Hoisin Ham 'n' Cheese Sandwich

The Foodie Daughter likes to DVR

Aarti Sequeira's show on Food Network,

Aarti Party.

Aarti recently demonstrated this sandwich

and the Foodie Daughter and I decided that we

wanted to try it.

The ingredients are:

pepper jack cheese

hoisin sauce

sesame oil

scallion

black pepper

ham

apple

mayonnaise

and wheat bread.

I don't like cilantro, so I left that out of the recipe.

I also substituted wheat bread for the rye bread

and a red apple for the green apple.

The cheese, scallion, hoisin sauce and black pepper were

mixed together.

After spreading mayonnaise on one side of the bread,

I spread a thin layer of the cheese mixture on each

slice.

Then some ham and apple slices went on top.

Another ham slice and the rest of the cheese mixture

finished off the sandwich.

I followed directions, covering with the other slice of bread

and weighing down with a skillet.

Before flipping over,

I spread mayonnaise on the top slice of bread.

Finish cooking until lightly browned on both sides.

This was a nice change of pace from the usual

grilled cheese sandwich.

I noted from the reviews on FN's web site that

some people objected to the hoisin sauce.

To be sure, the hoisin sauce does make its presence known.

It imparts a salty bite and leaves a spicy after taste.

It certainly will help to clear out those sinuses.

We would make this again, but we might add just a bit more

cheese the next time.

Celebrating

16 de Septiembre:

Bicentenario del Grito de Independencia

(September 16:

Bicentennial of the Mexican Independence)

We thought we should celebrate

our southern neighbor's

Independence Day with food.

You may remember this meal from

a recent post.

We still had quite a bit BBQ pulled pork

left and I was wondering how to use it

when I came across an article

online about foods

for the Mexican Independence Day Celebration.

Immediately the light bulb in my brain turned on.

This was an easy transition from Indian to Mexican.

I prepared a pico de gallo

with cherry tomatoes,

a dried Serrano pepper,

chopped red onion,

chopped Italian parsley,

kosher salt,

cracked black pepper

and freshly squeezed lime juice.

I added a bit of chopped Romaine lettuce,

the BBQ pulled pork,

pico de gallo,

chopped red onion

and sour cream

on a taco shell.

This was a light and tasty meal.

It's an Aarti Paarti

Aarti Sequeira,

the winner of the latest

The Next Food Network Star,

has been busily supplying her

followers with Americanized-Indian

or Indianized-American recipes.

I'm not sure which it is.

I guess as long as they are tasty it doesn't matter?

However,

one recipe caught my eye.

That recipe was her

Pulled Pork with Mango BBQ Sauce.

The trick was whether I could get this past my picky husband.

Well, it looks good.

But does it pass the taste test?

First off we have the ingredients for the meat and the rub.

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Please note that this is not a Boston Butt.

No, a Boston Butt would have cost several dollars more

and was essentially the same cut of meat as the one I bought.

The benefits to me were that the meat was already cut

and that it cost less.

I did have to cut around the bone to get to the meat.

So, heads or tails.*

*The only Boston Butt shoulder at my grocer was also bone in.

The meat has been cut and rubbed.**

People, get your minds out of the gutter.

We are talking food here!

On to the next step.




Aarti's recipe calls for :

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 onion, finely minced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 Serrano pepper, thinly sliced

(seeds discarded if you don't like it spicy)
Kosher salt
2 cups mango puree***
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce



***My regular grocery store didn't have

mango puree, so I got a bag of frozen mango.



I added about a cup of water to the frozen mango

and pureed it in my blender.****



****To the best of its ability.



The seeds pop and sizzle.





Then the chopped onion, grated ginger and chopped

dried Serrano pepper were added to the pot.



These were cooked gently for a few minutes.







Then the remaining sauce ingredients were added.







Finally,

the meat was placed in the dish.


This simmered for about three hours.

Then the meat was removed and shredded with forks before

being returned to the pot.

After tasting we decided that it needed a pinch more salt.

Done.

But, it was still a bit flat.

But what did it need?

We decided it needed some sweetness

to highlight the flavors.

In the end we used about

1/2 cup honey to sweeten the sauce.

And that was just what it needed.

Allow the sauce to reduce.

Top with a pickle and serve.



Final thoughts:

the sauce should have had more time to reduce

and it would have been perfect.

And, if you didn't know that it was

a mango sauce you wouldn't know it was a mango sauce.

Get it?

In other words,

don't ask, don't tell.

It's all good.