I rarely have leftovers standing around in my refrigerator for the simple fact that I am so well practiced in cooking certain meals for my family, that I only make just the right amount for us to eat. Not too little, and not too much.

However, when we have guests over, I often go overboard because it’s hard to calculate know just how much each guest will eat since I’m not well acquainted with their eating habits. Last week I happened to have two set of guests over for dinner on different evenings. On one evening I made the best (unfortunately photographed) fajitas that I’ve eaten to date – even beating the best Tex-Mex restaurants I’ve visited in Texas, and on another evening we enjoyed a Greek meze in my attempt to bring a little bit of summer into the cold days of Fall.

By the time Friday rolled around, I had left over sautéed bell peppers and homemade guacamole from fajita night and hummus from Greek night – as well as some left over deli meat that I use to make sandwiches for my husband and older son during the week. But, what drove me to make this salad was, quite simply, the alfalfa sprouts.

I love alfalfa sprouts, but I so rarely come across theme here in the grocery stores. But, on the rare occasion that I go to my local, but not so close, organic grocery store, I can almost always count on them having it there.

Our local organic grocery store is also our only source of certain products, such as 100% cranberry juice, chocolate without soy lecithin, and steel-cut oats. I happened to be there looking for all three last week. And, when I walked by the alfalfa sprouts, I quickly took a few steps back, grabbed the last package, and headed off to the check-out with a big smile on my face because I knew just how I wanted to enjoy these – in a sandwich.

While I enjoy a traditional mustard, meat, cheese, and pickle sandwich, I mush prefer a non-traditional mixture of whatever I have at hand sandwich. And, this sandwich really hit the spot.

Ingredients:
Sliced Sandwich Bread
Homemade Hummus
Homemade Smoky Guacamole
Alfalfa Sprouts
Cheese Slices
Deli Meat Slices
Sautéed Bell Peppers (see recipe bellow)

Directions:
Slather one slice of bread with a thick layer of hummus, and the other with an even thicker layer of guacamole. Sprinkle alfalfa sprouts on the guacamole and layer on cheese slices and deli meat. Top with some sautéed bell peppers and close your sandwich.

Enjoy!

Sautéed Bell Peppers
Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Bell Peppers in assorted colors (ex. red, yellow, orange, green), sliced
Salt

Directions:
Pour olive oil into a griddle and heat over medium-high heat.

Once the olive oil is hot, add the bell pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until the bell peppers have slightly blackened skin and have softened completely.  Salt to taste.

Makes about 3 cups.

I love the sunny days of summer. The warm air, the garden parties, and the simple meals.

A sandwich is the epitome of a simple meal, and this one is loaded with very complex flavors.

Prior to the creation of this meal, I had been very shy with using – or better said, not using – my chipotle chili powder. Now that I have taken a leap of faith and experimented, I am inspired everywhere I go with new ways to use it. One of my favorite ways it in guacamole. It will take an guacamole recipe and add the wow factor to it. And, because of the cool nature of guacamole, the chipotle chili powder doesn’t come over spicy at all, but rather adds delicious smoky undertones…which enhances any meal that you wish you could bbq, but can’t.

The chicken breast also has chipotle chili powder liberally sprinkled on it. Traditionally, I use Tone’s Garlic & Herb that I brought back from the US with me, and this time around I complemented it with the chipotle chili powder.

Serve your sandwich with a side of chips and some homemade lemonade, and you can pretend (or not) that you are basking in the warm summer son of a few months ago.

Sandwich
Ingredients:
Muli-Grain Baguette, sliced
Smoky Guacamole (see recipe bellow)
Cream Cheese
Tomato slices
Chipotle Chicken Breasts, sliced (see recipe bellow)
Lettuce Leaves

Directions:
Spread smoky guacamole on one slice of baguette, and cream cheese on the other. Layer on the sliced chicken breast, lettuce, and tomato, and then close your sandwich.

Enjoy!

Smoky Guacamole
Ingredients:
2 Avocados, pitted
juice of 1 Lime
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 – 1 teaspoon* Chipotle Chili Powder

Directions:
Place the contents of both avocados along with the lime juice in a food processor and puré. Stir in the salt and chipotle chili powder, and adjust as needed.  Sprinkle on some cracked Pepper for added flavor.

*adjust to desired smokiness

Chipotle Chicken Breasts
Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts
Salt
2 teaspoons Tone’s Garlic & Herb Seasoning per breast
1 teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder per breast
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil per breast

Directions:
Preheat eat a griddle on medium-high heat.

Flatten out any thicker areas of the chicken breast with a meat hammer for more even cooking.

Grind (or shake) salt liberally on one side of each chicken breast. Then, sprinkle on half of the garlic & herb seasoning and the chipotle chili powder. Pour half of the olive oil on, and rub the dry seasonings in so that it’s pasty. Flip over each breast, and repeat.

Cook on a hot griddle for 5+ minutes on each side (depending on meat thickness), or until cooked through. Remove from heat, and let site, covered, for 5 minutes before slicing.

Serve warm, and enjoy!

As I mentioned yesterday, I am a big fan of Big Macs and Special Sauce, but not a big fan of actually eating McDonalds because of all those unnatural extra ingredients that they add to their foods – among other things.

But, no worries, I make a burger that is tastier and much much healthier. And, while I don’t advocate eating more meat than is recommended for our daily intake, I do think that it’s ok to splurge every once in a while.

I went ahead and caramelized some onion rings to perfect that burger flavor. You can add anything that your heart desires to this burger.

Ingredients:
1 Onion, sliced in rings
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
400 grams Ground Beef
3/4 Tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning (see copycat recipe here)
4 Kaiser Rolls (Kaiserbrötchen)
Special Sauce (recipe here)
Dill Pickle Slices

Directions:
In a griddle, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onions until caramelized.

In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine the ground beef and Montreal Steak Seasoning by hand until well incorporated. Split the beef mixture into four, and roll into a rough ball. Flatten into patties.

Once the onions have been cooked, remove to a plate and set aside. Cook burgers on the same griddle, about 3-4 minutes a side. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Cut two of the kaiser rolls in half horizontally, and cut the other two horizontally in a way that lets you remove the center of the roll: cut off the bottom and the top. Set the two smaller roll tops and bottoms aside and use on another occasion.

Assemble your burger:
Spread special sauce on the bottom piece of your burger bun and top with caramelized onions. Add one patty. Top the patty with the center bun and spread on the special sauce. Add pickle slices and top those with another patty. Finish off with the top burger bun.

Makes 2 double burgers.

Goes well with fries and a big salad!

Way back when my husband and I were just married, we used to go on picnics all the time. My husband’s work route took him through a park, and after work on nice warm days, I would meet half way and we would have a picnic for dinner.

Now that we have two wonderful children, our picnics revolve around play grounds and sandboxes more than they do around food. So, since Foodbuzz asked us to blog about a meal on the go for this weeks Project Foodblog challenge, I decided to recreate a picnic for two.

On one of our previous visits to Prague, we discovered 94-year-old Deli in the heart of Downtown that has some of the most unique and delicious sandwiches I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Today, I would like to share the experience of a true Bohemian picnic with you.

The region of Germany that I live in is right next to Bohemia – which is in the western part of the Czech Republic, and much of the Bohemian culture extends into Bavaria. And, my butcher’s family just happens to be from Bohemia, so I asked for some advice as to what would be a typical Bohemian picnic meal to complement my potato salad and roast beef sandwiches. His mother-in-law came out from the back where she usually helps prepare take-away food, and shared some advice with me.  We settled on Brussels sprout salad, rice pudding with preserved, sour cherries, and elderflower spritzer.  My Bohemian picnic was starting to come to life.

And, with the surprisingly sunny weather we had this weekend, we were able to head on over to our community garden for a nice picnic dinner for two – while the kids played in the playground, of course!  I really love the scent of fresh air with my meal – it makes everything taste better.

Potato salad is a very classic picnic dish, but it’s much more fun – and delicious – when it’s in a sandwich.  It transforms a dry piece of bread into a deliciously creamy sandwich.  You can top it off with any deli meat of your liking; my favorite is roast beef because, not only does it taste good, but I have many wonderful childhood memories attached it it.  Then, go ahead and add some tomato, hard boiled egg, and pickle, and you have yourself the perfect Bohemian sandwich.

To complement the flavors and textures of my creamy potato salad and roast beef sandwich, I made a Brussels sprout salad.  I actually grew-up eating this same dish at home – even though I’m not Bohemian – with one major difference.  They add sugar.  I was really worried that this would over sweeten the Brussels sprouts and make them taste gross, but I was quite wrong.  And, although I still prefer my mother’s tangy version, this one is quite palatable and a really big hit with the kids.  My son was begging me for more after 2 helpings!

To help wash everything down, I chose to make an elderflower spritzer.  True, beer is very Bohemian, but I wanted something lighter that would offset the savory flavors of the sandwich.  This was actually the first time I had ever used and tasted elderflower syrup, and I was pleasantly surprised by its fragrant flavor.

To crown the meal, we enjoyed rice pudding topped off with the sour cheery pie filling that I canned this summer.  Traditionally, you would use sour cherries preserved in their own juices, but I find the creamier pie filling preserves the consistency of the rice pudding instead of turning it into a watery mess.

The general rule of a Bohemian picnic is to use what’s available to you.  Don’t have access to roast beef?  Use ham.  Or, go vegetarian and leave the deli meat out all together.  Not a big fan of Brussels sprouts?  You can make the same delicious salad using cauliflower.  Did you miss-out on the 3 weeks of the year when sour cherries are in season?  No problem, you can also top off your rice pudding with preserved plums, raspberries, or apples.  Use what you have in your pantry or what is in season and local.  Never heard of elderflowers and they don’t grow in your region?  Make a simple syrup with fresh petals and herbs available to you: rose petals, orange or lemon blossoms, lemon verbena leaves, lavender flowers, hibiscus flowers, mint leaves, vanilla bean …the list goes on and on.  Mrs. Willomitzer shared with me that when there was no wine they even made a simple syrup out of red wine vinegar and drank that mixed with water.  Creativity is key.

So, get your creative juices flowing, get cooking, pack your awesome Project Foodblog cooler or picnic basket, and take the time to have a Bohemian picnic.

Chlebíček se Roastbeef a Bramborový Salát
Potato Salad & Roast Beef Sandwiches – Potato Salad original recipe here
Ingredients:
1 kg Potatoes
1 Red Onion, diced
3 large Sweet Pickles, finely chopped
56 grams cooked Peas
3 cooked Carrots, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
2 large slices of bread
6 sliced Roast beef
1 hard boiled Egg, sliced
a few slices of Tomato
a few slices of Pickle

Potato Salad Directions:
Place all the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until a fork inserts into the center of a potato without trouble. Remove from heat, drain water, and let cool completely.

Once the potatoes have completely cooled, peel with a knife, and then chop into small cubes and place in a large bowl. Add the onions, pickles, peas, and carrots.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and mix to completely coat. Mix in the mayonnaise and combine well. Let stand over night in the refrigerator for the best flavor.

Makes 8 servings.

Sandwich assembly: Press about 1 cup of potato salad on to each slice of bread. Top each slice of bread with 3 slices of roast beef, one slice of hard boiled egg, 1 slice of tomato, and a sliced pickle.

On the go: If you cannot assemble your sandwich directly before eating, I recommend adding a slice of bread to the top and wrapping it in some parchment paper and then some plastic wrap. This will keep your sandwich snuggly assembled until it’s time to eat.

Růžičková Kapusta Salát
Brussels Sprouts Salad – original recipe courtesy of Mrs. Willomitzer from Metzgerei Willomitzer
Ingredients:
500 grams Brussels Sprouts, cross cut into heads
Water
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Sugar
freshly ground Pepper, to taste
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
4 slices of Bacon, diced

Directions:
Place a steamer basket in a pot with a fitting lid and fill with enough water to sit under the steamer basket. Place all the Brussels sprout in the steamer basket and sprinkle with 1/2 a teaspoon of Salt.

Steam on high heat with the lid on for 10 minutes, or until tender. Remove immediately and cool with running tap water.

In the mean time sauté the bacon until crispy. Set aside to let cool.

In a large serving bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, salt, sugar, pepper, and olive oil. Mix in the Brussels sprouts and top with bacon crumbles. Serve immediately.

OR

On the go: Make up to one day in advance and keep the bacon on the side. Top with bacon crumbles right before serving.

Makes 2 servings.

Rýžový Nákyp a Višně
Rice Pudding & Sour Cherries – Original rice pudding recipe here
Ingredients:
250 mL Milk
62 grams round-grained Rice
1 1/2 teaspoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Cream
4 Tablespoons preserved Sour Cherries (I used my homemade Cherry pie filling – here’s the recipe I used)

Directions:
In a pot, combine the milk and the rice, and bring to a boil – stirring constantly. Mix in the sugar, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in the cream.

Spoon into individual serving containers and top each with 2 tablespoons of sour cherry preserves.

On the go: Spoon the rice pudding into small jar, let cool completely, and then top with cherries and close the lid. Refrigerate until ready to enjoy.

Makes 2 servings.

Bezový květ střik
Elderflower Spritzer
Ingredients:
Elderflower Syrup*
Seltzer Water

Directions:
Pour about 2 tablespoons of the syrup into each cup and top off with cold seltzer water.

On the go: Pour 1/2 a cup of the syrup in a 1-liter bottle and top off with seltzer water.  Make sure the lid is on tight and try not to shake it too much on the way to your picnic.

*I bought my elderflower syrup from my son’s preschool’s homemade sale. You can find many recipes online, such as this one. However, the syrup I used was not made with fresh squeezed lemons, as is traditional, but rather with fresh squeezed oranges.

Now, eggplant parmesan sandwiches are a lot more “trouble” to make than a ham and cheese sandwich, but they also taste that much better.

So, here’s to complicated sandwich making!

Ingredients:
1 Recipe Eggplant Parmesan (recipe here)
1 Recipe Tomato Sauce (recipe - same as above)
2 Balls of Mozzarella, sliced
12 slices of Bread

Directions:
Make the eggplant parmesan and the tomato sauce according to these directions.

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 200°C (392°F).

Once done, layer slices of mozzarella on half the slices of bread. Lay a piece of eggplant parmesan on the mozzarella, top with tomato sauce, and then top off with another slice of bread.

Place the sandwiches on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and bake for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Makes 6 sandwiches.

Sometimes the simplest meals are the most flavorful. I’m always surprised when I can find something “new” at my local butcher that has been staring me in the face for the last 5 years. How could I have missed out on this perfectly thin-cut fennel salami for so long???

I layered it on a mixture of spicy tomato paste and cream cheese.

This is a remake of a classic. This time I tried baking it and it tastes even better than with the fresh ingredients, but doesn’t photograph as nicely.

You can find the recipe here at Dine and Dish.

As I hinted at in the last post, my father-in-law visits cooking classes at his local Williams-Sonoma that they offer for free on Sundays to anyone who wishes to attend.

While were were visiting, my husband and I had the opportunity to visit a class with him in north Austin.

I found the set-up quite nice. They had a large angled mirror on the ceiling so that we could see what they were cooking. We were able to taste-test everything and it was quite tasty. I was, however, disappointed that they were using mainly ingredients that you could only buy in their stores – like their roasted version of Ro-Tel for $12!!!

My father-in-law mentioned that they have different cooks for the different classes, and that this lady is the one who plugs their products. Other cooks cook from scratch and give tips as to where the correct ingredients can be found at other locations around town.

So, what did we eat while we were there??

Hot dogs topped with a very very spicy pickle relish (also only found at Williams-Sonoma). The relish really made me sweat from the heat, but it was delicious.

Hamburger sliders made with a spice mixture (also only found at Williams-Sonoma). The hamburgers tasted ok – I have definitely made better ones before – but I was quite impressed by their table-top electric grill. I would like one of those babies for home. It seemed to really work well and better than the grill pan that I have at home.

Rotisserie chicken with different bbq sauces (also only found at Williams-Sonoma). I found the rotisserie that they used for it nice, but impractical since it can’t double as a toaster over or something else that I would use more often. The bbq sauces were just not to my personal taste – I’ll just lease it at that.

Queso dip with Williams-Sonoma $12 version of roasted Ro-Tel served over tortilla chips. It was ok, but there is no way that I would mix a $12 bottle of tomato concoction with a chunk of Velveeta.

So, what are my thoughts on the overall event?

If I lived in the US, I would definitely go to more of these. I think it’s a great place to get ideas and fun to cook with others. However, I don’t think I will ever walk out with a $12 bottle of roasted Williams-Sonoma Ro-Tel…

At the end of last month I participated in Foodbuzz’s 24,24,24 event. Among many other dishes, we grilled a whole suckling pig. Having some meat left over, I was sent home with some leftovers. So, I took the opportunity to make some bbq pulled pork that my husband had been begging me to make for a while.

I didn’t follow a recipe, I just put in the ingredients that I felt would be right. Luckily, I measured everything out and wrote it all down so that I could share with you.

I also made a less traditional addition to the pulled pork by adding a can of some Heinz Baked Beans in tomato sauce that we had bought to try. They added some nice substance to the meat and next time I will double the amount of beans in the recipe. And, next time I will also just use navy beans instead of baked beans in tomato sauce. I found that the baked beans sauce didn’t add (or take away) from the recipe. So, since baked beans are more expensive than plain old navy beans, I will go with the cheaper alternative.

I served these over homemade buttermilk biscuits and with steamed corn. However, because bbq pulled pork is gooey and messy we ate it with a fork a nice and cut the biscuit into it as well. It was absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:
60 grams Palm Sugar, crushed (can substitute with light brown sugar)
2 Cups warm Water
240 grams of homemake Ketchup (recipe here)
1/4 Cup Molasses (can substitute with Malt Syrup)
2 Tablespoons Liquid Smoke
270 grams Pulled Pork (pre-cooked)
415 grams Heinz Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce – I recommend doubling this (can substitute with Navy Beans, liquid drained)

Directions:
In a medium-sized pot over high heat dissolve the palm sugar in the warm water. Add the ketchup, molasses, and liquid smoke and mix well. Add the pulled pork and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Add the beans, mix, and continue to cook until the beans are heated through. Add more liquid smoke to taste if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

Goes well over homemade buttermilk biscuits or in cheddar cheese quesadillas (a little goes a long way! You will only need about 1-2 tablespoons per quesadilla) topped with sour cream.

I have finally made a spaghetti sauce that’s worth talking about.  It’s easy, tasty, and done in an hour.

Ingredients:
200 grams Ground Beef
1 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 large clove Garlic, chopped
400 grams Whole canned Tomatoes, chopped
1 Cup Tomato Sauce
100 grams Tomato Paste
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground Pepper
1 teaspoon Basil
1 teaspoon Marjoram
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 teaspoon Celery Salt
1/2 Cup sliced fresh Mushrooms

Directions:
Over medium heat brown ground beef. Add olive oil and the onions and garlic and saute until tender. Add the can of whole tomatoes and chop into pieces with spatula. Then, add tomato sauce and tomato paste and mix to combine. Add all spices and adjust to taste.
Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, with lid on, for 1 hour – stirring occasionally.

Makes 6 servings.

And, if you have any leftovers they will taste fabulous as a spaghetti sandwich.  Just place some warm spaghetti between two pieces of bread and enjoy!