Sandwich Bonanza

I decided to group all of these recipes together, since they're all sandwiches! Guess I am on a sandwich kick. I love sandwiches.



First off, we have a hearty sandwich that I brought over to Cindy's for a fun lunch where I got to spend time with my darling nephew Jackson. This sandwich was filling and reminded me of the Zingerman's/French Laundry style of making a sandwich - large and in charge. This zingy mustard is the same style they use on many of their sandwiches, as well. However, you can make several of these for the price of 1 at those places... sandwiches for over $10? Better be made of gold.



Cindy's Sandwich
Makes 2 hearty sandwiches.

Ingredients
2 herb focaccia loaves (smallish, the size you'd want for 1 sandwich, otherwise cut accordingly)
4 tablespoons of Honeycup or Silver Palate "Sweet and Rough" honey horseradish style mustard

5-6 slices of honey roasted turkey (I typically buy Boar's Head because they use no fillers / preservatives, etc)
5-6 slices of honey roasted ham
3-4 slices of provolone cheese

sliced tomatoes
4-5 leaves of butter lettuce
sliced onions (optional.. don't think I used them but I know I would like that)

2 tsp light mayonnaise (optional ... not sure if I used this or not, but it would be tasty)

Directions
Slice the breads in half lengthways and begin filling the sandwich. Start byspreading mustard on both cut sides and then pile on the turkey, ham, cheese, tomato, and lettuce. I like to put a little extra mustard between the cheese and tomato, but anyway - build the sandwich however you prefer! Top with the top half and slice across. Wrap in wax paper and tape ends, which makes it easy to travel with these sandwiches. These are perfect for a picnic, especially if you leave out the mayo (though mayo will last for quite a few hours).


These were pretty tasty and would've been even better probably, if you have a chance to toast them in the oven to melt that cheese a little. Yum! I served this with a fruit salad with 9 different fruits (strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, mango, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, cantaloupe, and bananas). This was a tasty lunch.


Next!
For the second sandwich installment, we have a "ladies lunch" where I decided to make grilled sandwiches. I was really excited to finally use all my fun outdoor dining-ware and of course, the rain started right when we were ready to hit the patio. Of course! The ladies, especially Megan, were troopers and didn't mind a few raindrops and we stayed huddled under the umbrella for lunch.


I had to control my urges to serve 4 different kinds of sandwiches "so we could all try a quarter of each style" and narrowed it down to two. We had Ham and Manchego Grilled Paninis from Martha Stewart and also we had a separate concoction - Pesto, Turkey, and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwiches. I liked both of them, the ham and manchego had an excellent dipping sauce and I liked the juicy Pesto Turkey combination as well, which was also very colorful. Manchego is a cheese from Spain which is becoming more and more popular. It's awesome. It's about $8.99 for a wedge at Kroger or Meijer or your specialty store, but it's tasty by itself as well as melted.



Ham and Manchego Panini with Dipping Sauce
As seen on MarthaStewart.com
Serves 2

Ingredients
4 slices country bread (I used Marbled New York Rye which was perfect)
4 ounces thinly sliced ham
2 ounces (1/2 cup) Manchego cheese, coarsely grated (Grating got boring so I sliced some of it)
4 teaspoons olive oil
3 tablespoons apricot jam
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions
Top each of 2 bread slices with ham, Manchego, and remaining slices. Brush tops of panini with 2 teaspoons oil.

In a large nonstick skillet (I used a grill pan and skipped the oil in the pan and brushed both sides instead), heat remaining oil over medium-low. Place panini in skillet, oiled side up. Cover; cook until golden brown and cheese has melted, 5 to 8 minutes per side, pressing down with a spatula 3 to 4 times during cooking.

Meanwhile, make dipping sauce: In a small bowl, mix together jam and Dijon. Serve panini with sauce on the side.



Pesto Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich

Ingredients
1 loaf of roasted garlic rustic french bread (I purchased at Kroger)
4 tablespoons of light mayonnaise
4 tablespoons of prepared pesto (I prefer Bertolli or better)
4-6oz of thinly sliced honey turkey breast (I didn't measure)
4 slices of mozzarella cheese
1 small onion, sliced thin and sauteed ahead of time, lightly caramelized (browned) in olive oil
1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained


Directions

Slice the bread in half lengthways and scoop out some of the doughy insides to make room for the sandwich filling. Spread the mayonnaise evenly on both cut sides of the bread, and spread pesto on top of that evenly. Use more of each if you run out.
Lay turkey on top of the bottom to begin building the sandwich. Lay cheese on top, then top with flattened out roasted red peppers and then the caramelized onions. Top with the top half of the bread and cut into four large triangles. These were very filling portions, probably enough for four people.

If you want the sandwich warmed, place on a baking sheet in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees and bake until cheese melts, outside of bread is crispy (but don't let get overly browned).

I served the sandwiches with Corn, Tomato and Basil Pasta Salad and some Salt and Pepper potato chips (sorry guys, I guess I went carb-crazy!) and I also had some grilled fruit skewers which we were pretty much second choice to the Hazelnut cake. We wished this down with the Pomegranate Lime Ginger Iced Tea, which was also tasty.


It was nice visiting and I was happy to finally have guests and use all my fun patio stuff I recently bought (even though the weather didn't cooperate! Oh well...) It was fun - thanks for coming, guys!



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