Flank Steak, Roasted Pasilla Pepper and Sharp Cheddar Cheese Panini

I love Pam’s blog “For The Love of Cooking”. I have tried her Strawberry and Banana Muffins and they were delicious! She has posted several sandwich/Panini recipes on her blog. One day my hubby happened to see this Panini recipe in my reader and asked me why don’t you make this? He loves steak…so I tried it; the recipe was really simple and easy to make. The only thing is while Pam made this Panini with her left over Carne Asada, I made the Carne Asada to make this Panini. It was really delicious and I have already tried this twice. Thank you Pam for the recipe.

Flank Steak, Roasted Pasilla Pepper and Sharp Cheddar Cheese Panini

Adapted from here

Ingredients:

Flank steak (preferably carne asada, recipe follows)
2 slices of whole wheat sour dough bread (I used brown toast bread)

3 pasilla peppers, roasted (I used Capsicum)
Sharp cheddar cheese
Mayonnaise
Frank's Red Hot Sauce
I aso used some caramelized onions too.

Method:

Roast the Peppers:

• Clean the pasilla peppers/ Capscumand carefully slit them down the center. Gently remove the seeds from the inside of the pepper. Line a baking sheet with tin foil then place the pepper on top.
• Broil until peppers are blackened on all sides. Transfer the peppers to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool for 10 minutes.
• Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the blackened skin and stem gently. Slice into strips.

Prepare the sandwich:

• Preheat your panini grill or a large skillet over medium heat. Mix a few tablespoons of mayonnaise with a few teaspoons of Frank's Red Hot Sauce; taste and add more hot sauce if desired.
• Spread the mayonnaise mixture on each slice of bread.
• Next add the slices of flank steak then roasted pasilla peppers/capscium, caramilised onions and finally the sharp cheddar cheese; top the sandwich with the other slice of bread and place on the panini maker then cook for 5 minutes.
• If you are using a skillet, cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until it's golden brown.
• Slice and serve with extra mayonnaise sauce on the side.
• Enjoy.

Carne Asada
Carne asada is a roasted beef dish, literally meaning "roasted meat." The dish mainly consists of pieces or thin cuts of beef (e.g. flank steak, skirt steak), sometimes marinated, sometimes lightly salted or rubbed with salt, pepper and/or spices, and then grilled. It can be eaten alone, with side dishes, chopped and eaten as tacos, or chopped and used as filler for tortas, burritos, etc. It is commonly accompanied with guacamole, salsa, beans, and grilled scallions and tortillas. (Source Wikipedia).

Carne Asada Marinade:

Adapted from here.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs of flank steak
1/3 cup vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1-2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp oregano
2 limes, juiced
4-5 cloves garlic minced

Method:

• In a gallon size Ziploc bag, combine all ingredients with flank steak and mix really well. Let marinate for at least 6 hours - overnight if you can.
• Grill steak until desired degree of doneness. Let sit for at least 5-10minutes. Once the meat has cooled, slice across grain into small chunks.

I forgot to take a picture of Carne Asada..will upload photo next time :)

Peach, Mango and Strawberry Cobbler

Recipe slightly adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Fruit Base:
4 Peaches
2 Mangoes
½ cup Strawberries, fresh/frozen
1/2 tsp Lime juice
3 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Corn flour
¼ tsp ground Cinnamon

Biscuit Dough:
¾ cup All purpose flour
2 tbsp Ragi/ Finger millet/ Panjapul flour (optional)
2 tbsp Sugar
¾ tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2-3 tbsp milk

Method:

• Dip the peaches into a large pot of boiling water for about 30 - 60 seconds, depending on the ripeness of the peaches. Transfer the fruit to a large bowl of ice water (this stops the cooking process). The skins should now slip easily off the peaches. Cut the peaches in half, remove the stones, and cut the fruit into thick wedges. Peel and thickly slice mangoes and slice strawberries also.
• Combine fruits in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice.
• In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, corn flour, and ground cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture over the fruits and toss gently to combine.
• Transfer to deep pie/ baking dish. Place the baking dish on a larger baking sheet to catch any drips.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.

Biscuit Dough:

• In a large bowl, whisk together both the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
• Add the milk to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix.
• Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface.
• Roll or pat the dough into a circle that is about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick.
• Cut the dough into desired shape with a cookie cutter(I used a star cookie cutter).
• Gently place the stars/ rounds on top of the fruit.
• Brush the tops of the biscuits with a little cream.
• Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes or until the fruit is bubbly and the biscuits are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into a biscuit comes out clean. (If the biscuits are getting too brown during baking, and before the fruit is bubbling, cover loosely with a piece of foil.)
• Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
• Serve plain or with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
• Refrigerate leftovers and reheat before serving.

Palappam

Tawa Nan ~ Indian Leavened Bread!

Ingredients:

Maida (All purpose flour)-200gm
Atta (Wheat flour)-50gm
Milk-1/2 cup
Egg-1,lightly beaten with a fork
Yeast-1/4 tsp
Sugar-2 tsp
Salt- to taste
Butter-25gm

Method:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in the lukewarm milk and keep aside to rise for 10 minutes.
• Combine maida, atta and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and rub in using your fingertips.
• Make a dent in the centre and pour dissolved yeast- milk mixture and lightly beaten egg in that dent. Mix well into a soft dough adding water or milk if necessary.
• Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place until the dough had risen to twice its size.
• Knead the dough again and make even sized balls and roll into an oval shape.
• Cook both sides on a tawa/skillet on a medium flame.
• Brush both sides of Nan with butter or ghee and serve hot.

Homemade Mascarpone Cheese

Recipe adapted from Vera's blog Baking Obsession

Makes about 12 oz

Ingredients:

500 ml Whipping Cream, (36 %) pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized), preferably organic cream (I used Almarai's Premium Whipping Cream, a brand we get in Middle East)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice.

Preparation:

• Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering.
• Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating.
• Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese or cottage cheese (Paneer) making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir.
• Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time).
• Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.
• This creamy white cheese is suitable for making desserts and cake fillings!