Fancy Roast Beef Panini

21 Mar

Last time I was visiting Chattanooga, I had an awesome roast beef sandwich. It was probably up there with all the sandwiches I ate in Europe.

I really wanted to recreate it when I got my griddler, but the price of Boursin cheese was an issue. At Publix at least. Publix wants $5.79 for the little ball of cheese.

So yesterday I thought while I was at Trader Joe’s, what if they have it or something like it? Sure enough… $3.79 for it. Love you, Publix, but come on.

In case you’re unfamiliar with Boursin, it’s a mild, creamy cow’s milk cheese. It reminds me of chevre, or goat cheese, but less tangy and all that. It melts down fabulously in a panini.

As for the roast beef, I really love the London Broil in the deli at Publix, half a pound can probably make you 3-4 sandwiches. It’s somewhat pricey but your other option is to buy a London broil, cook it, buy an electric knife, and slice it. So really, since I don’t want these every day for the rest of my life no matter how good it is, I’ll pass.

They also use dijon mustard, and I decided to add arugula, because I love its flavor especially when it’s been heated and wilted a bit.

Other things you could add: tomato, sun dried tomato, olive tapenade. I think these would all be awesome. I have no idea how I would make this vegetarian but to be honest I think dijon, arugula, and Boursin would probably be amazing on a black bean burger. Put that all on a ciabatta bun and press it.

Also in the recipe I will reveal a cool trick I just learned to make paninis without the mess.

Fancy Roast Beef Panini – makes 1
- 2 slices sourdough bread or other good bread that can withstand a good pressing
- 1 oz Boursin cheese
- 1-2 slices London Broil or other deli roast beef
- handful of arugula, washed
- Dijon mustard
- parchment paper

1. Preheat griddler or panini press.

2. Spread the Boursin on a slice of sourdough. It doesn’t have to be perfectly spread out since it’ll melt. Top with roast beef and arugula.

3. Spread Dijon mustard on other slice of bread, then top it off.

4. Wrap sandwich in parchment paper. Make sure it’s just enough to cover the sandwich, having too much excess leads to uneven temperatures.

5. Put sandwich in press, pushing down for 30-40 seconds. Let cook an addition 4-6 minutes.

6. Unwrap, serve, and have nothing to scrape off your press.

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TeaView: Jolly Jellybean From DavidsTea

18 Mar

Basic tea info
Type: flavored rooibos
Description: One sip of this sweet, rich rooibos blend and you’ll know spring is right around the corner. It could be the sunny taste of pineapple, or the exotic creaminess of coconut. It could be the pretty calendula and cornflower petals. Then again, it might just be the jellybeans. You heard us right, jellybeans – that’s what gives this tea its irresistibly sweet and fruity kick. So why do jellybeans remind us of spring? Because they make us happy. Why else?
Where to buy: DavidsTea Spring Collection (limited edition); stores in Canada and NYC
Price: CA$7.00 for 50g, $5 shipping on orders under $50

Dry leaf smell/appearance: Red rooibos with a good bit of spring color…and of course the appearance of jellybeans. There’s not actually too many of them. Smells like a sweet berry pina colada.

Drinking info
I try to get a jellybean per cup to not make it overly sweet. The tea at first tastes very strawberry, with a sweet candylike aftertaste. I tried to steep it long enough to get the jellybean to melt. It’s not really anything special, tastewise. I don’t think it’s sweet enough to really taste like a jellybean, so maybe having more than one in the cup would help that.

This is pretty gimmicky, but it’s not bad. It also makes a pretty decent iced tea.

Other notes
This is part of DavidsTea’s spring collection, so if it interests you, hop on it now! There’s no telling if it will be back next spring.

If you feel the jelly beans are lacking, the beans used are Jelly Belly brand. I bought some Starburst jelly beans to try out.

TeaView: White Chocolate Grasshopper Honeybush From 52Teas

17 Mar

Basic tea info
Type: flavored honeybush
Description: A caffeine-free African honeybush blended with white chocolate chips, organic vanilla beans and fresh cut spearmint.
Where to buy: currently sold out as 52teas’ offerings are limited edition
Price: $8.99 for 2 oz including shipping

Dry leaf smell/appearance: Pretty much looks exactly like the description: honeybush with chopped up spearmint and vanilla bean, with big white chocolate chips mixed in. Smells like mint and honeybush.
Steeping time and temperature: Steeped until the white chocolate chip melted, in boiling water.

Drinking info
Actually drinking the tea review: The white chocolate makes this tea taste very creamy. It’s not too chocolatey, but the white chocolate is still there. The mint and vanilla are strong, and mix well with the sweetness of the honeybush, which really comes through with a long steep.

This is a nice, relaxing dessert type tea. It’s unique, delicious, and perfect without any additives. The honeybush is sweet enough on its own.

Other notes
I picked this up during an inventory update; it was the only one available. I prefer the mint chocolate chip honeybush to this because it has dark chocolate chips. It’s also currently available, although in a very limited quantity, so if this piques your interest, jump on that one!

Hockey Road Trip, or I DROVE 1600 MILES ROUNDTRIP FOR YOU TO LOSE? Part 2

12 Mar

Day 3.

We left off with a good night’s sleep on Sunday night after a typical Montreal loss. Once again, I woke up earlier than planned, ate some breakfast, and headed out on the road. Joe’s dad suggested I check out downtown Naples so I thought that might be worthwhile.

First though I wanted to see this nature preserve about half an hour from Naples. It didn’t work. I couldn’t find it. I found like, the outside of it but there was nothing that really indicated where the boardwalk mentioned on the website was. But I had a nice drive out there, all open road and not THAT far off 75. There were lots of warnings for panther crossings but I saw zero panthers and was very bummed out.

Then I found Naples…or at least tried. The road in was so tacky that I decided I’d just stop for gas and eat elsewhere…except I pulled into a full service gas station. Hahahaha no.

I ended up stopping right by the Florida Everblades’ arena. I did not know that southwest Florida was where they played but considering their name, it was obviously over here if it wasn’t where I already was. This kept me entertained while I had a horrible headache from everyone’s poor driving.

I then considered going to Sarasota, but it started pouring rain. Fine.

Really hungry and somehow tired at this point, I got all the way to the rest area before the Sunshine Skyway and decided to eat lunch along the water there, with a sweet view of the bridge.

I love bridges. I almost considered driving over and over it again because once you pay the toll you could easily turn around in the other rest area on the other side of the bridge but I decided to be an adult.

It was still difficult.

Finally I made it to my hotel on the west side of Tampa, somewhat close to the airport and close to zero other things. I thought it sucked so I cried and then took a nap. I woke up feeling much better, but not in the mood to drive, so I walked over to the Bahama Breeze next door for a burger.

They forgot my side. But at least I also decided I wanted stuffed zucchini. Except it was terrible so it was really a losing situation overall. Then I laughed at NASCAR and went to sleep.

Day 4 Continue reading →

Hockey Road Trip, or I DROVE 1600 MILES ROUNDTRIP FOR YOU TO LOSE? Part 1

11 Mar

(Meant to post this much earlier, but when I got back I was so tired and I really had to get that paper done. So now, enjoy.)

Hello. I am in pain. I have a sunburn. My legs are sore. I am supposed to at some point write a paper on this spring break. Rude.

Day 1: Saturday

I left at 10:30am with a suitcase, a cooler, and a bag full of snacks, directions, and a stuffed bear. My first stop was to pick up a new dipstick in south Atlanta since mine decided to off itself. Once acquired, I was back on my way.

I stopped to eat lunch at a rest stop in Unadilla, according to my phone. It was kind of cool so I just ate in my car with the windows open as I watched people eat at a picnic table, wrapped in blankets.

The first time I had to stop for gas was Lake City, FL, with nearly 300 miles done on the tank. Wooohoo. My goal for the day was Ocala, where I was staying at a Best Western. I think I finally got there around 5? I don’t even remember now because it feels like a week ago.

And you know what? It was pretty good. I checked in, took my stuff in, then went down the street to Publix to get myself a SunPass sticker and a chicken tender wrap. Then I surfed the internet and watched like, HGTV and who knows what else until I really wanted to sleep.

But I was so tired the whole time and really I didn’t sleep well because I was excited.

Day 2: Sunday

I headed out before 8am, seriously. I don’t know what was wrong with me, but I had to get down to my boyfriend’s parents’ house just north of Bank Atlantic Center so that we could eat before the game…since it had the horrible start time of 5pm.

I got there just around noon, after getting lost since Google Maps is horrible and untrustworthy. Joe’s parents made me an awesome lunch-dinner that had me so full I was fine for the rest of the day. Around 3, I left for the Bank Atlantic Center. It was easy enough to get there and there’s tons of parking everywhere that is FREE. But it’s just kind of like a free for all, at least when I got there.

So then I went to wait in line and I was cracking up that I was surrounded by people speaking French but that I was clearly not in Montreal, as the sun shines and it starts sprinkling a bit. There was plenty going on around but I just wanted to get in so I could get an excellent spot for warmups.

Max Pacioretty is my favorite player so needless to say I stopped breathing when he kept looking right at me while I was looking at him. After the second time that happened I decided to just not look at him so I did not faint.

I met a nice couple from Quebec who mistook me for also being from Quebec. Kind of a theme of my trip, of course, but everyone is super cool.

So this game started off looking marvelous, with the Habs having a 2-0 lead that they completely blew. The sound at the BAC was kind of bothering me. It was WAY TOO LOUD and they insist on this panther growl for everything and so after goal four, I decided to get a head start out so I could go to sleep early.

This worked out rather well, I was up on the 400 level and I hate escalators, so I got to take an elevator. There was a woman there to push the button for me and I talked to her a bit while waiting for the elevator. She was really, really nice and thought it was very cool that I was embarking on this trip. The man pushing the buttons inside the elevator for people was also really nice, and so I want to come back here again sometime.

And then I got a bottle of Vitamin Water for free outside, which was definitely welcome! They also had people who would take you on bike rickshaws to your car but I am not that lazy so I had to go search for mine. I parked in an end spot, so I could see my short car but someone decided to park their sedan in the not-a-space area in front of my car. Annoying.

Then I ended up watching the Oscars for a bit as I tried to upload my pictures and then get some sleep for part 2 of the adventure over to Tampa!

Here are all my photos from the Sunday game.

Tea Time 101: Tisanes!

20 Feb

We have a lot to cover, as tisanes are every kind of tea made from something that does not involve the actual tea plant. Typically, tisanes are caffeine free (mate is an exception). Herbal tea is another name for tisanes, but there are a couple things to consider…for example my favorite:

Rooibos! Rooibos means “red bush” in Afrikaans. This tea comes from a shrub in South Africa with short, skinny needles. Rooibos is actually a green plant, but typically rooibos is oxidized for tea, turning it red. Green rooibos is a thing, it’s less woody and somewhat grassy, but it’s a more elaborate process.

Rooibos is caffeine-free, and also has plenty of antioxidants.

Rooibos is not all South Africa has to offer in the world of tisanes. Honeybush is another plant from the country, with a slightly sweeter taste than rooibos. There’s not too much different other than the taste and the outer appearance. Both make awesome bases for chocolate.

Yerba mate is also considered a tisane, although it is caffeinated. I have only had mate once and I did not make it. Traditionally it is brewed in a gourd in South America. In tea shops, you’ll typically find it blended with fruits, nuts, chocolate, and the like.

There is evidence pointing to cancer fighting properties in mate, but at the same time there’s studies saying it causes cancer. I’ve always found that odd.

As for other types of herbal tea, there is just so much that can be had. Mint, chamomile, ginger, hibiscus, and tulsi are common herbal tea ingredients, even good on their own. Some herbal teas are made entirely of dried fruit, but usually there’s hibiscus in them.

Tisanes are good for nighttime if you are sensitive to caffeine, although really, they are good anytime. There are plenty to choose from, and they can even help you feel better. (Lemon mint rooibos is my go-to when I’m sick.)

Pizza Is Fun (Duh)

19 Feb

Making your own pizza is really gratifying. Sure, it’s easy to order one but really, it’s even easier, and most importantly cheaper, to make one at home.

Let’s start with the crust. You can obviously make your own, but for me that’s a pain because I don’t own a rolling pin still. Yeah. Stores like Publix and Trader Joe’s do sell premade dough, which I will use sometimes if I want to make a pizza in my cast iron skillet.

What’s easiest is a pre-made crust, or for something different, a tortilla!

Usually the first instruction for a premade crust is to brush it with olive oil. For something different, you can use a flavored oil that you make at home, like garlic. Next time you buy a whole head of garlic for a couple cloves, put them in a container and fill it with olive oil, and refrigerate. Once you’re done with the cloves, you have garlic olive oil, and that’s always tasty on a pizza.

Sauce! I just use stuff in a jar, because like I said, I’m lazy. But I always spice it up with some Italian seasoning and herbs. You can always make your own.

Toppings are where the fun is. Let’s start with the cheese. Italian blends are good, but my favorite is to add a bit of something else to some shredded mozzarella. Since I had sharp cheddar from my chili, I added it to my pizza for an extra bite.

I always love pepperoni, but like I just said, it’s that bite. That’s why I also went with some giardiniera veggies! They come in such a large jar that they’re always there in the fridge, begging to be used. I wasn’t sure about cauliflower or carrots (well, one carrot got on there) on a pizza, but the peppers and onions work perfectly.

My basil plant is the only successful grower in my Aerogarden right now, so I always have plenty of basil on hand. It was the perfect other addition to this pizza.

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