mini muffs

After seeing this sandwich on Rowena's blog, and realizing that I've never had it before, I set out to gather the ingredients to put one together.

Probably the hardest thing to find was the olive salad ingredients...after reading what she posted on her Flickr account, I thought I found something quite close to the flavor of her olive salad.

What I found was a can of mexican pickles...cornichons, carrots, pearl onions, sport peppers and olives stuffed with pimento preserved in vinegar, no sugar. The sport peppers add a zing to the pickle juice, thus giving all the pickles a zing. I rough chopped everything and put it into the sandwich as is, no doctoring.

Okay, so the second hardest thing was to get an assortment of cheeses. The only way I could do this was to buy 3 different cheeses and slice them up myself.

Not totally wanting to break the bank, I ended up getting an Iberico cheese (from Spain using a mixture of cow, goat and sheep's milk, often confused with manchego), Brie (it was on sale) & a processed smoked pepper cheese. The smoked pepper cheese was a disappointment as it wasn't knife friendly. The other 2 cheeses were perfect for this sandwich.

Next the meats...I found some Italian coppa, Milan salumi and a local ham.

I roasted red bell peppers and put half into the sandwich.

I also sliced and toasted a 3-inch round sesame bun.

Mini-muffuletta...not homemade like Rowena's nor economically savvy but really delicious! Of course with all that meat, I also served some veggie sticks. (Thanks Rowena!)

the counter

Tuesday, my mom met up with her foodie friends for a get together, and I was lucky enough to be able to tag along.

The place...the Counter. A build-your-own burger shop in the Kahala Mall.

This shop is actually a franchise and recently opened here this year, so there may be a location near you.

Owned by a popular local chef (with investors like an actor from LOST), this shop has an array of burgers, toppings and lots of deliciousness!

We ordered the Trio, it isn't on the menu but our server was kind enough to tell us about it. It is a basket of their sweet potato fries, onion strings and french fries. It comes with barbecue sauce, ranch and horseradish mayo.

My favorite was the sweet potato fries with the onion strings coming in a close second, and the barbecue sauce...mmm! (how I miss this kind of bbq sauce in Japan!)

You are given a checklist as to what type of burger you want, the cheese, 4 toppings, a sauce and a bun.

Here is my burger...1/3 pound beef burger with herb goat cheese spread, roasted red peppers, grilled onions, carrot strings, mixed baby greens on a honey wheat bun and a caramelized onion marmalade on the side...I was a bit disappointed with the marmalade, but happy with the rest of my burger.

My mom ordered the 1/3 pound beef burger with swiss cheese, carrot strings, grilled onions, tomatoes, mixed baby greens on a honey wheat bun and a honey mustard sauce on the side.

You could also choose to have your burger in a bowl (without the bun) which is how one of my mom's friends ordered and we felt that the next time we go this is how we would order too. (You get more veggies that way.)

The total was US$14 per person (with tip)....It was nice to see her friends again and we all had a filling but great lunch.

The Counter
Kahala Mall (2 doors down from Whole Foods)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.739.5100

p.s. we also got a caramel chocolate brownie to bring home for my dad, who was nice enough to share with my mom and me...it was rich, chocolatey with ooey gooey caramel...yum!

spiced mixed nuts + herbed goat cheese dip

I recently tried the "herbed goat cheese dip" which was in "The Food You Crave", but since I didn't have the fresh herbs that Ellie uses in her recipe, I ad-libbed and added dried dill, onion powder, pepper and garlic powder instead.

It was great with raw red bell pepper, carrots, cucumber & steamed green beans. I want to make this again. It is a great way to eat a lot of veggies.

Another recipe I tried was for Ellie's "Spiced Mixed Nuts". It was so easy and so tasty. You are only allowed 1/3 cup as a serving, it is kind of hard to stop eating though...

To make them, I bought a package of unsalted mixed nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, mac nuts) and added some sunflower seeds.

Yum!

addicted to...

Recently I've been addicted to roasting red peppers and then combining them with caramelized onions, eringi, a cheese and olives.

I wash the red peppers then put them into a 220C (425F) oven for 40 minutes. I've seen recipes which instruct you to coat them with oil before baking, but I don't. The oven does all the work and all I have to do is wait to peel them (oh, I do turn the peppers over halfway through). The peppers get so sweet and tender!

Last week, one dinner was a veggie wrap. I steamed some thinly sliced cabbage, then on a tortilla I added the cabbage, some caramelized onions, kalamata olives, feta cheese, roasted red pepper and eringi mushrooms....mmm.

For yet another dinner, it was my first time making a savory tart.

With a defrosted puff pastry sheet, I cut it in half then pricked it with a fork leaving a border.

I added goat cheese, caramelized onions, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers and eringi. I baked it for 30 minutes in a 200C (400F) oven.

As I was eating the tart, I wondered why I hadn't tried making this before...it was so delicious!

Flaky pastry plus that combination of flavors that I am hooked on at the moment....yummy! I paired it with a green salad and it was a simple, yet delicious dinner.

And on yet another night, we had goat cheese, eringi, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and red leaf lettuce toasted on a tortilla like a pizza.

Toasting the tortilla in the oven, the edges get really crispy....mmm.

Is there a flavor combination that you are hooked on at the moment?