Soup And Sandwich

We recently discovered a new apple tree on the new homestead (well we've been walking by it but it didn't have fruit last year so we didn't know we had it). It's a leggy Gravenstein, an early season apple that is both highly regarded for baking and eating out of hand. The yellow-green and red striped fruits were once was the center of the apple industry in these parts and a neighboring town stills hosts a Gravenstein festival every August.
I found myself looking at a pile of apples with an oven on the blink (no pie today). Somehow that led me to soup. I had an scorn squash just begging to be cooked. I started a stock pot with 2 strips of thick bacon over medium heat. When the bacon had crisped and rendered a good amount of fat I set the meat aside and popped a chopped onion and 3 minced cloves of garlic into the pan to sauté in the bacon fat (delicious!). When the vegetables had softened (about 6 minutes) I added in two cored apples and that large acorn squash -- both peeled and chopped, along with one diced tomato, a bay leaf, two cups of chicken broth, and about a cup of water. I covered the pot and let the squash simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. I puréed the soup in the blender along with a dash of milk (about 1/2 cup) and served James his dinner topped with a little of that crisp bacon alongside a toasty grilled cheese sandwich.

Open Faced Toasted Sandwich

Toasties we call them around here. Pretty much any sandwich combination, served open faced, and popped under the broiler to melt the cheese topping. The recipe always varies. Tonight James' garlic rosemary baguette was spread with butter and pesto sauce, thinly sliced capicola, mozzarella and provolone cheeses. While still bubbly, fresh from the oven, I drizzled on a spray of balsamic vinegar. Sandwiches for dinner.

Chicken Club

Sandwiches for dinner. A grilled chicken club sandwich. Simple.

Following a recipe from Bill and Cheryl Alters Jamison, I marinated chicken breasts in worcestershire sauce and a tiny dash of canola oil for about an hour in the fridge. Meanwhile I cooked up a couple slices of bacon and made up a spicy pecan butter by cooking 1/4 cup of diced onion in 6 TBs of butter, along with a good dash of cayenne, until the onion had softened. I brushed the chicken with the butter and grilled for about four minutes on a side until just cooked through.

I layered mustard, red onion, lettuce, chicken, and bacon -- drizzling with pecan butter as I built -- and topped the now towering sandwich with a slice of Swiss cheese. After a turn under the broiler to melt the cheese I served up James' dinner with a side of olive oil fried potatoes -- home-grown, of course.

A New Favorite Toastie

Favorite sandwiches go in waves -- one specialty playing out and changing for something slightly new. There's always cheese, sometimes ham, usually a thin smear of butter. Lately James has been asking for this "toastie" -- bread thinly spread with butter and dijon mustard, avocado, salad greens dressed with a touch of olive oil, ham (lately it has been Easter ham sliced thinly but this combo was born with Leoncini baked ham) and Compté cheese, toasted for just a minute or two under the broiler. Hence the name.

Raclette Sandwiches

We are working our way through the delicious mound of party cheese. Tonight's dinner shaved a couple slices of raclette off the total. I took thin slices of hazelnut bread, salty Jamon Serrano, butter, a good sized slice of raclette cheese and a thin smear of piquant mustard. I buttered the outside of the bread and popped them in my Christmas present grill pan. The moist cheese melts easily, the hearty bread crisps up just right. I served the sandwiches with homemade zucchini bread and butter pickles from Zuni Cafe's recipe. Cheese and pickles a great Swiss combo.