... Open-Faced Sandwiches with Ricotta, Arugula, and Fried Egg

What comes to mind when I say "BFD!"?  If you're thinking "Breakfast For Dinner!", gold star for you.  If you're thinking something else, well... double gold star.  Because, in my book, breakfast for dinner is a BFD.

Creamy ricotta with crisp arugula and a fried egg?  How could you go wrong?  

Open-Faced Sandwiches with Ricotta, Arugula, and Fried Egg

serves 4

4 (2-ounce) slices whole-wheat country bread

cooking spray

2 cups arugula

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

4 large eggs

3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Preheat broiler.

Coat both sides of bread with cooking spray.  Broil 2 minutes on each side or until lightly toasted.  

Combine arugula, 2 teaspoons oil, juice, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; toss gently.

Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Crack eggs into pan; cook 2 minutes.  Cover and cook an additional 2 minutes or until whites are set.  Remove from heat.

Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and thyme; spread over bread slices.  Divide salad and eggs evenly over bread.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Taylor's Notes:

Delish!  This is great for dinner, but I'm sure would be just as tasty for breakfast or lunch... somehow, though, BFB and BFL don't have quite the ring that BFD does.  Amiright?  

I left out the lemon juice and thyme because I didn't feel like running to the store (lazy much?) and it still disappeared quickly.  

Enjoy!

... Smashed White Bean and Avocado Club

I stumbled across this recipe in my hunt for Meatless Monday gems.  It's a really quick and easy little number and was perfect for my I just got home from work and I'm starving! exclamation.  

For me, it's a perfect combo of creamy (beans and avocado), crunchy (cucumber and onion) and well, I'm not quite sure what the sprouts add, but I wouldn't think of leaving them out.  The bread is fresh from the bakery and I'll absolutely be enjoying it for the next few days as toast and, oh, maybe another Smashed White Bean and Avocado Club.

Smashed White Bean and Avocado Club
serves 4

2 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 slices multigrain bread
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, preferably hothouse (seedless), thinly sliced (peeled, if desired)
1 4- to 5-ounce container sprouts (such as alfalfa, radish, broccoli, or a combo)
2 avocados, pitted and thinly sliced

In a medium bowl, combine the beans, oil, salt and pepper.  Roughly mash the mixture with the back of a fork.

Place 8 of the bread slices on a work surface.  Divide the mashed beans among them.  Top with the onion, cucumber, sprouts, and avocado.

Stack the open-faced sandwiches on top of one another, avocado-side up, to make 4 double-decker sandwiches.  Top with the remaining 4 slices of bread.

Slice each sandwich in half, if desired, and serve.

Taylor's Notes:
As hungry as I was, I didn't follow the whole make-a-mile-high-Dagwood-style-sandwich thing and instead went the traditional route.  It's a great sandwich and would be easy to adapt if you wanted to add other veggies, cheese, turkey... you know, if you like that sort of thing (and if it's not Monday).


Enjoy!

... Shrimp Salad Pitas

I stumbled across this recipe last month and thought it looked so fresh and summery that I just had to give it a try.  Granted, it took me about a month to get around to actually making it, but hey, better late than never!

With it's fresh shrimp, crunchy veggies, and lite dressing, I knew it'd be perfect on a hot summer day... or night, as the case may be.  Definitely give this one a shot, but beware, they're messy to eat!  It might be best to eat it as a salad with a side of pita or crackers.  Regardless of which way you choose, you'll want to add this to your line-up.

Shrimp Salad Pitas
serves 4

1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and halved crosswise
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup 2% greek yogurt
1 medium carrot, coarsely grated
1 cucumber, halved lenthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 lemon
4 whole-wheat pitas
8 bibb lettuce leaves

Preheat the broiler.  Soak the chopped onion in a bowl of cold water while you prepare the shrimp.

Toss the shrimp with the olive oil, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste on a rimmed baking sheet.  Spread in an even layer and broil until the shrimp are opaque, about 4 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and let cool.  Wash and dry the baking sheet.

Drain the onion and add to the shrimp along with the yogurt, carrot, cucumber, dill, and salt and pepper to taste. Grate in 1 teaspoon lemon zest and squeeze in about half of the lemon juice.

Lay the pitas on the baking sheet and toast under the broiler.  Cut the pitas in half and fill with the lettuce and shrimp salad.

Taylor's Notes:
Ok, I'm not sure how long it takes to preheat a broiler.  Mine doesn't 'ding' at me like it does when I'm preheating the oven.  I think I had it on for maybe 10 minutes before I put the shrimp in.  My shrimp took about 5 1/2 minutes to cook, but I bet it would have been quicker if I would have placed the rack closer to the broiler.  Oh well... tomato tomahto.  The most important thing is that your shrimp are cooked through and are nice and pink... and not because of the paprika.  That said, I think the shrimp might be better grilled than broiled.  There's always next time.


I halved this recipe and it made enough for me to have one serving (two pita halves) and leftovers for tomorrow's lunch, so the recipe is true to size.  Don't you hate it when a recipe tells you it's 4 servings when in reality it's 2 or 8?!?  It happens people.  Trust me.


Since I had baby carrots on hand, I just decided to 'matchstick' them instead of buying a normal size carrot and grating it like the recipe calls for.  The dollar that I saved wasn't worth it.  Those baby carrots are hard cut... unless you don't mind losing a bit of your finger.  Don't worry, I didn't.  But there were a few close calls!


Other than those little tidbits, and the fact that I just stuck the pita right on the cooking rack - no time for cleaning mid-prep! - I followed the recipe and was pleased with the results... a fresh little salad/sandwich for dinner.


Enjoy!

... Chicken and Prosciutto Club

Now this is what I call a sandwich!  Ciabatta bread, chicken, cheese, prosciutto, two different spreads, a few fresh veggies, almost more than you can get your mouth around... almost.

First up, season the chicken with a little s&p and cook it in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Once you get that started, spread the proscuitto out on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven until it gets nice and crispy.  When you take that out, trade the proscuitto for the ciabbata on the baking sheet and put that in the oven to get warm and toasty.

It sounds like a juggling act, but you can do it!  While you've got all that going, go ahead and mix up one of your two spreads.  Sure, sure, you could buy olive tapenade, but when you can make it so easily for so little, why would you?  Just take a can of black olives (I used most of a 6 oz can), a clove or two of garlic (depending on who you're dining with), the juice of half of a lemon and some olive oil.  This is another one of those 'make it how you like it' recipes.  Put it all in a food processor - or chop the olives and garlic pretty finely with a knife and mix in the olive oil and lemon juice.  Adjust it to taste and texture and there you have it!

Now comes the fun part.  Spread the olive tapenade on one side of the toasty ciabatta.  Put a piece of chicken on top of that... did I mention that we put a piece of provolone cheese on the chicken for about the last minute of cooking... until it's ooey and gooey?  Top that with a piece of crispy proscuitto and layer on some arugula and sliced tomato.  Sprinkle on a little s&p and cover it with the other piece of bread that you've added a schmear of mayo to.  We found a great garlic & herb mayo, but anything you like will do the trick.

Now tell me that doesn't look like one delicious sammie.  We mixed up the easiest and tasty fruit salad ever - frozen strawberries (thawed) and sliced bananas - and poured a glass of wine.

Speaking of wine, have you fallen in love with the new boxed wine like we have?  If not, you should.  4 bottles of wine in one little box for the price of 2 bottles and it keeps for weeks... or it's supposed to at least, we haven't quite gotten that far with any of ours.  This 'Wine 4 Grillin' box is from World Market, but several of our faves come in cardboard.  (I'm still a sucker for labels, though, so I'm excited to try this bottle out soon.)  

Chicken and Prosciutto Club
serves 4

Bake 8 slices prosciutto on a baking sheet at 400 degrees until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.

Season 4 chicken cutlets with salt and pepper.  Cook in olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until golden.

Form sandwiches with rolls, mayonnaise, olive oil, olive tapenade, arugula, sliced tomato, the chicken, and the prosciutto.

Taylor's Notes:
Interesting recipe layout, no?  This is just how it was printed in Real Simple.  Interesting as it may be, it's a really simple recipe (no pun intended) and it's quick, too.


If you're not a fan of olives, as I know a few friends who aren't, I think that you could easily replace the tapenade with pesto - or even just another layer of the mayo.  Sometimes arugula is a little hard to find, so you could always use spinach or even your favorite type of lettuce.  You know the drill, use what you like and make it your own.  And, as always...


Enjoy!