Shooter's Sandwich

Behold: the unassuming wheel of wonder aka shooter's sandwich

Illustrious cast: mushrooms, shallots, garlic, bacon, parsley, mustard, white wine, bread bowl, chicken breast

 Preparing duxelles: finely minced mushroom, shallots, garlic, low heat to evaporate water

 Add wine and reduce

 Chop and add parsley, thyme

 Start some bacon slices

 Hollow your breadbowl.

Line the bottom with half your duxelles, some mustard, and your bacon.

 Pan fry your chicken. Butterfly it for even, fast cooking.

 First and only flip

 Jam it in the bowl.

 Cover with remaining duxelles and more mustard.

 Can you spot the sandwich? Set for an hour.

Really, really, good.

Really fun recipe! Dumping stuff directly from the pan into the bread bowl felt strangely cooperative; I was suddenly involved in a ritual as a supporting cast member. It also reduced the number of dishes I had to use, down to zero.

I used a food processor for the duxelles.

Not sure what I'm going to do with the insides of the breadbowl. 

This is traditionally made with a beef steak and prosciutto. Chicken and bacon is my rookie adaptation.
When panfrying bacon, start with your slices on a cold pan, increase the heat gradually. 

I panfried the chicken in the bacon drippings to shorten cleanup.

Pickled Onions

My new secret weapon.

I have never eaten at Frontera Grill, and frankly, it makes me a little nervous. It's impossible to get in. I called this week hoping for a reservation in December. Every single weekend is booked until mid-February, 2012.

So, for the last six years, I've gotten by in my Rick Bayless-less life by deeming the hoopla completely ridiculous, and breezing into and through much less famous Mexican eateries in town. Until Evan came home from work a few weeks ago and told me about a Rick Bayless outpost in the food court at Macy's.

Food court? Like fast food? Kind of. But not. And, according to Evan, crazy-worthy-of-obsession good.

On my first visit to Frontera Fresco, I ordered carnitas. The pork was tender, the corn tortillas were freakily soft, but the single element that made me stand up and cheer was a hot pink tangle of pickled onion tucked in with the pork. Vinegary, like a sweet relish, it was just perfect.

Perfect and EASY. Here's what you do. Slice up a red onion into paper-thin rings. Pour over 1/2 cup of either red wine vinegar or cider vinegar. Add a few pinches of sugar and salt. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, turning occasionally.

The onions will shrink slightly and soften while you get the rest of dinner ready, and then you're all set. It keeps in the fridge for a nice long while. 

(Evan knows the secret to a happy marriage which means getting his and hers guacamole from Chipotle.)

Quinoa with Cucumber, Mozzarella, and Tomatoes

Meet my new best friend: quinoa (keen-wah). With being gluten free, I have found that quinoa is one of the best alternatives to anything. It's packed with tons of protein and fiber which allows you to feel full and helps the digestive system too.

I used to think it looked weird (well, it still does) but after this recipe, I began to live off of quinoa. It's a spin off of couscous, but probably way better for you.

I used:

1 cup quinoa per 1.25 cup water

mozzarella

cucumbers

roma tomatoes

red onion (optional)

two tsp canola oil (the healthiest oil for you!)

juice from one lemon (I used pure lemon juice..too lazy)

salt and pepper

1. You want to cook the quinoa as you would rice: soak it for about 15 minutes; drain and rinse.

2. The ratio of quinoa to water should be 1:1.25, place on stove, bring to a boil; lower heat to simmer and cover. Let cook about 20 minutes.

3. While the quinoa simmers, dice the tomatoes, mozzarella, cucumbers.

4. The quinoa is ready when it has absorbed all the water. At this point, I added the oil and lemon juice and stirred it around. I combined all ingredients and added salt and pepper according to taste.

I like it both cold and warm. I usually eat it as dinner once the quinoa is ready, and then the next day I treat it as a salad.

Enjoy!