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Archive for January, 2011

Roethlisburger Sliders

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

Welcome to my first guest post. Usually I take care of the high-tech stuff and leave the cooking to Nicole, but I have been known to make food of varying levels of acceptability from time to time. This recipe is my attempt at recreating a great-tasting sandwich I had in Pittsburgh a few years ago: The Roethlisburger.

The Roethlisburger is a hamburger-esque invention by Peppi’s Old Tyme Sandwich Shop. I first had the sandwich at Peppi’s on a trip to Pittsburgh a few years ago, and liked it enough to try duplicating it at home. Basically, it’s a loose mixture of beef and Italian sausage on a roll topped with cheese, grilled onions, a scrambled egg, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise.

Mine isn’t an exact replica but it’s close. I used regular hamburger rolls and made it much smaller than the original. I was also out of American cheese and had to substitute shredded cheddar.

2 1/2 lbs. Ground beef
3 links of Italian sausage
1 Onion
1/2 egg per burger
Lettuce
Tomato
Mayonnaise
Roll or hamburger bun

Cut open the sausage links, remove the casing and mix the sausage meat with the ground beef.

I’ve researched a lot of Roethlisburger recipes and the meat ratio varies between 50/50 and 60% ground beef / 30% sausage depending on the writer. I don’t know what Peppi’s does, but I’ve tried both and prefer the 50/50 mix.

Form the mixture into whatever size patties you prefer. In this recipe I made more normal-sized 1/2 lb. patties to go on hamburger buns.

Chop up and grill some onions. Scramble and cook an egg (one egg should be enough for two burgers).

When the outside of the patties has browned, break them apart so the meat is loose.
Melt some cheese on the meat, let the meat finish cooking and place it on the bun. Top with the grilled onions, scrambled egg, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise.

I noticed some versions of this sandwich have french fries. Maybe you can optionally order them as an extra topping, but they weren’t on the sandwich I had in Pennsylvania.

Here we have a Roethlisburger slider along with a few regular-sized burgers. The original at Peppis is much, much bigger. More like a sub or a hero sandwich. I was out there on a road trip with the guys… a few of us didn’t even finish the sandwich, and we were moving pretty slow for the next few hours!

Tags: Ben Roethlisberger, burger, Football, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Roethlisburger, Steelers
Posted in Recipes | 2 Comments »

Stuffed Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Smoked Mozzarella

Friday, January 28th, 2011

This recipe was inspired by my best friend Nicole (yes we have the same name and many other things in common). She texted me the other night while I was in cake class saying “I have chicken, spinach and mushrooms. What can I make?” The first thing that came to mind was stuffed chicken breasts using the spinach and mushrooms. I couldn’t give her a full recipe then because I was too busy learning how to make flowers out of frosting (I suck at making an Easter Lily but rock at Daffodils). I had these beautiful pork chops in the freezer but no spinach so I made this recipe based on Nicole’s request with some adaptations. Now she has a recipe for the next time she feels inspired to cook. I hope it inspires you all to cook as well. Enjoy!

Olive Oil

8 oz white mushrooms, sliced

1 shallot, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 bone in center cut pork chops

4 slices of smoked mozzarella

Salt

Pepper

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup white wine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large oven proof pan that will fit 4 pork chops heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add in mushrooms. When they begin to brown add in shallots. When the mushrooms are almost fully cooked and the shallots are translucent add in garlic. Cook for 1 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel. Cut a slit into each of the pork chops, creating a pocket. Place a piece of mozzarella in each of the pork chops. Then stuff each pocket with the mushrooms. Close the pockets using toothpicks. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in the pan you used for the mushrooms. Add in the pork chops. Brown on both sides (about 3 minutes on each side). Add in white wine, chicken stock and any remaining mushroom filling. Place pan in oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Until pork chops internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.

Remember to remove the toothpicks. Drizzle pan juices over the pork. Serve and Enjoy!

Tags: dinner, entree, mushrooms, pork, pork chops, smoked mozzarella, stuffed pork chops
Posted in Recipes | 9 Comments »

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

We have been busy redoing the living room since Saturday. We’ve been trying to minimize our stuff and make this apartment really feel like home. When we moved in together nearly three years ago we inherited a lot of second hand furniture from various friends and relatives, it was finally time to make this place our own. We’ve been cleaning, throwing things out, reorganizing our items, picking out furniture, taking apart furniture etc. It’s been a busy couple of days and the end is finally in sight, not quite there yet but we are close.

Doing all of this work one can really work up an appetite. Instead of ordering in yet again I wanted to make something but it had to be quick. So I turned to a trusted and favorite recipe this shrimp scampi with linguine. Pasta is always a quick late night fix but this in particular is still light but scrumptious. I hope you enjoy it especially when you are looking for a quick good meal. Enjoy!

4 tablespoons of butter, separated

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less depending on taste)

1 pound of large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt

Pepper

1/2 cup white wine

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 pound of linguine, cooked

In a large, deep saute pan melt the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter together. Add in shallots and cook until translucent. Add in garlic and the red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute.

Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add to pan. Cook until pink on both sides. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.

Add to pan the wine, lemon juice and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and allow to melt. Add shrimp and linguine to the pan. Mix all the ingredients to the pan. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Serve warm and Enjoy!

Tags: dinner, entree, linguine, pasta, seafood, shrimp, shrimp scampi, shrimp scampi with linguine
Posted in Recipes | 1 Comment »

Asian Inspired Baby Back Ribs

Monday, January 24th, 2011

This past weekend we decided to redo the living room. We bought a new couch and entertainment center. We needed a new book case and I didn’t like the options where we bought the rest of the furniture. This meant a trek to Ikea. I decided to try out the new Ikea in Brooklyn and was quite successful. I was not only successful in purchasing a new book case but also props for some food photography. Ikea is like a food blogger’s heaven. They have so many different options and all their prices can’t be beat. The plate and place-mat came from my trip to Ikea.

Well since I trekked all the way to Red Hook, Brooklyn to go shopping I couldn’t go without checking out the Fairway. My boyfriend’s brother always raves about the place but we do not have one in Queens. I called my boyfriend’s Mom to come with me since she wanted to check it out too. We were quite overwhelmed but the maze of aisles but we came out with some good finds. The meat, produce, cheese, seafood and tons of other options are another can fulfill any food blogger’s dreams. They have everything you can imagine and it all looks so good. I had to restrain myself. I did though get these beautiful baby back ribs and came up with this recipe. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. Enjoy!

1 slab of baby back ribs

Salt

Pepper

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

1/8 teaspoon siracha sauce (more or less depending on how much spice you like)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Season both sides of the rack of ribs with salt and pepper. Cover in alumminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Cook in oven for an hour.

In a small bowl mix the remaining ingredients. After the ribs have cooked for an hour remove them from the oven and baste the ribs on both sides with the sauce (I use a pastry/paint brush). Place back in the oven and continue to baste the ribs for the next 30 minutes. Watch them carefully so the sauce does not burn (baste with more sauce to prevent burning) unless, you like them charred. Cut the ribs in between the bones.

Serve and Enjoy!

Tags: asian, baby back ribs, dinner, entree, hoisin, pork, ribs, siracha
Posted in Recipes | 4 Comments »

Minestrone Soup

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

Winter = Soup time in this household. I love soup and let’s be real I can make a huge pot quickly, eat dinner and still have tons of leftovers. Those leftovers I then share with my sister. My sister loves this soup. I realize I talk about my sister a lot but she doesn’t really cook so I keep making these recipes and sharing them all with you so she can easily access the recipes that shes loves so much. One day she may actually make them. Anyway, she has been craving this soup. She loved my mother’s recipe but unfortunately I didn’t have so the only other person I know that could replicate it was my Dad. So I frantically emailed him the other day for guidance on how it was made. So based on his list of ingredients I think I did a very good job replicating my Mom’s Minestrone Soup. Thanks Dad! Hope you all enjoy it too!

Olive Oil

1 package Italian sausage, removed from casings

1 onion, diced small

2 zucchinis, diced small

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 bayleaf

3 garlic cloves, minced

Salt

Pepper

32 oz low sodium chicken stock or broth

1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 can of whole tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon dried basil (if you have fresh use a couple of leaves)

1/2 pound cooked ditalini or other small pasta

Grated cheese for garnish (optional)

Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add in sausage. While the sausage is cooking break it apart with a wooden spoon. Once sausage is browned, add in onions. Cook for 2 minutes. Then add in zucchini, carrots and celery. Cook until vegetables begin to soften. Add in garlic and bay-leaf. Season with salt and pepper.

Then add in chicken stock, cannellini beans and tomatoes. Cook for ten minutes. Using a masher, mash the tomatoes. Bring soup to a boil. Add in basil. Season with salt and pepper if needed.