Nutella, Banana and Macadamia Nut Panini

Bananas and Nutella may sound weird to some, but the combo is simply incredible and irresistable once you try it.  I love this marriage of fruit and chocolate-hazelnut so much that I am exceptionally good at tricking my brain into thinking that I'm really eating something healthy when I indulge in a half of a banana dipped straight into a jar of Nutella.  Just who am I kidding?

But since today is World Nutella Day, I knew that I had to make our favorite dessert panini to celebrate the event and that highlights this favorite Nutella combination!

What makes these somewhat ordinary sounding dessert panini extra sweet and special is that they are grilled in a pool of butter, cinnamon and sugar, then sprinkled with chopped macadamia nuts, and dusted with powdered sugar.  Now that's a sweet treat!


I bet you can't eat just one bite!

And I bet you'll have a messy face . . . but messy with a big smile on your face!

After grilling the bread with butter, cinnamon and sugar

spread Nutella generously on one slice of bread per panino,

 layer with sliced bananas

and finally, sprinkle on diced macadamia nuts.

close the panini lid lightly to grill until the Nutella is melted.

all melted, nice and gooey before the final presentation

pretty powdered sugar dusts the panino, strawberries, and sliced bananas

Nutella, Banana and Macadamia Nut Panini

1-1/2 sticks of butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar mixed together with 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
 3 ripe bananas, sliced 1/4" thick
4 - 8 slices Ciabatta or Italian bread (depending on how many panini you want)
1 small jar of Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread
1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts (or hazelnuts)
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Whole strawberries, for serving

Heat panini griddle to medium-high or large non-stick pan over medium heat.
Place the butter on the griddle to melt (do not use all of the butter if doing this in batches).
Spread some soft butter on the outer sides of the bread slices.
Sprinkle both sides of the bread slices with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Place bread slices on the grill and cook for a few seconds so that the cinnamon sugar adheres to the bread (do not press the panini pressing top down while doing this).
Flip over and do the same for the opposite side of the bread.
Spread each slice of bread with Nutella, as thick as you like.
Place a layer of sliced bananas on top of the layer of Nutella.
Sprinkle with hazelnuts
Grill until the bread is golden brown on each side and the Nutella is melted.
Remove from the grill and sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar.
Sprinkle with more chopped macadamia nuts for pizazz.
Serve warm immediately with strawberries on the side.

If you enjoy Nutella recipes, here is another yummy one that you might like:

Nutella and Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

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Jessica of "Kitchen Bellicious" Guest Post: Peppered Beef Soup in Toasted Bread Bowls

I have wanted to ask many of my favorite foodie bloggers to guest post here in on ‘la bella vita’ for sometime. This month I was priviledged to have Liz from “That Skinny Chick Can Bake” help launch this endeavor. And today, I am THRILLED to share a guest post from one of my absolute favorite food bloggers, Jessica from “Kitchen Bellicious”. Jessica writes an AMAZING blog on which she features fabulous recipes that she truly does prepare . . . and all of this while raising two small children. I don’t know how many of her recipes that I have printed out to make some day soon, but I have also prepared and shared two (2) of her recipes on my blog as well. I am so impressed with Jessica and her blog and I truly thank her dearly for her kindness to guest post on ‘la bella vita’. Please visit her soon, and I’m certain you’ll love what you read and will follow her along!

If ‘guest posting’ is something that you would be interested in doing on ‘la bella vita’, please do let me know, OK? Thanks!

And now here is Jessica’s delicious and super-yummy soup in a bread bowl recipe that is not only creative (who can resist a ‘bread bowl’?), but is also perfect for this autumnal time of year in the States when the temperatures are dipping in most of the country and when we enjoy more comforting soups to warm our souls.

From Jessica:

Enjoy comfort in a bowl!

This hearty slow cooked meal will remind you of the comfort and joy of being home and enjoying dinner together as a family. Peppered Beef Stew served in a crispy toasted bread bowl is a simple twist on the classic pot roast with all the fixings. From carrots, celery and potatoes to the flavor of slow cooked onions and mushrooms mixed with a touch of beer, red wine and Worcestershire, this amazing bowl of goodness will impress even your hardest clients (your family).

I grew up on pot roast, so to speak. It was a tradition in our family, especially one for holidays or family gatherings after church. When the cold weather began trickling in you were sure to find the smell of slow cooked pork roast lingering through the house with a side of – –you guessed it – - bread! Even to this day, when I make pot roast I am reminded of growing up and it still puts a smile on my face!

I have done my “generational” pot roast recipe on Kitchen Belleicious before so I wanted to do something different with it, a twist on an old classic and modernize what some think of as old food. By “roasting” pre-cut roast meat or stew meat and adding the fixings one would find in a standard soup I was able to bring you the most incredible bowl of comfort. The toasted bread bowls are just an added extra, making the soup fun and exciting. Besides what is soup without bread? That’s what I thought!

Tip: Make easy at home croutons with the center of the toasted bread bowls. Cut the reserved bread in cubes and place in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and a few of your favorite dried herbs and bake at 400 degrees (F) for 7-9 minutes!



Peppered Beef Soup in Toasted Bread Bowls
(courtesy of Southern Living)

1 package of baby carrots
2 stalks of celery
6 small Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
1 small Vidalia onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can of beef stock
1 can of beer
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
½ cup AP flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly cracked pepper
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 /2 lb beef stew meat
2-3 TBSP vegetable oil
3 loaves frozen bread dough

Rinse the stew meat and pat dry.
Combine the flour, salt, pepper, cajun seasoning and garlic powder in a Ziploc bag.
Add the roast and shake to coat.
Sear the roast over medium to low heat in a cast iron skillet for 5-6 minutes (1-2 min per side) until browned on all sides. (I like to brown mine to the point of almost no return:)
Place the rmeat in a slow cooker and add in the remaining ingredients except for the cheese and bread dough.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours until fork tender.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the Bread Bowls:

Follow package directions for thawing the dough.
Once the dough has been thawed and properly risen.
Divide each loaf into 4 large rounds, resulting in a total of 12 bread rounds.
Place each round on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
Remove and allow to cool before cutting out the center of the bread rounds using a knife and spoon.
Keep the leftover bread for dipping….
Spoon the stew into each round and enjoy!


THANKS Jessica for sharing this wonderful, comfort soup with us!
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A Cinnamon Treat Guest Post from "That Skinny (Lizzy) Chick Can Bake!!!"

Cinnamon delight is the highlight of this wonderful guest post from Liz of "That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!".   For a long time now, I've been wanting to ask more of my favorite food bloggers to come on over and allow me to spotlight their wonderful cooking and baking skills on my blog.  Now that I've been home on a leave of absence for my surgery, I have the additional time that I needed to hop around blog-land and ask!  I'm not finished with my list yet, so heads up, I'll be writing to you too!  Or geez, just volunteer!

Now I'm not going to tell you the story of how Liz and I know each other because she tells a far better story than I do!  And she has shared it below.  After that comes one of her specialties . . . baking super wonderful breads; this recipe she is sharing with all of us is for Cinnamon Twists!  Your home will smell wonderful from the aroma of this baking in the oven, even better for this time of year:   autumn and the upcoming holidays!  And who doesn't like sweet sugar and cinnamon in their bread?

Before I turn it over to Liz, let me remind you that all of her contact information follows her recipe too, so that you can follow all of her posts.

And now I'll let Liz do the talking! 

"My blog started on a whim...I remember revealing my little project to a group of friends while out to lunch one spring day. One happened to have a friend whose wife was on the now defunct Foodbuzz, an on-line food blogger community...and this gal encouraged me to join the site and network with other foodies. It was there that I connected with so many fabulous, inspirational bloggers...including Roz. My blog ballooned from a simple way to share favorite recipes with friends and family into a place where I developed relationships with food bloggers across the globe. Blogging, along with baking, became one of my passions.

Those of you who are regular followers of my blog may remember the serendipitous reunion between Roz and me. She commented on my blog one day, which lead me back to her blog.  I was immediately awed by all of her marvelous food, gorgeous photography and especially her kind heart. She had oodles of fans and followers, and I knew I'd be back. She mentioned in her bio that she was from Iowa...well, what the heck, so was I. Then I learned she was 100% Italian...hmmmm...and her photo resembled a friend from my hometown, Kelly. I just had to ask her if she was from Iowa and if she had a sister named 'Kelly'. Yup, she was the older sister of one of my dear friends since childhood.  Roz was the beautiful, mysterious, popular older sister who I had only known by a portrait in their family room...she was always busy with high school activities while Kelly and I were still immature and squirrelly in grade school.

After we reconnected, I reminded Roz that when Kelly and I were in college together, we took a road trip one weekend to visit Roz in St. Louis, where she then lived and where we were treated to one of her home cooked, gourmet dinners. I'm still hoping that she and I will be able to meet again in person.  Roz did a guest post for me this summer when we were in France, so I was delighted to reciprocate when she made plans to travel abroad with her parents this fall. Such a thrill.  I had to bake up something both beautiful and delicious...so you'll have to pop over to La Bella Vita to see the details."

I had seen a few versions of these cinnamon twists on-line and knew my family would love them. The King Arthur Flour site had an apple filled version which I tweaked to be more like a traditional cinnamon roll.  I baked one in an 8-inch cake pan and the other on a sheet pan lined with parchment. The one in the cake pan produced a much prettier loaf.

This dough was silky smooth...maybe from the addition of potato buds (instant mashed potatoes) or maybe from the overnight rising time. I did not learn the chemistry of baking in my nursing chemistry course, so maybe someone can enlighten me. Nevertheless, this dough produced a delicious bread that all 5 of us enjoyed.

Cinnamon Twists

from "That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!"

(adapted from King Arthur Flour)

3-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup dried potato flakes or buds

3 heaping tablespoons sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

1-1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter plus extra for buttering bowl, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 cup milk

Filling:

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

4-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

A few grates of fresh nutmeg, optional

2 tablespoons melted butter

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

Mix all dry ingredients in bowl of large stand mixer (you can also mix and knead by hand). Make sure potato flakes are well dispersed. Add the butter, vanilla, egg and milk. Mix with dough hook till a shaggy dough forms. Let rest 30 minutes.

Knead dough with dough hook or by hand for 10 minutes, then place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat top of dough with butter, then cover and refrigerate dough overnight.

The next morning, bring dough out and allow to sit out on the counter for 3 hours.

Make filling by combining sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

To assemble, deflate dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one dough half into a 10 x 12 inch rectangle. Brush dough with half the melted butter, then sprinkle with half the cinnamon mixture over the surface stopping within about 1/2 inch of one longer edge. Roll up jelly roll style starting at the long edge with the cinnamon, making a log. Press seam together to lightly seal.

Cut the log in half lengthwise with a sharp knife. Turn each half so that filling and cut edges face upward. Seal two of the short edges together, then cross one side over the other repeatedly to make a twist. Carefully place twist in a greased 8-inch cake pan forming a ring. Repeat with second piece of dough.

Cover lightly and let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350º. Bake for about 30 minutes. Cool for few minutes, then carefully remove from pans to a rack to finish cooling.

Make glaze by combining all ingredients using the extra tablespoon of cream if necessary. Place into a quart ziplock bag, seal and clip off corner with a scissors. Squeeze bag to drizzle icing over cooled twists.

Makes 2 8-inch cinnamon twists.

Thanks so much, Roz, for inviting me to share a recipe with your blog followers! Enjoy your holiday, my friend! 

xo,

Liz 

I knew that you would love whatever Liz shared for her guest post!

After ALL of these years since her friendship began with my sister in 1968 and when I met Liz in St. Louis (1978), it is because of our two food blogs that we re-connected in 2010 between Indiana and South Carolina where we now live!  Just so cool!

As promised here are all of the ways that you can follow Liz.  You can either click on the site names or copy and paste the addesses:

That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!  . . . http://www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com/

Twitter . . . https://twitter.com/#!/ThatSkinnyChick

Facebook . . . https://www.facebook.com/pages/That-Skinny-Chick-Can-Bake/112597838794834

Google + . . . https://plus.google.com/116213594518847001708/posts?hl=en

Pinterest . . . http://pinterest.com/lizzydo/   

StumbleUpon . . . http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/lizzydo 

Thanks Lizzy!!!  

Mwah!  

xoxo, Roz

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Grilled Prosciutto and Fig Pizza

Some fruits and vegetables have a brief moment in the limelight of a season.  Figs are included in that group of "now you see them, now you don't" fruits.  The time is now to find figs in the market, and I had one more little basket left to use from my shopping.  

Plus I'm finding it high time for me to jump on the trendy bandwagon of making a 'grilled' pizza with a focus on those sweet blue-skinned gems.

Fig trees produce twice a year, of which one is this present moment.  Yet in some places it's a real truffle-hunt to find them (my little town for instance).  To find the fig treasure I had to drive 50 miles to Whole Foods to nab up a few baskets and have my 'eureka' moment'.  

Upon my discovery, I dove in with an over-expression of delight and enthusiasm.  

My husband thought I had lost my mind . . . he just wanted sausage pizza, period.  Which of course, I gladly prepared a separate pizza for him!  

Now for some of you the temperatures are starting to feel a bit more like autumn, but here in South Carolina, it's still warm.  September is not a time to go to football games all bundled up in sweaters with small bottles of peppermint schnapps tucked in your pockets to keep you warm during the game.  

No, not at all !  

Grilling outside is still the norm this time of year here, especially if you're into tail-gaiting at football games!   Grilling this pizza with the interplay of seasonally fresh figs with their jammy sweetness and prosciutto's saltiness is a perfect excuse to spend the warm afternoons and cooler evenings outside in Southern Septembers.  Add in the tangy, creamy marinated mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and the results will send your tastebuds into Italian nirvana!

Grilled Prosciutto, Fig and Marinated Mozzarella Pizza

2 - 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups pizza sauce (either homemade or store bought)
1 cup fresh marinated mozzarella, small balls, cut in half
6 - 8 black mission figs, sliced lengthwise, stems removed
8 slices of prosciutto, torn into thin strips
2 Tbsp. fig balsamic vinegar (regular balsamico vinegar is fine too)
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
freshly cracked sea salt and pepper to taste

Home-made pizza dough.
If in a hurry, use "Naan" bread for individual pizzas.

Other topping options:  

Shaved Parmesan
Fresh basil leaves
Fig jam or spread
Rosemary
Red pepper flakes
Arugula leaves

Prepare pizza dough according to directions.
Let set overnight in the refrigerator.
Roll out the dough to the size(s) that you desire
Mix the minced garlic with the olive oil.
Spread generously on the pizza dough (blend more garlic and olive oil if you need more for larger or multiple pizzas).
Next generously spread on the pizza sauce.
Layer on the prosciutto strips.
Scatter sliced figs on top.

Grill on a medium-hot grill until cheese is ooey, gooey melted all over!
Keep a close eye on the grill because the dough may burn.
If you have a pizza stone, have it pre-heated on the grill and USE IT to prevent the dough from burning.
If you see that the dough is burning and the cheese is not quite as melted as much as you prefer, then just finish it off for 5 minutes in a very hot oven.

Serve with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to drizzle on the pizza.

you can find these marinated soft, fresh mozzarella balls on the olive 

and antipasto bar at Whole Foods or Fresh Market.

they REALLY make a huge difference in taste and texture!

spread the olive oil-minced garlic mixture on the dough and then

load up the dough or naan bread with the yummy ingredients

place the prepared uncooked pizza on a hot grill

for about 5 - 10 minutes

if you have a pizza stone it will help prevent burning the bottom of the dough

and as promised, a simple sausage and cheese grilled pizza for my husband!

Mangia!

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Roasted Red Pepper Panini ~ ~ Classic!

Do you love panini?  Fresh sandwiches?  Healthy sandwiches?  Fast and easy sandwiches?  Hot sandwiches?  Flavorful, new, sandwiches that aren't the same-old, same-old go-to sandwiches?  Anything delicious between two slices of crispy on the outside and soft on the inside artisan bread calls my name!

By now most Americans have fallen in love with Italian panini, basically amped up sandwiches beyond our delicious grilled cheese sammies, but then heated up on a panini press or grilled pan.   However, most Americans don't realize that ONE of these is correctly termed a "panino", (panini is plural for more than one).  But why sweat the small stuff?  Panini literally means 'small breads' in Italian which began their popularity trend here in the States in the 70's and 80's, originating from 'paninoteche' Milanese bars.  How about that for a trivia question?

Now if you don't have a panini press, you can use a grilled skillet and place another heavy pan on top to 'press' the bread into the grills of the skillet.  Half-way through cooking (when you see a golden color and dark grill marks on the bread) you need to turn the panino over and grill the other side, once again with something heavy to press the panino down into the grills.

What you put inside of your bread is totally up to your imagination, but here's a great end of summer recipe for you that I find absolutely marvelous, especially with the dipping herbs in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  For this panino, I used roasted red peppers, so here is a tutorial with photos of how to roast red peppers on my blog:  roasting red peppers!

please click on the link below to read this delicious recipe!

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Rustic Italian Tomato Pie

In the American South is a popular dish known as "Tomato Pie".  Neither my husband nor I had ever heard of this before living here.  But lately I've seen it featured in Southern Living and on some of the food shows that I've been watching while laid up on the recliner healing my back.  We were really grateful for the kindness extended to us from our friends who are native Southerners when they baked one of these pies to give us this week . . . and that would certainly give my husband a night off from cooking while I'm on the mend from surgery.

A traditional Southern tomato pie

The tomato pie was delicious, but both my husband and I were taken back by the unexpected tangy flavor that resulted from combining mayonnaise and cheddar cheese baked on top of tomatoes and onions.  Really, really good and nothing like we'd ever had before.   We certainly appreciated the gesture, kindness, and friendship that was extended, however the unique taste in this version of tomato pie led me on a path to discover other presentations of tomato pie.  

lots of butter, mayonnaise, and cheese in the Southern pie

here's another photo from "eclectic recipes"

Now that's what I call a cheesy dream of a tomato pie!

From the Northeastern region of the States, I found that there is a thick pizza-focaccia bread based tomato pie that I'd like to make later on.  From the photos, it looks like a thick pizza with an equally thick layer of tomato sauce on top (not sliced tomatoes) and nothing else.  Already I could see a difference in the sub-cultural interpretation of tomato pie!

certainly MORE focus on tomatoes and not cheese!

Meanwhile within the pages of one of my Italian cookbooks, "Vegetables From An Italian Garden", I found a photo and recipe for a 'rustic' tomato pie.  It doesn't look like a pie at all, but since that's what the title stated I set out to try it.

This recipe did not fail my expectations; even my husband ate a whole 'slice'!

photo of the rustic tomato pie in my cookbook

 spread softened butter onto the baking sheet pan

saute' green onions and sprinkle onto bread

generously layer tomato slices and sprinkle herbs on bread

place top piece of bread on,

pour egg/milk mixture all over, 

sprinkle with salt and pepper

place slices of pecorino cheese randomly on bread and
bake in the oven until golden brown

This rustic Italian tomato pie is indeed the opposite of the traditional Southern tomato pie.  The latter has a heaviness to it, maybe due to the all of the mayonnaise, cheese and butter, and the tomatoes seemed a bit lost.  But it had a tangy cheese flavor that cannot be beat . . . and anything with cheese gets my attention quickly!  

For the rustic pie on the other hand, the oregano and basil sang out, there was no greasiness at all, and the tomatoes really stood out.  A wonderful crunch is heard as you bite into the egg/milk baked bread.  I think that this tomato pie truly reflects one of the important principles of Italian cooking:  keep everything simple and don't cover up the flavors, but rather -- enhance them!  I'm so glad to have stumbled upon this recipe and know that it will be made quite often!

And now, I'll just go have a piece of both tomato pies for some fresh summertime tomato bliss!

Rustic Italian Tomato Pie
(adapted from "Vegetables From An Italian Garden")

butter for greasing pan
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 scallions/green onions, finely chopped
12 thin slices good quality Italian whole wheat bread, crusts removed (I left them on)
4 - 5 fresh tomatoes, sliced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
2 jumbo eggs (I doubled this from 1 egg)
1 1/3 cups whole milk (I doubled this from 2/3 cup milk)
8 oz. pecorino cheese, sliced very thin
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spread butter all over a baking sheet with sides.
Heat olive oil in a small pan, add the scallions/green onions and sauté over low heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
Lightly season with salt.
Remove from heat.
Cover the bottom of the buttered pan with half of the bread.
Spoon the scallions/green onions on top of bread.
Place tomato slices on top.
Sprinkle with dried oregano and dried basil.
Cover with remaining bread slices.
Beat eggs with the milk in a bowl; season with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture over the bread.
Cover with pecorino cheese slices.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown.
Do not burn the bread though.
Let cool slightly and then serve on a nice serving dish.

And now here's the recipe for the traditional Southern Tomato Pie


Southern Tomato Pie

1 pre-made pie crust
1 large sweet onion, diced
5 – 6 very fresh, preferably farmer’s market or garden-fresh tomatoes, sliced
(Tip: Slice tomatoes in half first and squeeze out excess juice before slicing to reduce water in the pie)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup sliced fresh Monterey Jack cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place pie crust in pie plate.
Arrange onions in the bottom of the pie in a circular formation.
Then arrange sliced tomatoes, around in a circle, and some in the middle.
Add salt and pepper.
Combine mayonnaise, cheddar cheese and dried Italian seasonings in a small bowl.
Mix well and spoon over tomatoes, leaving about 1 inch gap in between mayo and the edge of the pie so you can still see the tomatoes.
Place sliced cheese on top of mayonnaise layer.
Bake for about 30 minutes, at 350 degrees, or until cheese is golden.


Mangia!


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Strawberry and Mascarpone Cheese Crostini!

For Mother's Day, my daughter and her husband gave me a really sweet Italian surprise!  A beautiful jar of outrageously rich and decadent imported "Fragole" Italian strawberries in syrup.  When I opened up the box I knew immediately that I would use some of the strawberries for an Italian mascarpone crostini.  

But first, I was recently invited to write a guest post on my good friend Liz's blog, "That Skinny Chick Can Bake".  I was so honored to be asked and sent Liz this post that she published on June 15th to her readers.  Not only was this a nice recognition from Liz, but it also gave me a rare opportunity to let both of our readers know how the two of us met . . . way back in the late 60's!  You see Liz has been good friends with my sister Kelly since their childhood in Ames, Iowa where they met in Kindergarten!  Growing up only a few blocks from each other, our families even went to the same church together.  Kelly and Liz's friendship continued through high school, their college years at the University of Iowa, and beyond school to this day!  It was totally bizzare when Liz and I found each other's blogs and realized who we were!  

In my guest post for Liz I thought it would be cool to share some photos of Liz and my sister.  Liz was sweet enough to send me old photos that she had digitized (I've got to do that with my old photos too!), as well as a few recent photos of these two very thin ladies!   I must admit that both Kelly and Liz work out a lot to stay in such great shape.


Mangia!



please click on 'read more' for this delicious recipe and story!

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Sun~Dried Tomato Pesto, Basil Pesto, and Turkey Bagels with Herb Cheese Spread!

Once upon a time, a local sandwich shop offered a wonderful bagel sammie that was unforgettable.  I memorized the ingredients way-back-when so that I could try and replicate the sandwich at home.  I really had to go back into the cobwebs of my mind to retrieve those ingredients to make this savory bagel sandwich.

Here's the story that I found in the recesses of my mind:

There once was a toasted bagel that had two friends stop over and visit.  One friend's name was sun-dried tomato pesto and the other friend's name was basil pesto.  Along came some nice, crispy lettuce, a sliced red onion, and plenty of sliced turkey friends to join the party.  But what would a good sandwich be without the joy and friendliness of some creamy, soft herb cheese to soften up the tangy pestos?  Together these ingredients made one bagel lover eat happily every after!

If you're looking for a flavorful sandwich, than you'll certainly love this!

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, Basil Pesto, and Turkey Bagels with Herb Cheese Spread.

Bagels (your preference in flavor, garlic would be nice; and preferably authentic NY bagels)
Sun-dried tomato pesto
Basil pesto
Lettuce (use the variety of your choice)
Red onion
Sliced smoked turkey (Boar's Head is the best)
Soft herb cheese (such as Boursin)

Slice the bagels in half and toast them.
Spread the sun-dried tomato pesto on the inside of one half.
Spread the basil pesto on the inside of the other half sliced bagel.
Thickly layer the smoked turkey on top of one half.
Spread some soft herb cheese on top of the turkey slices.
Place some lettuce leaves on top of the cheese.
Place some red onion slices on top of the cheese.
Put the other half of the bagel on top.
Slice the whole bagel sandwich in half and secure with toothpicks, if necessary.

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Mediterranean Prosciutto, Red Pepper, and Pesto Panini!

As peppers continue to ripen in the garden and the heat of August lingers on, it seemed wise to simply make another sandwich.  The only heat involved when making sandwiches the Italian way is inside a panini grill.  There's no heat from a stove or oven and there's no outdoor 90+ degree heat to swelter in next to a grill!  I am truly a whimp when it comes to high heat without a swimming pool!

Last week I was inspired by the open-faced Ratatouille Sandwich prepared by Jessica of Kitchen Belleicious.  We're both firm believers of recommending that you adjust recipes to make them more to your preferences.

Isn't that part of the fun of cooking?  And that's exactly what I did with this sandwich.

First of all, I am a very strange Italian in that I don't care for eggplant.  It's just all moosh to me!  Mr. M. and P. won't touch eggplant either, so we were in synchronized culinary unison on that ingredient to substitute.  But similar to Jessica's sammie, I stayed true to using Mediterranean flavors:  homemade pesto, prosciutto, roasted red peppers, and Italian Fontina cheese.  I also added sliced pepperoncini to give the sandwiches an extra kick!  I had a marvelous Tomato Focaccia bread on hand which made the sandwiches irresistible!  After layering everything, I sprinkled the top with freshly minced oregano picked from the herb garden.

In a previous post, I roasted red peppers and yet in another post I marinated red peppers in a balsamic-olive oil-caper mixture.  Since the peppers stay fresh in the frig for a week or two, I had a few left over to use in this sandwich.  Bill and I always look for ways to use up everything that we've previously made so nothing is wasted.

As the sandwich sizzled inside the panini grill, the aroma from the melting cheese, pesto and balsamic vinegar was intoxicating!  We couldn't wait to bite in and savor.  The flavors are once again powerful and wonderful.  This is not your ordinary bland sandwich.

Above:  Pesto on the top left, beautiful fresh prosciutto on the right.  

Marinating roasted red peppers on the lower left and the sandwich grilling in the panini press on the lower right.  

Just before grilling and pressing, the sandwich looks huge!

Prosciutto, Red Pepper, and Pesto Panini
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Pre-heat a panini grill to high.
Focaccia bread - use your favorite flavor combination; cut into sandwich sizes and then slice each horizontally in half.
Layer the bottom half with basil pesto.
Layer next with thinly sliced red onions.
Layer next with the roasted red peppers.
At this point, add some capers if you don't have the original marinade.
Layer next with the Fontina cheese (grated or sliced).
Layer next, sliced Italian pepperoncini.
Pile on 3 to 4 thin slices of prosciutto.
Sprinkle with minced oregano.
Cover with the top half of the foccacia.
Place the sandwich on a hot panini grill.
Slowly press down the top of the panini grill.
Grill on high for about 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

After grilling on the panini press, everything blends together for a toasty treat!

Our beautiful "Mowee" checking out the peppers from the garden.

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Roasted Red Pepper & Italian Cheese Panini!

Red peppers are selling for 4.00 a pound here (green peppers: $3, yellow peppers: $5, and orange peppers: $6 per pound).  There is some serious legal highway robbery going on in our marketplace!  All the more reason that I'm grateful to grow our own fresh veggies in our garden.  Just one red pepper plant gifts us with a minimum of 6 peppers . . . that's PER plant!

This year we planted green, red, yellow, orange, and purple peppers and I know that with loving care they will continue to produce until the cool weather arrives (usually in late October to early November here).

I referred to Larry of "Big Dude's Eclectic Ramblings" for advice on preserving all of our peppers.  Larry is an accomplished master gardener and has a weekly post with gardening tips every Thursday.  And he always answers every one of my questions!  So with his guidance, that little job of freezing peppers is behind me, at least for this week before more ripen next week to freeze more.  After that was finished, I quickly moved into roasting more peppers and freezing those as well.

However, one must taste and partake in one's labor, right?  There are so many excellent recipes for using red peppers and of the final ten that I saved, one simple recipe just screamed at me to make:  Ina Garten's Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwich.

Adjustments that I made:  Since I'm not fond of goat cheese, I swapped that out and used a shredded 6-cheese Italian blend.  I always keep this bagged cheese on hand for simplicity, money savings, and to top home-made pizzas.  I added a top layer of cheese as well.  I also grilled them on a panini press to melt the cheese and re-heat the peppers that were cold from marinating in the frig.  Perfect choice!

I roasted the peppers a day earlier so I had that out of the way.

For Mr. Meat and Potatoes, we added smoked turkey and some prosciutto.  I chose the turkey for the mildness of flavor so that the peppers and basil could stay on center stage.  Genoa salami, capicola, and too much prosciutto would be too powerful for the peppers which are meant to be the star of the show in this sandwich.  Another recommendation:  keep the marinade from the peppers and use it for a dipping sauce for your sandwich.

This sandwich is simply indescribably and outstandingly delicioso!  What a wonderful, delightful flavor combination . . . and now one of my favorites!  The flavors are powerful, in perfect harmony, and addicting.  Trust me, this sammie is superb and full of perfect fresh flavors of roasted red peppers, fresh basil, cheese, capers, balsamic vinegar and EVOO.  You'll love this!

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Panzanella Salad with Bacon, Tomato, and Basil

Ahhhh, the dog days of summer and what better theme for this month's Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club than having a "Beachcomber Picnic"!  Currently, I'm lounging around in a cabin in the cool temps of the mountains with Mr. M. and P. (meat and potatoes).  A short drive to a mountain lake, and not the ocean, is a wonderful way to escape the 100 degrees where we live (it's 75 degrees up here!).  Going to the beach is an extremely popular activity in the Carolina's . . . insanely popular, in fact.  So many people bee-line to the ocean, that we avoid the beach and the traffic that goes along with it from June through August!  But the beachside recipes shared this month can be prepared for our very favorite time at the beach -- and that's October when the crowds are gone.

The Cooking Light blogging gang has once again prepared some mighty tasty dishes pulled from the archives of Cooking Light to pack up in our baskets and into the backs of our cars.  Our host Valli, from More Than Burnt Toast (click to see all of the recipes) has done another fantastic job organizing everything!  And the great thing about all of these recipes is how healthy and flavorful they are!

For me, a picnic dish needs to be super easy and portable.  So I selected a recipe that gets better by the minute through the marinating of it's ingredients.  A salad of August-ripe, ruby-red, juicy tomatoes, onion, and basil provide the foundation for Panzanella Salad with Bacon, Tomato, and Basil.  Even without the bread, this salad is a super winner in my salad book!  The addition of bacon was new to me for panzanella, but I assume there are many panzanella creations that include pancetta (Italian bacon).  This recipe also differs from traditional panzanella by the inclusion of lettuce as well.  It's a nice addition.  It's that type of recipe where you can add this or that and make it your own creation!

Panzanella Salad with Bacon, Tomato, and Basil

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups coarsely chopped vine-ripe, red tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1 (8-ounce) loaf day-old French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups torn romaine lettuce

Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; stir with a whisk.
In a medium mixing bowl, add tomato, onion, basil, and bacon; toss well. Set aside.
Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until toasted; cool.
Add bread and lettuce to tomato mixture; toss gently to combine. Serve immediately.

For this salad, I chose to present the salad in a 'layered' manner.  The torn romaine lettuce leaves are under the tomato mixture.  Then I placed a layer of bread cubes  on top of the lettuce.  The tomato-basil-garlic-vinaigrette mixture is placed on top of the bread cubes and the bacon is crumbled on top to finish the salad off.

This is quite delicious, light and healthy.  And that's a good thing, isn't it?
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Panzanella ~ ~ Italian Tomato, Bread and Basil Salad!

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Bread is perfect for mopping up sauces and broth!  That's the basic idea of this wonderful, traditional Italian, fresh tomato and bread salad known as "Panzanella":  crusty, hefty, day-old bread chunks tossed into tomatoes, onions, and fresh basil with a vinaigrette dressing.  This simple and delicious salad is a creation from the central region of Italy.  Panzanella is also another great way to use those juicy tomatoes that are in the peak of the season.  You won't even have to use the oven or stove; it's a cold, lovely, and light salad full of rich flavor!  

Chopped tomatoes, red onion, and basil in vinaigrette, all juicing up nicely!  The bread soaks up up all of that wonderful juice.

 Several days-old ciabatta or sour dough bread cut into 1" cubes.  These were rock hard!

Toss everything together . . . the orange-colored bread is from the red tomato juice/vinaigrette being soaked up.

Panzanella

4 cups fresh, ripe tomatoes, cut into cubes

1 cup red onion, chopped into 1/2" pieces

20 fresh basil leaves, sliced into slivers or shredded

6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

8 cups of day old/several days-old ciabbata or sourdourgh bread, cut into 1" cubes

Sprigs of fresh basil for garnish.

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, red onions, basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper until well mixed.

Just before serving, toss in the bread cubes.

If you prefer, you can allow the salad to set for 10 minutes before serving so that the bread soaks up the vinaigrette more.

Kick it up a notch by doing any of the following:

Add some chopped up cucumbers.
Add cubes of fresh mozzarella.

Or add chopped prosciutto.

OR, add a combination or all of the above!

Our golden retriever, "Buckeye", just LOVES tomatoes and bread.  

With the basil and vinaigrette, he was smacking his lips in appreciation!

Italian Panzanella

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