Japanese Egg Salad Sandwiches

We're usually up for trying something new and different.  For example, Japanese egg salad sandwiches.  I read an article that said that they're VERY popular in Japan.  Sold in convenience stores, grocery stores, pretty much anywhere you can get food.  The recipe looked interesting.  It called for taking the yolks out and mashing them with the Kewpie mayonnaise.  And, the recipe calls for Japanese milk bread.  I hunted through eatyourbooks.com for a recipe.  Nothing.  So, on to the internet.  Allrecipes had a bread machine recipe that looked super easy.  

Next up was a trip to Sakura Mart for the Kewpie mayonnaise.  We needed several things at the grocery but Kroger online seemed to be sold out of everything.  That meant a trip ourselves.  Since we were going to a new liquor store - called Total Wine - and there was an Aldi's next door, I suggested that we see if we could find what we needed there.  Two comments here.  Total Wine is amazing.  We will NOT be buying our wine there.  There's a small, locally owned place called Cork and Cracker where we buy our wine.  Other than one wine club, that's where we buy all of our wine.  But, for liquor?  Ah, yes, we will be back.  An amazing selection.  Aldi's.  Well, I know there are a LOT of very devoted Aldi's shoppers.  We are not in that group.  We want too many odd and interesting things.  Our most recent grocery list was pear nectar, salad mix, cottage cheese, bread, duck breasts and eggroll wrappers.  We could find exactly half of that at Aldi's.  Not worth my time to go two places when one will do.  

That same shopping trip had some successes and some failures.  First the success.  There's a bookstore called Kids Ink where we buy books for our grandkids and for our niece's kids.  I wish I'd kept a list of all of the books we've purchased there.  Let's just say that when everything was shut down last spring Connie called there to have books shipped to everyone and Terri knew exactly who he was.  Not that the Boston accent hurt.  LOL.  While we did buy a bunch of restaurant gift certificates (only one of which has gone belly up - thankfully!) we spent more on books because we really want Kids Ink to stick around!  I will say it felt wonderful to walk in and see Terri in person!!

Then, the failure.  Duck breasts.  I was so sure Kincaids would have them that I didn't even call ahead.  They did but it was a pack of four - solidly frozen.  We split one for dinner.  That'd mean four nights in a row of duck.  No go.  We called two other places, hoping to shop locally.  No go.  So, when we ran by the office to do some scanning, I hopped online and ordered exactly what we wanted from Maple Leaf Farms.  Still a local, INdiana company.  But, I really wanted to buy them at a local store!

What did we think?  The bread was a good, serviceable loaf of white bread.  I'm not a huge fan of white bread but this was good.  I'll make it again.  The egg salad was delightful with one exception.  I thought it was a bit salty.  (AHHH, as I posted my photos I see the problem!  I used regular salt and not Kosher!)  Next time, and there will be a next time, I'll cut the salt in half.  Kewpie Mayonnaise is amazing.  You can taste the dry mustard in it.  Yet, it's super creamy.  And, I love the cute star on the dispenser.  It really makes it so that you can decorate with it. 

Last but not least, taking the egg yolks out and making the dressing with them is brilliant.  You know I rarely make a recipe without changing something...  Well, I didn't cut the crusts off the bread.  I know it's wasteful, but please do so.  I'm too frugal sometimes.  

Milk Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/8 c milk

3 c flour

1 t salt

3 T white sugar

1 1/2 t active dry yeast

Directions:

Put the ingredients in your bread machine in the order specified for your model.  Mine is wet first, followed by dry, followed by yeast.  Hit the white bread button and wait.  And, enjoy the lovely aroma!

adapted from Allrecipes.com

Japanese Egg Salad Sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 hard cooked eggs, shelled

2 T Kewpie mayonnaise (you should NOT substitute here)

1 t milk or cream

1/4 t kosher salt

1/4 t sugar

2 slices milk bread

room temp butter

Directions:

Cut the eggs in half and put the yolks in a bowl.  I used a fork to smash them.  

Add in the Kewpie mayo, milk, salt and sugar.  Mix well.  Chop the egg whites.  Stir those in.  Cut the crusts off the bread.  Butter the bread.  Put the egg salad on one slice and make your sandwich.  

Palomino's Portabella Mushroom Soup and Chop Chop Salad with Garlic Bread

BC used to be Before Connie in our home.  Now it's also Before Covid.  Before our lives got upended.  We had season tickets to six different theatres in Indy and Carmel.  Had being the operative word.  When we went to IRT - which is Indiana Repertory Theatre - we stopped at Palomino's for dinner.  We ate in the bar and always had their Portobello mushroom soup and their Chop Chop Salad.  Now, not only are we not going to the theatre but Palomino is closed.  Permanently.  Makes me sad every time I walk by.  And, I really missed that soup and salad.  

Now, as luck would have it, for many years WTHR and Marsh put out an annual cookbook at Christmas.  It's a long story, but thanks to my friend, Lisa, I own all the copies.  Ok, the short version.  I was missing one year.  Lisa's wonderful mom died.  She came into town to clean out her condo.  All her friends were invited to come over and say hi.  Of course we did.  She tells me I must take something.  Wound up taking a bowl and a pitcher.  Navy blue with sunflowers.  That bowl is my FAVORITE bowl.  I love it!  And, best of all, I think of Lisa and Jan when I use it.  So, I asked about cookbooks.  Connie rolled his eyes.  I have plenty.  Jan had about a dozen cookbooks.  And, there it was, the missing WTHR/Marsh cookbook.  It too has become one of my favorites.  

Back to Palomino.  One of the recipes in the 2008 cookbook is their Chop Chop Salad.  I made it in 2008 and hadn't made it since.  On to the internet for the soup recipe.  SCORE!  It's on Epicurious.  But, they always served bread with our soup and salad.  Ina Garten's new cookbook has an outrageous garlic bread recipe that had my name written all over it.  Good to go.  

There's a lot of chopping and a lot of steps here for all three recipes.  It's not a 20 minute meal.  Not by a long shot.  But, it's worth all the time you put into it!  We gave the soup and the garlic bread a five and the salad a four.  But, it was almost a five!  Now, keep in mind that Connie is NOT fond of soup.  And, he loves this!

Palomino Portobello Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

2/3 c unsalted butter

8 oz leeks, white and green, cross sliced at 1/4"

8 oz yellow, onion, diced

8 oz portobello mushroom caps, chopped (I used three big shitakes)

12 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped

5 oz AP flour (I used 1/4 c)

6 oz chicken stock

2 oz dry sherry

1 qt heavy cream

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/4 oz kosher salt

 

Directions

Melt half of the butter in a stock pot or dutch oven.  Add the leeks and onions and cook for about five minutes or until the onions are translucent

Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for about 5-10 minutes or until they're tender

Add the cream, sherry, cayenne and salt and let it simmer

While you're cooking the mushroom mixture, melt the rest of the butter in a saucepan.  Add the flour and cook it for a few minutes.  Whisk in the chicken stock slowly.  Then, let that simmer for half an hour.  

Take about a quarter of a cup of the warm cream from the mushroom mixture and stir it slowly into the roux.  Then, add another and another until you have a cream sauce that can be poured into the mushroom mixture.  

Let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.  You can serve it topped with some more sherry.  

adapted from Epicurious

Palomino Chop-Chop Salad

Ingredients:

Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

2 egg yolks

2 c extra virgin olive oil

3/4 c balsamic vinegar

3 cloves finely mince garlic (I used roasted garlic)

3/4 t kosher salt

1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

Salad

3 c julienned romaine greens

1 T julienned fresh basil

2 T provolone cheese, cut into 1/4" cubes

3 T grated Parmesan plus more for serving

1 T garbanzo beans

2 T julienned wine salami (I used genoa)

1/4 c julienned smoked turkey breast (I used turkey deli meat)

2 oz diced tomato

ground black pepper

Directions:  

Palomino tosses this and serves it that way.  I did mine like a cobb salad, then tossed it once it got to the table.  To make the dressing, you whip the egg yolks then slowly drizzle in the olive oil followed by the vinegar.  Then, mix in the garlic and the salt and  pepper.  This will make dressing for about six of the salads.

adapted from The Sunrise Cookbook, 2008

Outrageous Garlic Bread

Ingredients

12 T unsalted butter

1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled (I'd roasted garlic so I just squeezed the cloves out of one of the heads)

1 c freshly grated Parmesan

2 T minced fresh parsley

2 t lemon zest

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 20-24" long crusty baguette (I used an Italian loaf)

fleur de sel or sea salt

Directions:

You'll need to bake this at 450 so preheat your oven

You can handle the garlic one of two ways.  Ina calls for melting the butter and slowly cooking the cloves for 20 minutes.  I slice the top off a head of garlic, drizzled it with olive oil, put it in an ovenproof dish and baked it for an hour at 300.  Then, once the butter was melted,  I just squeezed the head of garlic and all the cloves popped out, nicely roasted.  At that point I added the parmesan, parsley, zest, pepper flakes and salt and pepper and let it simmer for about 10 minutes,

Next, you prep your bread.  Cut it in half lengthwise.  Put the halves on a half sheet or in a 9x13 pan.  Something to catch the drips of butter.  Because there will be drips of butter!  Then, score the bread into serving pieces but don't cut all the way through the loaf.

Slather the bread with the butter mixture.  Bake it for 5-7 minutes.  You want the top to be bubbling and a little brown.  

adapted from Modern Comfort Food by Ina Garten

 

Stroganoff Lamb Burgers

We've now been working from home for seven months.  And, we love it!  Today, alas, I had to go to the office.  A plumber and his helper were going to be in the house all day.  While Connie can shut himself up in the study with an air purifier going, I'm stuck with the dining room table.  Too close for comfort.  I didn't think about dinner all day.  Got home about 6pm and checked the fridge and there we had a pound of ground lamb.  From the guy who sells to all the high-end restaurants in Indy.  We started buying lamb jerky treats from him eons ago.  In fact, we're on our second dog enjoying the lamb jerky.  So, Terry delivers to our house.  This time he had ground lamb, smoked chops, stew meat and smoked ribs.  Those ribs were killer!    I checked eat your books and found a couple of lamb stroganoff recipes.  But, I'd bought brioche buns and hated to waste them.  Time for a recipe mashup!  Stroganoff lamb burgers it was.  Some pepper and red wine and consommé went in with the lamb.  Which became two burgers.  Good ground lamb is very fatty so our 1/2 lb burgers became more like 1/3lb burgers.  Then, into a skillet went the butter and the mushrooms and onions.  When they were almost done, I added the garlic.  Then, I sprinkled on a couple of tablespoons of flour (1 T butter, 1 T flour, 1 c liquid for a good sauce) and let it cook a bit.  In went the  red wine and then the consommé, mustard and Worcestershire.  Once that was pretty well thickened, I started the burgers in another skillet.  The buns went in the toaster oven.  Once they were nicely toasty, I put the cheese on top and broiled them to let it melt.  Time to put it all together.  Bun, burger, sauce, other bun on the side.  I'd eat this again tomorrow.  For breakfast!

Here's the ingredient list:

1 lb ground lamb

2 T dry red wine

2 T consomme

1 t freshly ground pepper

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

6 oz cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, finely minced.

2 T butter

2 T flour

3 T dry red wine

1/2 c consommé

2 t Dijon mustard

1/2 t Worcestershire sauce

buns ( I used brioche)

cheese ( I used a green onion Havarti but gruyere or Havarti would be great)