Old Skool Playa

My birthday was back in August and seeing how much I love to cook, and love a good sandwich, my brother and his girlfriend gave me a cookbook as part of my birthday present. This was not just any cookbook. This was "The Big New York Sandwich Book". The book is chocked full fabulous sandwich creations "from the city's greatest restaurants and chefs."

The Old Skool Playa is an oldie but a goodie and I couldn't help myself from making it for lunch. This is a grilled cheese West Village style according to the book. Murrays' Cheese Shop has been around since the 1940's and you will find hundreds of cheeses to choose from (tastings included!) They took a classic grilled cheese recipe, and rather than cooking it on the stove-top they broiled it in the oven for an even crunchier, tastier American favorite.

You Will Need:

• 3 slices thick smoky bacon
• 2 slices bread of your choice
• Butter
• 3 oz sharp cheddar cheese
• 3 slices tomato

Here We Go:

• Heat a skillet over medium-low heat and cook the bacon to desired degree of doneness; drain
• Preheat the broiler
• Butter the bottoms of each piece of bread and evenly distribute the cheese across both slices of bread
• Put the pieces of bacon on top of one half of the bread slices
• Place the bread on a baking sheet and toast until they're golden brown
• Remove from oven, add tomato to cheese and bacon slice, and close the sandwich

Serves 1
Happy Feasting!

Grilled Cobia with Mango Avocado Salsa

Last weekend my husband was on a bachelor party and they went fishing! He brought home massive amounts of cobia and after freezing as much as I could I took the remaining fish fliets and decided that grilling the fish would be the perfect way to break in our new shiny grill. The great thing about this recipe is that any other flakey white fish would work with this tangy salsa - halibut, tilapia or mahi mahi. The mango, cherry tomato, avocado and fresh basil create the most unique fresh summer flavor. If you don't have a grill, rest assured, you can absolutely cook the fish in the oven.

Source: bon appetit June 2011

You Will Need:

• 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
• 1 medium ripe mango, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 4 large fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
• 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 6-ounce cobia fillets (or any other white flakey fish)
• 4 lime wedges

Here We Go:

• Prepare a grill to medium-high heat
• Gently combine the avocado, mango, tomatoes, basil, 1 Tbsp oil, and 1 Tbsp lime juice in a large mixing bowl
• Season salsa to taste with salt and pepper and set aside at room temperature, gently tossing occasionally
• Place fish fillets in a 13x9x2" glass baking dish
• Drizzle remaining 2 Tbsp oil and 2 Tbsp lime juice over and season fish with salt and pepper
• Let marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes, turning fish occasionally
• Brush grill rack with oil and grill fish until just opaque in center, about 5 minutes per side
• Transfer to plates and spoon mango-avocado salsa over fish
• Squeeze a lime wedge over each and serve

Serves 4
Happy Feasting!