Sweet Ham and Gouda Crepes

Crepes are my kryptonite. I make homemade crepes once every 4 or 5 months, always on a weekend. And I eat those crepes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For breakfast, I’ll top a stack of crepes with fresh strawberries or bananas and a hefty pour of maple syrup. For lunch and dinner, I’ll use crepes as a blanket in which to wrap savory things. For dessert, I’ll have crepes with maple syrup again, or Nutella if it’s on hand. 

 

Late Summer Bruschetta

Working at a food company means that I often get to eat really delectable lunches. A few weeks ago, one of my bosses put together some crusty bread with homemade mayonnaise, heirloom tomatoes and basil while my other boss took pictures of us eating it. Let's hope a picture of me stuffing lunch in my face does not surface. I decided to borrow that combination of flavors for a late summer bruschetta using some heirloom tomatoes from my trip to Long Island this past weekend. 

 

Black Bean and Green Burger

A black bean burger is not by any means juicy.  If you slapped it on a bread bun, you'd be on a high speed train to dry town.  But if you put this flavor-packed patty on a bibb lettuce bun, you're in store for a cooling, fresh, energizing burger experience. You can even eat two of these bean beasts and still feel like you can run a marathon, not so for your standard meat burger.  Save your meat burger for the weekend and spend your weeknights with a Black Bean and Green Burger.  Don't fret if you're sans Cuisinart; you can make these burgers with a bowl and a wooden spoon too.  So make your shopping list and look forward to a guilt-free burger night.

Thai-ish Turkey Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

You’re growing tired of the taste of pasta and pizza.  You need something fresh, something to awaken your taste buds, and something that doesn’t have carbs.  It’s summer after all and you wanna shed those winter pounds.  Enter the lettuce wrap.  I crave the flavors of soy sauce, rice vinegar, cilantro and sriracha all thrown together inside a crunchy iceberg shell.  Lean ground turkey adds protein.  Mushrooms add some umami.  This is your new after-work, warm weather dinner. Who knew Monday nights could be so exciting...

Chorizo and Pepperoncini Sandwich

This sandwich may look easy to throw together, but it's a combo you might not have thought of before. It's inspired by a sandwich I had a few times at Forager's City Grocer in Dumbo, Brooklyn made with spicy soppressata instead of chorizo. The first occasion on which I ate one was last summer while driving, sans napkins, hoping I wouldn't end up with bright orange soppressata drippings on my jeans. The next occasion was much more pleasant as I shared the sandwich with Alan on a picnic table by the water on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade after a bike ride.

M’smen with Zucchini, Yogurt and Mint

I was on Hot Bread Kitchen’s website last week checking out their selection of breads and tortillas and came across a soft, buttery-looking flatbread called M’smen.  It’s a Moroccan style bread that’s served with sweet or savory fillings or toppings.  On Saturday I grabbed a hot decaf coffee from my corner store and walked to the farmers’ market to see if I could get my hands on some M’smen before it all sold out.  I squeezed through the river of shoppers, dogs and strollers over to the Hot Bread Kitchen stand and saw a stack of M’smen waiting for me.

A Bread Lover’s Dream in Union Square

My lunch hour usually doesn't include a tour of a bakery, so last Friday when an old friend of mine invited me for a sneak peak inside Breads Bakery, a new carb-lovers destination around the corner from Union Square's Coffee Shop, I quickly accepted and hopped in a cab. Although still getting its finishing touches and gearing up for its opening next week, Breads Bakery already smelled like fresh, hot, baked bread and rising dough.  Excitement was in the air as the bakery’s proud owner walked us past rows of wooden racks filled with baguettes, past bakers making slits in fresh pillows of dough, past an oven the size of a Hummer and smaller ovens with rotating trays of croissants oozing with marzipan and sliced almonds.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches with Apple Fennel Slaw

An addiction to pork is a serious matter.  Sufferers live for their next hit of pork in any style they can get it.  My name is Dorie and I’m a porkaholic.  (Un)fortunately Brooklyn happens to be a mecca for pork lovers.  My neighborhood BBQ spot, The Smoke Joint, offers piles of juicy pulled pork with sweet, creamy coleslaw and pickles.  The Meatball Shop on Bedford Avenue serves up spicy pork meatballs with a selection of sauces and sandwich styles which you choose by placing checkmarks on their wipe-off menus.  David Chang’s Momofuku Milk Bar provides my pork bun fix with mounds of high-flavor shredded pork enclosed in hot steamed buns showered with thinly sliced cucumbers and made spicy with an optional squirt of Siracha sauce.  I can’t forget the pulled pork and cheese stuffed quesadilla at Calexico in Greenpoint dressed with their aptly named “chipotle crack sauce”.  Needless to say, I will probably never leave Brooklyn.

Beet and Goat Cheese on Mini Baguette

* From the "A Week of Farmers Market Meals" Collection:  There is something about beet and goat cheese on a mini baguette that makes one feel European.  Perhaps it's the vibrant hot pink of beet seeping into stark white goat cheese, the freshness of each ingredient standing upright and at full attention or maybe it is the pettiness which allows you to start your meal with pride rather than self flagellation.  I love to feel European at least once a week! 

Guacamole Chicken Salad

Here’s a Mexican inspired spin on chicken salad.  Creamy avocado, diced tomatoes, cilantro, green onion and lime add bold flavor and zing to shredded chicken making a great sandwich filling or tortilla topping. 

The Perfect Egg Sandwich

My boyfriend’s step-father “Bud” was known for his Caribbean-style lemon soaked, pepper crusted bacon.  This bacon made my heart sing and added a ferocious zing to my eggy, cheesy sandwich.  If I had any business sense or any money, I’d open a weekend stand and sell only this sandwich!  I urge you to try it on a sunny Sunday morning with a perspiring glass of chilled iced tea.