BLT Grilled Cheese Sandwich

After April's Warm Tomato, Arugula and Bacon Panzanella Salad and Brittany's Caprese Pasta, Tomato Month continues with my take on the theme, a BLT Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

I'm going to start out by being straightforward with everyone, I know I'm calling this a BLT sandwich but I' didn't put any lettuce on it.  Leafy green lettuce and a hot skillet just don't go together too well so I chose to replace it with a different green food and that's where the avocado steps in.  Because the BLT was ultimately the inspiration for this sandwich I chose to keep it in the name, and because BAT just doesn't have the same ring to it.

The tomatoes I used in these sandwiches are fresh picked from my garden this past weekend.  It just feels so rewarding to be able to eat something that you have been taking care of and growing.  The tomatoes add a nice, fresh juiciness, and the avocado a gentle softness that helps balance out the crunch of the bacon and grilled bread.  We were really happy with how this sandwich turned out and I'm already thinking about how I'll be making it again accompanied by tomato soup once the weather cools off.

Enjoy!
Kelsey

Makes 2 sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of sourdough bread
• 6 pieces of turkey bacon, cooked
• 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 large tomato, cut in 4 slices
• 1 avocado, mashed
• Butter

Directions:

1. Butter the outsides of two slices of bread.
2. Begin layering ingredients evenly on each slice, starting with one slice of cheese, then spread mashed avocado, place bacon strips and tomato slices, finally topping with another slice of cheese.
3. Butter the outside of last two slices of bread and top the sandwiches.
4. In a skillet preheated over medium heat, grill sandwiches for about 5 minutes on each side, or until cheese is melted.  If bread begins to burn before cheese is melted, lower heat.

Two Years Ago: Peach Almond Galette

Broccoli Cheddar Grilled Cheese

I've been inactively watching nature shows on PBS for the past hour or three while putzing around on the Internet and editing these here photos. Not a lot has been learned, but I have noticed that the music has a very ominous almost spooky thing going on. The scientists and narrator's voices also have a similar vibe happening. Why is this? Has anyone else noticed this?

Maybe it is time for me to change the channel. They must be going for that feel. After all, science can have a sort of awesome and ominous quality to it. Right? Enough of my ramblings about the production qualities of PBS nature shows and more about grilled cheese.

April is grilled cheese month and quite possibly the best month EVER. I don't care if it rains a lot. It is named after me and involves warm cheese between delicious carbs. Enough said.

Broccoli cheddar soup is up there on my favorite soups list. Roasted broccoli is also like vegetable candy for me. It gets all crunchy and roasty on the outside. You can sometimes find me on a wild Friday night drinking wine, watching trashy TV and shoveling a whole head or two of roasted broccoli in my face. You should try it sometime. I live a wild life. No big deal.

I roast extra broccoli and grate extra cheese in anticipation of snacking while I make my sammie. You should do the same. Snacking is inevitable. The addition of the Havarti adds a good melty and creamy quality to the sandwich, mimicking the creaminess of soup.  While the cheddar is obviously necessary to the sandwich and adds a good sharpness.

I have made this sandwich using both sourdough and whole wheat bread, they are equally as good. Go ahead and make your life a bit easier and use whatever bread you have on hand. Celebrate the end of the best month ever and grilled cheese month with this sammie; you won't regret it.

April
 
Ingredients:
Roasted broccoli:
1 head of broccoli
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Pepper

Sandwich:
1/4 cup roasted broccoli, chopped
2 slices sourdough or french bread
1/3 cup extra sharp cheddar, grated
1/4 cup Havarti, grated
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Instructions:
Broccoli:
Preheat the oven to 425 degree Fahrenheit. Cut the broccoli florets into bite sized pieces. Toss the broccoli with the olive oil, generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread the florets evenly onto a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown slightly.

Sandwich assembly:
Spread 1/2 tablespoon of butter on both pieces of bread. Flip the slices over (the buttered sides are the ones that are going to hit the pan) and place half the grated cheddar on one piece of the bread. Add the chopped broccoli on top of the cheddar. Sprinkle a pinch of onion powder, garlic and generous pinch of pepper on top of the broccoli. Then add the Havarti, remainder of cheddar and final piece of bread.

Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over low heat. Carefully transfer the sandwich to the skillet and cook until the bread is toasty and golden on both sides and the cheese is gooey and melty. About 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let sit for a few minutes before enjoying.

Open Faced Eggplant Sandwich

This is completely unrelated to this sandwich, but who else loves grapes as much as I do? When I ran to the store to buy some bread for this sandwich, I bought two bags of grapes. Only one of them made it home with me. I ate the rest as I drove. That is probably not natural, huh? I just love grapes so much, like candy.

In other life news I rode my first century bike ride, that is a 100 miles. It actually came out to be about 107 miles. I'm an overachiever, I know. The weekend actually came out to be 187 miles. Why you ask? The 2012 Wisconsin Bike MS was this weekend. That was totally unrelated to grapes or this sandwich, but I am just so proud to say I rode and raised more than ever for the event this year.

We finally turn to the sandwich, which most of you are more interested in than my above ramblings. All that you need to know about this sandwich is its super easy and delicious. Double the recipe to serve more people. Lose the bread if you don't have any on hand or bread isn't your thing. Who doesn't love bread though, really? It is surprisingly filling but still light. Its the perfect, quick, made to order open faced sammie. The leftover tomato relish is awesome on toast with some goat cheese after you run out of eggplant (or get sick of it after 3 days).

xo
April

Serves 2
Ingredients:
Tomato relish:
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped, 1 1/2 cups
1/4 cup, scant, finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Sandwich:
2 small or 1 large eggplant
2 slices, 3/4 inch thick, sourdough or country bread, from a round loaf
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
4 ounces goat cheese

Instructions:

1. Combine the tomato, parsely, olive oil, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper, set aside for later.
2. Trim off the top and the bottom of each eggplant, then cut 2 (1-inch thick) slices lengthwise from the center, discarding the remainder (the rounded, skinned outside portions are discarded). Brush the cut sides with olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat a heavy bottom skillet over medium heat, cooking on each side for about 6-7 minutes or until nicely browned. 
3. For the bread, lightly brush both sides with oil. Toast them in the same pan as the eggplant or under a hot broiler, until lightly golden. 
4. To assemble the sandwich, spread goat cheese on each piece of bread and place the eggplant on top of that. Finish each off with half of the tomato relish.

Breakfast Sammie with Avocado, Siracaha and Swiss

Summer is officially here. The rest of the world and calendar may disagree with me, but it is here in full force for me. I had big dreams for a "its summer, lets celebrate with this bomb-tastic ombre cake" blog post. This post is not an ombre cake and school has officially been done and summer started last week Thursday. Can you say recipe failures? The post was going to go something like celebrate summer with this delicious show-stopping cake and I would tell you about all my big summer plans and aspirations. When the cake failed, I decided I would make a cocktail. That also failed. I decided to turn to what I know for a little success.

I LOVE breakfast sammies. My favorite breakfast meal is hands down a breakfast sammie. They involve bread, cheese and a oozy-gooey-yummy fried egg. Those three things can make anyone's morning bright, yummy and wonderful for at least the 10 minutes it takes to make and eat it. Need more moments of wonderfulness, make it for lunch or dinner.

This sammie, to some people, may sound a bit strange. I don't know why they think that, it is a breakfast sammie at its best. My advice is to go with an aged swiss (Hook's 3 year Swiss is a good choice). Aged swiss cheese is just better. If you have the extra minute to spare, grate your cheese for exceptional melt-ability. The Siracha compliments everything beautifully with its sweet and garlicky heat.

On days when I am feeling healthy, I use egg whites and no bacon. There are other days where I can't resist the deliciousness of a runny yellow yolk. It is the avocado, Siracha and swiss that makes this breakfast sammie a knock out.

xo
April

Ingredients:
1 slice bacon, fried
English muffin, toasted
1/2 California avocado, sliced
1/4 cup aged swiss cheese, grated
1 egg
Siracha

Instructions:

1. Fry your bacon over medium to medium-low heat, reserving some bacon grease to cook the egg. Add the egg to the frying pan, cooking to your desired doneness (I vote over easy, runny goodness!). Place the grated cheese and bacon on top (this helps the bacon to stay put while you eat) of the egg after it has been flipped.
2. Place the toasted English muffin on a plate, placing the avocado on the bottom half. Remove the egg from the pan, placing it on top of the avocado. Finish the sammie off with Siracha and enjoy!

 “Join Dine & Dish and Cookin’ Canuck for the California Avocado 4th of July Blast, sponsored by the California Avocado Commission.”

Garlic Grilled Cheese

This recipe is one I remember from high school. We only had it a few times, but it made a place in my memory. We would have it when the family was busy but still wanted a dinner we could all sit down and spend time with each other for a bit. It has great flavor but it is extremely quick with few ingredients and little prep time.

It is a great spin to an already great sandwich. The garlic adds a special surprise to the four cheese blend that makes this grilled cheese stand out. A few tips for this recipe, don't skimp out on tasty bread, it really makes a difference. Fresh bread from a bakery makes this elementary school lunch seem more like a gourmet dinner. Also, try dipping the grilled cheese in marinara sauce to add even more flavor! Lastly, I was fortunate to find a four cheese blend by Sargentos that had the exact cheeses I was looking for. Plus, they were already shredded!

Garlic Grilled Cheese
adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. butter
1 garlic clove
8 slices bread (I used vienna)
1 package Sargentos shredded cheese blend containing Provolone, Mozzarella, Asiago and Romano
*or you may buy each individually (1 c. shredded for each, except 1/2 c. shredded for Romano)

Instructions
1. In a small skillet over medium low heat, warm oil, butter, and minced garlic for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Dip one side of the bread slice in the garlic butter mixture and place buttered side down on a large skillet over medium high heat. Do for 3 more slices.
3. Top the four bread slices with even amounts of the cheese blend.
4. Dip one side of the last four bread slices in the garlic butter mixture. Garlic butter side up, place on top of the bread and cheese to create a sandwich.
5. Flip the grilled cheese once the bread on the bottom is golden brown. Turn the heat down if you notice the bread is browning but the cheese is not melting.
6. Remove from skillet once both sides are browned to your liking and the cheese is melted. Cut in half, if desired.
7. Enjoy!

Ancho Seasoned Burgers

My friend Anna, from freshman year of college, came to visit this past weekend. I decided to make her Red Chile Rice with Sweet and Spicy Ancho Seasoning Paste. I had some left over ancho seasoning paste and decided to try it mixed in with ground beef to make hamburger patties instead of just making myself more rice like the last time I made it.

The burgers turned out very moist, with just a hint of spice and chile flavor. This is the kind of burger that a guest or friend will ask, "What is in this burger?". It also turns them red, making it harder to tell when they are done by sight. I served them on tiger rolls (rawr!) with grilled onions, avocado and homemade queso fresco. A delicious way to use up leftover ancho seasoning paste!

xo

April

Serves 4-5, depending on how big/small you make your burgers
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1-2 tablespoons ancho seasoning paste (roughly a teaspoon per 6 ounce burger)

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl combine the ground beef and ancho seasoning paste, mix it just enough to combine.
2. Divide the meat into 4 equal portions (about 6 ounces each). Loosely form each portion into a 3/4 inch patty with a deep depression in the center (this helps them to not bulge in the center when cooked). 
3. Heat a gas grill to high heat. Placing the burgers on the grill and cooking on each side for about 4 minutes or to desired doneness. Serve and enjoy immediately!

Hot Beef Sandwiches Au Jus

I know what you're thinking, where's the sandwich? When my boyfriend and I were planning this meal, we decided to minus the bun to be a bit healthier. Plus, then nothing could take away from the flavor and tenderness this meat got! It was perfect plain or dipped in the heart cup full of jus. 

[sidenote: yup, it is just jus. My cookbook taught me the yummy juice is just called jus. Au jus means "with the juice."]

This was the first time I made this. Also, this was the first recipe I made from my new slow cooker cookbook I got for Christmas from my roommate, Tonia. Thanks again! I'll definitely make this hot beef recipe again. But not for awhile because I froze two containers of it. This recipe makes a lot! 

Hot Beef Sandwiches Au Jus

recipe from Crock-Pot's Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes book

Ingredients
4 lbs beef rump roast
2 envelopes (1 oz each) dried onion soup mix (I used Lipton)
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 cans  (101/5 oz. each) beef broth
1 can beer

Instructions
1. Trim fat from beef and discard. Place in slow cooker
2. Combine soup mix, sugar, oregano, garlic, broth, and beer in large mixing bowl
3. Pour mixture over beef

4. Cover and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours or until beef is tender
[Every once in awhile, I flipped the roast over but this is not needed - you can leave it alone for the whole cook time if you want]
5. Remove beef from slow cooker. Shred beef with two forks. Return to slow cooker and mix well
6. Serve on rolls or alone with extra jus on the side for dipping
7. Enjoy!

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