Spicy Italian Infinity (symbol: ∞) Buns with Shaping Pictorial

Hi friends, I hope you're enjoying the cooler weather of Fall.  I guess Southern California is kind of messed up.  We still get low 80s temperature during the days, along with slightly chilly and foggy mornings.  I love the cooler breeze that made me crave for some heartier food, such as these Spicy Italian Infinity (symbol: ∞) Buns.



Why "infinity" shape? Because that way, the filling ingredients are distributed evenly throughout the buns.  Plus, you can see the gorgeous “fillings” on the buns even before you bite into one.  I love them on a pretty spicy level, but you can put less red pepper flakes for milder spiciness to suit your own taste.




What made them Italian?  Of course the ingredients of the fillings.  I added my homemade pesto, sun dried tomato, and mozzarella cheese.  They made the best texture and flavor combination for these buns.  Want to see how I made them, please check out the shaping pictorial below.





After the dough is kneaded and proofed, here's how you shape them.

1) On a lightly floured board, work with one portion of dough at a time.

2) Gently knead the dough a few times. Form it into a smooth round ball.

3) With a floured rolling pin, roll each portion of dough into an 3 by 6-inch rectangle.

4) With a spoon, spread a tablespoon of pesto on the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around.

5-6) Sprinkle sun dried tomato evenly on the pesto, followed by red pepper flakes.





7) Evenly sprinkle the cheese as well.

8) Starting with the long edge, roll the dough up into a log and leave the seam-side down.

9) Using a small kitchen shears, starting 1/2-inch from one end, cut the log lengthwise down the middle, about 1/2-inch deep to within 1/2-inch of the other end.

10) This is how the filled dough looks after cutting.

11) Keeping the cut side up and form an "S"/infinity shape.  Gently tuck both ends under the center of the "S" to form a figure 8. Pinch the ends together to seal. 

12) Place the filled dough on the silpat, cover and let rise in a warm place for another 50 to 60 minutes, or until doubled in size before baking.




Pretty easy, isn't it?  These infinity buns certainly look more complicated than they are.  :)  I hope you enjoy today's recipe and pictorial.  Stay tuned for more yummy recipes.

Panini with Pesto, Tomato and Brie—Lunch For One with Pictorial

Remember the homemade classic pesto recipe I shared with you not too long ago?  If you missed that recipe by any chance, no worry, just click here and you’ve got yourself covered.  Why?  Because today’s recipe involved some of that yummy homemade pesto.  Of course, you can buy store bought pesto.  But why?  When you can make Pesto that is a lot more delicious, with no preservative and costs just half the price, or less?  Did I mention that you can get the pesto done in less than 15 minutes too?  Oh yeah.  Now, I think you’ve got no reason not to make your own.



This post and recipe is part of the “Lunch for One” series.  As I promise to share with you quick and easy "Lunch for One" ideas form time to time.  If you haven’t done so, check out the other "Lunch for One" recipes as well after this post.  But today, let’s focus on this Panini with Pesto, Tomato and Brie!  As the weather is cooling off, I enjoy a hot sandwich a lot better than just a plate of salad.  Who doesn’t like gooey melted cheese and juicy tomatoes in between two slices of crispy and golden brown bread?   Plus, you can simply put anything in these awesome sandwiches that fit your mood, or whatever you need to clean out from the fridge.  I happened to have brie and some salami in the fridge so that’s what I used.  You can skip the salami and make it vegetarian or put deli sliced ham or prosciutto to create that salty-meaty bite. 



It’s super easy to make too, come follow me to the kitchen!  If you don’t have a Panini grill, no biggie, you can still make these on the stove top with a grill pan or non-stick frying pan. Here’s the pictorial.

1) Heat the Panini grill to medium-high heat.  My Panini grill have the red and green light to signal me when the grill pan is ready at the temperature I set.

2)  While the Panini grill is pre-heating, work on the ingredients.  I brush the outside of my sliced bread with extra virgin olive oil.  That adds nice flavor as well as helps the breads to get golden brown and crispy.

3) Flip the bread over and spread some pesto on the inside of the sliced bread.

4) Top with a thin slices of brie cheese on both sides. 



5) Top with sliced tomatoes on one side of the bread and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6) Top with a few slices of salami, or meat of your choice.

7) Cover with the other slice of bread.

8) Place the sandwich on the Panini grill at an angle and close the cover.  Grill until golden brown and crispy on the outside and cheese is melted and bubbly inside.



I simply cut my Panini diagonally into 4 triangles.  With a side salad, it’s enough to serve two for a light lunch.  Or, eat the whole sandwich yourself and don’t share.  It’s that good!  Hope you enjoy today’s recipe and lunch idea.  Until next time.  Take care and enjoy the cool weather. 

Spinach Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimps using Barilla Whole Grain Pasta and a $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

A few years ago, I switched to serving brown rice to my family instead of white rice. The reason was simple: more fiber and better nutrition for my family. Whole grains are packed with nutrients including protein, fiber, B vitamins, antioxidants, and trace minerals (iron, zinc, copper, and magnesium). Nothing is more important to me than keeping my family healthy by eating right. (Oh, maybe one thing, feeding them nutritious AND scrumptious food! ) Since I’m the “chef” of the house, it is my responsibility to feed my family well with a balanced diet and nutritious food. I’m sure this is the same for many of you out there.

 

My little boy loves noodles and pasta a lot more than rice. Therefore, I’ve been making more pasta dishes than ever. For the same reasons I switched to serving brown rice, I’ve switched to serving whole grain pasta as well. I love Barilla® Whole Grain pasta. It’s a great way to get whole grains into my family’s diet. I enjoy preparing pasta dishes more and more these days. They are quick and easy to prepare (which is perfect for our busy schedules), and my kids enjoy them so much. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing my kids enjoy the nutritious food that I prepared for them.

 

Barilla® Whole Grain is made with 51% whole wheat. It’s all-natural and is an excellent source of fiber, delivering three times the fiber of regular pasta. I love Barilla® Whole Grain pasta because the texture has more of a bite to it than regular pasta. Also, it has a hint of nutty flavor regular pasta don’t have. Best of all, there is a taste guarantee from Barilla® Whole Grain pasta. If you don’t love it, you get a free box of Barilla® blue box pasta. How cool is that? That’s how confidence they are with their whole grain products! But I can guaranteed that you’re going to love Barilla® Whole Grain pasta!

 

Check out Barilla’s website. There are many quick and easy recipes for you to try. With the help of the Whole Grain Dinner Kit, it’s easy to put healthy and extraordinary meals on your table. Check out all these fun shapes that are available from the Barilla® Whole Grain pasta here.

 

In this Spinach Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimp recipe, I’ve used Barilla Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti. They were al dente in just 6 minutes! You can totally get this dish on the table in less than 30 minutes, much faster than ordering take-out! I’m totally loving it. Plus, you know you’re serving your family something scrumptious, healthy and all-natural. Way better than take-out, in my opinion.

 

The spinach pesto is super quick to prepare as well. The nutty flavor from the whole grain pasta works perfectly with the pine nuts in the spinach pesto. With a hint of lemon juice and lemon zest to brighten up the flavor, it’s amazingly scrumptious. Give this recipe a try; I’m sure your family will love it as much as my family does.

 

With the help of Barilla® Whole Grain pasta, eating right and feeding my family with healthy and nutritious food has never been easier. I hope you’ll give Barilla® Whole Grain pasta a try too and let me know what you think.

 



Giveaway 

To all my dear readers, here’s a wonderful giveaway for you. One lucky uTry.it reader will win a $100 Amazon.com gift card, courtesy of BlogHer and Barilla®. Cool, right? To enter, simply leave a comment on this post and tell me “What do you love about Barilla® Whole Grain?” As simple as that. Please read the giveaway rules below for an extra chance to win.

SWEEPSTAKES/GIVEAWAY RULES
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post.
b) Tweet about this promotion @BarillaUS with the following unique term in your message, #BarillaWG, and link to your Tweet in a comment on this post.
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to your post in a comment on this post.
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.
Winners will be selected via a random drawing, and will be notified by e-mail.
You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 2/21/12-3/30/12.

Be sure to visit the Barilla® Whole Grain round-up page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

This Giveaway is now closed. Thank you for those who participated.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by BlogHer and Barilla®. All opinions are my own and always will be.

Health and General Disclaimers

Join GoodLife Eats for the Surprisingly Nutritious Spaghetti Link-Up sponsored by Barilla pasta.