Un-Recipe Files: Warm Mini Pesto Sandwiches

   

One of my favorite summer traditions are TGIF dinner cruises.  On Friday evenings we will pull together an easy meal of sandwiches, veggies/chips with hummus/dip, Bing cherries, and an easy portable dessert.  Oh, and wine.  You must have wine on TGIF cruises!  All of this needs to be pulled together in time for sunset on the lake.  Add in some good cruising music from Joshua Radin, Amos Lee, Iron and Wine, or Norah Jones and you pretty much have perfection.  On a boat.

We usually make these simple, but deceptively delicious, sandwiches.  Start with a small, soft roll.  We usually get them straight from the grocery store bakery.  Add your favorite deli meat, half a slice of cheese (provolone, cheddar, pepper jack, etc.).  Now for the special sauce.  Mix up a quick pesto aioli using equal parts of pesto (store-bought is fine) and mayo.  Wrap up the sandwiches in a square of foil and bake in a 300 degree oven until the cheese is melty. 

Plan on two or three per person.  They are always a hit!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Grapefruit Mojitos

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Mini Chile Cheese Corndog Muffins

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Lemon Trifle

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing (My very first recipe post!): Parmesan Thyme Crackers

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Salmon Burgers with Dill Yogurt Sauce

Perfect Pairing: Broiler Pan

These salmon burgers were a fun switch from regular hamburgers or a simple salmon fillet.  Fresh salmon is combined with fresh dill, horseradish, lemon zest, and shallot to form a super tasty burger.  Then it is topped with a light sauce made from fat free Greek yogurt, fresh dill and a touch of honey.

These are so simple to make, you basically throw everything into the food processor and then the oven.  I would try to get salmon without the skin.  I didn’t do this and removing the skin was the most time consuming part of the meal prep.

Most ovens come with broiler pans but I think they are pretty underused.  I know I rarely use mine!  I dusted it off for this recipe and it was perfect.  If you don’t have a broiler pan you could use a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet.

These were perfect with slices of crunchy cucumber and crisp lettuce.  I served mine with oven-roasted broccoli and sweet potato fries.  It was a delicious and healthy meal.  

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Kale, Butternut Squash, and Bacon Breakfast Burritos with Spicy Chipotle Sauce

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Pasta Fagioli Soup

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Lasagna Soup

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Brown Sugar Pear Sauce

Perfect Pairing:  Sandwiches and Ice Cream

Oh man, this sauce.  It is good, really good.  How can you go wrong with brown sugar, pears, and rum?  You can’t.  It is fantastic on all sorts of things, including a spoon.

I made grilled sandwiches with roasted turkey, brie, and the pear sauce.  I pulled the pears out of the sauce with a fork before layering them on the sandwiches so that I did not have a complete mess.  A good amount of the sauce clings to the pears but you could also drizzle a little extra over the top if you are feeling... saucy.

So good.

My mom served the sauce on ice cream.  She poured the warm pear sauce over good vanilla ice cream and topped the whole thing off with a few salted pecans.  Yep, that works too.

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Tuna Hummus Melts

Perfect Pairing: Sabra hummus

My typical Saturday morning ritual is to clean my place with the Food Network on in the background.  If I glance up and see something interesting I will shut off the vacuum and tune in.  On one such morning I saw my favorite cook, Barefoot Contessa, make a tuna salad sandwich and she served it over a layer of homemade hummus.  Brilliant!  I loved that idea.  Of course, she made her own hummus and the tuna salad still had full fat mayonnaise in it, but it gave me a great idea.  Why not substitute hummus for mayonnaise in the salad?  Even though hummus still has some fat from the tahini it is a much healthier option. 

I made Tuna Hummus Melts for a small get together at my house and I really liked them.  You truly don’t miss the mayonnaise.  I used rye bread, a few slices of tomato, and havarti dill cheese melted on top.  My favorite brand of hummus is Sabra.  The classic variety was perfect in this recipe but you could use one of the flavored versions for an added kick.

There was quite a bit of leftover tuna after the party so I made my own version of tuna noodle casserole.  I made a basic white sauce, stirred in some cheese, cooked pasta, the leftover tuna, and frozen peas.  Voila!  It was quite tasty.  Just something to keep in mind if you have some leftovers!

 

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Turkey Meatball Sandwiches

Perfect Pairing:  Hollowed out bread

Dude food.   That is what I think of when I think about meatball sandwiches.  They are quite manly.  Oh, I also think of Joey Tribbiani on Friends.  He had a thing for meatball sandwiches.  I would love to cook for Joey.  I think he would like anything I put in front of him. 

Even though I made these for my cousin, who is definitely a dude, I did have to girly-up the sandwiches a little bit.  I don’t think he noticed.  I substituted lean ground turkey for beef, or whatever they use in normal meatballs.  In addition, I used a small amount of hot Italian pork sausage.  It added a ton of flavor without much added fat.

I made my own sauce with just a few ingredients, but you could easily substitute your favorite store bought sauce. 

When I was putting the sandwiches together I realized it was a lot of bread.  I made the bread “skinny” by tearing out the soft insides to save on calories.  Thank you Potbelly’s for the idea!  You really don’t miss the extra bread and it makes the sandwich easier to handle.

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Candied Bacon, Tomato and Avocado Sandwich

Perfect Pairing – Summer tomatoes

It is hard to improve on a classic like a BLT, but I think this sandwich knocks the original out of the park. 

I replaced the lettuce with mashed avocado.  Be sure to season the avocado generously with salt and pepper.  You may have to test it out on a chip to make sure the seasoning is just right!

I have found that the best way to cook bacon is in the oven.  I line a baking sheet with foil and top with a cooling rack.  Using the cooking rack ensures that the bacon is not cooking in grease.  Clean-up is easy, just toss the foil away with the drained grease.   I really love the combination of sweet and salty so instead of regular bacon I used candied bacon.  It sounds fancy but it is really just adding a sprinkle of brown sugar before it goes in the oven. 

Speaking of bacon, apparently an actor is trying it out as a new currency.  Who knows, people do love bacon.  I wonder if the value would go up if he candies it.

The Perfect Pairing for this sandwich is summer’s final tomatoes.  Hopefully you can still find some sun-warmed tomatoes at a farmers market or your neighbor’s garden. 

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Darn Good Ham and Cheese Sliders

Perfect Pairing: Non-stick foil

I really like all of the recipes I post on this blog.  I would not put them on this site unless I thought they were really good.  A lot of recipes/experiments do not make the cut. 

I don’t go out for lunch very often but when I do it is usually to Bravo, an Italian restaurant in Evanston.  Typically I like to try different things at restaurants, but I don’t even look at the menu anymore at Bravo.  I always get the mahi mahi fish wrap.  I absolutely love it.  I tried to re-create a version at home and it was good, everyone seemed to like it, but I knew it just didn’t quite compare to the restaurant version.  So I will not be posting it until I get it right.

So, all of this was just to say that while I stand behind everything on this site, some recipes stand out above the rest.  This is one of those recipes.  These Darn Good Ham and Cheese Sliders may look like any other sandwich, but they are so much better.  They are darn good.

My dear friend, Devon, brought these to the lake this summer.  Devon and I go way back, and I mean way back to those super awkward stages where it is painful to look at pictures.  Fortunately, things have improved through the years!  I am sure I could dig deep for some humiliating pictures but I am going to skip that step.

She has been a huge supporter of me and this blog and I love her for that.  Dev is just one of the best people I have ever met, not to mention the strongest, and has a very moving story.  Please also be sure to visit her foundation's website.  

Devon brought these sliders over this summer and everyone pretty much flipped over them.  My grandma even asked for the recipe.  I have made them multiple times since then and each and every time people ask me for the recipe and say over and over again how good they are. 

So you start with a basic ham and cheese sandwich on a Hawaiian roll.

 Then you drizzle a sauce over them made from butter, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and poppy seeds. 

Bake them until gooey and ridiculous.  Make them now.

 The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is non-stick foil.   The sauce that runs onto the pan can be a bit of sticky mess so it is great to line the pan with foil and throw the mess away!

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Spinach and Artichoke Grilled Cheese

Perfect Pairing:  Tomato Bisque

Spinach and artichoke dip is fantastic and so is a grilled cheese.  Combine them and you have a really awesome specialty sandwich on your hands, or in your hands.

The sandwich includes a creamy spinach and artichoke spread and a layer of fresh mozzerella cheese.  The base of the spread is Spinach and Artichoke Boursin.  You may remember my confession of love for Boursin cheese from this post.  My original plan was to buy the garlic and herb variety, I had no idea they made a spinach and artichoke flavor.  Once I saw that I knew I had to use it in the recipe.  If you cannot find that flavor you could easily substitute the garlic and herb cheese.

The Perfect Pairing for a spinach and artichoke grilled cheese is this tomato bisque recipe.  It is super simple and can be made in the time it takes to grill the sandwiches.  Perfect for dunking!

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Tomato Bisque

Perfect Pairing: Grilled cheese

Is there any food more comforting than a really good bowl of tomato soup and grilled cheese?  It is a classic combination that will never go out of style.  My mom got this recipe from her dear friend years ago and it has been a family favorite ever since. 

This tomato bisque is very deceiving because it tastes like it would take a lot of time and work to make, but it is done in a matter of minutes.  It could not be easier.  It tastes like it is full of cream but the creaminess comes from low fat buttermilk, which adds just a small amount of fat.

The Perfect Pairing for tomato bisque is, of course, a grilled cheese sandwich.  Make it fancy or keep it simple, it will be delicious alongside this soup.

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Cucumber Sandwiches

Perfect Pairing:  Beer bread

Moms are just the best thing in the world.  I might be biased but I am pretty sure I have the best mom out there.  She is always there for me no matter what I am going through, or what time of day or night it may be.  Thank you mom.

Some of my favorite mother daughter memories are going to high tea with my lovely mom in downtown Chicago as a girl.  We had a tradition of going to the windy city to do some Christmas shopping and we would finish the trip with traditional tea at The Drake or The Four Seasons.  I loved everything about it.  I loved that I got my very own teapot and a delicate little teacup.  I loved the scones, clotted cream, and jam.  I loved the little sandwiches.  Most of all I loved feeling very grown up and sophisticated.

A couple of years ago we had high tea at The Drake as grownups.  I still loved it, but this time we had a teatini along with our Earl Grey! 

One of my favorite little tea sandwiches that is always served at high tea is cucumber on white bread with a little cream cheese.  It is so delicate, fresh, and ladylike.  It is the epitome of a tea sandwich.  My version of a cucumber sandwich is a bit of a departure from the traditional version.  It is not as delicate, or as pretty, but I think it has more flavor and is more satisfying.  I use a combination of whipped cream cheese and fat free Greek yogurt for the spread.  I like the texture that the yogurt brings to the spread and it keeps the fat and calories down. 

The Perfect Pairing for my cucumber sandwich is freshly baked beer bread.  I used packaged beer bread from Longaberger, which could not have been easier.  You can also make your own version at home using this recipe.  The slightly sweet flavor of the beer bread is perfect with the dill spread and fresh cucumbers. 

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Parmesan Pepper Lemon Biscuits

Perfect Pairing: Caramelized onions, prosciutto and arugula

Yesterday I wrote about the wonderful evening I recently had at Ravinia seeing the Gipsy Kings.  When I was creating the menu I wanted to include a sandwich but not your everyday turkey sandwich.  I think one of the most important parts of the sandwich is the bread, so that is where I focused my time and energy.  I found this biscuit recipe in a Food Network Star cookbook.

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