Strawberry and Grapefruit Salad with Vanilla Dressing

These colors are so pretty together and they taste really good too. Strawberries and Grapefruits are both a little tart so this sweet dressing goes well with them. I made this as a side to my Monte Cristos. It was delicious.

1 Grapefruit, cut into slices and seeds and rind cut out
10 ounces (or so, you can eyeball it) strawberries, fresh or thawed

Mix fruit together in large bowl. Then drizzle with Vanilla Dressing (recipe follows).

Vanilla Dressing
adapted from Alton Brown's recipe

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup mayo (sounds weird, but it's good)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp honey
2 tsp powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
pinch of fresh cracked pepper

Combine all ingredients. Let rest for one hour in fridge before serving. Depending on what fruit you are using, you might want to adjust the acidity (lemon juice) and the sweetness (honey and powdered sugar) to suit your tastes (the strawberries and grapefruit are both acidic and a little tart so I added less lemon juice and more sweetness).

Tempura Monte Cristos

It was my Mom's Birthday and I know that one of her favorite things are Monte Cristo sandwiches. They are kind of a novelty and I've only seen a handful of restaurants that offer them. They are usually served as a brunch item. I decided that would be the perfect thing I could make for her on her birthday and it was! The whole family enjoyed them (including a 12 year old). Of course, when you see how they're made, it's no surprise they were a hit. (They're super easy too. Shh. Don't tell.)

Monte Cristo

• 2 slices sweet Hawaiian bread per sandwich
• 2-3 slices Honey roasted Ham per sandwich
• 2-3 slices Smoked turkey per sandwich
• 1 slice Gouda per sandwich(or Swiss which is the traditional way)
• 1 slice American Cheese per sandwich(also not traditional)
• Mayonnaise
• Blackberry Jelly(or Raspberry, traditionally speaking)
• Store bought Tempura Mix(found in the International section)
• Vegetable Oil(for frying)

Let bread sit out a little while so that it hardens a little bit, or you can toast it a little. Assemble the Sandwich by spreading Mayo on one slice and Jelly on the other slice. The layering will look like this:
bread-turkey-ham-cheese-cheese-ham-turkey-bread

Assemble sandwiches and then cut the crusts off to help seal the sandwich. Then, wrap each sandwich individually in plastic wrap and put in fridge for 30 minutes up to 6 hours. When ready to cook, take sandwiches out of the fridge and cut in half lengthwise. Prepare tempura batter as directed on the box and dip each half into mixture coating all sides of the sandwich. Put in oil and fry on both sides until the batter is a light golden color. Place on paper towel to dry. Sprinkle with powdered sugar immediately and serve. For condiments, offer jelly or maple syrup. On the side, I served it with a Strawberry and Grapefruit Salad with Vanilla Dressing. Oh Yeah.