Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

I had a couple of rolls left over from making steak sandwiches the other night, so I made these to use them up. Very simple, but the sandwiches ended up tasting even better than I expected. Kevin says, "If Atwaters served that, I would order it every time." There was also a lot of rambling about it being a vegetarian substitute for cheese steak subs or Novakians (perish the thought). He says the toasted roll made the sammie, so you shouldn't skip that step.


Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches
1 long skinny eggplant, cut in half and sliced in 1/4" slices lengthwise
1 summer squash, cut in half and sliced in 1/4" slices lengthwise
2 medium carrots, sliced in 1/4" slices lengthwise
2 portabella mushrooms
olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
1 green pepper
2 sub rolls
1 cup grated mixed cheese (I used mozzarella, parmesan, and cheddar)
pickled onions
Place sliced veggies in a bowl together and mix with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper to taste. Let sit for at least an hour. Clean mushrooms and coat in oil, salt, and pepper and let sit for a half hour. Heat your grill to high. Place the green pepper on the grill and turn until blackened. Remove from grill and let cool. (Theoretically, you should be able to peel it like a roasted pepper, but that didn't work, so I just ran with it and ate the burned up skin.) Slice it and set it aside. Place all other veggies on grill and cook to your taste. Meanwhile, brush olive oil on the inside of the sub rolls. Place them face down on the grill and toast for a couple of minutes. Flip them over and top with cheese. Cook until melted. Cut mushrooms into slices so they fit on the rolls. Top with all other veggies and pickled onions. 

Greek Tomato Sandwich

This is way too easy and probably doesn't deserve its own blog entry, but I'm putting it here anyway. It's mostly the mayonnaise. I tried to make this without making the mayo and it was just a mess of a sandwich. And I'm sure "Greek" is a bit of a stretch, but it's what I think of when I taste it, so that's what it is here.

Greek Tomato Sandwich
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tblsp chopped fresh oregano
1 oz crumbled feta
1 large tomato, sliced
sliced onion
lettuce
whole wheat bread
Combine mayo, oregano, and feta in a small blender. Let sit in fridge for at least an hour. Assemble sandwich on toasted bread. Enjoy!

Basil Egg Sandwich

I totally stole the idea for this from this recipe, but since I didn't have pesto on hand and don't know how to successfully make an eight egg omelet (or a two egg omelet), I made it this way... This ended up being too much egg for the four sandwiches I made, so you probably want to cut this back to six eggs if you're making four sandwiches. Also, she posted an instructional video of the original recipe if you want to watch someone make an omelet without being a spaz.


Basil Egg Sandwich
8 eggs
1/3 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup grated parmesan
heavy splash milk
salt and pepper
2 tblsp butter, divided
whole wheat bread
1 cup cheddar cheese
Beat eggs, basil, parmesan, milk, and salt and pepper together. Melt 1 tblsp butter in large skillet. Scramble eggs. Remove from pan and wipe pan clean. Melt 1 tblsp butter in skillet. Assemble sandwich with cheese on both sides and grill in pan.

Mushroom Sandwiches

This is inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe that Kevin found years ago. It strikes me that it's an odd recipe for Kevin to have discovered since he was definitely a meat and potatoes guy at the time. Anyway, thanks to Jamie and Kevin for this one! This is the most basic version of it that I've ever made and experimenting with the compound butter ingredients is definitely good stuff!


Mushroom Sandwiches
3 portabella mushrooms
1/2 stick butter, softened
5-6 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
1/4 cup cheese (fontina or cheddar are my favorites)
3 ciabatta or hamburger rolls
Clean mushrooms and place on broiler tray. In a small chopper or blender, combine butter, garlic, salt, and pepper until garlic is well chopped. Top each mushroom with a third of the butter. Place under boiler until mushrooms are browned and butter is melted (it should melt through the mushrooms and leave delicious flavor throughout). Top mushrooms with cheese and return to broiler until cheese is browned. Serve on rolls - open faced or as a sandwich.

Eggplant and Squash Sandwiches

Now, in addition to an abundance of squash and banana peppers, I find myself with an abundance of eggplant. Desperate for something new to try, I found this recipe and modified it based on what I had on hand... And, of course, added squash! 


Eggplant and Squash Sandwiches
1 large squash, sliced lengthwise
1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise
olive oil, salt, and pepper
4 oz soft (spreadable) goat cheese
handful basil and parsley
1 tomato, sliced
3 sandwich size ciabatta roles
Brush sliced squash and eggplant with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill until tender. Meanwhile, add basil and parsley to a small mixer and chop lightly. Add goat cheese to mixer and combine with herbs. Spread goat cheese mixer on both halves of the ciabatta rolls. Top with two slices each (or whatever works for your sandwiches) of the squash, eggplant, and tomato.

The Simplest Things

Sometimes the simplest things end up being the most delicious. Finding myself with so many apples that my fridge is overflowing and an abundance of cheddar cheese, I decided to just have apples and cheese for lunch. But since I was cold, I decided a warm lunch would hit the spot.

Grilled Cheese and Apples
2 slices whole grain bread
cheddar cheese
thinly sliced apples
butter or margarine
Butter one side of both slices of bread. Assemble sandwiches with apple and cheddar to your taste. Grill until bread is golden and cheese is completely melted. Enjoy!