Showing posts sorted by date for query sandwich. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query sandwich. Sort by relevance Show all posts
This week in honor of the world's first Pickle-nic Week we decided to invite some good pickle-loving friends over for a picnic lunch to help celebrate with us.
A Pickle-nic shared is a Pickle-nic joy doubled! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Pickles are the perfect picnic food don't you think? Sweet/sour/crunchy and perfectly portable!
Of course our weather these past few weeks hasn't been all that Picnic friendly, so for safety we planned a Pickle-nic worth indoor picnic and of course Mrs Elswood's pickles were the centre of our picnic table feast.
They are the only pickle I have ever been able to find over here in the UK that compares in taste and crunch to the pickles I was used to from back home. I miss the pickles from home and its so nice to finally have a tasty alternative here that I can munch on and enjoy just as much!
Their sandwich slices were perfect in my ham and pickle buns. Such a simple make also, with plenty of salty ham, sweet pickle crunch and some sharp grainy mustard.
Simply layer well buttered soft rolls that you have spread with grainy mustard (I used German) with some Mrs Elswood's Sandwich slices and some finely sliced ham. Perfectly delicious! These went down a real treat!
This was a picnic I decided to throw together basically at the last minute, having only decided to plan it on Monday evening. I had been wanting to have our friends over for a while but had been waiting for good weather to do so in.
I finally told myself "The heck with the weather!" we will just invite them anyways and weather come what may, we'll either do it indoors or outside. I planned something which worked both ways.
My Perfect Picnic List
- Suitable seating, blankets and folding chairs for outdoors, or plenty of seating indoors
- A cooler or basket to hold the food whilst transporting (outdoor picnics) or a suitable surface to spread everything out on (indoors)
- Freshly made sandwiches, suitably wrapped. Nothing overly messy. If your sandwiches are going to be in the car or basket for too long, make sure you also include little ice blocks to keep everything cold, or else avoid fillings which include mayonnaise. Indoors, make your sandwiches ahead of time, and keep them covered and chilled in the refrigerator, putting them out just before serving.
- Something crunchy to enjoy along with your sandwiches. Crisp pickles. Crisp raw vegetables (with dip!). Potato chips.
- Something sweet to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth. Sturdy cakes that travel well and are not overly fussy with tons of frosting and decorations. Fresh fruit/berries. Cookies and squares, again not too fussy or mussy.
- Plenty of cold refreshing drinks. Carbonated don't travel well. I like to make ice cold lemonade and then pack it into large sealable containers with plenty of ice. Of course if you are indoors transportation isn't a problem, neither is keeping everything cool until you are ready to enjoy.
- paper napkins, plates, plastic/wooden knives/forks/spoons, cups
- scintillating conversation and company, plus some calming background music, nothing to gregarious or distracting. Gentle and soothing is the key.
MAKE SURE YOU INVITE EVERYONE TO LEAVE THEIR MOBILES/LAPTOPS AND OTHER DISTRACTING MEDIA ASIDE FOR THESE FEW HOURS! This will greatly add to the enjoyment of the time you are able to spend together!
Aside from the Ham & Pickle Buns I made a few other sandwiches. I did Cheese & Tomato on whole grain bread (Just layer in grated strong cheddar cheese, and sliced ripe tomatoes, making sure you drain as much of the pips out beforehand), Cheese & Pickle (exactly what it says and very popular) and some Chicken Salad Croissants.
I made a delicious Curried Chicken Salad and then layered it in fresh buttered croissants along with some baby rocket.
Curried Chicken Salad
Yield: Makes about 3 cups
A delicious chicken salad that you can either enjoy on its own spooned over lettuce or in a tasty sandwich!
ingredients:
- 110g good quality full fat mayonnaise (1/2 cup)
- 120g full fat Greek yogurt (1/2 cup)
- 1 heaped TBS mango chutney
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- 3 to 4 tsp curry powder
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 250g cooked chicken, cubed or shredded (2 cups)
- 2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
- 4 TBS flaked toasted almonds
- 12 grapes quartered
- 1 stalk of fresh celery, chopped
- 3 TBS raisins
instructions:
How to cook Curried Chicken Salad
- In a bowl whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, lime juice, chutney, curry powder and seasoning until smooth. Fold in the remaining ingredients, stirring well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. This will keep in the refrigerator for about 2- 3 days. I would not keep it any longer. (Of course this depends on when you cooked the chicken. I never keep cooked chicken any longer than 4 days in the refrigerator.)
The chicken croissants went down a real treat along with the ham and pickle sandwiches, although the chicken croissants were a tad bit messy, but in a very good way if you know what I mean!
For the something crunchy I provided some potato chips. You could use ruffled chips or tortilla chips and have a dip as well if you wanted.
Of course plenty of crunchy pickles are nice and yes, the vegetables and dips! Did you know you can stuff larger pickles with cheese? Just do a search on google.
I found some that had been wrapped in bacon and fried. OH MY GOODNESS. Not exactly Pickle-nic worthy, but hey ho!
For my something sweet I served fresh berries from the garden and cake. I had baked two cakes for the occasion . . .
Swedish Visiting Cake on the left and French Yogurt Cake on the right.
We enjoyed them with the berries and I'll be honest with you because we were at home I got some Clotted Cream Ice Cream out of the freezer and we each had a scoop of that on top as well!
And of course we washed it all down with an assortment of refreshing drinks. I had ice cold sparkling water which I served with a twist of lemon over ice and chilled sparkling lemonade. Both were nice and went very well.
Everyone loves these Ham & Pickle Sandwiches. Mrs Elswood's Sweet Cucumber Sandwich slices worked perfectly in these and we even enjoyed a few on their own, because who doesn't enjoy the extra crunch of a pickle, sliced or not!
These taste very similar to the Bread & Butter Pickles from back home. Great on burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches and even chopped up and popped into your salads.
I wish they would do a sweet pickle relish like we have back home. So, so, so tasty!
This was a wonderful feast to be enjoyed for Pickle-nic week. Everyone was really happy with the food.
It wasn't stressful for me to prepare and made for a very relaxing meal. Picnics indoors or out! You can't beat them for fun, fun, fun!
A PICNIC MEMORY
I must have been 10 or 11 years old and my friend and I decided we wanted to go on a picnic. My mom made me a peanut butter sandwich and I had that in a brown paper bag along with a few cookies. I also had a cold bottle of Nesbitts Orange Soda Pop. My friend had something similar.
We popped our lunches into our bicycle baskets and then took off for the great outdoors on a grand adventure. We ended up in Torbrook, which was quite a tough bicycle ride partway up the nearby South mountain.
We parked our bicycles and ate our lunches on a hillside looking down on the old Baptist church, with the sounds of bees buzzing, all hot and sweaty from our exertion in getting there, but I can tell you, you have never tasted a better or more delicious peanut butter sandwich than that one!
We finished it off by eating some green apples we picked from a near-by tree and went to bed with belly-aches that night, but oh what a wonderful memory we had built!
I do believe a Picnic is a wonderful excuse to crack open your inner-child and dust it off for a few hours!!!
Happy Picnic Days!!
I am a HUGE fan of Mexican/Latin American flavours! I have never been to any of the Latin American countries myself, so my idea of Mexican food is probably a highly Anglicised version!
I do like to experiment with the flavours which is becoming a lot easier these days as more and more Latin American ingredients become available for us to use over here in the UK.
One company which really is at the forefront of this is Capsicana. I have been buying their products since I discovered them a couple of years ago now.
This recipe I am sharing today uses a pouch of their Ultimate Refried Black Beans. Spicy Refried Black Beans with Chipotle Chili, Garlic and Cumin. These are so delicious. I always have a pouch of them in my cupboard.
They are great just heated up and spooned over rice with a bit of cheese on top. I know the lazy man's supper, or you could go further and call it the Latin American's version of beans on toast!
Today I divided a pouch of them between two large flat breads and then topped them with a mix of grated cheddar and Mozzarella.
This is like a Tex Mex, Latin American Open Faced Chicken Club sandwich. Fusion cooking I guess.
The old and familiar combined with new and edgy flavours in a really delicious way!
I had some leftover cooked chicken to use up, but wanted to do something different with it, and this is the result!
I sweated some onions and peppers until soft and then added some garlic. Then I threw in the diced leftover chicken and some Tex Mex seasoning.
I used Swartz zingy Mexican Street Food seasoning. It has a nice bite. Once that was all heated through and seasoned, I divided the mixture between the two flatbreads.
Topping each with two slices of cooked streaky bacon that I had in the refrigerator leftover from our Sunday night's supper of pancakes, bacon and sliced peaches.
I really am a person that likes to use up everything rather than end up throwing stuff away! So here I have used some leftover chicken and bacon . . .
which on their own wouldn't have served many people but in this disguise end up serving four people! (Or two really hungry ones I suppose!)
The covered flat breads got popped into a moderately hot oven, just long enough to really heat everything through and melt the cheese . . .
While they were baking I whisked together some ranch dressing a a spoonful of chopped adobes in chipotle sauce to create a Chipotle Ranch Dressing . . .
The finished flat bread clubs got drizzled with this dressing . . .
And then I passed some sour cream and prepared guacamole at the table.
Delicious knife and fork sandwiches that were well received and enjoyed immensely . . . and it was just leftovers. A salad on the side goes perfectly with these for a light lunch.
Yield: 4
Mexican Chicken Club Flatbread
Quick, easy and delicious. Another store cupboard favourite and a great way to use up some leftover cooked chicken!
ingredients:
- 2 flatbread or naan
- 1 (2 serving size) pouch refried black beans
- 250g cooked chicken, diced (2 cups)
- 4 slices cooked streaky bacon
- 1 TBS oil
- 1/2 each green and red bell peppers, chopped
- 1/2 large red onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 TBS Mexican spice (I used one from Swartz, Mexican Street blend)
- 185g grated mozzarella and cheddar blend (1 1/2 cups)
Chipotle Ranch Dressing:
- 60ml prepared ranch dressing (1/4 cup)
- 1 tsp adobe sauce
To serve:
- dairy sour cream
- prepared guacamole
instructions:
How to cook Mexican Chicken Club Flatbread
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line a baking tray with some aluminium foil. Place the flat breads onto the foil. Spread each with half of the black beans and then cover with 1/2 of the cheese.
- Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the peppers and onions. Cook stirring until softened without browning. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Throw in the chicken and the Mexican seasoning. Stir to coat. Divide this mixture evenly between the two flat breads, placing it on top of the cheese. Top each with two slices of bacon.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or so until heated through and the cheese has melted.
- While the flatbreads are baking make the chipotle ranch dressing by whisking the two ingredients together.
- Drizzle the finished flat breads with the chipotle ranch dressing to serve. Cut each in half diagonally and pass the sour cream and guacamole.
If you have never tried the Capsicana products and you are a fan of Latin American Flavours, you really should. Over here they are available at Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Ocado, Booths and Whole Foods. I think you might be able to get some of their things at Tesco also, but I'm not entirely sure about that.
I have one of these Ultimate Fajita Kits here to use as well. Latin fusion with tomato and coconut, sounds delicious don't you think? We love Fajita's!
I think I am becoming more adventurous in my old age when it comes to food. That's probably because I don't have fussy children in the house to please any more.
My husband is not a fussy eater. He doesn't really like pasta or chocolate, but he pretty much eats whatever I put in front of him.
I really enjoy the freedom I have now to explore and cook whatever I desire (within reason) and a variety of flavours and ethnic dishes, etc.
I have discovered in later years that I really enjoy Mediterranean and Middle East flavours!
I was sent some lovely Greek Flat Breads the other day and took advantage of them to make these fabulous Easy Chicken Gyros. (Yee-ros)
The Greek Flat Breads are from Deli Kitchen and they are just beautiful. Soft and flexible they are perfect for recipes such as this!
Gyros are a Greek sandwich which consists of grilled meat (chicken, lamb, beef or pork) which has been marinated in a delicious marinade prior to grilling, sliced and layered onto a flat bread along with some salad and some creamy Tzatzki sauce.
Sound yummy? They are incredibly tasty to say the least!
They are a popular sandwich found in many takeaways here in the UK. Along with a lamb/beef version.
I prefer to make them at home so that I know exactly what goes into them. (I have seen too many horror stories on the television about the cleanliness in these types of establishments!!)
They are really a very easy sandwich to make and quite quick if you do a bit of planning ahead of time.
Today I used chicken thighs which I had marinated in a fabulously tasty, garlicky, yogurty, oregano rich marinade.
You want to plan ahead a bit as you will want to marinate the chicken for a while before grilling it. Ideally about 12 hours, but certainly no less than 2 hours.
This makes it the perfect quick supper for a week night. Just pop the chicken into marinate while you are out all day at work or school or whatever and then pop it onto the grill when you get home!
Along with the grilled chicken you will need Tzatziki sauce. This is a cool cucumber/yogurt sauce.
You can use a good ready made one, but it is really quite simple to make your own, and infinitely tastier!
You also will want a simple salad garnish. Tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, parsley.
You can mix all of this together with some seasoning and just spoon it on, or you can leave things individually so that people can help themselves.
That is the way we do it in this house as my husband doesn't like much cucumber, but he does like the tomatoes and onions. That way he can please himself.
The chicken is simply grilled. For the most flavour you can do it on the outdoor grill (especially nice in the summer months) or you can pop it under the oven grill, or even in an electric grill.
Whatever is easiest for you and brings you joy! Let it sit for a few minutes after to settle the juices and then slice into bits, ready for layering on the flat breads.
You warm your flat breads while the chicken is resting, then dollop on some of that Tzatziki sauce, some salad fixings and the grilled chicken . . . ready to roll up, secure and enjoy!
Now that's what I call proper tasty!
Quick, easy and DELICIOUS! What more could you want???
Easy Chicken Gyros
Yield: 2 - 3
A small proportioned recipe for the smaller family. Delicious marinated chicken thighs, grilled and served wrapped in a lovely flat bread along with Tzatziki Sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers and chopped red onion. Easily doubled to feed more.
ingredients:
For the chicken:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 TBS olive oil
- 1 1/2 TBS Greek yogurt
- 3 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the Tzatziki:
- 3/4 of an English cucumber, deseeded, grated and squeezed to remove as much juice as possible
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 fresh TBS lemon juice
- 1/2 TBS olive oil
- 1/4 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
You will also need:
- 2 to 3 soft Greek Flat Breads
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 ripe tomato, deseeded and diced
- 2 - 3 TBS finely chopped red onions
- a small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
- salt and pepper as needed
instructions:
How to cook Easy Chicken Gyros
- First put the chicken in to marinate. (You should do this at least two hours ahead of time, and up to 12 hours ahead of time. Mix together all of the marinade ingredients in a plastic refrigerator container. Add the chicken and turn it to coat on all sides. Put the lid on and then place in the refrigerator to marinate.
- To make the Tzatziki, make sure your cucumber has been squeezed quite dry, then put it into a bowl and stir together with the remaining ingredients. Set aside for about 20 minutes in order for the flavours to meld well together.
- To make the salad for the Gyros, mix together the cucumbers, onion, tomato and parsley. Season to taste with some salt and black pepper. Alternately you can just lay the ingredients out on a plate and let people help themselves.
- When you are ready to serve, heat the grill to high. Remove the chicken from the marinade, discarding any marinade. Grill the chicken on the grill for about 2 to 3 minutes per side., until golden brown and cooked through.
- Cut the chicken into pieces. Keep warm while you warm your flat breads as per package instructions.
- To serve top each flat bread with some of the Tzatziki sauce, a portion of the chicken and some of the salad. Roll up, secure and enjoy!
Oh so yummy. You can get these new Deli Kitchen Greek Flat breads at Sainsburys! They're excellent! The Canadian in me just loves messy eat with your hands food. My husband . . . he prefers a knife and fork. He is just so proper British!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com
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