Papa Diva Discovers the Wonders of Hummus

I've got to be honest, I don't know what's going on with my family. First, Papa Diva sends me a post he's written about hummus, then - just this weekend - Mama Diva divulged that she's flirting with the idea of becoming a vegetarian. Who are these people and what have they done with my parents?!

Now, its possible that you'd have to know Papa Diva to understand how funny this hummus business is. He's an Irish meat and potatoes kind of guy ... or so it seemed. But after a recent lunch with a friend, he's been waxing poetic on the wonders of hummus. Astounding! Now, of course, some of us have been eating hummus for years - but for him, its a new taste treat and he's taken such a shine to it that he's written our post for today. Take it away, Papa Diva!

P.S. - don't forget to enter my agave nectar + cookbook give-away. Contest closes at midnight on July 13th!

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Diva Dad Goes Vegan ... for a Day

Recently, the Diva Dad attended a wooden boat show at Mystic Seaport with a longtime friend. The friend packed a lunch for himself and for the Diva Dad. The friend, Dave Niles, does not eat anything that had a face or a mother. We are talking serious vegan commitment here. Dave actually made the switch over to a fully vegan diet for health reasons and he is reporting very good results.

The Diva's very close friend, Olive, is also a vegetarian - I wonder if her name had something to do with the decision? The Diva's aunt Linda is also a recent convert. So we need to give these people some ink now and then ... it might just be a movement!

Back to the lunch - it was a hummus and pepper sandwich on a whole wheat bun. It was delicious and very easy to prepare. We are duplicating the sandwich herein. Mama Diva gathered the ingredients, made the hummus, and assembled the sandwiches.

Basic Hummus Recipe:

• one 15 ounce can of chick peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 or 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, seeds removed
• 1/3 cup tahini
• extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling as garnish
• ground paprika and chopped fresh parsley for garnish

In the bowl of your food processor, combine the drained chick peas, garlic cloves, salt, lemon juice and tahini paste. Process and pulse until smooth and fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more lemon, tahini or salt according to your liking. Serve.

If serving as a dip, place the hummus into a serving vessel and drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil over the top. Garnish with a dusting of ground paprika and some chopped fresh parsley.

Alternately, you may choose to prepare the Diva Dad's new favorite sandwich, as seen above. The peppers he prefers are small orange peppers. I usually associate small peppers with high heat, but this is not the case with these peppers. Preparation of them could not be more simple; no roasting, no caramelizing, no peeling. Just wash, cut open, remove seed and slice into strips. The peppers work well with the hummus, giving the sandwich much more interest.

Now I am aware that some people think any sandwich can be improved with a few slices of bacon - however we must remember that bacon had both a face and a mother. No bacon strips allowed here!

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Many thanks, Papa Diva, for introducing us to this healthy lunch option! Of course it remains to be seen just how long Papa's fascination with the chick pea will last. Remember, this is the same man who recently wrote a post on grilling meat!

Naturally, I'll be submitting this post to Hey What's for Dinner Mom?'s Just Another Meatless Monday. Be sure to pop on over to Laura's place today and check out the other meatless meals on offer.

Bon appetite!

Left-over Magic, Sandwich Cubano Style

As you can see, we're experiencing some technical difficulties here in Divaland of late. The focus on my camera refuses to focus, even on the ISO setting, and its frustrating the hell out of me. I had grand visions and plans of a beautiful Cuban Sandwich photo, yet you're looking at ... that. Ugh, I'm sorry. It may be time for a new camera. In the meantime, let's eat!

I took the left-over pork roast, sliced it thin, warmed it in the remainder of the pan sauce and set about creating my version of one of the world's most delicious sandwiches. The Sandwich Cubano is a brilliant combination of roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese and pickles, piled together on Cuban bread and grilled until crisp and toasted. Traditionally, the sandwich is made on a sandwich press, called a plancha - which is similar to a panini press. The key to a really good Cuban Sandwich lies in the pressing; it allows the ingredients to fuse together while creating the much desired crisp exterior.

Needless to say, I don't own a plancha. Nor do I own a panini press for that matter ... but I made it work. I used my trusty grill pan, then weighted the toasting beauties down with a cast iron skillet and my tea kettle filled with water! As you can see, the results were magnificent.

There are probably as many recipes for tasty toasted treats as there are people to eat them. This is my version ...

Diva's Sandwich Cubano:

• some thinly sliced roast pork, warm
• some thinly sliced ham
• some aged Gruyere cheese, shredded or sliced
• some Vlasic Stackers Zesty Garlic sliced pickles
• Dijon Mustard
• Emeril's Horseradish Mustard
• olive oil for brushing the pan
• butter for brushing the sandwiches
• some Cuban, Italian or French bread, or long sandwich rolls

Heat your grill pan over high heat until hot but not smoking.

Slice your bread or rolls lengthwise and spread a bit of Dijon mustard on one side and a bit of Horseradish mustard on the other side. Layer some thinly sliced ham on the bottom half of the bread or roll and top with some pickle slices. Layer some thinly sliced roast pork over the pickles and top with some shredded or sliced Gruyere cheese and the remaining half of the bread or roll, pressing down on the bread to flatten the sandwich. Coat the top of the sandwich with a thin layer of butter.

Brush the grill pan with a bit of olive oil to form a thin coat and place the sandwiches, buttered side down, into the grill pan. Weight the sandwiches down with a cast iron skillet, or what have you, as seen above, and grill over medium-high to high heat until crisp and golden on one side. Butter the other side of the bread or roll, then flip the sandwich and continue to grill as directed above until both sides are crisp and golden brown and the cheese has melted. Serve immediately!

The mustard is by no means traditional, that's my spin and I'm sticking to it. You certainly don't need to use two kinds of mustard ... but I happen to like the combination. Do as you see fit. As for the ham, any variety you like will do. Just make sure its thinly sliced. In this case, I used some roasted ham.

You may also have noticed a disparity in the breads. The round roll is whole wheat and, again, by no means traditional. That's my personal choice, I made the husband's on a small, sandwich sized, loaf of Italian bread. As always, the choice is up to you.

I'm well pleased with the results of both my left-over magic and my improvised sandwich press. Necessity truly is the mother of invention. The sandwiches were wonderfully crisp and thoroughly delicious. I can't believe I didn't try this sooner ... though you can bet we won't wait long before having them again.

Bon appetit!

Thanksgiving Round-up ...

I know I said I'd do a better job with the turkey photography this year. The reality? It wasn't even on my radar screen! In the mad rush to get everything on the table any ideas I'd had about taking the perfect turkey picture flew right out the window. What you see here is *half* of our turkey ... the half we didn't devour. It was a fresh, organic, 18 pounder and it was spectacular! The smell of it roasting turned us all into ravenous animals. So eager to dig in was I, that I didn't even stop to take a picture of my groaning plate. Yikes. Sad too, because it was a thing of beauty. And really sad because I'm running a food blog here. Duh! Oh well, I'm in this blog thing for the long haul, so there's always next year. ~sigh~

You'll have to take my word for it, but our feast was magnificent. The turkey was tender and moist, the pork stuffing was the best its ever been, and my gravy was so good I decided it should be bottled. Really. The rest of the sides were perfect as well and the whole meal came off without a hitch. Mad props go out to Papa Diva for procuring the excellent bird and for all of his help this year, and to bro for the last minute inclusion of brussel sprouts, fresh from the garden. Additional mad props go out to my amazing sister-in-law, Kath, for that magical crock-pot stuffing, the delicious butternut squash, the crisp and savory green beans with bacon and, of course, for her always-in-demand sweet potato pie. Last but not least, further props to the husband for his carvery skills, and especially for dealing with the raw bird - a task I am happy to delegate! I couldn't have done it without you guys.

Naturally, we indulged in a holiday classic on Friday afternoon ... the "Day After Thanksgiving Sandwich." Similar to the turkey slider that was offered at the October Foodbuzz event, this yummy treat is a Diva favorite. I was making this sandwich long before I knew what it was called and its the perfect way to enjoy the meal all over again, albeit in a much smaller dose.

The Day after Thanksgiving Sandwich:

• some sliced turkey
• some warm gravy
• a bit of bread stuffing
• a bit of meat stuffing
• a bit of cranberry sauce

The instructions are simple, the choice of bread is complex. Papa Diva prefers white bread - and frankly, he truly prefers a sandwich of sliced turkey on buttered bread - but that's a subject for another post entirely! Personally, I like to use a left-over whole wheat roll for my sandwich - its tasty and the petite size of the roll serves as much needed damage control after a day of indulgence! But, I digress. Simply heat your gravy until hot. Choose your bread and top it with some sliced turkey, the stuffing (or multiple stuffings if you're so blessed), spoon on some gravy and top it all with a dollop of cranberry sauce. Gingerly place the top of the roll on the sandwich and do your best to take a bite without covering yourself in Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

This year Papa opted to go with a left-over Snowflake roll:

... and this picture doesn't do it justice at all. I'll do better next time, and maybe we'll have him write the "Minority Sandwich Report" next year so he can explain that mysterious turkey/butter combination in detail!

Suffice it to say the Diva Family enjoyed a wonderful holiday and we hope that you did too. You may have noticed that no formal props went out to Mama Diva here. This is not an oversight. She's milking this surgery thing for all its worth (I kid, I kid!) and was happy to play Queen for a Day as we hovered around her. And that's as it should be! She gets all the props in the world just because and we were all happy to dote on her as she's doted on us over the years.

So, how did your holiday go? Curious Diva wants to know.

Bon appetite!