Italian Sausage & Monterey Jack Grilled Cheese

April 12, 2016 · by ·

grilled-cheese

Happy National Grilled Cheese Day! Now this is a holiday I can get behind every year. Grilled cheese is definitely one of my all-time favorite comfort foods out there. From my loaded grilled cheese to my grilled cheese with pears and caramelized onions, this is one sandwich that truly has a place in my heart. So when the folks over at Rumiano Cheese sent me some coupons for this momentous foodie holiday, I had to oblige.

Cheese-bricks

When I was out picking up the cheese at Whole Foods, I picked up some Upton’s Italian Sausage seitan. I had a hunch that the cheese would pair well with the seitan and I was right.

I set out to make this amazing sandwich. It’s a special occasion, so I had to go full steam ahead, right?

I sautéed up some onions and cremini mushrooms along with the seitan.

I then buttered up a skillet and also buttered two slices of bread. I piled the bread with cheese and then the onion/seitan mixture and then more cheese. Topped with a piece of bread, and then in to the pan it went.

Whoa Nelly. I birthed a grilled cheese baby. And it was good.

The Monterey Jack from Rumiano was the perfect match for the onions, mushrooms and seitan. I love how all the flavors stand out in the sandwich.

Hope you enjoy it too!

Italian Sausage & Monterey Jack Grilled Cheese
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 package of Italian Sausage flavored seitan
  • Butter
  • Bread (2 slices per sandwich)
  • 1 brick of Monterey Jack Cheese, sliced up
Instructions
  1. Heat up some olive oil in a pan.
  2. Add in the onions and cook a few minutes. Add in the mushrooms and seitan and cook until cooked through and liquid has evaporated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  3. In a separate pan, heat up some butter.
  4. Butter Slices of bread and make sandwiches, piling cheese then filling then more cheese.
  5. Grill in pan until brown on each side and cheese has melted.
  6. Serve.
  7. Enjoy!

Grilled Cheese Vertical

Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, product review, sandwich, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Kosher BBQ Tofu Sandwiches

February 16, 2014 · by ·

 

So the weekend is here. Thank goodness. I love the weekends. Time to get stuff done. Time to have fun and relax with my family. Time to eat good food.

We’re in the thick of winter right now on the East Coast. We’ve had snow non-stop. It’s getting a bit ridiculous. Feeling like I’ve been stuck inside way too long. So I’ve been trying to come up with foods that remind me of summer.

bbq-tofu-sandwich

When I think of summer, I think of grilling. I love eating food from the grill.  My father has always been the master of the barbecue. Even in the winter, he heads out to the grill. I thought I’d share with you a fabulous Kosher BBQ Tofu Sandwich that even my father would be proud of. Since it’s vegetarian, the whole family will enjoy it! In the summer, I make this on the grilled, but in the winter, I stay inside with my trusty grill pan.

grilled tofu

Kosher BBQ Tofu Sandwiches
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 (12 ounce) package extra firm Tofu
  • 3 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Onion, thinly sliced
  • Cole Slaw
  • 1 ½ cups BBQ sauce
  • 6 Hamburger buns
Instructions
  1. Start by draining the tofu. To effectively drain it, place tofu on a plate lined with two layers of paper towel. Put two additional paper towels atop the tofu. Afterwards, place a plate with something heavy on it to slowly weigh it all down without crumbling the tofu. Allow it to set for 30 minutes and once all the water has been squeezed out, you can proceed to cutting the tofu. Make sure they are about ¼ inch thick so they would be easier to cook. To ensure that the tofu would be meaty and chewy rather than soft and gooey, it is best to freeze them for an hour. You would notice that the edges would be frozen. Do not thaw them before placing in the skillet.
  2. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet or non-stick pan. Once hot enough, place the tofu slices and fry until both sides are golden brown; 3-4 minutes is good enough. It is recommended that you shake the pan while cooking so the tofu won’t stick to the pan. Add onions. Pour in BBQ sauce to desired taste. Make sure BBQ sauce is enough to coat the tofu. When you notice that the sauce is setting on the tofu, you’re done. Top with coleslaw and serve on toasted wheat buns.
  3. If you are thinking of pairing this with wine, Chris Murphy, resident wine expert from M&S advises that “The rule of thumb when finding an excellent wine pairing is to try and match the textures of food with the wine, and this works for all cuisines, vegetarian or not.” In this case, the most dominant ingredient is the tofu and sparkling wine like Desroches Champagne (labelled suitable for vegetarians) allows the flavor of tofu to come through.

 

Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, sandwich, tofu, Vegan, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Curried Spinach and Chickpea Veggie Burgers

January 13, 2014 · by ·

spinach-and-chickpea-burger

Let me tell you something about myself. I love veggie burgers. I often judge a restaurant by three things; their veggie burgers, their grilled cheese and their onion rings. I know they sound like simple dishes, but often, they’re what I turn to when I go out to eat. And if those dishes are not good, uh oh.

So I’m always trying out new flavor combinations for veggie burgers at home. It’s a great weeknight dinner and they tend to freeze well for future meals.

This spinach and chickpea burger fell together. I was in the mood for a falafel flavor without the falafel and the mess it comes with. I needed simple. I also had some spinach I wanted to use up and I didn’t want to turn it in to a salad.

I’ve been keeping my Cuisinart food processor out on the counter lately, so these came together super fast.

I mixed up a can of chickpeas, an onion, some garlic and the spinach in the food processor. I then added some spices.

I formed them in to burger shapes and then lightly fried the burgers in a pan that was coated lightly in olive oil. I just wanted them to brown and hold together.

I then placed them in an oven at 375 to finish cooking.

I enjoyed these with a salad, while my kids devoured them on a sandwich thin along with extra spinach and sliced avocado and French fries on the side. Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!


Curried Chickpea and Spinach Burgers
 
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Recipe type: Burger, Sandwich, Veggie Burger
Ingredients
  • 2 tsp. olive oil
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 bag of baby spinach – about 3 cups
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 tsp. cumin
  • 2 tsp. curry powder
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 tsp. ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Mix everything together in a food processor.
  2. Form mixture in to burgers.
  3. Pan fry in a large sauté pan.
  4. Finish cooking in an oven at 375. It should bake for around 10 minutes or so.
  5. Serve them dressed with your preferred burger toppings. Enjoy!

spinach-and-chickpea-burgers

Filed Under: burger, Dinner, garbanzo beans, Gluten Free, Lunch, Main Course, recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wasabi Salmon Burger Wraps

June 11, 2013 · by ·

We had some leftover salmon from the other night. I wanted to use it up, but I am very bad about using leftovers. I just don’t like them. Salmon is one thing that I do use though. I usually like to turn it in to a salmon salad the next day. This time around though, I decided to turn it in to some salmon burgers. Similar to my baked salmon patties, you can use either recently cooked salmon or even some canned salmon. Both will work, but I always prefer to use fresh salmon when possible.

This salmon burger comes together in a similar way as the salmon patties, but the flavors are amped up a bit with the addition of the wasabi and ginger.

Salmon Burger Wraps

I mashed up my leftover fresh salmon in a bowl. You can use canned salmon if you don’t have fresh salmon lying around. To the salmon, add an egg, some wasabi, soy sauce, sesame soil, ginger, garlic, corn flake crumbs, chopped shallots. You mix it together and form in to burgers.

Salmon Burger Wraps

Fry the burgers in a large pan.

Salmon Burger Wraps

Serve in wraps with avocado, spinach, additional wasabi and mayonnaise.  So good! Make it now!

Salmon Burger Wraps

Wasabi Salmon Burger Wraps
 
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Recipe type: Sandwich, Burger, Lunch, Main Course
Ingredients
  • 12 oz cooked salmon or 2 - 6 oz cans of salmon
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2 tsp. ginger paste
  • 2 tsp. garlic paste
  • 1 extra large egg
  • 2 tbsp. wasabi
  • 1 tbsp. mayonaisse
  • ¾ cup corn flake crumbs
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. sriracha
  • Tortillas (I had mine in brown rice tortillas, while my family likes flour tortillas)
  • Avocados, sliced
  • Baby Spinach Leaves
Instructions
  1. In a medium mixing bowl, mash up the salmon with a fork
  2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.
  3. Form in to patties/burgers.
  4. Grill on a barbecue, or fry in a large fry pan on medium-high heat in one tablespoon of oil. The burgers should be lightly browned on both sides.
  5. Wrap up the burgers in a tortilla with additional wasabi or sriracha, some mayonnaise, some sliced avocado and spinach.
  6. Enjoy!

 

Filed Under: Dinner, fish, Gluten Free, Lunch, sandwich · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

VeganMofo: Italian Sausage and Peppers Sandwich

October 16, 2012 · by ·

I was at Trader Joe’s the other day, doing my weekly spending binge. I was wandering the refrigerated case and peering at their selection of fake meats. I usually stick to the same stuff each time, but on this trip I decided to check out their Tofurky Italian Sausage. I usually just buy the Trader Joe’s brand, but this one was slightly cheaper and looked decent enough, so I tossed it in my cart.

I usually just slice and saute these sausages with veggies and pasta. I wanted to do something different this time. I thought about the sausage carts near my office. An old coworker of mine used to pick up sandwiches from these carts often. They were cheap eats. While I never really crave street meat, the smell coming from my friend’s sandwich was always pretty good. I am so glad that I chose to recreate this sandwich at home. These were so good. And I highly recommend the Tofurky sausages. These had great flavor, better than some of the other fake sausages we have had. My meat-eating, pepper-disliking husband had three helpings of this! I call that a successful meal!


Italian Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp. olive oil
1 package of Tofurky Italian Sausage or 1 lb. of Italian Sausage
1 large onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbsp. red wine
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. chopped basil
1 tsp. oregano (dried)
salt
ground pepper
4 hoagie rolls
Daiya or Mozarella Cheese (optional)

Directions:

Heat up the olive oil in a large saute pan.

Slice your sausage and add to pan.  Cook for a few minutes until browned slightly on edges.  Remove to plate.

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Add the onions and peppers to the pan and cook a few minutes. Add in the garlic and mushrooms. Cook a few more minutes.

Add in the red wine, tomato paste and spices. Stir in and cook for around 5-7 minutes. The peppers and onions should be soft and the flavors incorporated.

Italian Sausage and Peppers Hero Sandwich

Taste and add salt or pepper as needed.

Scoop out the bottom of the hoagie roll.

Layer on the sausage. Top with the peppers and onion mixture.

Add cheese if desired. I had mine with some Daiya Mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top.

Enjoy!

Italian Sausage and Peppers Hero Sandwich
veganmofo
Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, sandwich, soy, Vegan, VeganMoFo, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes

September 5, 2012 · by ·
Lentil Sloppy Joes

I was browsing through the grocery store the other day, and I came across an end cap that held rows and rows of Manwich. I haven’t had that stuff in years, if ever. A while back though, I made some homemade sloppy joes for the kids and they were a big hit, if a bit messy. I don’t know which part they liked more – the saucy hands or the taste of the saucy meat.

Anyhow, Sloppy Joes brings back some good food memories. Not eating meat anymore, I decided to turn it in to a vegetarian treat and use lentils as my base. It turned out really great!



Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes
Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 10 oz. package of mushrooms, chopped
1 can of lentils, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 cup of tomato sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. cayenne
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground pepper

Hamburger Buns or Kaiser Rolls for serving
Cole Slaw (optional) for serving in the Sloppy Joe’s

Directions:

Heat a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add in the oil.

Add in the chopped onions and cook until soft.

Add in the garlic, peppers, celery and mushrooms. Cook a few minutes.

Add in the lentils and the broth and cook a minute.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook 5-10 minutes. Let it come to a boil and then simmer for about 5 minutes.

Lentil Sloppy Joes

Spoon mixture over some slightly hollowed out kaiser rolls. I like topping mine with a bit of coleslaw for a tangy crunch!

Yum! Enjoy!

Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • ½ cup red pepper, chopped
  • ½ cup green pepper, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • ½ 10 oz. package of mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 can of lentils, drained and rinsed
  • ¼ cup vegetable broth
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • ½ cup of tomato sauce
  • ⅓ cup ketchup
  • 1 tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. cayenne
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. ground pepper
  • Hamburger Buns or Kaiser Rolls for serving
  • Cole Slaw (optional) for serving in the Sloppy Joe's
Instructions
  1. Heat a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add in the oil.
  2. Add in the chopped onions and cook until soft.
  3. Add in the garlic, peppers, celery and mushrooms. Cook a few minutes.
  4. Add in the lentils and the broth and cook a minute.
  5. Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook 5-10 minutes. Let it come to a boil and then simmer for about 5 minutes.
  6. Spoon mixture over some slightly hollowed out kaiser rolls. I like topping mine with a bit of coleslaw for a tangy crunch!
  7. Enjoy!

 

Lentil Sloppy Joes
Filed Under: Dinner, Vegan, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Grilled Cheese with Pears and Caramelized Onions

May 23, 2012 · by ·

My dad is the sandwich master – especially on the weekends. Even my kids know. Zaydie is who you turn to when you want any multitude of sandwiches. After a few weeks with my parents, my daughter came home asking me to make lunch like Zaydie did. “Zaydie likes it this way.” “Zaydie makes this differently,” and so on. Egg salad is never just chopped eggs with Zaydie. It’s amped up with herbs and pickles or olives. Same with grilled cheese. There was always something added to it. I remember a period of time when grilled cheese was often filled with cheddar, tomato and sunflower seeds.

So…tonight’s dinner is dedicated to my dad. As I drove home, debating what to make. I thought of the bag of fresh cheeses I had just bought at the store. With Shavuot coming up, I had to stock up. I wanted something fast and something tasty. I decided to make this. Not sure if I have upped the ante on my dad’s sandwich skills, but hopefully, I have come close to reaching his sandwich awesomeness.

Grilled Cheese with Pears and Caramelized Onions (makes 2 good sized sandwiches)
Ingredients:


1 large onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. thyme
4 slices of bread ( I used rye, but a ciabatta or a sourdough would be great with this)
dijon mustard
gouda cheese, sliced
1 ripe bosc pear
more butter, for grilling

Start by heating up a small saute pan. Add butter to the pan. Get it hot. Once the butter is melted, add the onions and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Cook the onions slowly. Add the salt and the thyme. Let the onions caramelize.  This will take around ten minutes or so. Stir every so often. Once the onions are done, set aside.

IMG_1290

Slice up your pear in to thin slices. About 1/4-inch thick.

IMG_1294

Spread a thin layer of dijon mustard on the inside of two of the slices of bread. Make sure not too put too much mustard on, or it will overpower the other flavors. Add a slice of cheese; then a pear layer; then the caramelized onions and finally another slice of cheese. Sandwich it together with an a slice of the bread that doesn’t have any mustard. You are now ready for some grilling!

This sandwich would do really well in a panini press. Alas, that is the one kitchen appliance that I don’t have.

In a large pan, heat up a tablespoon of butter. Place sandwich in to pan. Pan should be on medium-high heat.

Take a large cast iron pan or some other heavy heatproof object and press it down on your sandwich.

IMG_1295
Grill for a few minutes on each side.

Slice in half and eat up! Serve with some salad on the side.

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Enjoy!

Filed Under: dairy, Dinner, easy, Lunch, sandwich, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , ,

Vegetarian Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich

May 10, 2012 · by ·

Among the various food carts and trucks to ogle in my area, is the Vietnamese banh mi cart. For the uneducated, a banh mi is a delicious sandwich served on a baguette. It comes in various flavors – it’s bumped up in flavor with some traditional Vietnamese flavors like lemongrass and cilantro. The near varieties often include a pate.

At lunch time, the line sometimes seems to be a mile long. As the line moves along, the ladies come out of the cart and cross of sandwiches as they run out. They have one vegetarian option – a tofu banh mi. 
I have yet to see a kosher restaurant sell an authentic banh mi. Aside from the pork varieties, there is nothing inherently “treif” about banh mi. I miss the days where I could stroll in to Chinatown and pick up a scrumptious three dollar Vietnamese sandwich. 
I decided to recreate it at home. I have been browsing Pinterest and eyeing the various banh mi options. I keep pinning and repinning ideas. I am happy with the way it turned out. I regret that I didn’t include a vegan pate in this version. My second regret is that I didn’t take the time to make my own baguettes. Baguettes will have to wait for another day.

The Bahn Mi I made, is made up of layers:

  1. Baguette
  2. Mayonnaise or Vegan Mayo
  3. Daikon/Carrot Pickle (recipe below)
  4. Baked Tofu Vegenaisse(recipe below)
  5. Sriracha
  6. Thinly Sliced Cucumbers
  7. Thinly Slice Red Onions
  8. Thinly Sliced Avocado
  9. Cilantro
Carrot/Daikon Pickles
recipe very slightly adapted from Viet World Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 large daikon
2 thick carrots

1 teaspoon salt 
2 teaspoons plus 1/2 cup sugar 
1  1/4 cups distilled white vinegar
1 cup lukewarm water
Cut the carrots and daikon up in to a thick julienne. I used my nifty new mandoline. 
Place the cut up carrots and daikon in a plastic bowl and mix with the salt and 2 teaspoons of the sugar. Massage the mixture with your hands for a few minutes. The veggies will start to soften and some water will start to seep out. The vegetables will get a bit softer. Drain the liquid and then rinse the veggies in water and press all of the liquid out. Transfer to whatever container you will use to store your pickles.
In another bowl, mix up the rest of the sugar, the vinegar, and the warm water. 
Pour the brine mixture over the carrot/daikon mixture. Cover your container. Place in fridge and let them do their pickling.

IMG_1211


Baked Tofu:
recipe slightly adapted from eat, live run


Ingredients:
1 lb extra firm tofu

2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
pinch of sea salt

Drain the tofu and slice the brick of tofu so it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the brick in half.

Mix the marinade ingredients.

Marinate tofu for about an hour.

IMG_1212

Preheat oven to 350.

Drain 75% of the marinade ingredients. The rest will burn off.

Bake for about 15 minutes on each side.

Have all of the ingredients prepped and ready to go. Layer your sandwich together. Get ready to eat. Enjoy!

IMG_1214

Filed Under: asian, Lunch, Main Course, sandwich, tofu, Vegan, Vegetarian, vietnamese · Tagged: , , , ,

Vegan BLT with Homemade Vegan Bacon

May 9, 2012 · by ·

While browsing Pinterest (such a time suck, but so fun!), I came across some homemade tempeh recipes. From there, I moved on to tempeh bacon. When I clicked through to the bacon though, I learned about the traditional way to make tempeh. You have to let the soybeans ferment and get moldy. You also need a special tempeh starter. Well that totally turned me off. I don’t need instant gratification, and I am willing to go mail- order for something I must make, but this wasn’t going to happen. So I kept on looking.

I finally came across a recipe for a vegan and gluten free tempeh-like bacon that I could handle. I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand. So excited, I had to make the vegan bacon that night. So maybe there was a little bit of instant gratification going on there. 
For a little history, I’ve never really eaten the real thing. Not even in the days when I didn’t keep kosher. I have had beef-fry, bacon salt and bacon bits. I know that those don’t count. I do like a smoky bacony flavor though. So I was excited to try my hand at this. I was doubly excited to turn this in to a BLT. Something I have never sunk my teeth into, but always looks so good. The results were great. The other good thing about this fake bacon stuff is that it freezes well and is pretty versatile.
Vegan Bacon
slightly adapted from No Meat Athlete
Ingredients

1/2 cup dried adzuki beans or other small red beans
1/3 cup whole kasha (buckwheat groats)
1 tsp.onion powder
3 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. liquid smoke
4 tsp. nutritional yeast
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce
1.5 tsp. sea salt
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons maple syrup


Soak the beans and buckwheat in a bowl for several hours. I let it sit while I went to work.

When you get home, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Strain and rinse the soaked beans and buckwheat.

Place all of the ingredients, including the strained beans and buckwheat in to your food processor. Pulse until everything is uniformly ground up and pasty. Don’t puree it though.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Spray with baking spray.

Spread the mixture out on the paper.

Press down on the mixture to spread out with another piece of sprayed parchment.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Let cool.

Slice in to bacon-like strips.

Store and freeze at this point, or cook up like bacon!

Vegan BLT (makes 2 sandwiches)
Ingredients:
1/2 a recipe of the vegan bacon
3 tsp.oil of your choice
Earth Balance buttery stick – a few tabs
4 slices of bread (I used Rye)
Lettuce
Thinly sliced tomatoes
Vegan Mayonaisse (or you could use the real stuff if you are in to that sort of thing)
Fry the vegan bacon on medium in an oiled pan.

Vegan Bacon

Let it get to your desired crispness. Don’t let it go too long or at too high of a heat as it burns quickly.
Set aside on a paper towel lined plate. Keep in a warm spot.
In that same pan, melt some of the Earth Balance.  Toast your bread in that buttery spread. 
Spread mayo on each slice. 
Layer with lettuce then vegan bacon and then the tomatoes. Top with the second slice toasted bread.
You’ve got a sandwich now!  Take a bite! This was so good! 

Vegan BLT


Enjoy!
Filed Under: Dinner, Gluten Free, Main Course, sandwich, Vegan, whole grain · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

English Muffins

December 7, 2011 · by ·

I don’t remember ever having a breakfast sandwich until I moved to New York. 


Don’t get me wrong. We ate breakfast in Minnesota. They had Egg McMuffins (shudder) there as well. They just don’t have all the greasy delis, bodegas, and carts where you can order that classic egg & cheese on a roll. 

If I ate breakfast out in Minnesota, it was usually two eggs – over easy, with a side of hash browns and toast. If I wanted to shake things up a bit, there were always omelets and pancakes. My father is a master omelet maker. Still, there is something to being able to go to a corner store and pay a guy $1.50 to make a greasy sandwich – that also serves as a really tasty hangover cure.

Fast forward a few years. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had huge cravings for egg sandwiches in the morning. I decided to start searching for that perfect breakfast sandwich. I still haven’t found it. I haven’t found anyone who gets all the parts just right. If the bagel or roll is good, then my luck – the eggs are overdone. Or the cheese is all wrong. I don’t need much. A toasted english muffin or roll with american cheese, two eggs, salt, and pepper. That’s all it takes. 

I have done bagels. Rolls are easy. I had never done English Muffins. 

Growing up, we often used to eat the classic Thomas’s English Muffins.  With all its nooks and cranny goodness.  I decided I had to make something like that. I studied dozens of recipes online and in my various baking cookbooks. I researched flour and muffins rings. It didn’t seem too complicated. I simply procrastinated. I finally dug in. Sunday morning was D-Day. It really wasn’t hard to do. Was fun to make – and tasty too! 

Traditional English Muffins

1/4 cup warm water (105 – 115 degrees)
1 tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast (or a little less than a tablespoon of instant yeast)
Pinch of sugar
4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
Cornmeal (for dusting)

If using active dry yeast, combine the water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. If using instant yeast, as I did, you can just mix the yeast in with the flour and omit this first step and the sugar.
Combine 2 cups of the flour and the salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in egg, milk, butter, and yeast mixture. Mix until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring in each time, until you have a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 3 to 5 minutes. Return the dough to a clean, greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
Sprinkle a work surface with cornmeal. Pour the dough out of the bowl and onto the surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with cornmeal and then roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Use a large round cookie cutter or an upside down drinking glass to cut the muffins out of the dough.


Preheat your oven to 350.


Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Place the muffins onto the skillet and let the bake for 5 to 10 minutes until quite dark before flipping.

 I threw my english muffins in the oven for a few minutes to finish the baking process.

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Cool them on a wire rack when out of the oven.

Serve toasted with butter as I did on Sunday, or as a breakfast sandwich with egg and cheese as I intend to do tomorrow morning. Enjoy!


Check out all the nooks and crannies here!

Filed Under: baked, bread, Breakfast · Tagged: , , , ,
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