End of Summer Tomato Sandwich

Was it really May when I last posted?!? I'm still here! I guess the summer just got the best of me and I decided to just go with the flow and enjoy every crazy minute of it, which meant no time to blog. Here it is September 1st and for whatever reason I figured I'd put a simple post up and try to get back in the blogosphere... 

This is barely a recipe but it has been one of my go to lunches while picky husband is running the grill. Instead of burgers or hot-dogs, I have a yummy tomato sandwich! I have not always loved tomatoes, infact, I didn't like them at all as a child. Tomato sauce, yes, but not anything with an tomato texture in it, thank goodness my tastebuds have changed over the years and I now thoroughly enjoy the once forsaken tomato.

Here are my musts for a tomato sandwich...

toasted bread (preferably and most often homemade French bread from this recipe)
mayonnaise (not too much, but a little on both slices)
fresh tomatoes (this year I grew Cherokee Purple tomatoes and they made amazing sandwiches!)

I also love to add thin slices/crumbles of goat cheese, it adds that perfect tangy touch!

I hope everyone/anyone who reads this has had a wonderful summer!  I can't wait to get back into the blogging grove and hope to have some yummy recipes to share soon :)

Zucchini and Roasted Red Pepper Melts -- Random Recipe #4

This is my Random Recipe of the week -- Open-Faced Zucchini and Roasted Red Pepper Melts! Sounds pretty yummy, huh? Definitely something I would order for lunch at a restaurant. I was surprised to pick this recipe because the randomly selected "cookbook" of the week was a mini cookbook from the Best Recipes Easy Home Cooking series called NO-BAKE desserts...


This "grocery store check out aisle" cookbook is from July 1999, so probably not something I purchased myself, since I was in high school at the time, but possibly could have, because, who doesn't want to make a NO-BAKE dessert every now and then, right? This has been on my bookshelf forever and I have no memory of where it came from. I've never cooked anything from it so I was a little excited to make a no-bake treat. I hoped to get one of the "Kids' Treats" promised on the cover to make for my kids, but no luck.


Instead, I randomly flipped to an Open-Faced Zucchini and Roasted Red Pepper Melt. I had almost all of the ingredients on hand except for some zucchini. I used homemade bread, half of this recipe from Tuesdays with Dorie that I formed into five large sub buns. I did sub out the minced garlic for 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and skip the black pepper. Here is the recipe...

Open Faced Zucchini and Roasted Red Pepper Melts

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used Miracle Whip since that is what my husband eats and what we keep on hand, I prefer mayo but don't use it often enough to warrant having some on hand except for in the summer time for tomato sandwiches, mmm -- I really think I need to make my own sometime since I keep hearing how delicious homemade mayo is) ETA: I made these a second time with homemade pizza sauce instead of the mayo and they were extra delicious!

1 clove garlic, minced (I used 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 and 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 loaf, 14 inches, Italian bread, sliced lengthwise, then cut crosswise in half (or just use two large sub rolls, like I did)

1 large zucchini sliced diagonally into 8 slices (I just thinly sliced my normal sized zucchini into rounds)

1 jar roasted red peppers, drained, cut into quarters or 2 medium red bell peppers roasted, peeled, and cut into quarters (I roasted my own peppers for this but only used one chopped up on the sandwiches since my kids aren't too keen on them)


1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used more like 1 cup total, about 1/4 cup on each sandwich)

1. In small bowl, blend mayonnaise, garlic, basil, oregano and black pepper. Brush cute sides of bread with 1/2 of mayonnaise mixture. Broil 5 inches from heat for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove; set aside.

2. Brush zucchini slices with remaining mayonnaise mixture. Broil 2 minutes, turning once. (Slice I had small slices, I just brushed one side and did not turn them)

3. Top each piece of bread alternately with zucchini and red pepper. (I put the pepper pieces down first then the zucchini over top) Sprinkle with cheese.

4. Broil 1 to 2 minutes (it took mine about 3 or 4, electric oven broil setting) or until golden brown and cheese melts. Makes 4 sandwiches.

~~~

My six year old daughter and I made these for a Saturday lunch. They were pretty easy to put together with lots of steps that kids can help with; stirring, topping, sprinkling cheese. I was a little nervous about serving these for lunch since the kids aren't really into red peppers but I was very surprised that both of my boys ate their whole half sandwich! My daughter, who was excited to give these a try since she was my kitchen helper, was not the biggest fan but was kind of shy about not liking it (strange for her since she is very adamant about what she does and does not like) I could tell she was disappointed that she didn't like the sandwich she helped make.

I thought these were pretty good but was not the biggest fan of the sauce. I think it was the Miracle Whip that tasted a little strange to me and real mayo would have definitely went better. Oh-well. Live and learn.

I would make these again but use a marinara or pizza sauce as the sauce rather than the mayo and just stir the seasonings into the tomato based sauce. ETA: I did end up making these again with some extra sub buns with homemade pizza sauce (left everything else the same, just skipped the mayo based sauce) and they were so delicious, a make again for sure! It was a fun recipe to put together and I'm very happy that it got my two picky boys to eat some veggies. Picky husband was not interested in trying this recipe at all (he is not a veggie fan) so I made him a roast beef and Swiss on the home made sub rolls, maybe someday he will enjoy veggies, I keep hoping :)

Croque Monsieur -- Barefoot Bloggers

Thank you to Kathy of All Food Considered, who picked Ina's Croque Monsieur as our second Barefoot Bloggers recipe for April. Croque Monsieur is pretty much a French style ham and cheese sandwich. I looked around on the internet to see if there were any vegetarian versions and got ideas to just leave out the ham and make three versions of this sandwich (really just adding an extra ingredient)...apparently a Croque Provençal adds an herbed mayonnaise and tomato, and a Croque Hawaii adds pineapple, how fun! I am a huge pineapple fan and when I google image searched a Croque Hawaii and saw a photo of one with a cute little maraschino cherry on top I just had to add that to mine :) If the pineapple and cheese combo sounds a little off to you, think pineapple on a cheesy pizza.


I made two loaves of our favorite French bread recipe to use for these sandwiches, which turned out really well. I halved the recipe and had three large sandwiches.

Ina Garten's Croque Monsieur

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

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 2 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, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Results: These were one of the richest foods I've ever tasted. I could barely eat one half of a sandwich. They were delicious but oh my goodness, just so rich! I had heard of Croque Monsieur sandwiches before but never had one because they are usually served with ham. I was happy to finally give this decadent lunch treat a try, and really like the pineapple and tomato additions and love any excuse to buy gruyere.