Channeling my inner Latina...

Hahaha...that's a laugh. I'm about as Latina as Tony Blair. Anyways. Mr. R requested that we make Cuban sandwiches, so that we did (with store bought mac salad on the side - v. fancy).


First, we fail to turn our picture around AND put mustard on some hoagie rolls


Then Swiss cheese


Then some grilled pork - well, only on his - I didn't really feel like pork.



Then ham (HAM!)


Then slices of dill pickle


Then onto the panini press


And served so daintily sliced with the mac salad


I really like these sandwiches - I know the mustard will horrify some (you know who you are) - plus the pickle and what not. But I think they are kind of tartly refreshing.

A shout-out to Mrs. A

So, during Ladies Weekend, Miss A told us how her mother made killer grilled cheese sandwiches and that her secret weapon was...dum dum dum...MAYONNAISE! I'd never heard of such a sandwich creature before, and being a huge grilled cheese fan myself, I had to give it a whirl.

The magic ingredient itself (and note, reduced fat mayo has SIGNIFICANTLY fewer calories and fat grams than butter does, so in a way, this was a "light" grilled cheese)


I wasn't sure how thick to go - so, I opted for a light coating of mayo on a whole grain oatmeal bread (more on that later)


Onto the medium griddle (once the cheese was added of course!)


Mmmm....oozing cheese


The child-like lunch was complete with a side of tots


I have to say, I did enjoy this sandwich. The bread I chose, however, was not the best for grilled cheese. For that, you need white bread or very plain wheat bread, in my opinion. This was a bit grainy to be called a classic, and as a result, it didn't crisp up quite the same way. Maybe if I'd used MORE mayo. That isn't to say it wasn't good - just a bit less crunchy than my typical grilled cheese. Will definitely be trying this "method" again!

Salami thingees

This is obviously not a rocket science meal - but it was tasty and quick. First, I took two slices of random Italian bread I found in my pantry and got them toasting in the oven. Then, I gave them a quick rub with some garlic, layered salami and smoked provolone on top, then threw them back in the oven. A lovely, tasty, quick lunch.

Lunchlady dinner

Mmm. Sloppy Joes. Nothing screams childhood lunchroom quite like an SJ. So, off we go...

Cook up some onions until they are soft.
Then add in some ground beef.
Once the beef is browned, I added my top secret sauce. Not really. R and I cannot agree on SJ making, so we compromise. Half a can of sloppy joe sauce, half a jar of chili sauce.
Serve it up with a heapin' helping of juvenile tots and corn. CORN! And some fake cheese.
Mr. R likes his SJs open faced. V. classy.

Hot Meat Express

That title sounds horrifying in retrospect. What I'm referring to is the next item on the monthly menu chart, "random chicken sandwich." So, that is what we had, but I improved on it by adding a SECOND magical meat - BACON.

First, the chicken spent the night in a lovely bath of rice wine vinegar, a splash of olive oil, some Lawry's seasoning salt, some Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt, and worcestershire sauce.

Then, the first prep step was to start the bacon. I kept an eye on it, so Daisy didn't get any ideas.
Here's a lovely pile of crispy (almost too crispy) bacon. Again, Daisy thought about it, but then thought better of it (went for the wrapper in the trash instead).
Then the marinated chicken got its turn in the bacon grease.
As the chicken finished up, I started layering the buns. After toasting them lightly, a thin layer of cheddar.
Then some of my defrosted caramelized onions and roasted peppers.
Then the hot chicken.
Then the bacon (this is kind of boring, the photography, not the sandwich)
Then, aw heck, more cheese, and a run back into the still-warm oven.
Pop the top of the bun on, and we have a meal. I was craving a baked potato last night, so I split one with Mr. R and served some lovely green beans along side (tossed with shallot salt, I heart that stuff). Lovely!

Sammies

R and I like paninis. Or panino, whatever the proper plural is. I had purchased some delicious roast beef coldcuts from the delightful Yutzy's market, so I teamed them up with some carmelized onion/red bell pepper action (and smoked swiss cheese and mustard horseradish sauce) on some ciabatta bread. Fab.

Our child-like dinner

Mmm. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. V. homey, v. good on a cold night. I was flipping through some old Everyday Food magazines and came across a recipe for homemade tomato soup. I was intrigued. I've never been a huge fan of tomato soup out of a can - it's a bit too smooth, a bit too bland. This one looked like it would have a bit of texture and flavor, and I knew I could jazz it up myself. I added red pepper flakes with the sauteed onion. I also used an Italian spice mix instead of just thyme. I used lots of black pepper. And, since I apparently went heavy on the salt, I added in quite a bit of milk at the end (which made it creamier AND balanced out the ridiculous salty taste). Serve up with some lovely grilled cheese on the side (with ham for Mr. Carnivore), and it was quite delish.

Meatball sandwich....

Sung in the manner of Adam Sandler in "Lunchlady Land." I had ground beef that I was intending to make into a soup, but I couldn't face soup on Monday evening. Miss L threw out the idea of meatball subs, and I said, hmmmmm....sounds interesting. We had ciabatta rolls in the freezer, and I knew I had pretty much everything else one needs to make meatballs (save breadcrumbs, remedied by a quick store run) so I whipped some up and then made these little pizza like creations under the broiler. Yum.

We have bread....and cheese....

And bacon grease as the case was...I looked at the loaf of good white bread. And I knew we had good white American cheese in the fridge from the much-hallowed Yutzy's. I looked at the leftover bacon grease again. A plan was forming in my head....

Yo Adrian

Another staple of my household is some variation on a Philly-type sandwich. This week, it was chicken phillies with delicious tots. I jazzed up my chicken/peppers/onions/toasted bun with a sauce made of mayo, whole grain mustard, and a bit of a horseradish. Mmm.

Nutella revisited

I know I've blogged of the goodness of Nutella before. But I so enjoy the lovely chocolatey-hazelnutty spread, I need to speak of it, and it's goodness, in a sandwich again. Spread lovely Nutella between two pieces of bread (any bread - if you are feeling virtuous, use a multigrain - I however just used some Italian bread I had picked up at Whole Foods recently). Butter both sides. Toss onto a hot griddle. Fry up - slice - sprinkle with powdered sugar. Slam.

Sandwich experiments

R and I experimented with a Cuban sandwich, as envisioned by one Mr. Alton Brown in this recipe. It involved layering pork, ham, cheese, mustard, and pickle slices on a hoagie bun. It was actually quite delish. Elle will be horrified.