vietnamese roasted cauliflower sammy salad

       Cruciferous vegetables on sandwiches are heaven. And these types of vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale) are super duper foods and may actually help delay your getting into heaven because they lower your risk of cancer. 
      Growing up all I ate were broccoli rabe sandwiches. And recently I discovered my favorite sandwich: the Vietnamese Cauliflower Sandwich from Num Pang. Haven't had it yet. Try it! Mosey on down to 12th ad University. Its so worth it.
I tried to recreate this sandwich in salad form during our Beer Tasting Super Bowl Fiesta. It turned out great. 

      After a few tweaks and turns I wanted to give this amazing salad center stage, because its so special. I even brought the sandwich home from Num Pang to compare. The combination of ingredients are just spectacular together. Roasted Cauliflower, Cilantro, Carrots and Cucumber, smothered in onion relish and roasted garlic chipotle mayo! Perfection. On this particular episode, I attempted my own mayo. It was a sheer failure. But the next day I tried it again. (Stay tuned for my curried deviled eggs with homemade mayo.)

     Its still not as amazing as the Num Pang version, but when I can't get to the big city, its a great alternative. I have everything down but the onion relish they put on it, and I need to still work on the chipotle mayo. Its a work in progress; one that I enjoy more each time I make it!


Vietnamese Roasted Cauliflower Sandwich Salad
1 Cauliflower, cut into small florets 
2 carrots, julienned
1/2 cucumber, julienned
Roasted Garlic Chipotle Mayo (recipe to follow)
1 onion, chopped  
Balsamic vinegar 
A bunch of whole leaves of cilantro
Salt and pepper


Roast cauliflower with olive oil, salt and pepper at 450 degrees until tender. Set aside to cool.
Sautee onion in olive oil and 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar until caramelized. Set aside to cool. 
Once everything is cool, combine the cauliflower, carrots, cucumber, and caramelized onions in a bowl. Smother in roasted garlic chipotle mayo. Add plenty of whole cilantro leave. Serve on its own or on a sandwich. 


Roasted Garlic Chipotle Mayo
5-6 cloves of garlic or roasted in a 450 degree oven in their skins until they are mushy inside.
1 can chipotle peppers
1 C. mayo (Hellman's or homemade)
Cayenne Pepper


Combine all ingredients in a chopper or with a hand mixer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

RED BEAN AND CABBAGE SLAW

     I love cabbage and my first option is always to stew it like I stew everything else, with tomatoes, onion, garlic and peperoncino. This time, I decided to keep it fresh and made this really simple slaw with cabbage from the Woodside CSA, red beans from Cayuga Pure Organics, cilantro from the garden, chopped pecans, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. So easy and the flavors really complement each other well.

PEACH SLAW & KIELBASA HEART ATTACK ON A PLATE

This super mellow peach slaw is perfect for an easy summer day and great with grilled goodies like kielbasa or hot dogs.

 

PEACH SLAW

1 fresh peach

1 fresh tomato

2 inch of a fresh cucumber

1/4 red onion

2 TBSP chopped mint

1/4 C. sliced pecans

Salt

Pepper

1 tsp. dried thyme

DRESSING

1/2 C. olive oil

1/4 C. balsamic vinegar

2 TBSP. honey

Salt

Pepper

Julienne the all the veggies. Toss with dressing.

KIELBASA HEART ATTACK ON A PLATE

Whenever my parents make fried potatoes they call it heart attack on a plate. Bring on the heart attacks! This is a great way to use some leftover kielbasa or any sausage and some leftover potatoes. Just caramelize a quarter of an onion and a half of a pepper in olive oil in a cast iron if available with some hot chili flakes if available. Toss in some sliced grilled kielbasa and cooked potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy with Peach Slaw. 

A DAY OF FUN AND YUM WITH CHARLES AND MARTIN

     We kicked off our Memorial Day Weekend with a canoe trip down the Deleware then back to our great friends Charles' and Martin's house, where we got to meet Ms. Pickles, their new wiener dog for the first time! There are no river adventure photos because Mike and I are famous for capsizing canoes, so I left the equipment back at the house. 

There were mounds of Southwestern BBQ Grilled Chicken.

Charles and Martin grilled up some Brussells Sprouts on a bed of bacon!!! They put some bacon on a piece of tin foil, then layered the sprouts over it and seasoned with salt and pepper and olive oil. Then with another piece of foil, they made a little tent, folding the edges up all around, and after about 15 minutes on the grill, those little green babies were juicy and bacon flavored.

Kathy from Ohio who makes amazing everything, made this outstanding Asparagus Salad. She steamed up some fresh asparagus, then mixed it with chopped grape tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh garlic, lime juice, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

     Kathy also threw together these amazing berry tarts. She baked up some puff pastry, let it cool then spread some instant coconut pudding on top. On top of that we got creative with the fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. For a glaze we thickened some apricot jam with water and a little bit of sherry, then brushed it over the top to give the berries that nice glisten.

     We double-desserted, which is becoming a bad habit. I wanted to make some fresh ice cream with avocado and bananas, but I never made ice cream before, because I have talked myself out of an ice cream machine so many times. After this concoction, I may reconsider. In addition to avocado and banana, we added fresh lime and grapefruit juice and zest, honey, a little salt and some fresh basil. The ice cream was super creamy from the avocado with a slight avocado flavor. The banana and basil flavors really combined in a nice way to make an all around delicious not to sweet pesto ice cream.

AVOCADO BANANA PESTO ICE CREAM WITH HONEY

1 C. Heavy Cream

1 C. Half and Half

5 L. egg yolks

1/2 C. sugar

1 ripe avocado

1 ripe banana

2 TBSP honey

1/4 C. basil leaves

1 tsp. lime zest

1 tsp. grapefruit zest

1 TBSP. lime juice

1 TBSP. grapefruit juice

1/2 tsp. salt

In a food processor blend the avocado, banana, honey, basil, zest and salt until smooth. Warm the heavy cream and the half and half in a small sauce pan. Let it cool slightly. Beat the eggs then while beating the eggs add the cooled cream mixture to the eggs. Strain the egg milk mixture then combine with the avocado banana blend and cool in the fridge. Once cooled, stir in the lime and grapefruit juice, then put everything in the ice cream machine.