Collard Green Wraps- Who Knew?

As most of you probably did, I spent December in an orgy of cookies and candy and delicious cocktails. I'm not going to lie, it was spectacular. BUT, now it's time to get things back in hand. I decided to do a modified version of a Whole 30 (modified to include the vegetarian options since I just can't stand eating that much meat everyday), which has been great for getting me back into cooking and I've tried a bunch of new recipes.

This one isn't really a recipe so much as a concept. Sandwiches are pretty much off the table for the time being (which is a little rough given that I'm a sucker for a good sandwich, and even have a series of past posts called "The Gallery of Sandwiches", chronicling the best sandwiches I have encountered). Honestly, though, I normally just eat leftovers for lunch so it's not actually any kind of big deal. But, if the craving strikes, this trick is worth a try. I learned it from YJP over at Broccoli is for Lovers.

I have never given collard greens a lot of thought. I've had the Southern side dish version of them and just never liked it. BUT, they are super cheap and have gigantic flat leaves that it turns out are totally perfect for a wrap. The only prep I did was to cut down the spine a little bit, because it's kind of big.

Then, just lay out your ingredients. This was tuna, but it would also be good with the avocado chickpea salad, or really anything else you'd do in a wrap.

(immediately after taking this picture I realized that everything has to be oriented in the same direction for better wrappability, but this was more photogenic)

Then, you know, wrap it!

I will say that one of the perks of these things is that the leaves are really pretty :).

I was surprised at how well this worked- the leaves themselves have a really benign flavor that doesn't have much of an impact on the flavor of the filling, but they also make it taste really light and a little crunchy. It's good I liked it, because my grocery store sold these in ENORMOUS bunches (for  only 59 cents a pound!), so I have wraps for weeks (some of these may become green smoothie fodder). Anyhow, sounds weird, but totally worth a try!

Easy Tomato Soup + Mini Grilled Cheese = The Perfect Lunch

A few weeks ago I heard a lot about some very fancy grilled cheese (shoutout to YJP!). Let me tell you, you can only hear so much before you have to take action. Fortunately I had a day when I worked from home and was in dire need of a delicious lunch.

I wanted soup but didn't have any on hand so had to put it together on the fly with stuff from the pantry. I started out with a medium sized onion which I cut in slices and caramelized- this took about 20 minutes, so I just kept working and stirred occasionally. I also threw in 3-4 cloves of peeled garlic and let them caramelize as well. Once they were all nice and dark brown, I dumped in a large can of crushed tomatoes, and sprinkled in a little oregano and basil, salt and red pepper flakes. I covered it, and then waited until the tomatoes changed from bright to dark red. Once they seemed well cooked, I used the immersion blender and pureed it. 

Next come the sandwiches....

Usually I am a cheddar cheese on wheat bread grilled-cheese purist. However, this day I had a little baguette and muenster cheese, so that's what I used! I sliced the baguette into small pieces. I also sliced up an apple for crunch. After buttering the pieces with earth balance, I put on the muenster and apple, cooked and flipped.

I have to say, I loved the tiny sandwiches. First of all, they were good for portion control, second of all, they were just fun- they'd be especially good for kids. I also loved the quick and dirty soup- I think that even though there were only 3 ingredients (onion, garlic, tomato), caramelizing the onion helped give it a little extra depth, and since the tomatoes were tart it also helped mellow the soup out a little.

Overall, a perfect lunch on a cold day!

Chickpea Avocado Sandwiches... nomnomnom

This is one of these recipes that I have been looking forward to making, and now that I did I can't imagine what I was waiting for. Behold, smashed chickpea and avocado sandwiches, from Two Peas And Their Pod. Basically, this is a really good (vegan) alternative to other salady sandwiches, and even if you don't care about the vegan-ness, the lack of mayo is definitely a plus for a lot of reasons.

This is all you need- a ripe avocado, a can of garbanzo beans, chopped garlic, salt, pepper, juice of half a lemon/lime. Now, you're going to want to rinse and drain the beans really well. I also tried to rub them around between two paper towels, and get as many of the skins off as possible (similarly to when I roasted them).

Now, just mash it all together! You want a variety of sizes of bean pieces.

That is basically all there is to it- just fix it up with your sandwich additions of choice (here, arugula and red pepper strips). If you want to save the rest of it, just squeeze the rest of the lemon on it and it should keep the avocado from oxidizing.

I really liked it, I'm sure I'm going to make this again!

The Gallery of Sandwiches: Round 4 "The Combo"

I have previously posted about various epic sandwiches that I've encountered. Some were old favorites, some were touristy must-haves, but this one is a little different.

I have been driving past this sign for something like 9 years, now.

It was really the "Home of the Combo" that got me. First of all, I thought maybe they were claiming to be the first place to have the standard drink/fries/burger combo, which seemed hilarious somehow, like it was a thing that had had to be invented. Like this tiny place was battling all the fast food joints, by still laying claim to it. Then, I kept imagining all the many and wondrous things that The Combo might include.

Every morning and evening I would drive past and sometimes there would really be quite a line at Marty's, so I got more and more curious. I kind of liked the idea of not knowing what "The Combo" was, though, so I avoided googling it or looking on yelp, or trying to learn about it at all. I avoided it, because I had a dream. A dream in which I would just walk up, with no idea what it was, and just order The Combo.

Unfortunately, as indicated by the Vienna Beef sign, and the burger-shack-like vibe, this dream was bound to involve some kind of mysterious meat concoction. And even more unfortunately, as wonderful as they are, a huge percent of my local friends during this period of mystery were vegetarians, so recruiting someone adventurous enough to head over and just eat whatever Marty's was ready to dish out was tough. So, for years I remained thwarted, because really, that's the kind of adventure for which you need a partner in crime.

Fortunately, I met Feeesh. I told him about the mystery of Marty's, and like with most things, he was totally game. It took us a long time to get around it, but finally, today, out of the blue as we were pondering lunch, he asked "Hey, you wanna try The Combo". At which point I almost jumped out of my chair bouncing with excitement, and off we went.

Just like in my dream, we walked up, and just ordered The Combo... behold...

Turns out, The Combo is a hamburger (made of beef freshly ground by them each day), topped with standard burger toppings, plus a sliced up hotdog! (and, for the truly brave, it can include chili. We decided to experience The Combo in its pure non-chili form, since we were newbies. Also, because we didn't want to have heart attacks on the spot). I don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it... which obviously makes the whole thing even more awesome.

The Combo is not for the faint of heart, I ate it 7 hours ago, and have no inclination whatsoever for any kind of dinner. But, the burger was delicious, and freshly grilled right in front of you, the hotdog was delicious... all in all, mmmm. (in addition, even though I didn't test its powers in this regards myself, I would suspect that this might be one of the highest forms of hangover food).

Now that I've gone, I let myself look up Marty's on Yelp  and apparently it has been there for years. If you're local and craving a fresh burger, it may be worth a shot- they also have an assortment of other things, including turkey burgers, but we stuck to our Combo guns, so I can't vouch for the rest...

All in all, quite a dream-satisfying weekend lunch.

The Gallery of Sandwiches: Round 3

OK, next in line is the sandwich of my childhood.

This is decadent, and terrible for you, and oh so very delicious. Where does it come from? Point Loma Seafoods, which is first and foremost a fish market, but in addition to having every kind of extremely fresh fish (they are actually directly attached to the fishing docks), they have ridiculously good food. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing to go for is this, the classic fish sandwich. Here is whats in there... fresh fresh fish, breaded and fried (mmm... fried), put on super fresh fresh soft sourdough bread, and slathered with deliciously decadent tarter sauce. (if you're getting one, you should get it 'sloppy' with extra sauce. I mean, by by the time you're eating something deep fried, what are you clinging to- go ahead and have the sauce ;-).

And, here is the glamor shot:


The other perk is that while you eat, you get to sit and watch the boats... ah, so scenic!

The Gallery of Sandwiches: Round 2

Ok, this would be sandwiches, the West Coast edition.

Having posted on the Primanti Brothers and their french fry filled insanity, I feel the need to represent the sandwich that lies closest to my heart. A sandwich I crave, would wait in traffic, or a ridiculously long line on a Saturday at lunchtime for. These are the kind of sandwiches people get homesick for after they leave LA. So- where does it come from? Bay Cities Deli... mmmmmmmmm... a Santa Monica institution.

Now, I could wax poetic about these sandwiches for quite some time, but I'll try to restrain myself. Basically, the excellence starts with really awesome ingredients (mmmm, pepper turkey and soft fresh muenster). Then, they add a bunch of mysterious stuff. I don't know what it is, exactly, which is why the only way for me to order it is with "the works". There is mustard. There is vinegar. There is some kind of crack-filled hot pepper salsa/relish stuff. It is a messy, messy situation. Fortunately, they know it. Therefore, they have encapsulated all of this goodness into this amazing crusty fresh bread. The bread might be a bit too tough for any other kind of sandwich, but for this, for this it is perfect. It is, I do believe, the best sandwich ever.

(disclaimer, this photo was blatantly stolen from my friend Valerie, who is one of those poor souls who, having moved away from LA, must pine for Bay Cities from afar).

The Gallery of Sandwiches: Round 1

Recently, in between meetings and looking at dinosaurs, I had what may be the largest and most extreme sandwich I have ever encountered.

Where did this all happen? At a Pittsburgh establishment, Primanti Brothers. As you can see here, its a pretty small place, and you can watch as they make everything...

And then, they deliver this very tall sandwich, on very soft bread...

But, I really think you should see the cross-section to fully appreciate the situation...
What is that in there, you ask? That would be french fries and cole slaw. Yup. A combo which turned out to be both a little intense and very delicious. Pretty much everything you'd want from an epic sandwich.