A few months back I mentioned to my co-worker that I was heading over to San Francisco, among the few stops and destinations he happened to mention was one sandwich shop in particular. What made this place so special to him was Prosciutto & Pesto sandwich that he exuberantly proclaimed was one of the best in the city. To this day, for the life of me I cannot even bring a single letter of that shop to the tip of my tongue. What makes it worse is that I haven't seem my co-worker in months!
The only details I have is that it consists of a freshly baked Ciabatta, Pesto, some type of cheese (Gouda/Parmesan?), and "generous" helping Prosciutto.
It's been a good while since my last trip to San Fran, and every now & then that idea of what that sandwich might have been still pops up. Yesterday I simply cracked and proclaimed that I must try and recreate it no matter what it takes!
Construction: In the rush of things I couldn't find any fresh Ciabatta rolls in the afternoon (go figure). But the next best thing came along, Half-Baked Panini Rustic Rolls that only need 8 minutes in the oven, resulting in a satisfying warm gold crust that makes you remember why bread is so good.
Basic Pesto, Mozzarella (Gouda/Parmesan was mentioned, but I was too unsure and stuck with what I had at home), and Cherry Tomato's (sounded like a good idea) .
As for Prosciutto, I know I said "generous" but I wanted to start off small and not too crazy (this is only the first one).
Outcome? I can definitely say this will not be my last one, since I will be continuously be experimenting with this sandwich till I nailed my rough concept.
Ever since I put that idea of a sandwich on a pedestal my mind will never be at ease, I must have the original. It may not sound special to most, but it's my obsession. If anyone out there has any idea of what place I'm talk about, please let me know, both my mind and my palate will be ever so grateful.
It's summer, it's time to grill, and it's someone's birthday,what a better way to celebrate!?!
Co-hosting this together with J. Kao was a whole lotta fun, and a tad nerve-racking at first, but that comes with the territory. She directed the event and I manned the grilling section for the evening. Which, I will use as my excuse for the lack of photos later into the evening, aside from the fact that we where all slipping into food comas.
We started off the the afternoon with some simple grilled corn and some Zucchini Spears that where marinated in Lemon Olive Oil (from 41 Olive ) for a couple hours then sprinkled with some Garlic-Pepper just before they hit the grill.
I love Kabobs, but I loathe the process of meticulously sliding each an every bit onto the skewers for over the course of an hour and some change, oy. But honestly it was a labor of love that ended up being a hit, so that goes to show! Haha
The variety we feasted on are originally based from a issue of Men's Health issue I had lying around. Each marinade batch is enough for 1.5 lbs of meat, which was luckily enough to make one skewer for each of us (9 in total).
-Lemon-Pepper Shrimp w/ Basil, Tomato, & Prosciutto- This one was the crowd pleaser, works well with just about any type of seafood. In a bag just toss 1/3 cup of olive oil + 1 tsp grated lemon zest + 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice + 2 finely chopped garlic cloves + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp ground pepper.
-Teriyaki Beef w/ Pickled Ginger & Scallions: The grilled pickled ginger comes way out of left field with an unexpected savory profile along side the equally sweet scallions. Originally the types of cuts called for either Blade, Flatiron, or Skirt. I opted for Stew Beef chunks that came out surprisingly well, but one of my friends suggested using Ribeye, which I'll eagerly use for the next time. Same process as above, just toss together in a bag 1 tsp minced garlic + 1 tsp minced fresh ginger + 1/2 cup of soy sauce + 1 tbsp sugar.
-Curried Yogurt Chicken w/ Okra & Smokey Bacon- This one is my personal favorite, as I have secret love for all things curry, combining the complex flavors with the smokiness of the bacon has me sold. As for the type of chicken meat, I'm a thigh guy (boneless), dark meat is more flavorful. I believe you got the idea down, 1 cup full-fat yogurt + 1 tsp curry powder + 1tsp salt + 1/2 tsp ground pepper.
You can go ahead at let them sit in the fridge for a few hours but I did it for almost 24, which undoubtedly makes a great difference.
The Fig Margaritas where absolutely perfect for the warm evening, not too sweet, not too boozy. I just tweaked the tequila portions to 1.5 oz and switched out the sparkling water with sparkling limeade from Trader Joe's (in effect, it added any missing sweetness).
Watermelon Granita was provided in part by Jamie and when paired with some Sugar Cookies it made for a surprisingly delightful combination.
But after few hours of grilling, feasting, and imbibing I have to say there where still some more golden moments to come. One particular event involved the unwrapping of large teddy bear with its hands tied behind it's back (a sight to behold as it was getting carried away). While another was one of our random group discussions that started off about Oliver (the chubby house cat) resembling meatloaf, which turned into talks about the socio-economical impacts on nutrition, to deep space exploration, to Pokemon and somehow back to Oliver being plump. This stuff just happens, we're pretty weird when we get together.
At the end of the day all I can do is exhale a deep breath of relief and satisfaction as it was time clean up, time just skips so soon on us.
I would like to thank everyone that attended for coming and making this evening so special, everything you brought was especially delicious! And I would like to include one more Happy Birthday to Kelly, don't let that one year pass you. Hah
