To Taste: Erin’s Amish Reuben

Posted by Erin L. in To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with Amish, bologna, bread, cheese, cold cut, cured, dill, Lebanon bologna, mustard, PA, PA Dutch, Pennsylvania, pickle, reuben, salami, sammie, sandwich, sausage, smoked, sweet, swiss, toast, wheat, Zern's August 26, 2010

I’m guessing most of you outside of Central/Southeastern Pennsylvania have lived your whole lives without tasting the best, THE BEST, cold cut in all of our United States. I, however, have been blessed with easy access to savory, salty, delicious Lebanon bologna (named for the PA county, not the country).

Sweet Lebanon Bologna

This PA Dutch smoked & cured all-beef sausage is available sliced as a deli meat in regular & sweet varieties. Sweet is the right kind for me – bold, zesty, tangy, smokey – all the beginnings of a fantastic sandwich. Introducing… Erin’s Amish Reuben.

Back in May, on Day #6 of my week between jobs, Sunshine & I took a trip to Zern’s, our favorite farmer’s/flea market. Every visit, I pick up a fresh pound of sweet Lebanon bologna and two fat dill pickles from my favorite butcher, Clover Farms (See: Triple Smoked Bacon). I always keep a jar of my favorite mustard, Kosciusko Spicy Brown, in the fridge for the glorious occasions I bring home the salami of all salamis. I smeared it on wheat toast and topped it with 3 ribboned slices of Lebanon bologna, a thick slice of Swiss, & dill pickle chips for a culinary daydream to the PA Amish country. Take the photo journey through my magical sandwich assembly and get your hands on some Lebanon bologna!

Kosciusko Spicy Brown Mustard

Dill Pickle

Soon to be sammie

Erin's Amish Reuben

Erin’s Amish Reuben

sweet Lebanon bologna

+ sour dill pickles

+ sharp Swiss cheese

+ spicy brown mustard

on toast

Quickie: Sauteed Pierogies & Brussels Sprouts

Posted by Erin L. in Quickie and tagged with blog, brussels sprouts, cheese, cooking, food, monterey jack, pierogi, pierogies, Polish, potato, recipe, sauteed, sour cream, swiss March 1, 2010

Tuesday night, I found myself with an empty house and a surplus of Brussels sprouts inching their way to the trash bin. My Polish heritage inspired me to rescue the mini cabbages by pairing them with pierogies. I followed my usual Sauteed Brussels Sprouts recipe. Lazy & hungry, I resorted to boiling some frozen Poppy’s Potato, Swiss, & Monterey Jack Pierogies and quickly browned them in butter. I think I just discovered a new comfort dinner!

Sauteed Pierogies & Brussels Sprouts

VDay Din: Fried Chicken Cordon Bleu, Tarragon Dijonnaise, & Champagne-Asparagus Risotto a la Dre <3

Posted by Erin L. in Weekend Update and tagged with asparagus, blog, champagne, chicken, cooking, deep fried, dijon, dijonnaise, dinner, food, fried chicken, garlic, mayo, mayonaise, prosciutto, rice, risotto, shallots, swiss, tarragon, Valentine, Valentines Day, VDay February 28, 2010

Dre always has a plan. He had a shopping list prepared for our grocery trip, did prep work Saturday night, and researched recipes for cooking on Sunday. I dig that kind of organization in a man.

The breakfast he made me was amazing, so I was looking forward to the dinner on Dre’s Vday menu. I was especially impressed with his ambition. Saturday night, Dre trimmed chicken breasts & marinated them in a habanero-buttermilk mixture. We both almost choked to death, not realizing how crazy hot those peppers are!

On Sunday, Dre seasoned & double-breading the breasts before frying them to perfection in my Cool Daddy. He topped them with crisped slices of prosciutto & Jarlsberg Swiss cheese, paired them with his homemade Tarragon Dijonnaise, and proudly declared it fried chicken cordon bleu!

On our shopping excursion, Dre picked up a bottle of champagne. After no mimosas for brunch, I got curious about it’s part in our Vday. Little did I know, but not only was Dre making a creamy batch of risotto, he was perfecting it with the bubbly and some fresh asparagus. I’m so proud of my Valentine!

Fried Chicken Cordon Bleu, Tarragon Dijonnaise, & Champagne-Asparagus Risotto

Leftover Lightning! Roasted Chicken & Swiss Cheddar Biscuit!

Posted by Erin L. in Leftover Lightning! and tagged with biscuit, blog, cheddar, cheddar biscuit, chicken, dinner, food, leftovers, lettuce, Lorraine swiss, lunch, mayo, mayonnaise, recipe, roasted chicken, romaine, sammich, sammie, sandwich, swiss February 16, 2010

I had of leftover Roasted Chicken and was stuck with the Cheddar Biscuits turned Pancakes from our snow day dinner. Leave it to Dre to have the brilliant idea to use them as bread on a chicken sandwich. I toasted the biscuits in the toaster oven, smeared them with light mayo, and piled on romaine, Lorraine swiss, & leftover roasted chicken breast. Turned out to an easy & tasty dinner!

Roasted Chicken & Swiss on a Cheddar Biscuit

Quickie: Griddled Ham, Turkey, & Swiss Sandwich w/ Spicy Remoulade

Posted by Erin L. in Quickie and tagged with bread, dinner, garlic, ham, Lorraine, Philadelphia, potato bread, remoulade, sandwich, snack, snow, swiss, turkey February 9, 2010

The snow’s coming again! We got 28″ over the weekend and now, 3 days later, Philadelphia is putting the “Closed” sign back up as we expect 12-18″ more. I’m actually enjoying being stuck in the house as I’ve had more time to cook. For dinner tonight, I made a perfect belly-warming sandwich – Maple-Honey Ham, Roasted Turkey, & Lorraine Swiss w/ leftover Spicy Remoulade on Potato Bread, griddled with Garlic-Herb Butter.

So… effin’… good!