Roasted Vegetable Panini

A short time ago my best friend Allison introduced me to the Starbucks Roasted Vegetable Panini.  When warmed and served with a cup of bold coffee this sandwich has quickly become one of my favorite fast breakfasts.

We hit the Starbucks yesterday on a sunny saturday afternoon and while I had already eaten breakfast when I saw Allison enjoying this delicious, crispy and steamy sandwich I set my sites on trying to recreate it at home.  So I bought zucchini, and eggplant and altered some ingredients to include bits I already had in the fridge and it turned out at least as good if not better than the Starbucks version!

Ingredients:

Ciabatta Roll (or any other preferred fresh crusty bread)

2 tbsp. Olive oil

Zucchini

Eggplant

Cremini mushrooms

Roasted red peppers (I used jarred but if you want to make them go for it)

Kalamata olives

Parmiggiano Regiano (or another sharp cheese)

1. Heat a pan over medium-low heat

2. Slice zuchinni, eggplant and mushrooms about 1/3 inch thick (all pieces the same thickness)

3. Pour 1 tbsp Olive oil into pan

4. Cook eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms (in the pan) on both sides, one type at a time (aka eggplant first, then zucchini, then mushrooms) until they are softened and lightly browned

5. Toast ciabatta roll while heating vegetables through

6. Layer cooked vegetables one by one on one side of the toasted ciabatta

7. Chop the olives and dry them and the roasted red peppers on a paper towel

8. Place the olives and red pepper on the top of the other vegetables

9. Grate desired amount of cheese over the top of the olives and peppers

10. Place the other piece of the roll on top and enjoy the crisp, sharp bite of a home made roasted veggie sandwich

Fashion. Turn to the Left!

I realized it's been a while since i've focused on the style part of savory style so I decided to take pictures of a couple outfits I wore this week.  Here it goes.

I wore this outfit for a relatively casual night out in DC

 [Shirt- Old Navy, Gold Bracelets- Loft, Purse and Jeans- Forever 21, Shoes- Nine West]

This outfit I wore to spend the day out on a boat with friends

[Dress- Forever 21, Vest- Mossimo at Target, Bag- Coach, Sunglasses- Marc Jacobs]

[Panther Bracelet From my Grandma, Until there's a cure Bracelet, Ring from Thailand]

[Earrings- Claire's (my favorite secret...shhh)]

Eddie frolicking while I took pictures

Pictures from our day out on the Potomac

Oh hello there!

Horacio, Mark and Allison

Horacio and myself relaxing with some beers

Allison and I relaxing in the shade

Little Benson Pooped from swimming in the river

Hudson Red Cranberry Burger

I had 7 leftover burger patties from the barbecue yesterday but I couldn't stand the thought of another plain old burger.  I rummaged through the fridge and cabinets and came up with this cheesy sweet and savory burger that was so delicious I might make another one tomorrow!

Ingredients:

1 Potato roll

1 1/4 pound burger patty

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

1 tbsp Barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's)

1/4 cup Hudson Red Cheese (if you can't find Hudson Red you can substitute brie, camembert or another creamy cheese)

2 tbsp Craisins

1. Preheat a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat

2. Sprinkle the burger patty on one side with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Then brush with a 1/2 tbsp of the barbecue sauce

3. Place burger seasoned side down in the pan and season side facing up

4. Cook for approximately 4-5 minutes and turn the burger over. Continue to cook on second side until burger is cooked to desired doneness.

5. Place the cheese on top of the burger a minute before the burger is completely cooked through.

6. Cover with tin foil for one minute until cheese begins to melt

7. Sprinkle cranberries on top of melted cheese

8. Place on potato roll and enjoy. No condiments needed!

Asian Broccoli Slaw

This recipe has become a Summer favorite of mine. It's super easy to assemble, light and nutritious. It was passed on to me by my friend Allison's (of Running Rampant) mother. 

Ingredients:

1 Bag broccoli slaw mix

1 bag of grated carrots

5-7 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 bunch scallions, sliced to your size preference

1 bag of craisins

1 cup honey roasted peanuts

Juice of two lemons

1 tbsp cider or red wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp brown sugar

1. Toss all dry ingredients (broccoli slaw, carrots, cilantro, scallions, craisins, peanuts) together in a large bowl

2. In a separate bowl whisk lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and brown sugar together

3. When you are ready to serve pour wet ingredients over dry and toss to coat

Serve and enjoy!

Sunday Summer Barbecue

Theres nothing I enjoy more than a Sunday barbecue during the Summer.  My parents have a killer deck and back yard so when the mood strikes I enjoy gathering old and new friends to grill out and chill out. 

Yesterday's Summer BBQ was a total success.  We made some tasty grill bits, iced some beers, and pulled out the folding table for games.   Overall it was a great day filled with great friends.

(Playing barbecue games and taking pictures)

(Eddie hanging around trying to get someone to drop a burger for him)

(Michelle, from That's So Michelle's, Amaretto Soaked Grapes! Such a delicious idea! Picture courtesy of Michelle)

(Summer Bean Salad)

(Asian Brocolli Slaw, Recipe to come) 

(Leave it up to my highschool guy friends to create a Krispy Kreme Burger. Photo courtesy of Michelle)

(Jon Liked it)

(Sun thought it was delicious. Note they shared one burger between three people due to fat content)

(Grilling up some tofu made by Sun. I've been begging him for the recipe.

Delicious Apricot Ale. Random beer store pick, totally worth it

Pong game. Photos courtesy of Michelle)

(Eddie in Michelle's fedora. He kept it on just long enough to snap a pic)

Nutty Banana Bread

A delicious recipe and a great waste not tip.  Bananas starting to go bad?  Left em for one day too many and they're a bit too brown to eat.  Pop em in the freezer.  Once you've collected three its time to make a delicious loaf.

Cheesesteaks, Tastycakes and BYOB Oh my!

This weekend we road tripped a couple hours North to the city of brotherly love (otherwise known as philadelphia) to visit my older sister who is interning there for the Summer.  If I could say one thing about Philly I would say the mass quantities of delicious food is amazing!  Our weekend was spent enjoying each others company and all the savory bites the city had to offer.

Friday:
First stop, Reading Terminal market

Then, the most bizarre Art Garden we've ever been to

Then exploring South Street

Then dinner at Lolita.  For those of you who don't know most restaurants in Philly are bring your own liquor, which is such a strange concept to me.  But essentially the restaurants sell mixers and you bring the alcohol.  So we picked up a bottle of tequila for our mexican dinner.

Blood orange margaritas, made with the tequila we brought

Ladies dinner

Lime marinated salmon

Queso Fundido

Carne Asada

Saturday:

Penn's Landing for the Carribean Festival

Then the Eastern State Penitentiary for the reenactment of the beheading of Marie Antoinette for Bastille day.  Where it is tradition to throw Tasty Cakes into the crowd.

Pretending to be French

The penitentiary

And finally a Barbecue at a friends, complete with a very intense Jenga session.

Sunday:

Nothing better than sleeping in and then visiting the little Italy of Philadelphia.  Now of course a trip to Philly wouldn't be complete without a cheesesteak so we stopped at Geno's

which is directly across the street from its biggest competitor, Pat's

And since we were touring Little Italy we had to stop in an Italian cheese and meat shop to make some purchases of real delicious cheese.

An Iced Latte completed our last afternoon in Philly and it was back to D.C.