"I made a sammich." ...We're so proud of you?

Welcome to Food Porn, where we get you all hot and bothered…in the kitchen.

Wink.

A brief intro: we're two sisters who love to eat and cook, and this year we decided to share a New Year's resolution to try at least one new recipe a week.  This blog came about as a way to share our recipes and our experiences with each other and with anyone who cares to peer voyeur-like into our kitchens.  

...ya creepers....  

Without further ado, welcome to our first post!  It's pretty simple, and doesn't even include a new recipe, but I’m committed to it because it features what is, to me, one of the most important things in the kitchen: fresh ingredients!

On this rainy, post-yoga Sunday, I wanted something quick and simple, so I made a bagel panini.  Literally, just a bagel, some toppings, and heat; that’s all it takes.  But don’t worry, I included pictures. 

I started with a salt bagel—I like to buy fresh bagels in bulk, cut them in half, and then freeze them, wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and then sealing them all together in a freezer bag to keep out the freezer burn. 

I toasted the bagel in grease from last night’s steak because I’m a gourmand and we can do that; then I added all these fresh ingredients:

Red onion, creole tomato, red leaf lettuce, and Rotterdam gouda

I buy all my gorgeous veggies from my local Market & Farm, which specializes in local, fresh, and often organic produce.  The fare changes based on what’s in season; each week the produce is brought in from farms within a 200 mile radius of the city; and each week they post recipes for some of the items found in The Box (which only costs $25), which just makes cooking that much easier.  Affordable local, fresh, seasonal produce...you really can't go wrong.  

My sister tells me there are several ways to paninize© a sandwich.  There’s the panini press (on the same level of multitasking as the strawberry shortcake maker, i.e. Level Zero).  You could also use a George Foreman grill if the grill lines are a mark of achievement for your panini. A resourceful colleague of my sister’s says that you could grab a brick from a construction site, wrap it in tin foil, and use that to seal your sandwich halves together.

But this Appalachian-blooded hillbilly used…a cast iron skillet.

Somewhere, a toothless man plays Duelin' Banjos

I served this mountain of fresh goodness with a side of leftover roasted veggies (radishes, eggplant, carrots, broccoli, onions, and garlic roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and smoked paprika at 400˚ for 20 minutes ) for a quick, healthy, tasty, post-exercise meal.  

Then I had a beer, which negated everything.  Cheers!