This awesome sandwich isn’t heart healthy or swimsuit friendly.  But the Packers broke my heart on Sunday and I’ve no plans to wear a bikini today, so I just ate the photo shoot and washed it down with the beer you see in the background.

I’m such a rebel.

On a happier note, it’s only 80 days until the Brewers Opening Day!

CROQUE MONSIEUR
SERVES:  4 to 8
SOURCE:  Barefoot in Paris, by Ina Garten.  Copyright 2004 .  p. 48-49.

2 T. butter
3 T. flour
2 c. hot milk
1 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
12 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (about 5 cups); divided
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
16 slices good quality white sandwich bread, crusts removed (I used Sendik’s Artisan Country French Bread)
Dijon mustard
1/2 lb. Black Forest ham, sliced thin but not falling apart (Sendik’s Black Forest Ham is on sale)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan, and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.  Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened.  Off the heat, add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere and the Parmesan and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on two baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes.  Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.  Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere.  Top with another piece of toasted bread.  Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes.  Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes (watch sandwiches carefully), or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned.  Serve immediately.

STEAK BAGUETTES WITH PESTO MAYO
SERVES:  4
SOURCE:  Cooking Light Magazine, August 2011.  p.112.   Recipe by Jackie Newgent.

1 (12 oz) boneless beef sirloin steak (about 1 inch thick), trimmed **
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 T. light mayonnaise
2 T. refrigerated pesto
1 (12 oz) piece white or whole grain baguette, split in half horizontally
Red onion slices
Plum tomato slices

Preheat grill to medium high.  Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper.  Grill steak three to four minutes per side for medium rare.  Remove steak from grill and set aside on cutting surface.  Tent with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Combine mayonnaise and pesto, stirring until well blended.  Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over cut sides of bread.  Layer bottom half of bread with arugula, red onion, steak, and tomato, top with top half of bread.  Cut sandwich diagonally into four equal pieces.  Serve.

** I needed to get six sandwiches out of this recipe so I up’ed the steak to just over a pound and also adjusted the other ingredients accordingly.  I decided to serve this cold, so I grilled the steak around 4:00 and then held it for dinner at 6.

CALORIES: 346; FAT: 9.1g; PROTEIN 21g; CARB 41.4

This is an easy but filling supper, and qualifies as ‘homemade’.  I highly recommend you serve it to your lunch bunch tomorrow, after you’ve done your time cheering your lungs out on the sidelines of whatever sport your punks have going on.

Have a great weekend!

ITALIAN GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH
Serves: 4
Adapted from cookscountry.com

2 T. olive oil
4 smallish garlic cloves, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/3 c. chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper

4 oz. thinly sliced deli salami (Sendik’s Brand is on sale)
8 oz. thinly sliced provolone cheese (Sendik’s Brand Provolone is on sale in the Cheese Department; you’ll have to slice it yourself)
8 oz. thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
8 slices thick-cut crusty bread **see note**

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in tomatoes and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Mash mixture with a fork until only small chunks of tomato remain.  Stir in 1 tablespoon basil and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and keep warm.

Arrange salami in a single layer on a paper towel lined plate.  Cover with paper towels and microwave until fat renders, about 30 seconds.

Layer provolone on 4 slices bread, then top with pepperoni, remaining basil, and mozzarella.  Top with remaining bread.  Spritz both sides of sandwich lightly with olive oil.  Heat a grill pan or large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 1 minute.  Place 2 sandwiches in pan and weight with a Dutch oven.  Cook sandwiches until golden brown and cheese is melted, about 5 minutes per side.  Repeat with remaining sandwiches.  Serve with tomato sauce on the side.

**NOTE** I used ciabatta bread because I had half a loaf in the freezer.  Ecce Panis Multigrain Boule is on sale in the bakery; they will slice it for you if you ask extra sweetly. 

This recipe calls for pork tenderloin, but I decided to give it a go with the sandwich chops that are on sale this week. I definitely recommend marinating the chops for at least 8 hours; I only had two hours and that wasn’t quite long enough. You’ll need to adjust your cooking time according to how thick your chops are – since mine were paper thin, they only took about three minutes a side.

The orange-scented mayonnaise is an interesting twist and a nice compliment to the grilled chops. A toasted bun, crisp lettuce and a few slices of sweet onion round out a unique sandwich that’s a simple dinner, or the perfect change of pace from the usual picnic or tailgate fare.

Enjoy!

PICNIC PORK CHOP SANDWICH
Serves: 8
Source: recipezaar.com

• 2 1-lb. pork tenderloins (or, look for the ‘sandwich chops’ that are on special)

Marinade:

• 2 c. orange juice (Dole brand is on special)
• ½ c. soy
• 1 T. minced garlic
• ¼ c. Dijon mustard
• ¼ c. honey
• ½ t. cayenne pepper

Orange Scented Mayonnaise:

• 1 c. mayonnaise
• ¼ c. orange juice
• 1 T. Tabasco sauce
• ½ t. sugar
• ½ t. minced garlic
• ½ t. prepared horseradish
• 2 T. chopped scallions

• 8 hamburger buns
• Lettuce, tomato, and sliced sweet onion for serving

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a large measuring cup. Place the pork in a large ziplock bag and pour the marinade over. Squeeze out any excess air, seal the bag, and refrigerate the pork at least 8 hours (preferably overnight).

Mix all of the orange mayonnaise ingredients together and refrigerate for at least one hour to allow flavors to blend.

Remove the pork from the marinade and grill over medium heat for 15 – 20 minutes, or until internal temperature is 160 degrees. (For chops I would say roughly 5 minutes per side depending on their thickness). Remove the tenderloins and cover loosely with foil; allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Toast the rolls on the grill. Allow diners to assemble their sandwiches with the pork, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and sliced onion.

(Pardon me, won’t you, while I go feather my hair. Have you seen my crazy comb?)

Boar’s Head roast beef is on sale this week, and that’s all the inspiration I needed to re-create the French Dip sandwich from my eighth grade days. Well, that and I needed a quick dinner for tonight. So, grab your Member’s Only jacket and let’s party like it’s 1983 – we’re making French Dip today!

As an added bonus, I took the liberty of looking up the Top 40 songs from 1983. For a more authentic 80’s feel, I recommend that you hum anything off of this playlist while you make dinner tonight:

1). Safety Dance / Men Without Hats

2). Come On Eileen / Dexy’s Midnight Runners

3). Rio / Duran Duran

4). Little Red Corvette / Prince

5). Mr. Roboto / Styx

No thanks necessary. I live for this stuff.

FRENCH DIP SANDWICH

Makes 4

Source: foodnetwork.com

• 2 T. butter
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 T. flour
• 2 T. dry sherry
• 2 cans beef consumme
• 1 ½ lbs. good quality deli roast beef (Boar’s Head is on sale)
• Grill seasoning blend for steak, such as Montreal Steak Seasoning, or salt and pepper
• 4 sandwich rolls, split and toasted (Sendik’s whole grain hoagie rolls are on sale)

In a large, shallow skillet over moderate heat, melt butter. Add shallots to butter and sauté 2 minutes. Add flour to butter and shallot and cook a minute longer. Whisk in sherry and cook until liquid is nearly evaporated. Whisk in consumer in a slow stream. Bring sauce up to a bubble and allow to simmer over low heat until ready to serve sandwiches.

Pile meat loosely across your work surface. Season meat with grill seasoning or salt and black pepper. To assemble sandwiches, use a pair of kitchen tongs to dip meat into the au jus, then pile into rolls. Serve sandwiches with small cups of just for dipping.

What’s that, you say?  Isn’t bacon smack in the middle of the meat group on the food pyramid?  Why yes, it is.  I didn’t have any bacon on my sandwich though. Mine was just a Salmon LT.  You thought you busted me, didn’t you?  Naw.  I’m still to behaving myself after the naughty weekend.  Let’s please not talk about that again though.  Next subject…

…our sandwich!  So yummy, it’s the perfect light dinner for a warm evening.  The salmon has a gentle lemon flavor, thanks to a quick swim in a simple lemon-basil marinade.  Toasty bread is dressed with a terrific lemon-scented basil mayonnaise, then topped with crispy bacon, fresh lettuce, tomatoes and slivered red onion.  A healthy dinner never tasted so good!

I’m also pleased to tell you that this recipe makes great use of several sale items:  the salmon, bacon, and sourdough bread are all in the ad this week.  I happened to have a loaf of ciabatta in the freezer, so I used that in lieu of the sourdough.  Of course, you can use whatever bread you like, but I would draw the line at Wonder products.   Remember, we are counting our pennies, but we have our standards to maintain!

Enjoy!

OPEN-FACED SALMON BLT

Serves: 4

Source:  Adapted from  “Salmon Club” on epicurious.com

• 6 T. mayonnaise
• 5 T. minced fresh basil
• 1 t. lemon peel
• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• 4 5-6 oz. skinless salmon fillets, each about ¾” thick (try the Coho, on sale this week 9/9/9 – 9/15/9)
• 8 slices bacon (I used the sale Farmland)
• ½ small red onion, julienned
• 4 slices good quality bread (again, try the sale sourdough, on sale this week 9/9/9 – 9/15/9)
• 8 tomato slices
• 8 lettuce leaves

Mix the mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons basil, and lemon peel in a small bowl to blend.  Cover and chill.

Mix remaining 3 tablespoons basil, olive oil, and lemon juice in a large glass baking dish.  Add salmon to oil mixture, turn to coat.  Cover and chill for an hour or so.

Preheat oven to 450.

Cook the bacon in a large, oven safe sauté pan until crisp; transfer to paper towels to drain.  Drain off all but 2 teaspoons of bacon drippings, return pan to the heat.  Place the salmon (skinned side up) in the pan and cook over medium-high heat for three minutes.  During this time, kindly do not fiddle with it, poke it, or scoot it around.  No peeking, either!

Carefully flip salmon, transfer pan to the oven and continue to cook for another three minutes or so.  Remove from oven, and set aside, and remind yourself that the handle of the pan is still screamingly hot!

Toast bread slices and place on work surface.  Spread mayonnaise mixture over one side of each slice of bread.  Top each slice with two lettuce leaves, two slices bacon, two slices of tomato, some of the julienned onion, and one salmon fillet.  Serve immediately.