A twist on a classic childhood lunch :)

I have to thank my friend Marvin for the inspiration behind this sandwich. Before I went to bed last night I checked my facebook and saw that Marvin made a status about his craving for grilled cheese. I immediately wanted a grilled cheese. I had already taken out some flank steak to defrost for dinner tonight so I knew making grilled cheese for dinner tonight was not an option: or was it? :) I decided to combine the flank steak and a grilled cheese.

Flank steak, onion and pepper grilled cheese
2 sandwiches

1/2 pound of flank steak
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon adobo seasoning
2 gloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon of garlic salt
4 slices of your favorite bread (I used honey wheat because it is all Sarah and I had on hand but I recommend using rye bread)
2 slices of colby jack cheese
1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
mayo (as much as you like to put on your sandwiches)
1 cup of chopped onions
1/4 cup of chopped red pepper
1 large potato
2 tablespoons of canola oil
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1. Marinate the chopped onions and chopped red pepper with 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of garlic salt and 2 tablespoons of canola oil- set aside for about 5-7 minutes
2. Marinate the flank steak with the minced garlic, the remainder of the black pepper, adobo, crushed red pepper flakes and olive oil.- set aside for a few minutes
3. Cut the potato into steak fries (a little thicker than regular fries)
4. Put the flank steak on the grill on high heat for about 4-5 minutes on each side (medium, but you can cook it a little longer on each side if you want it cooked more)
5. While the steak is cooking on the grill saute the onions and red pepper on medium heat until both have softened (about 10 minutes) make sure you stir them so they do not burn.
6. Spread the mayo on the 4 slices of bread and place a piece of colby jack cheese on 2 of the slices.
7. Once the onions and peppers have finished cooking scoop them evenly on top of the pieces of bread that have cheese on them.
8. When the flank steak has finished cooking slice it into strips and place the strips on top of the onions and peppers.
9. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the steak and close the sandwich with the other piece of bread.
10. In a warm skillet, add a teaspoon of margarine and let it melt. Once it has melted put a sandwich in the skillet to grill (like a grilled cheese) for about 1-2 minutes on each side.

Fries:
Heat up some oil in a skillet on medium heat. Put the fries in the oil and fry just like you would regular french fries. Once they're done season them however you like. I just added a littttttllleeee salt and pepper.

I ate half of my sandwich and I was full... but I decided that it was too good to not eat the rest of it. Needless to say.. I'm stuffed. Let me know what you think if you decide to try making it! :)

Happy eating!

Coffee cake for my hunny :)

So my boyfriend lives in Virginia.. and I live in Florida.. I feel the need to send him goodies every once in a while since I know he isn't a big baker or cook. He loves coffee cake and the last time I sent him some it was mediocre at best. I had to redeem myself. (as I always do huh babe? ;)) I made a New York style coffee/crumb cake. My boyfriend's request was simple: make it with a lot of crumb topping. I searched on my favorite website Foodgawker.com and came across a starbucks style recipe courtesy of http://fakeginger.com/. At first when I started mixing all the ingredients I thought I was reading things wrong because the recipe called for SO much sugar and flour. But in the end it was one of the best coffee and crumb cakes I've ever had. The only thing I did differently was that I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour. Only because I ran out of white flour. I sent it overnight to the bf and to quote him, "this coffee cake is on point". Mission accomplished.

Here is the recipe:
New York Style Coffee Cake (fakeginger.com)
adapted from Baked Explorations

For the crumb topping:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For the cake:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups plain (vanilla or honey flavor work too) yogurt 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass 9×13 pan. (I used a regular 9x13 metal cake pan and it was just fine)You can use a metal pan, but the edges may get a bit crispy.

To make the crumb topping, mix both sugars, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and whisk until combined. Fold in the flour until it is absorbed. Spread out a large sheet of parchment paper on the counter and spread this mixture out on the parchment paper to dry while you make the cake mixture.

To make the cake, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter until it is smooth and ribbon-like  in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Scrape the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds. Add the yogurt and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, scraping down the bowl before each addition, beating only until it is just incorporated.

To assemble the cake, pour the batter in the prepared pan. Use your hands to scoop up a handful of the topping and make a fist. The topping should hold together. Break off in chunks and drop them over the cake. Repeat to use all the topping. Remember, the topping layer will look very thick.
Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Rotate the pan two times during the baking process. Cool the entire pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy :)

Cake pops: finished product

Here are the finished cake pops. They are kind of hard to see. I have to perfect my food photography skills. Still working on that. :)

Sarah's Birthday treat!

Alright, so I realize this post is really delayed. But considering I don't have too many followers yet I didn't think I was disappointing anyone. In my last post I indicated that I would be posting about cake pops and chicken and waffles. I have yet to make the latter.  I will, I promise. The cake pops proved a little more difficult only because I had a really hard time getting the colors right. I wanted Garnet and Gold cake pops since my room mate loves FSU and it was her birthday cake. I initially had yellow and pink cake made. So then I did a few things to try to fix it and this is what happened:

Success :) Garnet and Gold cake pops. Pre-decorating of course. To do this here is the best course of action to obtain best results:

Ingredients:
1 baking sheet lined with parchment paper
1 tablespoon measuring spoon
1 bag of white candy melts
1 tube of garnet sugar sprinkles
1 tube of gold sugar sprinkles
lollipop sticks

1 box of white cake mix and all ingredients required to make it as instructed on the box
Yellow icing color (I got this one at michaels)
1 tub of white frosting

1 box of red velvet cake mix
"Hershey's perfectly chocolate frosting"
recipe as follows:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting

1. Mix all the ingredients for the white cake.
2. Take a toothpick or a butter knife and simply dip it into the yellow icing color and then dip it into the cake mix.
3. Mix it together. If needed add more color. There is no need to use a lot of color because a little goes a very longgggg way. Just mix it in and if it is not the color you want dip again and add a little more.
4. Mix the red velvet cake as instructed on the box. (in separate bowl)
5. Bake both cakes as instructed on the box.
Let the cakes COOL COMPLETELY.
6. Once both cakes have cooled completely.. crumble the cakes into separate bowls and set aside.
7. Dip a toothpick or a butter knife into the yellow coloring and then dip the same knife into the white frosting. Add more yellow if necessary to get to the golden color.
8. Add about half of the tub of frosting to the crumbled gold cake and mix thoroughly. You can add more if needed. The way to know if you have enough frosting is by simply picking up a spoonful of cake and rolling it into a ball. If it forms a nice perfect ball, you've added enough. If not, add a tablespoon at a time.
9. Repeat step 8 with the red velvet cake and the chocolate frosting.
10. Refrigerate both mixtures for at least 30 minutes.
11. Once chilled take a tablespoon and start scooping up cake a tablespoon at a time. Roll each tablespoon into a ball and set on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
12. Refrigerate over night.
Next day...
13. Melt the candy melts as instructed on the bag.
14. Take a lollipop stick and dip about a half of an inch into the melted candy.
15. Insert the lollipop in the cake ball. Repeat for all the cake pops.
16. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes
17. Now dip each cake pop into the melted candy. Carefully coat each cake pop. After each coating sprinkle the garnet and gold sprinkles while the candy is still melted. Alternate between the colors so you get an even (or close to even) amount of each color.

Stick the cake pops in a piece of styrofoam to let the cake pops harden. Refrigerate if necessary.

The process is a smidge time consuming. But hopefully you won't hit as many speed bumps as I did. The finished product is the perfect combination of cake and frosting. Even if they don't come out looking how you planned.. They will still be delicious!

pulled pork.

As much as I would love to take credit for this amazing sandwich.. I can't. This sandwich was courtesy of my amazing roomie! She slow cooked a pork picnic for about 4-5 hours in some water, cider vinegar, salt and pepper. After it was cooked she shredded the meat and added Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (the best on the planet).. I added some shredded cheese, onion and mayo (of course). I like that we used regular boring buns because the bread didn't take away from the deliciousness that was the pork. I think any other fancy bread wouldn't have been as good. Good thing we made enough for an army so I can have some for lunch today! It's a super easy "set it and forget it" recipe! If you like a little spice just add a few drops of your favorite hot sauce or some crushed red pepper before cooking it.. I think that added with the sweetness of the BBQ sauce would be killer. :)

I started the FSU themed cake pops last night. I've hit a minor speed bump but have no fear... I will prevail :)

addicted.

So the reason I started a blog was because of a gem of a website I stumbled upon a few months ago. I think it's safe to say I am addicted. If you haven't already been exposed to it you should check out Foodgawker.com. I decided I would one day contribute to the beautiful posts I see on a daily basis. The way to do it was to start a blog. I also thought this would be a good place for family and friends (and strangers) to get recipe ideas. People have asked me for recipes of things I've shared with them and I usually say "I just added a bunch of stuff together". A co-worker once told me that I should start writing things down! But really, who writes anymore? This blog will serve as an archive of original recipes and favorites that I've come across during my many, many years of eating and cooking. And although I am only 23, I have been cooking since I was 8 (yea, it was mac and cheese..so what?). Ask my dad; he can vouch for the fact that I was standing on the counter tops watching him cook at the ripe age of 3. So anyway, I hope this blog isn't totally boring to those that take the time to view it! Things to come this week and possibly next: Slow cooked pulled pork and FSU cake pops. Stay tuned! :)