Grilled Veggie Sandwich and Tomato Soup

We are still getting plenty of veggies from the garden and when Robyn, at Grill Grrrl, posted her Capicola Ham, Goat Cheese and Grilled Vegetable Summer Sandwiches, I knew we had to try it.

Since Bev doesn’t like goat cheese I went with feta and Greeked it up a bit more with kalamata olives.  We had a just enough Walmart capicola to barely cover the bread slices and it was a marginal substitute for the good stuff.  The bread was her first attempt at ciabatta bread and it didn’t get quite holey enough, but still very good.  Our adapted recipe for two sandwiches became:

4 slices of ciabatta

¼ lb. of good capicola (next time)

4 slices of zuchhini

4 slices of red sweet pepper

4 slices of sweet onion

4 basil fresh leaves, chiffonade

2 sprigs fresh oregano, rough chop

Kalamata olives sliced lengthwise, to taste

Crumbled feta cheese, to taste

4 bib lettuce leaves (which I forgot to add - Robyn used arugula, but I’m not a fan)

1. Coat the veggies with olive oil and grill over medium heat until softened and caramelized a little.

2. Bush the bottom side of the bread with olive oil and add the capicola to the top of each slice.  Since I knew I couldn’t get the olives and cheese to stay on the rounded top of the veggies, I laid the capicola topped bread on the grill over medium heat, added the olives and cheese, and grilled to a light brown.

Remove the bread to a plate, add the onions, zuchhini, and peppers. Drizzle with a little good EVOO and top with the other bread slice, less the forgotten lettuce.

Bev had made some basic spaghetti sauce (tomatoes, onion, garlic, sweet pepper, celery, carrot, and tomato paste – no herbs) the other day and decided to try making some into tomato soup.  After tasting, she just nuked it in a bowl, added S&P and a couple tablespoons of cream.  I’ve tried several tomato soup recipes and have not yet found “the one” until now.  The others all had a good bit of chicken broth and this had none – we both loved this one. 

We added a homemade pepperoncini to the plate for a delicious meal.

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Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Peach Sangria Ala Beverly

Two years ago:  Berry Smoothie

Larry

7/31/12 meal date

Saturday Humor - Jack Daniels Fishing Story

I went fishing this morning but after a short time I ran out of worms. Then I saw a cottonmouth with a frog in his mouth. Frogs are good bass bait.

Knowing the snake couldn't bite me with the frog in his mouth I grabbed him right behind the head, took the frog, and put it in my bait bucket.

Now the dilemma was how to release the snake without getting bit. So, I grabbed my bottle of Jack Daniels and poured a little whiskey in its mouth. His eyes rolled back, he went limp. I released him into the lake without incident and carried on fishing using the frog.

A little later, I felt a nudge on my foot. There was that same snake with two frogs in his mouth.

Life is good in the South.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Gardening Thursday - Successful Lawn Maintenance

Two years ago: Sweet Corn And Tomato Sauce

Larry

Grilled Eggplant And Zucchini Casserole

Bev wanted to call it lasagna rather than casserole, but I hate it when folks take such liberties with the language, as pretty soon word definitions will be meaningless. Imagine going into a bar, ordering a martini (gin & vermouth) and being served vodka spiked chocolate milk in a martini glass – it’s almost come to that.  Lasagna, is a wide and flat type of pasta and the word also refers to a dish made with this type of pasta like this.

So much for the railing.

We had eggplant and zukes to use and Bev decided to make a lasagna like casserole by substituting the veggies for the noodles.  After salting for an hour to draw out the moisture, we dried and tossed them in olive oil, sprinkled with Italian herbs and grilled for a few minutes to give them some grill marks/flavor.

She added a layer of marinara to the bottom of a 10”x12” sprayed casserole dish then added a layer of zuchhini topped with ricotta cheese, pre-cooked Italian sausage, shredded mozzarella, and sauce.

  Next came another layer beginning with eggplant and the final layer contained both veggies (that’s just the way it worked out). Everything was topped with a final layer of sauce, more cheese, and some halved olives (Kalamata or black). This is the finished product.

It didn’t come out too cleanly, but was delicious.

It was also very good re-heated for lunch the next day.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Mexican Chicken Ala Steph

Two years ago:  The Bradford Pear Saga Continues

Larry

7/20/12 meal date

Halibut Ala Roz And Tomato Pie

We had a 1½ lb. piece of halibut in the freezer and Roz’s (la bella vita) recipe for Halibutin Prosciutto-Herb Cream Sauce in my recipe list, so a match was made.  Check out her site for the recipe, which I followed except I added S&P directly to the fish rather than put it in the herb mixture.

We sided it with grilled green bean bundles and tomato pie that Bev decided to make to use some of our maters.  She went on line and found this recipe from the Roseville Bed and Breakfast in Texas.

Roseville Tomato Pie

Ingredients:
10 count inexpensive buttermilk biscuit
1 ½ cups of grated Monterey Jack/Colby grated cheese (she used cheddar)
1 cup Real Mayonnaise
Sliced tomatoes for 10 Biscuits (from our garden of course)
Grated Parmesan cheese (she forgot to add it)
Salad Supreme by McCormick (she used Penzey’s Florida Seasoned Pepper as it was on hand)
Butter Pam
Dried Basil or Italian Seasoning (she used fresh basil, oregano, and chives)

Directions:
1. Spray foil lined cookie sheet with Butter Pam (Bev used a casserole dish).  Space biscuits and flatten.  Spray biscuits with Pam and sprinkle with basil.  Peel and slice tomatoes and place a slice on each biscuit.  Sprinkle tomatoes with Salad Supreme.  Mix Monterey Jack/Colby cheese with mayonnaise.  Put 1 tsp. on top of tomato and sprinkle heavily with parmesan cheese.
2. Bake at 350 degrees until biscuits are done (about 12 minutes).  Do not let the biscuit get too brown.  Do not be skimpy with spices.
3. Bev sprinkled on more herbs after removing from the oven.

As hard as I try, even using a remote probe thermometer, I still always seem to overcook the halibut , but the sauce was so good it made up for it.  Bev and Pat don’t like fishy fish and Pat will eat very little seafood period, but they both enjoyed the mild halibut with this sauce - which  I'll definitely use again on other white fish.

Even though Bev had trouble getting the biscuits done, the tomato pie was company quality and although I was full, I had to eat a second one.  Next time (which will be soon), she’ll use a cookie sheet per the directions and leave space between them for the heat to get to the biscuits.

And as for the leftovers, sauce over scrambled eggs and fried potatoes.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  A Busy Saturday

Two years ago:  Steak And Avocado Taco Salad

Larry

7/26/12 meal date

Southwestern Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

When Steph, over at Plain Chicken, posted her recipe for Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole, it went to the top of my try-soon-list and with Eric and Ann visiting for the weekend, it was the perfect time to try it out.  Since Jenn, over at Jenn’s Food Journey has been killing me lately with her various dishes using chorizo I’d bought some the other day just to have on hand. 

I decided to adapt Steph’s recipe (check her site for the original) using the chorizo, and I added a couple of other items to end up with this:

Southwestern Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

1 lb. raw chorizo

¼ c. onion, finely chopped (Recipe calls for onion flakes)

1 small can diced green chiles

2 ½ c. cubed boiled waxy 4 potatoes (Recipe calls for frozen cubed hash browns)

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 ¾ c. milk

1 c. Bisquick

 1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 t. Aleppo pepper powder

1 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1. Cook sausage, green chiles, and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until meat crumbles and most moisture is evaporated from the onion and chiles.

2. Stir in potatoes, and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink and potatoes are lightly browned.

3. Drain and cool mixture on paper towels then spoon into a greased 13" x 9" baking dish.
4. Stir together eggs, cheese, and next six ingredients and pour evenly over the sausage mixture, stirring well.
4. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.
5. Bake, covered with non-stick foil, at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes more or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven, and let stand 5 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.

 We served it with a slice of melon and a warm flour tortilla.

While it was baking, I whipped up an easy green chili sauce using the recipe for Mexi-Sauce from Kathy at A Spoonful Of Thyme.  I made half of the recipe below. 

Mexi-Sauce

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp chili powder, cumin, sugar and salt (I omitted the sugar)

2 (4 oz) cans green chilies, drained

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Saute 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves in a skillet over medium-low heat in a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil.  Add the chili powder, cumin, sugar and salt; cook 30 seconds.  Stir in the green chilies and cook 2 minutes.  Add 1 cup chicken broth and simmer until thickened, then puree.  Stir in 1/4 cup chopped cilantro.  (I forgot to puree it).

The verdicts:

Everyone thought the sauce was delicious and the casserole was good.

I thought the casserole was very good, but needed the sauce.  Bev said she would have preferred Steph’s pork breakfast sausage version.  Eric and Ann thought the potato cubes were too big and it could use more flavors.

I was hesitant to use more spices as I thought the chorizo would provide plenty, so for next time to get it up above “just good”, I’ll add a tsp. of my chili powder, another tsp of the Aleppo pepper, double or triple the cilantro, and either use the frozen hash brown cubes or cut mine the same size as them. Thanks Steph for the inspiration.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Chicken And Tomatoes Ala Mary

Two years ago: Leftover Grilled Ratatouille

Larry

Siamese Twin Tomatoes And A Milestone

We’ve seen a few unusual things in the garden this year, but this tomato is the oddest I’ve ever seen in my garden.  It was attached to the plant with one stem that had split and attached in two places to the tomato.  It looks more like two tomatoes just grew together, but the one stem attachment to the plant says otherwise.  You have to look closely to see the two pieces of stem, but they are in a hole that runs between the tomato(s).

This is the top side and you can see a little light through the hole from the other side - at the 10 o'clock position.

And this is the bottom side. The large crack is where it was touching but not grown together

After cutting apart you can see how much was together and the stem which I also cut in half.

Then a few days later, we picked this one, which appears to be triplets.

Have you had any similar experiences?

I began this blog in August 2009 and three years later this is post number 1000 - that's a lot of words.

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Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Greek Pizza

Two years ago:  Grilled Ratatouille And Shrimp

Larry

7/19/12 event date.

Crawfish Breakfast Burrito

For the dock party that Chris posted about over at Nibble Me This, I made a hot crawfish dip using the tails left from the May 30 blogger party which I had frozen.  I thought the dip was just okay, but when A.J. and Katherine (the Cajun’s in attendance) said they liked it, I decided it must be pretty good.  Anyway, I sent a cup of it home with each couple and kept one for myself, with Chris saying he felt crawfish quesadilla’s coming on.

His comment gave me the idea for a breakfast burrito using the reheated dip as the sauce.  I also had grilled extra peppers and onions for our bratwurst the previous night and decided to use them as well.

I chopped up a few of the veggies and warmed them in a skillet, then added two beaten eggs, some sharp cheddar cheese, and scrambled it.

I rolled it up in a warm tortilla and topped with the reheated crawfish dip.

It was very good and I liked the dip better after four days than I did originally.  So this dish not only contained leftover peppers and onions, but leftover, leftover crawfish.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  Pork Rib Experiment

Two years ago: Broken Bradford Pear

Larry

7/24/12 meal date