Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Easy summer dinner

A while back Jon Polce organized a Wrap Party.  This came as a result of several arguments between him and Ryan as to whether wraps or sandwiches are better.  Jon is a wrap guy all the way.

The idea for the party was simple; basically it was a wrap buffet.  We provided the side dishes and tortillas and each guest brought a different wrap filling.  It was a huge success.  Kudos to Jon for the idea.

Picture of Creole Chicken Wraps Recipe
Photo from Foodnetwork.com
I wanted to find the perfect wrap filling so I poured over my cookbooks and searched the internet.
I came with Guy Fieri's Creole Chicken Wraps.
OH MY GOSH!  They are so good and super easy.  I have made them several times since for dinner, for lunch, for snacks, you name it.  The Creole Mayo is out of this world and can be used on ANYTHING.
(I actually just had a tuna sandwich with the Creole Mayo spread on the bread...my mouth is still watering.  Oh! and it's really good mixed with Ranch.)

As with most recipes I had to adjust for being in Italy.  Here's how I made them...


Ingredients

For the Rub:

  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Wraps:

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts pounded to an even thickness
  • Vegetable oil, for the grill / grill pan
  • 4 tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 4 plum tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 red onions, sliced
  • 8 romaine lettuce leaves

Directions

Make the rub: Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
Prepare the wraps: Whisk the mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of the rub in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high. Toss the chicken with 3 tablespoons rub. Oil the grill; grill the chicken until marked, about 6 minutes. Turn and grill until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board.
Lay out a tortilla.  Spread with creole mayo.  Cube the chicken and arrange down the center of each tortilla. Top with the cheese, tomatoes, onions and lettuce. Roll up and wrap.  Enjoy.


Go to foodnetwork.com to get the "real" recipe.  Guy Fieri's is a bit fancier...it uses grilled flat bread, Maui onion, and you melt the cheese, but the way I did it worked out just fine too.

Monday, June 6, 2011

New Couch!

KIVIK Divano letto con poggiapiedi grigio chiaro Larghezza: 245 cm Profondità minima: 95 cm Profondità massima: 165 cm Altezza: 83 cm Profondità minima sedile: 60 cm Profondità massima sedile: 130 cm Altezza sedile: 45 cm Larghezza letto: 200 cm Lunghezza letto: 143 cm
We ordered a new couch for our apartment.  I am super excited.  It's a sleeper sofa...who's going to be the first guest to come sleep on it?!

This reminds me that I have not taken any pictures of our apartment.  Once the new couch gets here (and I clean the apartment) I will have to do a little home tour for you all.  

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Farewell Spring 2011

The Spring 2011 semester wrapped up with the traditional final dinner in Rome.  We bused the students into Rome, served them a pizza dinner and cut them loose to enjoy their last night in the city.  At midnight we had buses to take them back to campus.

While the students were off hitting up the Irish bars, we (the RA's) classed it up a bit and went to a roof top bar to celebrate Mary Dougherty's birthday.

The ride home following the final dinner is always entertaining.  By the end of the semester the students have all come out of their shells and after a night of drinking they are hysterical.  You get to hear stories from the homeschooler boy who juggles knives and makes chocolate sculptures.  Or hear the argument of why Amanda Bynes is the greatest entertainer of their generation.  One kid started crooning "chocolate covered espresso beans" over and over.  He kept it up the whole ride, that's a solid 30 minutes plus.  And then there are the kids who have to pee within 5 mins of getting on the bus and spend the whole ride bouncing in the aisle by the door telling us how their bladder is going to explode any minute.  Good times.

And now they are gone.  Time to get ready for the next batch of Romers!  Which, by the way, will include my brother, Kevin.  Hopefully I won't be too much of an embarrassment.