I am sandwich lover… I could live off sandwiches my whole life. That should be no secret to you guys…
My sister is always raving about . Florida is full of them. She’s always bragging about how good the bread is, how delicious the sandwiches are. But I am a picky person… picky in the sense that if I do not see exactly what I like or crave that moment on the menu, I think places should make an effort to please me as best they can.
I have become a master of navigating thru a restaurant’s menu and identifying what is it exactly that I can and want to eat. And my former experiences with Panera Bread were not positive. I can’t pin point now what it was… but I remember looking at the menu over and over and over again trying to figure out how to build a sandwich that would hit the spot. Because of that impression, I would drive past Panera Bread places without thinking too much into them.
But recently I was driving from Orlando to Miami and we needed to eat something before we left on our 4 hour drive south. I tried several places I was more interested in eating but fate would have it that the best place suitable was Panera Bread, so we decided to give it a shot.
I was pleasantly surprised to find on their menus these Sandwich and Salad combos. They also have soups, but I never trust soups at restaurants, even if they say they’re vegetarian. Besides, it was hot outside and my stomach preferred the cold bit of a salad to the warmth of a soup. Besides I always feel I am not being that naughty when I eat lots of bread and cheese if somehow it’s paired with a large and abundant salad.
I was pleasantly surprised to see they had 2 vegetarian sandwich options on their menu… This is what we ordered:
Caprese Panini with Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil pressed in a baguette with a Greek Salad
Veggie Sandwich on Whole Grain Bread with a Garden Salad
The salads were extremely generous and the ½ sandwiches were just enough to fill us up. The lunches tasted fresh and hearty at the same time. I liked it so much to the point of starting to crave the same thing the next day and the next day. That to me is the sign of a good meal… when you are willing to have the same thing every day for a few days straight.
So to my vegetarian friends… if you’re ever in a pinch to select something for lunch, give Panera Bread a try. I may not have been blown away the first time I tried them, but it paid off to give them another try. People and places always deserve second chances… no??
It might seem weird to you that I am posting an asparagus recipe in the Fall… but I had these pictures taken for a few months now, but never got around to write a post about it. And given I have noticed how many readers we have from the Southern Hemisphere, then it should be just as appropriate to post something that goes with their Spring season starting just now.
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The asparagus I grew up with were canned and I usually ate them almost exclusively in a party sandwich like these…
But I have come to develop a great love for asparagus, especially when they’re abundant and fresh in season in every farmer’s market near you. This is an easy delicious recipe to snack on or as a side dish…
GRILLED ASPARAGUS
½ a bunch of asparagus Salt and Pepper to taste The juice of ½ lemon or lime Olive oil Parmesan cheese
I like to use a grill pan for this… and I like pencil-thin asparagus.
I am FaceBook friends with Top Chef Master Suvir Saran… I think I shared a little bit of how we became friends before.
I love he keeps sharing pictures in his profile of his farm in Vermont, his pets, his travels and the dishes he creates. Among one of those dishes are his Farmhouse Crispy-Creamy Potatoes. This was one of the first recipes he posted from his Masala Farm book when we first became “friends”. The pics he shared just looked utterly divine.
Photo Courtesy of Masala Farm Cookbook by Chef Suvir Saran
Suvir is a fan of people making his recipes and telling him all about our experience making them and eating them… So here’s my experience with his recipe.
I’ll start with the caveat that I try to follow recipes as much as I can but I then start changing things here and there to make it easier on me, trying to sacrifice the least possible in flavor or texture. Suvir’s original recipe calls for par-boiling the potatoes before roasting them. I am guessing this is what gives the potatoes the “creamy” part in the title. I debated… but I just could not spend almost 2 hours making this dish. I was getting hungry… and time was of the essence.
Another thing… The original recipe also calls for roasting these potatoes on a cast-iron skillet in the oven. The exact same cast-iron skillet I do not own. And even though I do have skillets with metal handles that can go into the oven, when making this for one, the skillet would not fit my toaster oven, so that part of the recipe had to also be modified.
I am sure by now Suvir is probably saying – “Madelyn dear… this is no longer my recipe!” But I can tell you, the mixture of herbs, spices and roasting time makes for a delectable and mind-blowing dish!!!!! And you’ll even have left-over oil and garlic to make other dishes. And I have Suvir to thank for showing me how to combine ingredients and technique. That’s what a true Top Chef Master is all about. Thanks Suvir!!!!
Follow me into my interpretation of Suvir Saran’s Farmhouse Crispy-Creamy Potatoes …
3 HERBS ROASTED POTATOES
3 medium red potatoes ½ tsp Herbes de Provence 2 tbs butter 2 tbs canola oil 1 tbs olive oil 10-12 sage leaves 1 ½ sprig of rosemary 1 ½ sprig of thyme 1 head of garlic, with the top cut-off so the cloves are exposed Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
These potatoes are AMAZING!!!! They are real show-stoppers!!!!! I had them with a side salad and the potatoes were the star of my plate. I can also see making these with some sautéed mushrooms or warm succotash vegetable salad.
I know I cut some corners in the preparation by not pre-boiling the potatoes, but red potatoes are still creamy and tender on the inside when roasted. They crisped up… maybe not the same way as in a cast-iron skillet, but the look and texture were incredible. A true restaurant-quality dish.
And the left-over oil, herbs and roasted garlic are incredible to sauté mushrooms the next day… a recipe that keeps on giving!!!! What else could we ask for???
KarmaFree Cooking 