Vietnamese Banh Mi Steak Sandwiches

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

It’s hot out!! We’re in the midst of a heat wave here in southeastern Pennsylvania and as of today the high humidity and 90°+ daytime temps are supposed to last until the weekend. This unrelenting heat makes us feel like eating fresh, light meals like the Vietnamese Banh Mi steak sandwiches that we made a few nights ago. The three primary elements of these sandwiches – cool pickled vegetables, grilled steak with an amazing citrus-y marinade, and a spicy Siracha mayo – offer the perfect amount of crunch, flavor, and heat, and the end result is an absolutely delicious steak sandwich with a definite Asian flair. YUM!

If you’re planning on making this recipe, leave at least 30 minutes to marinade the steak and allow the matchstick-sliced carrots and daikon radishes to pickle. We had trouble finding a daikon radish (we should have just gone to the produce market rather than a big grocery store!) so we used standard red radishes. To slice our carrots into nice, uniform matchsticks we used a kinpira (aka julienne cutter). The round red radishes were harder to slice with the handheld kinpira so we ended up using the matchstick blade on our mandoline which worked well.

Vietnamese Banh Mi Steak Sandwich

For the Steak… (Marinade recipe from NYT’s Diner’s Journal)
1/2 cup Fish Sauce
1 tablespoon packed Lime Zest
1/3 cup Lime Juice (from 3 limes)
2 tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Jalapeño Pepper, minced (seeds and veins removed)
1 1/2 – 2 lbs. Flank Steak (you’ll have some extra steak left over; we ate it another night for dinner)

For the Do Chua Pickled Carrots and Radishes… (Recipe from A Lovin’ Forkful)
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoons Salt
1/8 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 cup Matchstick-sliced Carrots
1/2 cup Matchstick-sliced Daikon Radish (we couldn’t find daikon on short notice so used regular radishes)

For the Sriracha Mayo… (also from A Lovin’ Forkful)
4 tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha
(Just use roughly an 8:1 ratio… adjust to taste!)

Other Ingredients…
1 English Cucumber, thinly sliced
2 Soft Baguettes or Sandwich Rolls, sliced in half lengthwise
Cilantro, to garnish

Directions:
The steak needs to marinade so start this part of recipe ahead of time. To make the marinade, combine the first six ingredients (fish sauce thru jalapeño) in a bowl. Place your flank steak in a large resealable bag and pour the marinade over and around the steak. Seal the bag, turn it to coat the steak evenly, then allow the steak to marinade for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight) before cooking.

The pickled carrots and radishes also need some time to soak in their flavors so make these ahead of time, too. Combine the pickling ingredients (water thru red pepper flakes) in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Place the carrots and radishes in a bowl and pour the liquid over the vegetables. Stir well to coat the veggies and arrange them so they are submerged in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or ideally overnight.

When you are ready to make your meal take the steak out of the fridge and allow it to warm up to room temperature. Pat both sides of the steak dry with paper towels, then grill the steak over direct high heat, flipping once, until it reaches your desired level of doneness. (Our cut of steak took about 5 minutes per side for medium/medium-rare.) Once cooked, cover the steak with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Just before serving, thinly slice the steak against the grain.

While the steak cooks and rests, prepare your sriracha mayo by combining the mayonnaise and sriracha sauce. Also, if desired, slightly toast the inside faces of the sliced baguettes on the grill.

To build your Vietnamese Banh Mi Steak Sandwiches, start by spreading a liberal amount of the sriracha mayo on the bottom face of each toasted baguette. Layer the thinly sliced cucumbers on top of the mayo and then arrange a generous amount of the steak over the cucumbers. Use tongs to transfer the drained carrots and radishes over the steak (don’t soak your sandwich with extra pickling liquid) and finish off your sandwich with a garnish of cilantro and the top half of the baguette. Serve with a cold, light beer and enjoy!

15Jul2012

Mexican Tortas with Chorizo and Black Beans

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

This recipe for tasty tortas comes from our Mexican Everyday cookbook by Rick Bayless. A torta is a Mexican-sandwich that features a smear of mashed beans and a wide variety of toppings including cheese, lettuce, sour cream, or salsa. For these tortas we garnished our sandwiches with Queso Fresco, avocado, and Cholula hot sauce. The resulting tortas contained the perfect combination of warm beans, spicy chorizo, and savory cheese and avocado, all nestled between golden-brown pieces of crusty bread.

Tortas de Chorizo y Frijoles Negros (from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless)

You will need…
8 oz. Chorizo Sausage, removed from casing
Olive Oil
2 – 15 oz. cans Black Beans, undrained
Salt, to taste
2-3 Crusty Rolls, approx. 6 inches long (we used a French Baguette and cut it into three 6″ sections)
6 oz. Queso Fresco cheese, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 ripe Avocado, cut into 1/2 inch slices
Cholula Hot Sauce, or other bottled sauce or hot salsa

Directions:
Brown the chorizo and break it up in a large skillet over medium heat. After the chorizo is completely cooked through, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the black beans. Bring the beans to a simmer and mash them with the back of a large spoon. (You can also use a bean masher or potato masher if you have one but the spoon worked fine for us.) Continue to cook the bean mixture, stirring almost constantly, for about 10 minutes. Taste the mixture and add salt if needed. Cover the beans and leave on the stove over low heat.

Meanwhile, slice each roll in half lengthwise. Use your fingers to pull out some of the soft bread in the center to make room for the bean mixture. Use a spoon or brush to spread approximately 2 tablespoons of olive oil onto the inside faces of each roll. Place the rolls face-down on a preheated heavy-bottomed skillet and toast the bread until it turns golden brown. We had to do this in batches since only one roll could fit in our skillet. Press the rolls down as they cook so that they toast evenly.

To assemble your torta, spread a liberal amount of the chorizo-bean mixture along the bottom half of each roll. Top with the sliced queso fresco and avocados, then add a few drops (or many drops… your choice!) of hot sauce. Cut the torta in half and enjoy!

31May2012

Veggie Wraps with Feta, Hummus and Basil

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Matt and I live about five minutes from work which means that we are able to drive home in the middle of the day to visit Bailey and eat lunch together. Usually we eat leftovers, lean cuisine pizzas, or lean pockets (my fav is the grilled chicken jalapeno cheddar!) but this week we decided to plan ahead and actually prep food on Monday that we could enjoy all week. The minimal amount of prep work at the beginning of the week was well worth it and we happily assembled and ate our fresh veggie wraps with feta, hummus, and basil on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

These wraps were inspired by Cosi‘s Hummus and Veggie Sandwich and Panera‘s Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich. We made a few changes including using soft, pliable flatbread from The Fresh Market and adding our favorite types of hummus. (I prefer Trader Joe’s Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus and Matt likes TJ’s Mediterranean Hummus.) The resulting sandwiches are flavorful, colorful, and just messy enough to give you an excuse to lick the excess hummus and melted feta off of your fingers when you’re done eating. 🙂

Veggie Wraps with Feta, Hummus and Basil (makes 6 sandwiches)

You will need…
6 pieces Flatbread or flexible, fresh pita bread
Approx. 1 cup reduced fat Feta Cheese, crumbled
Approx. 1 cup of your favorite hummus
1 Red Onion, thinly sliced into rounds and cut in half
1 Cucumber, thinly sliced on a diagonal and then cut into strips
1 Red Pepper, thinly sliced into long pieces
Handful of Basil Leaves, thinly sliced

Directions:
Place one flatbread on a microwave-safe plate and sprinkle with feta cheese. Microwave on high for 30 seconds to warm up the bread and slightly melt the cheese. Top the cheese with 2-3 spoonfuls of hummus and gently spread the hummus over the cheese with the back of the spoon. Top with sliced onion, cucumber, pepper, basil and a spoonful of feta. To eat your veggie wrap, fold up the edges of the flatbread taco-style and enjoy!

What do you eat for lunch during the work week? Please share! 🙂

13Mar2012

Sausage, Pepper and Onion Sandwiches

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Last night we bought an 8 pack of sandwich buns since we needed rolls for our yummy salmon burgers. We knew that we’d have lots of rolls left over so we planned another sandwich-centric meal for tonight with some of my favorite grilled ingredients: sausage, peppers, and onions! It was still 70 degrees at dinnertime so we built a fire in our fire pit and spent the evening sitting out on the patio.

Sausage, Pepper and Onion Sandwiches

You will need…
1 Red Pepper, cut into thin strips
1 Yellow onion, cut into thin strips
Olive Oil
2 Sausages (Matt had Kielbasa, I had Hot Italian Sausage)
4 Sandwich Buns, sliced in half lengthwise

Directions:
Place the red pepper and yellow onion on a bowl together and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Transfer the peppers and onions to a grill pan and place on a preheated grill. Cook for approximately 10 minutes until the peppers and onions are tender. When we cook peppers and onions (or any small veggies that benefit from a good “toss” as they grill) we use a stainless steel Grill Chef’s Pan with a removable handle.

Uncooked Peppers and Onions in the Chef's Grill Pan

While the veggies cook, place the two sausages on the grill. If you have the ability to control the heat on the sausage side of the grill, increase it to high heat (but leave the veggies at medium). Cook the sausages over high heat for approx. 6 minutes per side (or longer if you’re using medium heat).

Sausage, Peppers and Onions Grilling

If desired, lightly toast the buns on the grill by placing them cut face down over medium heat. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!

In order to fit the sausages neatly on our round sandwich buns, we sliced the cooked sausages in half and then sliced each piece lengthwise. Place the sausage on the buns and top with grilled pepper and onion mixture. Enjoy your completed sandwich while lounging outside by a fire pit if at all possible… it makes it taste even better!