Carrabba's House Salad Dressing

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A friend gave me Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 a couple years ago and the other day I pulled it out to see what looked interesting. I needed a quick dressing for salad with dinner and I thought I might find something.

What I found was a knock-off for Carrabba's House Dressing, a creamy Parmesan, and the dressing was so easy and yummy, I want to share. I like to make my own dressing -- I think they are better than bottled and if you have some basic ingredients on hand you almost never need to buy bottled dressing. Except for ranch, which the kids eat with veggies, salad dressing almost always goes to waste in my house.

I have not been to Carrabba's in at least a year, so I can't say if this is exactly their house dressing, but it was delicious anyway -- very garlicky, with a little zing. I tossed it with a simple salad of Romaine lettuce, sliced red onion, chopped red pepper and diced tomato.

Carrabba's House Dressing (Creamy Parmesan)

1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 t. minced garlic (I used two cloves)
1/2 t. minced parsley (I used more like 2 t.)
1/2 t. lemon juice

Whisk together ingredients and toss over salad just before serving. I salt and pepper the salad, also.

Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2

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Teriyaki Burgers

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Back in the day, when we didn't have three large, teenage males to feed, we went out to dinner. Nothing fancy, but occasionally we would find ourselves out and about at dinner time and we'd stop someplace that offered free kids meals one night a week. Occasionally that was Red Robin. I enjoyed Red Robin because the food was pretty good, the kids enjoyed it, and it was loud enough that if they misbehaved, every one wasn't watching. Especially on kids night -- someone else's kid is always acting worse.

I haven't been to a Red Robin in probably 10 years. I'm sure Peach has never been. Such fun she's missing. One thing I remember from the menu, only because my husband ordered it every single time, is the Bonzai Burger. It's a teriyaki marinated burger, topped with cheese, grilled pineapple, lettuce and tomato. He fondly remembers it and when I suggested copying it, he was most pleased. He was even more pleased when I actually did copy it. He said it was even better than Red Robin's. Successful copycat. I have to thank Meemo, because when I Googled "Bonzai Burger recipe," her blog popped up and the recipe looked pretty authentic to me.

I changed the name to protect the copyright, but I am reposting Meemo's recipe almost exactly (her portions were really jumbo-sized, so I cut them back a little). When making these, plan ahead. The marinade not only has to do its work on the meat, but it has to cool after you cook it.

Teriyaki Burger
6 burgers

2 pounds ground beef, equally divided and formed into six patties

Marinade
1-3/4 c. water
1 c. soy sauce
1 c. light brown sugar
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder


6 canned pineapple slices
6 slices cheddar cheese
6 sesame seed hamburger buns
mayonnaise
6 tomato slices
6 iceberg lettuce leaves

Combine all marinade ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Place burgers in a baking dish or a large storage container. Baste with marinade; flip and baste the other side (be sure to reserve some marinade for the pineapple slices). Cover container and refrigerate 4-12 hours. Place pineapple slices in a separate container with the remaining marinade, cover and chill.

Preheat grill to medium heat. Cook hamburgers 3 to 5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. When you flip the burgers, add the pineapple to grill and cook until the grill marks show, turning once. About 1 minute before the burgers are done, place a slice of cheese on top of each patty to melt.

Spread mayonnaise on the top and bottom of each bun. Place hamburger patty on bottom bun and top with a tomato slice and a grilled pineapple slice on each. Cover with a lettuce leaf and place top bun on sandwich.


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Asiago Roast Beef Sandwich

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I mentioned last week that I'm going to try to copycat some of our favorite sandwiches from Panera, our favorite local sandwich stop. I've pretty well reproduced the Sierra Turkey and now I think I've got the Asiago Roast Beef Sandwich. I'm not 100 percent sure on the bread, but it was pretty close. Barb gave me a link to the Asiago Cheese bread that she makes, and I intended to make it, but at the last minute I realized that Panera's Asiago bread is a demi, or baguette, and since I was trying to copy their sandwich, I made up my own bread recipe. The rest is easy -- sliced tomatoes and red onion, lettuce leaves, deli roast beef and cheddar, and a bit of horseradish. The sandwiches were very yummy and the boys especially like having sandwiches for supper.

Asiago Roast Beef Sandwiches
serves 6

2 loaves Asiago Cheese bread (recipe below)
1 pound deli roast beef
6 slices sharp cheddar cheese (smoked cheddar can also be used)
1 to 2 large tomatoes, sliced thinly (depending on how much tomato you like)
6 leaves Romaine lettuce
6 thin slices red onion
horseradish, to taste

Cut ends off loaves of bread.
Cut each loaf in to three servings.
Slice each serving in half so that you have a top and bottom.
Spread bottom of bread with horseradish to taste.
Layer roast beef, cheddar,
lettuce, tomato and onion and top with bread top.
Press down lightly to smash ingredients together.

Asiago Cheese Bread

1 1/4 c. warm water
1 T. sugar
2 t. yeast
2 T. butter, softened
3 plus c. all-purpose flour
1 t. salt
1/3 c. shredded Asiago cheese
1 egg white

Pour water into mixing bowl.
Add sugar and yeast and let sit for a minute.
Add butter and 1 1/2 c. flour, and salt.
Turn on mixer to medium with bread hook attachment (or stir by hand) and stir until well mixed.
Add 1 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup at a time, kneading on low speed.
Knead for five minutes, adding flour when necessary
to keep bread from sticking to the side of the bowl.
Add 3 T. shredded cheese just before dough is finished kneading.
Dough should be firm, but not dry.
Grease bowl and place dough in, covering to grease all over.
Cover and let sit in a warm place for about an hour, until doubled in size.
Punch down and divide dough in half.
Roll or press dough on a lightly floured surface
into a 14 by 6 inch rectangle.
Roll up along long side and pinch edges to seal.
Repeat with other half.
Place loaves on greased cookie sheet (side by side with a few inches in between).
Beat egg white with a teaspoon of water and brush over both tops.
Split remaining cheese, sprinkling over loaves.
Heat oven to 425 degrees F and set pan on stovetop while oven heats.
Bake bread for 20 to 25 minutes until loaves are golden brown.
Cool completely on baking racks.


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