I like a sandwich made on good, soft bread, or one that's been grilled so the bread is crunchy on the outside but is still soft on the inside and has that charred smoky taste.
This is a French Dip I made using roast beef cooked all day in a crockpot. I added green peppers, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions and cheddar cheese. This sandwich was so moist from all that beefy juicy goodness from the roast having been cooked in the crockpot (I added beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, lots of garlic and a splash of soy sauce) that it really didn't need any dipping sauce. But I made some anyway.
This is a hamburger I made with a buttered, grilled ciabatta roll and topped with melty good blue cheese and bacon. Mmmmm, it was good!
This sandwich was soooooo good! I found it on Rachael Ray's site, and it's made with marinated grilled chicken that is sliced and paired with chunky tomato and red onions in a vinaigrette. Roasted broccoli is added and the whole thing is slathered in a tahini/ yogurt sauce and all put together inside grilled naan bread. When you grill naan it gets very soft and it's just delicious! Makes for an excellent sandwich. I made Tabbouleh on the side using cracked wheat, lots of mint, lemon juice, garlic, chopped tomatoes, green onions and parsley. It was a perfect side dish and made for a very satisfying supper. Try it!
I used to like to go to Mexicali Restaurant with my mom when I was little. It was fun. I liked the big pretty room decorated in bright colors with terracotta tile floors. I liked listening to the music and the many chattering, laughing people. I also liked the food, just not so much the Mexican food...yet. They made really good hamburgers! And that's what I would always order. Just a plain hamburger with mustard and dill pickles only. I still like my hamburgers that way only now I like cheese, too.
Now this is a HAMBURGER! It has more than mustard and pickles. I grilled onions and mushrooms and made a secret sauce and loaded it with lots of cheddar cheese. Oh man it was good! I like a hamburger that gets all messy because it's so juicy, and this one did it. The bun has to be very soft and the meat has to be tender and flavorful. And no lettuce and tomato getting in the way. Mmmmm, so yummy!
This is a portabella mushroom burger I made for the kids. I seasoned the shrooms with a steak seasoning, salt and pepper, then grilled them on my Calphalon griddle pan. This one has blue cheese, bacon, lettuce and a pesto sauce I made. That's the way Collin wanted his.
These are the two sauces I made for the portabella burgers. One is a pesto and the other is an aioli. Ok, the kids really loved these burgers! But I kept saying to myself, "Where's the beef?" (Do you notice my Rachael Ray bowls? I love them! And "thank you" David!)
When talking about "sammies," I couldn't skip the BLT! This is a classic made on soft whole wheat bread with mayo, bacon, lettuce, tomato and cheese (just because I like it that way). Sometimes I put avocado on too but I didn't have any. :( Oh well, next time.
I know, I know, this isn't a sandwich! But nothing goes better with a BLT than a good old-fashioned homemade simple vegetable soup done like Alice Walker does it. Well, David may say tomato soup is better. But this is made with a rich vegetable broth and simply carrots, potatoes, celery and tomatoes. MMM, MMMM, good.
A quesadilla is a sandwich, too! My Hispanic friend, Betty, used to tell me all the time that a cheese quesadilla is a Mexican grilled cheese. This one happens to be a pizza quesadilla and it was easy to make and good to eat. All I did was spread homemade pizza sauce on a flour tortilla, then added pepperoni and topped it off with mozzarella cheese. Then I put another flour tortilla on top of that and cooked it in my skillet. Yum! Makes a great and fast lunch.
Who doesn't like a sandwich! When I was a little girl my grandma, Goggy, would make us the best open-faced hot roast beef sandwiches in the whole wide world! Of course hers were so special because of all the love she put into them. But she was also a very good cook. Not long ago I got a real craving for one of those old-fashioned diner hot roast beef sandwiches, just like Goggy used to make, so I made some up.
I seasoned a rump roast with salt and pepper and cooked it in the oven; then I sliced it thin, buttered plain white bread and laid the meat on top of the bread. I made a rich brown gravy with the pan drippings and ladled that on top of the meat. Homemade mashed potatoes and fresh green beans with almonds were all it needed to taste great! But Goggy's was still better.
This is a BBQ pulled chicken sandwich I made from chicken cooked in my crockpot. It was so easy and good! The soft rolls are from the bakery, and I added my coleslaw and dill pickle slices to the mix.
We love meatball subs! I like to make them because cooking the meatballs and marinara sauce for hours turns the house into an Italian bistro of to-die-for good smells! Plus these sandwiches really taste good.
Mmmmmm, I know you can smell this!
First, you brush good sub rolls with olive oil and crisp them up in the oven. Then, layer on either provolone or mozzarella cheese and slide back into the oven to melt all the goodness together. Then, add the meatballs, sauce and Parmesan cheese, and eat!
These were the best ground beef sliders I've eaten in my whole life! No kidding. They were so juicy and tender. I found the idea on the internet but I used a little different seasonings, and you can add whatever seasonings you like. But after you've seasoned the meat (I used Italian bread crumbs, a little milk, ketchup, salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and onion powders), you smoosh it in a pan--I used 9 x 13 for a little over 2 pounds of meat. Cook in the oven, drain the grease, layer cheese on top, then stick back into the oven just until the cheese melts. Cut the meat into squares (it's just like cutting a cake!) to fit the buns. I used Hawaiian buns and boy were they good! I also topped mine off with homemade Thousand Island dressing and sliced dill pickles because that's what I like!
When we lived in Connecticut I used to love to grill lamb; it was so prevalent there. Our local small mom and pop grocery store carried the most succulent butterflied leg of lamb that I would marinate in lots of fresh garlic, olive oil and fresh sprigs of rosemary. Then I would carefully lay it on our barbecue grill, the coals nice and hot, and let it cook. So good! Here, in Colorado, I like to buy lamb rib chops, cut a slit in the side of each chop and carefully stuff with just a little marinara sauce, ricotta and seasoned bread crumbs, and grill over hot coals. This too is so good! And sometimes I like to grill the whole rack of lamb before slicing it.
Ready for the grill
I grilled this rack of lamb with lots of garlic and a panko crust on it, then served it simply with roasted cherry tomatoes on the side.
I cooked these pork chops in the oven, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder. That's all! They were very tender and had a nice flavor.
But this pork chop was well seasoned, then dipped in flour, egg and panko crumbs before frying--oh yum! I topped it off with a sauce made from Tabasco and butter, and served an old-fashioned potato salad on the side. This is David's favorite!
This is grilled swordfish I cooked using an olive oil, lemon and caper marinade. It was delicious!
And this is sauteed Tilapia Meunier, a very elegant way to serve fish, and made with browned butter, a squeeze of lemon juice and parsley. Very tasty!
And this is Tilapia en papillote which is a very good and easy way to cook fish. I seasoned it with tarragon, salt, pepper, a little butter and splash of white wine. I placed the fish on top of vegetables of squash, red and green bell pepper, and sliced onion, then wrapped it all up in foil sealing it well and cooked it in the oven for about 15 minutes. Voila!
But I saved the best for last! Nothing better than fried catfish!! Oh yeah! Mmmm, my mouth is watering for some now. All I do is dust the fish in Zatarain's seasoned fish fry mix and cook it in oil in a cast-iron pan. It turns out perfect every time! I added corn mixed with red bell peppers and white rice as accompaniments. Sometimes I make coleslaw and white beans for sides. And sometimes I put a dill pickle spear and sliced white onion ring on top of the fish. Any way you do it, it's good!
I think I've almost done it this time! This pizza was delicious; the crust was just right, not too crispy, a little chewy but not like bread, just the right thickness with wonderful flavor.
The toppings were simply pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese. The sauce was a simple tomato, basil and garlic sauce...cooked slightly. Overall, this pizza was just what I've been searching for and it was the best! Hope I can do it again :)
So here's the very last piece
