Bomb Banh Mi

One of the most satisfying things to do when you are hungry is to get a huge sandwich that is wrapped in parchment paper, unroll it, lay it out where you are eating, and then take a huge bite. Any kind of street food or fast food comes in some awesome wrapping or sprawled out on some gorgeous paper hot dog tray, and there is no exception to the Vietnamese street food sandwich Banh Mi.

Banh Mi actually refers to the bread that the Banh Mi sandwich is served on, it is a very airy version of a baguette which was brought to Vietnam by the French when the French colonized. They are typically made with a type of pate but we have decided to marry the glory of American grilling with this delicious Vietnamese street food.

Our Banh Mi is a grilled marinated flank steak, accompanied by a five spice pickled slaw of carrot and parsnip, red cabbage, and topped with cilantro.

Ingredients: Makes 3

1 loaf soft baguette
1/2 head red cabbage
1 handful of cilantro

Slaw:
1 large parsnip
2 large carrots
1 Tablespoon Five Spice
½ cup rice wine vinegar

Steak:
1 ½ lbs skirt steak
3 cloves garlic
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons garlic salt
3 Tablespoons fish sauce

To start off we want you to prep and marinate your meat. Start by laying your meat out and using a sharp knife, cut any excess chunks of fat or silver skin (which is the connective tissue) so that the meat doesn’t become too tough. Next smash up your garlic and in a large bowl marinate your meat in all the meat ingredients, flipping a couple of times to saturate both sides and refrigerate as long as you can, preferably overnight, but hey we don’t all have that kind of planning time, so even 20 minutes is fine.

Next peel and shred the parsnip and carrots. In a small sauce pan boil vinegar and five spice, once boiling remove from heat and add parsnip and carrot and let sit for 10 minutes. Once that is done you can store up to a week with the pickling liquid in a jar.

To cook the steak heat a grill pan at medium high heat, and once at desired temperature place steak on. Let cook on each side for about 6 minutes, depending on how thick your steak is check the inside to test the doneness. Otherwise you just want to get a nice sear on to add a nice crispness. Let steak sit for 10 minutes before you slice.

To assemble the sandwich, cut the baguette into thirds and then down the middle, lay the meat down, then some pickled slaw, then some sliced cabbage, then top with a pinch of cilantro!

Enjoy!

The Wedge

Memorial Day passed this last week, and though it is not technically summer yet, it sure feels like it! Kids are off of school, the weather is heating up, and most importantly Mikey and I are getting a really nice tan. We love our summers in Venice because it is a time when we get to see people that we don’t get to see all the time. It seems that there is no lack of things to do and people coming through at all times, and in that case you need to be prepared with something that is not only super quick to make, but is light, crisp, and really refreshing.

A wedge salad has a very traditional way it can be made, but who says you need to stick to tradition! It is like getting that fabulous tan that will make you feel all new. This wedge that Michael and I created has a nod to tradition, but has some summer flavors that we love, such as fresh sweet corn and roasted cherry tomatoes. You can make the tomatoes and the dressing in advance (even the pancetta) and have them stored up to 4 days so you can have them on hand. Enjoy and stay prepared for the friends that drop in!

*Allow 2 hours for roasting the tomatoes. 

Ingredients: serves 2-4 depending on hunger

1 head iceberg lettuce
5 cherry tomatoes (the bigger the better)
2 ears yellow sweet corn
1 Tablespoon thyme
½ cup pancetta diced
½ cup gorgonzola
1 ½  cup half and half
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch salt
Pinch white pepper
 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Slice your tomatoes in half and toss in olive oil and thyme. Lay on baking sheet seed side up, and place in oven for 2 hours.

Next we are going to render the pancetta, if it is not already diced do so. Place in sauté pan and cook for about 10 minutes on medium high heat until you reach the crispiness you want. Lay on a paper towel to absorb the remaining fat. Set aside.

The dressing is really simple, and we actually made two versions of it; one really thick and one thinner. Take all the ingredients, but set aside a ½ cup of the half and half. Blend all of the other ingredients until nice and smooth. Take about a ¼ of that mix and blend with the other ½ cup of half and half. Set both aside in the refrigerator until you are ready to use both.

For the corn, shuck it, and using a knife, run it down away from you cutting off the little kernels and set aside. Next cut the iceberg lettuce in half, and then into quarters depending on how many people you are planning on serving.

Once the tomatoes are down, take out and let cool.

To assemble the salad, lay down a wedge of lettuce, cover with the thinner salad dressing. Lay the tomatoes around the plate. Put a dollop of thick dressing, and now sprinkle with pancetta and corn.

Cut in to it!!

Happy Birthday Food Nasty: cupcakes!

We have officially had a year since our first post! So this is Food Nasty’s 1^st Birthday!

 A lot has happened this year, many great and fun things, and we are happy that you have been a part of it! We hope to grow even more and share many more things with you in our second year!

So enjoy these birthday cupcakes we have made for you after you get a look at some of Food Nasty's best recipes of our first year!

 Happy Birthday Food Nasty!

Going clockwise and starting top left:

1. Low Calorie Breakfast Sandwich

2. Rainy Day Chipotle, Chorizo, and Beef Chili!

3. Heat Wave Popsicles

4. Cinnamon Crumble Apple Muffin

5. Detox Slaw

6. Meyer Lemon Cake with Coconut Frosting

Cinnamon Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

Ingredients: makes 12
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt                                      
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup raspberry jam (seedless)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake tray with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a small bowl place vanilla extract in milk.

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar. Beat adding one egg at a time. Add half of the dry mix, and beat, then add milk, then finishing off with the rest of the dry mix. Do not over beat.

Using an ice cream scooper if you have one, and fill your cupcake liners 2/3 of the way up. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

Pull out and cool until they are cooled all the way through before you put frosting on.

To make frosting mix half the cream cheese and half the butter together with all of the sugar. Beat until mixed completely, add jam. Add the remainder of cream cheese and butter slowly as to not make runny frosting.

Set in fridge and cool for 20 minutes to let set.

If you don't have an actual piping bag, place frosting in sandwich bag, and cut tip off and pipe!

Enjoy these delicious food nasty birthday cupcakes!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother’s Day! Michael and I are lucky to have very loving and caring mothers. My mother Nancy loves crepes, and Michael’s mother Shira loves a specific kind of crepe known as crepe Suzette. This type of crepe is boozy, sweet, and perfect for that woman you love to call Mom.

Crepe Suzette is a crepe that is typically flambéed with either Grand Marnier, or in our case Triple Sec. It is a sweet crepe served in a thick citrus sauce with a little bit of rind, some like to serve it with vanilla ice cream, but I like it as is.

Happy Mother’s Day!
Ingredients: serves 4

Crepe Batter:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 ½ tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Triple Sec
Extra butter for pan

Tangerine Butter Sauce:
3 large tangerines
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
10 tbsp. sugar
½ cup Triple Sec