Patty Melt Goes Upscale

My hubby loves patty melts, and when it comes to the Classic Patty Melt; well he says I outdo everyone.  When I make my recipes, there's one thing I really enjoy doing; outdoing myself!

Let me introduce you to the London Broil Melt; thinly sliced rare London Broil, sharp cheddar, sautéed mushrooms and onions; layered together into a perfect marriage between toasted bread.

 

London Broil Melt

 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 slices of sandwich bread, toasted

3 slices sharp Cheddar cheese (Sargento is the best!)

 8 thin slices of rare London Broil
1/2 cup sautéed mushroom/onion mix

Preparation:

This is a layering preparation.

Preheat oven to 350F; line small baking pan with aluminum foil.

Toasted Bread
Cheese Slice
4 London Broil Slices
Cheese Slice
4 London Broil Slices
Spread out 1/2 cup of vegetable mixture
Cheese Slice
Toasted Bread

Cheese on Toast

Meat and Cheese

Meat, Mushroom/Onion Mix

Place entire sandwich inside baking pan; place in oven for five minutes to allow cheese to melt thoroughly.  Remove sandwich to plate, cut in half and enjoy.

Makes one sandwich.

Note:  While my hubby enjoys a multi-grain bread, I go for potato bread; so, use what appeals to your taste buds.

Mary Cokenour

An Experiment in Pizza Making.

Here's the basis of it; I wanted pizza, didn't want to wait to make dough; it was a Sunday, so the local stores in this town are all closed; and the two pizzerias in town suck big time anyway.  What's a pizza fanatic to do?  Well I could have driven all the way to Moab or Cortez to buy dough, or even get a pizza at one of their local shops.  Nope, I improvised and used this round, extremely flat bread I had in the fridge...a tortilla.  Nothing new you say;nope I've seen "Mexican pizza" advertised in many places, even tried one.  It's basically sauce and cheese baked between two tortillas; simple, fast and easy; I just decided to do my own take on it, as per usual.  Remember, I'm a Pizza Snob, so won't settle for just as is; I even went so far as to make a Mexican pizza into a casserole and folks loved it.

For this pizza, I used a finely shredded mozzarella; wanted it to melt quickly, but not be so gooey that it would act more like cement than a good cheese.  I like using Sargento brand cheeses; they taste so much fresher, and they've got a good variety of, not just mixtures, but the way the cheeses are sliced or shredded.  I used my homemade pasta sauce, since it already had a great infusion of garlic and Italian herbs in it; and the fresh tomatoes I used make it an out of this world sauce.  Sorry, not being humble when it comes to my sauce.  I only used one tortilla; I wanted a pizza, not a stuffed pizza (two layers of dough with toppings/sauce inside), nor a Mexican pizza which, to me, looks like a quesadilla.  I also used a nonstick pizza pan which I preheated in the oven; hot pan and oven ensures a crispy pizza.  The brushing of olive oil let the untopped edges crisp up golden brown; the hot pizza pan allowed the bottom of the tortilla to do the same.  It was a most enjoyable eating experience!!!

So here goes, and whether it is just for you or with another person; or even make it with your children; enjoy!

Tortilla Pizza

Tortilla Pizza

Ingredients:

1 (10 – 12 inch) flour tortilla

½ tsp olive oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided in half
½ cup pizza sauce

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450F; place inside a 12 inch nonstick pizza pan to allow it to preheat with the oven.

 

Place tortilla on a plate or board from which it can be easily transferred.  Brush the tortilla with the olive oil; spread half the cheese to within one inch of the edge.  Pour the sauce, starting in the center and work outwards; spread remaining half of cheese over the tortilla.

 

Remove the preheated pizza pan from the oven and carefully transfer the prepped tortilla to its center. 

 

 

 

Place pan back into the oven and bake for seven (7) minutes.  Transfer baked pizza to plate or board to be cut into fourths.

 

Makes 1 pizza (serves 1-2 people)

Mary Cokenour

Meat Butter.

So you read the title of this post and said to yourself, "Say what!?!"  and are wondering what the heck "meat butter" could be.  It just happens to be a nickname that my husband gave to a particular type of meat, namely veal.  Veal is what the meat of a young calf (2-35 days old) is called and used in many dishes such as "marsala", "scallopine", "parmagiana" and many other Italian specialties.  Whether is has already been sliced into thin cutlets, or pounded out (1/4 inch is standard), veal is so delicate that, if cooked correctly, will melt in your mouth like butter...hence "meat butter".  If overcooked, however, don't waste your money, and it is expensive, buying it, just pull the tongues out of some old shoes and cook those up instead.

Making veal parmagiana is very similar to chicken parmagiana with a few differences. Since veal is very delicate in texture and taste, you have to be careful to not overcook it, or to overwhelm it with flavorings, such as homemade pasta sauce. In my recipe, I use just a half cup in the baking dish for the veal to rest on and very little as a topping; it simply doesn't need much. Don't overwhelm the flavor of the veal with cheese either. Sargento came out with a perfect cheese combination of mozzarella and provolone cut into thin slices; just the right size for a 4 ounce portion of veal.

Again, don't overcook the veal and you definitely know you have when it shrinks in size and is tough as shoe leather. Whether you splurge on yourself or your loved one(s), you won't regret trying this dish. Enjoy!

Veal Parmagiana

Ingredients:

Olive oil
4 veal cutlets (4 oz each)
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
½ cup Italian style dried bread crumbs
4 slices mozzarella/provolone slices (Sargento ) or just use 4 slices of either if you cannot find combo.
½ lb angel hair pasta
4 cups homemade pasta sauce

Preparation:

In a large skillet, pour enough oil to reach 1/2 inch; heat on medium-high heat. While oil is heating, beat egg and milk together in a wide bowl; place bread crumbs into separate bowl. Dip cutlets into egg mixture, and then coat both sides with bread crumbs. Oil is ready when a drop of water sizzles in skillet; carefully place breaded veal in skillet. Fry each side for 1 1/2 minutes; drain on paper towels; breading will just be browning…DO NOT OVERCOOK.

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8” x 8” baking dish with nonstick spray and spread 1/2 cup of sauce over bottom. Place fried veal into dish, place 1 slice of cheese over each; spread 2 Tbsp of sauce over each. Bake for 15-20 minutes; sauce will be bubbly and cheese melted. While veal parmagiana is baking, prepare the angel hair pasta by cooking in pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Remove veal from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving with pasta; use remaining sauce for the pasta.

Option: place baked veal on toasted Italian bread to make a sandwich.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour