Perfect Picnic Sandwiches

My favorite sandwich at my favorite Tucson sandwich place is the Bart's Bag at Beyond Bread. It's Brie, turkey, red onion, lettuce, and tomato with honey mustard and mayo on a baguette. I get it almost every time I go to Beyond Bread and have been faithfully eating this same sandwich for years. A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I went to see the outdoor movie in the park and I made us sandwiches and pasta salad and brought strawberries. This is my homemade version of an adapted Bart's Bag and it was amazing. Perfect picnic sandwich.

Perfect Picnic Sandwich
baguette
spinach
tomato
red onion
brie
turkey
honey mustard
mayo

Slice the baguette in half and spread mayo on one side, honey mustard on the other side. Place turkey, then brie, then spinach, tomato and red onion. Enjoy!

Becky: ICBC Brie

For this week's challenge, I actually prepared 2 recipes. The first recipe, which is listed below, was taken from http://www.hub-uk.com/foodpages04/recip0158.htm.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and medium chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup apple cider
4 ounces Brie cheese, rind removed and cut into chunks
4 medium chicken breast halves, on the bone with skin (2 lbs.)

In Heat oil in medium size nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until very tender, about 8 minutes. Add apple, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 cup cider; cook until apples are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool slightly. Stir in Brie. Divide stuffing into 4 equal portions.

Heat oven to 400ºF.

Run fingers under breast skin to separate from flesh. Put 1/4 of the stuffing under the skin of each breast; press gently to distribute filling evenly. Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place in 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish.

Bake in 400ºF oven until no longer pink, 35 minutes. (180ºF on instant - read meat thermometer). Remove chicken to platter; keep warm.

Prepare sauce:
Skim fat from baking dish. Scrape drippings into small saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Add remaining 1/2 cup apple cider; cook to reduce by half. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spoon over chicken.

Although the chicken turned out to be good, I was a little disappointed as well. For one thing, I think it would've been better if I had gotten boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of the ones that were on the bone. Cutting a slit in each breast and filling the slits with stuffing would've been better in my opinion. The reason why is because I found that when the brie cheese melted in the oven it actually stuck to the skin. I never eat the skin when I eat chicken breasts so I feel as though I missed out on the yummy flavor of the brie cheese. In fact, I wouldn't even know that this recipe even had brie cheese in it if I hadn't made it myself. Instead the chicken tasted predominantly of the onions and the thyme. So although this chicken was good, it still didn't reach my high expectations. I also think that this recipe called for too much onion.

Unfortunately I had forgotten to take a photo of this recipe and I couldn't find one on the internet. But trust me, I did cook it! :)



This was the second recipe I prepared:



1 small wheel Brie cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1 package slivered almonds

Microwave the Brie for 30 seconds, just until warmed through. Saute almonds in butter until slightly browned.

Pour almonds over warmed Brie on a pretty plate and serve with warm chunks of French bread.

I got this recipe from http://www.recipegoldmine.com/appbrie/brie-almond-appetizer.html. As stated above, I was a little disappointed in my previous recipe so I decided to try again with this simple appetizer recipe. It was delicious with the french bread! One thing that I think would've tried though is to add a little bit of almond extract to the brie. I think it would've given it more of a sweet, nutty flavor, but unfortunately I didn't have any almond extract on hand. Other than that this recipe was very tasty!

Cherries and Brie Breakfast Pastry

1 can cherry pie filling

1 wheel Brie

1 puff pastry sheet

1. Thaw puff pastry sheet. Place Brie in middle of sheet and cover with cherry pie filling.

2. Fold up corners of pastry sheet and twist so that they hold together like a bundle.

3. Bake as per puff pastry box instructions. Brie should be melted and bubbling.

--- Review---

I made this back in LA with my friend Michele one weekend (except with raspberry jam) and loved it so much that I took it home for Brandon to eat. I love cherries more than raspberry, so I made it for breakfast on a good cold Denver morning and B and I gobbled up the whole thing.

The Brie has a great salty flavor that goes well with the sweetness of the cherries... and who doesn't like puff pastry? Seriously.

I like it with crackers. B likes it with a fork.

Wednesday Night Dinners: Shrimp with Shallot-Tarragon Sauce

I've been taking a break from cooking the last couple Wednesday night dinners and finally jumped back in this week to test out a recipe from my new cookbook. As a birthday present, Vanessa gave me Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook. I served a Shrimp with Shallot-Tarragon Sauce on Wilted Spinach and a side of Grilled Brie and Tomato on Crusty Bread. Two thumbs up on both recipes and I was impressed with how quickly the shrimp dish came together. It looks really fancy but cooked really quickly.



Shrimp with Shallot-Tarragon Sauce on Wilted Spinach
(from Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook, page 350)

10 uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
5 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon, divided
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (about 2 large)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1 6-ounce package fresh baby spinach

Toss shrimp, parsley, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 teaspoons tarragon, and 1 teaspoon ginger in medium bowl. Sprinkle mixture with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, saute 5 minutes. Add shrimp mixture; saute until shrimp are almost cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add butter and cream; bring just to simmer. Add remaining 1 teaspoon ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Set shrimp aside.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in another large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add spinach and remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss until just wilted, about 25 seconds. Mound spinach in center of plates; surround with shrimp and sauce. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 2 tablespoons tarragon.

Serves 2.

Grilled Brie and Tomato on Crusty Bread
(from Food Network)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
6 (1/2 inch thick) slices of crusty bread
1/2 pound brie, sliced thin

Heat the broiler. Put the cherry tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil them until they burst; set aside.

Butter the bread on both sides and top each with several slices of brie. Broil until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned. Top with the tomatoes. Serve immediately.