Mini Cheeseburger Salad with Yellow Mustard Vinaigrette

I first made this salad a few years ago and it was an absolute hit. I made it for my family, made it for potluck dinners, made it for company, and shared the recipe with friends. It takes everything that is delicious about a cheeseburger and makes it even more delicious.

You make little burgers, along with a delicious mustard vinaigrette and they are layered on a bed of romaine, cherry tomatoes (I still have some growing in my garden!), and sliced dill pickles. My whole family loves this one, even me.

Here is the recipe for Mini Cheeseburger Salad with Yellow Mustard Vinaigrette
* I used mild cheddar to top my mini cheeseburgers
* I used ground sirloin for the burgers

Butter-Almond-Crusted Fishwiches

This is what I made the night my son told me I should open a restaurant. This sandwich is the reason my son thinks I am amazing. Well, one of the reasons.

I saw this recipe in Everyday with Rachael Ray and thought it would be a good dinner. The kids love fish and I want to like slaw. The fact the the slaw here uses dijon mustard, dill pickle relish, a little honey & oil, (none of that gross white stuff), made me very hopeful.

I decided to follow the recipe as closely as I could. (Of course, I had to get rid of some of the fat, like the butter which I reduced almost to nothing to cook the fish in).
I bought some freshly baked Italian sandwich bread from a local bakery and got to work.

I used fresh breadcrumbs, which I made with whole wheat bread, in the breading.

The combination of flavors was really great. The fresh thyme stood out. The almonds in the breading were really delicious.

My kids and hubby raved about this. I really like it too.

I don't really know what else to say about it besides it was absolutely fantastic. Definite repeat.

Recipe for Butter-Almond- Crusted Fishwiches * I used 1 Tbls of oil in the slaw
and 1 1/2 Tbls dijon mustard
* I made my own breadcrumbs, using 3 pieces of whole wheat bread
* I didn't use the all that butter when cooking the fish

My Mom's Potato Salad

I know everybody out there has at least one dish that their mom makes better than anyone else in the world.
My mom has many, but when it comes to potato salad, I can only eat my mom's.
I don't like mayo anyway, so if a potato salad is just mayo based- no way am I going to eat it. This recipe has lots of mustard, so the flavor is a little bit different. My mom also makes this with plain yogurt occasionally, which I prefer.
I also don't like potato salad that has too much dressing/sauce. I prefer drier potato salad. This particular time that we made the potato salad together, my mom said it was too "wet".

When my family was in town visiting we served dinner at the homeless shelter and my mom made her potato salad.
We found a good deal on red potatoes, that had a yellow-y flesh, so that is what we used here, but usually a normal baking potato does the job. Because we used red potatoes and the skins were tight, we didn't peel them.
Potato salad is not something that I eat more than once or twice a year, but I know lots of people enjoy it during the summer, at picnics and cook-outs, so it fits with this time of year.
My dad would eat this everyday if he could.

My mom's Potato Salad adapted from Managing Your Meals by Winnifred Jardine
6 medium potatoes
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
8 hard-boiled eggs
1/3 cup dill pickle relish + a little pickle juice, add more relish if desired
3-4 Tbls yellow mustard or Dijon, if preferred
3/4 cup mayo or plain yogurt, more if needed
1 Tbls sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 tsp celery seeds

Cook, peel, and dice potatoes; combine with chopped onion; set aside. Shell eggs; separate yolks and whites. (Sometimes I discard a couple of the yolks)
Dice egg whites; set aside.
Mash yolks with mustard; stir into mayo/yogurt along with sugar, salt, and celery seed.
Combine mayo mixture with potatoes, onions, egg whites, and pickle relish.
Season to taste.
Cover bowl and chill for several hours before serving.

Cubano Sandwiches

So what did I do with all the leftover Spice-rubbed Pork Loin? I know everyone out there has been dying to know. We could have just eaten it plain because it was so delicious, but in the November 2009 issue of Everyday Food, there was a recipe that called for the pork leftovers- Cubano Sandwiches.
I have never eaten a cubano sandwich or made one, but it looked like the type of meal my husband would love. Meat, more meat and cheese. Not to mention pickles and white bread.
I decided to give them a try, with a few healthy tweaks, of course.
I completely omitted the butter from the recipe. Unless, I am baking or the butter actually plays an essential part in a recipe, I try to leave it out whenever possible.
I also reduced the amounts of meat, more meat and cheese that were on each sandwich. Usually when you see a picture of a cubano sandwich, the meat and cheese are piled high. I reduced it to just a slice or two of ham, one slice of cheese-cut in half, and two thin slices of pork.
Also, I was unable to find Portuguese rolls. I thought about making some, but decided to just use small hoagie rolls instead. I cut them in half, but not all the way through and then layered the sandwich fillings inside.
I also made these in my griddle/grill/panini press thing. Not sure what I mean? It is like this one, but a different brand. I basically just treated this sandwich like a panini and it was ready in minutes.

This was a hit with the entire family. Hubs loved it. Kids loved it. I even loved it. I would make the spice-rubbed pork again, just to make these sandwiches.

Cubano Sandwiches from Everyday Food November 2009
3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature (I omitted this)
4 Portuguese rolls, split (I used small hoagie rolls)
yellow mustard
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli ham (I used black forest ham)
1 pound Spice-rubbed Pork Loin, thinly sliced
1/2 pound Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
sliced dill pickles, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Butter inside of each roll (I skipped this step); spread with mustard. Divide ham, pork, and cheese among bottom halves of rolls. Top with pickles, more mustard to taste, and top halves of rolls.

2. Heat a grill pan and another heavy pan over medium. With a paper towel, lightly coat grill pan with butter. (I didn't do this) In batches, place sandwiches on grill pan and weight with second pan. Cook until bread is crisp on the outside, about 3 minutes per side; transfer grill pan to oven and bake sandwiches until cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. To serve, cut the sandwiches in half.
(I just used my 3-in-1: grill/griddle/panini press to make these. It is kind of like THIS Cusinart Griddler, but not that brand. I only had to put my sandwiches in my indoor grill/panini press and cook them until the cheese was melted. This eliminated some of the other steps)