Ciabatta Turkey & Beef Sandwich with Avocado

Lunch meals can be boring at times, and driving out to grab a bite on a hot day in Vegas is not something I look forward in doing. So this weeks lunch special is my favorite homemade deli ciabatta sandwich. Tasty and easy to put together.

Ingredients

• 2 slices of ciabatta bread with garlic and poppy seeds
• 2 thin slices of jalapeno and jack cheese
• half of an avocado, thin sliced or to your liking
• 2 tomato slices
• handful of spring mix
• small bunch of cilantro
• 3-4 slices of London broil beef deli meat
• 3-4 slices of smoked turkey breast deli meat
• no condiments*

*condiments: add mayo or mustard, but that is up to your own personal preference

toasted ciabatta with melted jalapeno and jack cheese

Directions

Toast the ciabatta bread with the jalapeno and jack cheese until its completely melted. Stack the deli meat onto the toasted bread then add the tomato, avocado, spring mix, and cilantro. Finally slice the sandwich in half and share with a coworker! :)

stack the ingredients

Ciabatta turkey and beef sandwich with avocado and tons of spring mix greens.

4th of July Oven Baked Brisket

4th of July is a day to celebrate the American Independence and its also a family day with immense amount of cooking and gorging (so dieting is not allowed!). Lighting fireworks and grilling is probably the norm for the average American family on a 4th of July weekend. For the 4th, I opted out from serving hot dogs and decided on making an oven baked brisket.

I think someone is ready to help out!

Dry Brisket Ingredients
1 2/3 quarter lb brisket, remove any fat
2 tablespoons of kosher salt
2 tablespoons of black pepper
2 tablespoons of spanish smoked paprika
2 tablespoons of dry sweet basil
2 tablespoons of dry oregano
4 tablespoons of ground mustard

Directions
In a medium size bowl, combine the dry ingredients and thoroughly mix the spices. Take the brisket and rub the dry mix generously on each side of the brisket until all areas are covered. Wrap the brisket around aluminum foil and set aside to marinate overnight.

Once the meat has been marinated, remove the aluminum foil and place the brisket on a wire rack. Then, place the wire rack inside an aluminum container and cover the entire container with aluminum foil but allow some breathing room for the meat and the aluminum foil. Basically we want to create a dome shape to capture the moisture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then place the brisket in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, decrease the oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and let it bake for an additional 4 hours. Remove the meat after 4 hours and slice the meat 1/8th of an inch or to your liking and serve immediately! Enjoy!

Pan-Seared Tuna with Avocado

For those looking to please their pallet, Las Vegas is the place that has a number of diverse outstanding restaurants. I myself is a big sushi fan and is always on the look out for great sushi that is outside of the Las Vegas Strip. Recommended by my brother-in-law, Soho Sushi is a new local sushi joint with fresh sashimi that will make you want more.With that said, I had this extreme urge to search for a tuna recipe and ended up with Chef Tyler Florence Pan-Seared Tuna with Avocado recipe. With the 130 reviews and a five star rating why not give it a try. So here's my attempt at tackling this dish and tweaking it to my liking.

Here's the original recipe: Pan-Seared Tuna with Avocado, Soy, Ginger, and Lime

The Ingredients

1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, grated
2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Pinch sugar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 (6-ounce) block sushi-quality tuna - ideally 1.5 inch thick
1 ripe avocado, halved, peeled, pitted, and sliced

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine the cilantro, 1/2 jalapeno, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir the ingredients together thoroughly. Using a medium size skillet, heat over medium-high and coat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the tuna generously with salt and pepper. Place the tuna in the hot oil and sear for 1 minute on each side to form a slight crust. Pour 1/2 of the cilantro mixture into the pan to coat the fish. Finally slice the tuna to your liking and serve with the sliced avocado. Drizzle the remaining cilantro sauce over the tuna and garnish with jalapeno.

Tasting Results from the Family
Was it a success? According to my brother-in-law and sisters I would say so. I was pleased with the presentation as well :).