Sandwiches | Hip Foodie Mom

Helping Eggplant Make a Comeback with an Eggplant Caprese Sandwich!

I’m not completely sure why but until recently, I have never eaten a lot of eggplant. But now that I know how to eat eggplant and experience its full potential, I’ve become a big fan. Eggplants’ bitter flavor and spongy texture taste best when grilled or broiled, and eggplant can be added to sauces or roasted vegetable mixtures. I recently made an Eggplant and Pasta Incaciata, which was absolutely delicious! I definitely definitely recommend this recipe for anyone who is up for it because it does take some time. But believe me, you won’t be disappointed.

But for a weeknight meal when you don’t have a lot of time and want to throw something together relatively quickly, try this Eggplant Caprese Sandwich. I call it a sandwich, well, more of an open-faced sandwich simply because it’s served on slice of toasted bread. If you want something lighter, simply omit the bread and go for it. Leave everything else the same though – if you can- because the breaded, broiled eggplant with the melted, gooey mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce, tomatoes and basil is heaven. So. Good.

Eggplant lovers out there, I really hope you give this recipe a try. . maybe even on a Meatless Monday? Definitely pin this one for later. You won’t regret it. I hope you enjoy!

And something I just learned. Eggplant is a fruit. And smaller, immature eggplants are best. Their seeds will be softer, and they are less likely to be bitter. Eggplants are very perishable and get bitter with age. They should have firm, taut, smooth and shiny skins. Once the skin starts to wrinkle or you feel and see soft brown spots, the quality of the eggplant has lessened. Large, oversize eggplants may be tough, seedy and bitter. Hope this helps when you’re picking out your eggplant!

Helping Eggplant Make a Comeback with an Eggplant Caprese Sandwich!

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

Author: Hip Foodie Mom

Recipe type: Main

Serves: 4

Ingredients

⅓ cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1- 2 medium to small sized eggplant, cut crosswise into 8 (1/2-inch-thick) slices
kosher salt
Cooking spray
1-2 cups marinara sauce (any kind); depending on how much sauce you want
4 slices of your favorite bread, toasted (I used rosemary bread)
extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tomatoes, sliced
fresh basil leaves; torn (using your fingers)
about 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat broiler to high.
Set up dredging station: Place flour in a shallow dish. Place eggs in another dish and the panko in another. Sprinkle each eggplant slice evenly with salt on both sides. Dredge both sides of the eggplant slices in the flour; then the egg, and lastly in the panko. Place the breaded eggplant slices on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray or on a prepared non-stick baking sheet. Broil the eggplant for 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Transfer eggplant slices to a plate.
Place marinara in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes or until hot; keep warm.
Place your toasted bread slices on the baking sheet; lightly drizzle a little olive oil on each toast and top each slice with a little of the marinara sauce. Place 1 eggplant slice on each toast and then top the eggplant with 1 basil leaf, a slice of mozzarella cheese, a couple tomato slices and then finish with the remaining slice of eggplant (you’ll have 2 slices of eggplant per sandwich).
Broil the eggplant stacks for about 3 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned, melting and bubbly. Spoon some marinara over each serving. Top with remaining torn basil leaves and season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

Ham and Cheese Sliders for Super Bowl Sunday

Some of you have seen these sliders before. I made these about a month ago and they blew my mind. Oh so good.

I had to bring these back to you today for the big game day. These sliders are probably nowhere near healthy but I don’t know any Super Bowl game day foods or appetizers that are, if you don’t count raw veggies and fruit. Plus, it’s the freaking Super Bowl. Eat what you want and enjoy it.

I used to follow football. I mean, I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. Texas. Where you come out of your mother’s womb, are cleaned off, swaddled and then shown how to throw a football.

After college, I watched and actually played a lot. I wasn’t very good or fast but I can throw a mean spiral pass. Don’t let my 5 ft 2″ frame fool you. While living in CA, I really got into college football (how can you not?) and now, I actually prefer to watch basketball over football.

But I love watching the Super Bowl.

Not so much for the actual game but for the commercials. I used to work in advertising and would love to see all of the new commercials that would air on game day. For TV, each spot costs millions of dollars just for the spot and air time. This does not include the cost to produce the TV spot. And online, brands will pay hundred of thousands of dollars for homepage takeovers. These are the main banner ad units on the homepage of portals, like Yahoo, for Super Bowl Sunday. Companies are paying nearly $4 million for one 30-second Super Bowl ad this year. Insane. But I can’t wait to see them.

Wonderful Pistachios hired PSY (Gangnam Style) for their commercial. I am definitely tuning in to watch this one. And Beyonce is doing the halftime show. ‘Nuff said.

The thing I love most about the Super Bowl: everyone is happy. The guys are watching the game, drinking beer, eating sliders and nachos and grunting. The women are also watching the game, and eating, gabbing and drinking and the kids are running around like wild. Like I said, everyone is happy.

Now, unless you are reading this early in the morning or you are really motivated, you are not going to be able to make these sliders for today (unless you already have all of the ingredients at home) but whip these babies up for any game day and everyone will be happy. The slight sweetness + the cheesey-ness + the ham = heaven.

So, the big question: Ravens or the 49’ers? I don’t know about you but I’m hoping San Francisco brings it home today baby.

Are you ready for some football?

I hope you enjoy!

Ham and Cheese Sliders

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

If the mayo seems like too much, you can try omitting it. My sister-in-law did this and they still tasted great.

Author: Hip Foodie Mom

Recipe type: Appetizer

Serves: 16 sliders

Ingredients

16 Kings Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls, cut in half
24 slices honey-roasted ham
16 slices swiss or gruyere cheese
¼ cup mayonnaise (regular or fat free)
1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
¼ cup brown sugar
Special equipment needed: casserole dish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°.
On a rimmed baking sheet or casserole dish, place the bottom half of dinner rolls and top with 1½ slices of ham and the cheese.
Spread about 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise on each TOP-half of the outside TOP roll and place on top of the ham and cheese. (this is helping to create the delicious topping that coats these sliders’ rolls). Place the rolls snugly together in your casserole dish.
In a separate small bowl combine the mustard, melted butter, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, and brown sugar. Mix until well combined and evenly pour or spread over the assembled rolls.
Cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Bake covered with foil for 10 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the tops are browned, and cheese is nice and melted.

Recipe adapted from Food.com.

Confessions and a Damn Good Hoisin Flavored Meatball Sandwich.

So, I have Asian food on the brain. I can’t get enough of it. It probably doesn’t help that I watch cooking shows on TV up until the very minute that I fall asleep. Yes, I am one of those people. Or at least I have been over the past few weeks.

Currently, my favorite late night Cooking Channel TV show is Eat Street. As you might have guessed, if you haven’t seen this show before, this show focuses on food trucks or what we now call curbside dining and they show you the BEST street food out there, all over North America. I just read this blurb about James Cunningham, the host of the show: ”Comedian James Cunningham absolutely loves eating, but cannot cook to save his life. So he’s thrilled with his latest gig as the host of Eat St.”

WHAT? He can’t cook?! What do I need to do to remove this guy and take this awesome job?

Just kidding.

So, maybe it was an episode of Eat Street that I was dreaming about or maybe it’s because I saw this yesterday and was inspired to make a meatball sandwich. Whatever the reason, this glorious sandwich came into my life today. And it was amazing.

SO SO delicious.

We must talk about the meatballs for a second. I cannot take credit for these juicy, flavorful, balls of deliciousness. I got the recipe from Damn Delicious and Chung-Ah was gracious enough to let me re-publish it here. And I have a small, tiny confession. This was like the second or third time – ever- that I made meatballs from scratch all by myself. I know!!! I know!!!

I don’t know about you, but I am kinda hooked on the All Natural Teriyaki Pineapple Chicken Meatballs by Aidells (that you can get at pretty much any Costco) + my kids love them. So, because I usually always have a pack of these in my freezer, I’ve never really felt the need to make my own meatballs. I think I maybe might have made meatballs with my mom once or twice when I was a kid. My memory sucks. And I did make meatballs once with my daughter Phoebe maybe a year ago? But now that I’ve made these and they are seriously so easy and simple to make, something tells me we won’t be buying Aidells as frequently as we used to.

I used ground beef this time (for the Hubs) but will definitely try ground turkey next time. And you can eat these plain or in this sandwich. . whatever you prefer. But, let me tell you, this sandwich seriously rocks the house.

And, last confession: I didn’t like Sriracha sauce until recently. I know!!! My husband loves the stuff and anytime we eat anything Asian-ish (not Korean, but Asian food), he squeezes that stuff all over the dish. Kinda drives me crazy. But for this sandwich, you need the Rooster Sauce baby. No need to go crazy. You just need a little with some drizzled honey over the sandwich. Your mouth will thank you later.

OK, I lied, here is one last confession: I don’t like Tabasco sauce. NEVER USE THE STUFF. Never.

I hope you’ve enjoyed!

Hoisin Flavored Meatball Sandwich.

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

This recipe should make about 15-18 meatballs. I used 3 meatballs in each sandwich.

Author: Hip Foodie Mom (meatball recipe from Damn Delicious)

Recipe type: Main or Appetizer

Cuisine: Asian

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
½ cup Panko
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 large egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, diced

For the Hoisin sauce:

¼ cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ground ginger

For the veggies:

about 2 cups shredded carrots
about 2 cups shredded cabbage
4 tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup – 1 cup brown rice vinegar
½ teaspoon salt

For the sandwiches:

5 hot dog buns or long rolls
Fresh cilantro
sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
Sriracha sauce
Honey; to drizzle over your sandwich

Instructions

For the Meatballs:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a lined baking sheet with parchment paper, foil or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef with all the rest of the ingredients for the meatballs. Using your hands (with plastic kitchen gloves) or a mixing spoon, mix until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1¼-to-1½-inch meatballs, forming about 15-18 meatballs.
Place the meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 15-17 minutes, or until all sides are browned and meatballs are cooked through.

To make the hoisin sauce:

Simply whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

To prepare the veggies:

After you have shredded your veggies, set aside in two separate bowls. Combine the sugar, vinegar and salt in a small mixing bowl and mix well. Taste and add more sugar or vinegar if needed. Pour half the vinegar mixture over the carrots, and the other half over the cabbage. Toss well to coat.

To prepare your sandwich:

Toast your buns and open them on a plate. Lay in 3 meatballs and spoon on the hoisin sauce over the meatballs. Top with the shredded cabbage and carrots. Top with fresh cilantro and sprinkle on some sesame seeds if desired. Lastly, drizzle on your Sriracha sauce and a little honey (for a sweet kick).

Crazy Delicious Ham and Cheese Sliders.

Hello Friends!

Happy 2013! Woot woot!! I’m getting caught up here on some delicious food I had over the holidays.

Two things:

1) I should have posted this recipe before Jan. 1st because now most people are vowing to eat healthy and lose weight. . and these are far from being healthy

2) HOWEVER, these sliders are freaking delicious so if you have leftover HAM, you need to take a moment to look at this recipe

These sliders are the perfect combination of sweet, tangy, meaty and cheesy. They are seriously delicious. And dangerous.

BUT

These need to be shared. .

So, when you’re watching the NFL Playoffs . . you need to cook these up for your husband, boyfriend, significant other, girlfriends, neighbors, cousins, friends. You get the idea. Or hell, you need to break these out for the Super Bowl. Word.

Big thanks to my friend Jennifer Pham, who made these for me and my family while we were in Dallas. We were all blown away and proceeded to make these again when we got home. Jen had the brilliant idea of using King’s Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls for this. Freaking genius.

I hope you enjoy!

Crazy Delicious Ham and Cheese Sliders.

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Hip Foodie Mom

Recipe type: Appetizer or Meal

Serves: 16 sliders

Ingredients

16 Kings Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls, cut in half
24 slices honey-roasted ham
16 slices swiss or gruyere cheese
¼ cup mayonnaise
1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
¼ cup brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°.
On a rimmed baking sheet or casserole dish, place the bottom half of dinner rolls and top with 1½ slices of ham and the cheese.
Spread about 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise on each TOP-half of the outside TOP roll and place on top of the ham and cheese. (this is helping to create the delicious topping that coats these sliders’ rolls). Place the rolls snugly together in your casserole dish.
In a separate small bowl combine the mustard, melted butter, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, and brown sugar. Mix until well combined and evenly pour or spread over the assembled rolls.
Cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Bake covered with foil for 10 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the tops are browned, and cheese is nice and melted.

Recipe adapted from Food.com.

In case you needed another shot to entice you . .

Beef, Broccoli Rabe and Provolone Sandwich

If you read my blog, you know that my family and I are meat eaters. . and we absolutely love steak. I probably dedicated 4-5 posts alone on this freakin’ awesome marinade. Needless to say, we use this marinade a lot and grill a lot. We always seem to have leftovers that we eat by itself or with brown rice (my kids) . . we threw some leftover steak into a stromboli once which was freaking HEAVEN.

So, you guessed it. We had leftover steak and I made this the same day I was making soup, so I had to have a sandwich. I couldn’t find our panini press so just toasted the bread slices and threw the sandwich together. . hence my not smushed, panini-like sandwich. Definitely will have to find that thing and dust it off again to make this sandwich again. The Hubs devoured this sandwich in under 2-3 minutes. Like literally, I feel like I turned around for a second and then it was gone. Damn, it was that good. He must have not noticed the broccoli rabe I snuck in there. I rock.

I hope you enjoy!

Beef, Broccoli Rabe and Provolone Sandwich

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Hip Foodie Mom

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Sandwich

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 pound broccoli rabe, trimmed and chopped
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt and pepper
6-8 slices of provolone cheese
6-8 slices bread or rolls
1½ pounds sliced leftover beef tenderloin or deli roast beef
¼ cup sliced roasted red bell peppers
Dijon mustard

Instructions

Preheat a panini press or griddle. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until bright green, about 3 minutes. Drain well.
In a large skillet, heat the ¼ cup of oil. Add the minced garlic, anchovy paste and crushed red pepper (if using) and cook over moderately high heat for 10 seconds. Add the broccoli rabe and season with salt and pepper (if desired). Cover and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli rabe is tender, about 5 minutes.
Layer 2 slices of provolone on the bottom of each slice of bread. Slather on some dijon mustard. Top with the broccoli rabe, beef, bell peppers and the remaining provolone. Close the sandwich and brush lightly with oil. Grill the sandwiches until toasted and the cheese is melted, about 7 minutes. Serve hot.

Recipe adapted from Food and Wine.