general, I would like to limit the processed foods that I consume if at all possible. If I were to adhere to that goal, I think it kicks this recipe to the curb. The only other way to possible change up the cheese sauce would be to use a combination of cheeses such as cream cheese, cheddar, and a few other cheeses in somewhat of a thicker cream sauce. I am looking for any combination that emulsifies nicely. I would need to do a bit of research on this.

As written, I give this recipe 6 stars out of 10. It has potential but it is in need of some improvements. It was far too bland given the caloric load to even consider making on a frequent basis.