Homemade Pickles and Tuna Egg Salad Sandwiches

Homemade Pickles

I’m a tough sell when it comes to pickles.  They can’t be too briny, sitting long in their salty, vinegary bath until they’re a uniform green through and through.    There has to be a garlicky brightness in their flavor, and a decent crunch each time I chew.  Sweet pickles are never an option because, well, they’re sweet, and we’ve never quite agreed with one another for any reason — not even on a hot dog at the ball park slathered in ketchup, mustard, and onions.

A great pickle holds up in my mother’s potato salad, its juice added right before she tosses all the ingredients together.  The perfect tuna sandwich has an abundance of diced pickles mixed in, or it’s not a tuna sandwich as far as I’m concerned.  Egg salad?  I have to have pickle.

We’ll never be the pickle eaters my sister’s family happen to be; I’ve only managed to raise one son who seemed to inhale the jar of crisp Vlassic garlic dills as soon as I came home with them.  I never actually saw this remarkable feat, but realized it when I needed a pickle for a recipe and reached for the jar to find a lone spear left bobbing in the brine amongst the pickling spices.  After raising three boys, I’m convinced that if on any occasion there is one left of anything originally contained in a jar or package, it translates to, “Mom.  I didn’t eat all of it.”

Although I can’t say I’ve ever canned anything, this simple pickle recipe has me thinking I might like to try.  And it’s so easy, running out of pickles won’t be a problem again.  I can also tell you they happen to be perfect in a good tuna egg salad sandwich — a perfect meal for any day, but especially a summer day when cooking is the last thing on one’s mind.

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Pork Meatball Banh Mi

Meatball Bahn Mi

I think I’m the last person on the planet who has had the Vietnamese sandwich, banh mi, added to her food radar. The first time I saw anything about them was in one of my food magazines about a year ago. Anything with bright veggies gets my attention — especially if it’s salad. But a salad in a sandwich? This had to be good. Pickled carrots, cucumber with cilantro…and pork? I’d never heard of this particular kind of sandwich before. It was interesting that it was on a French baguette, too. An easy search led me to Battle of the Bahn Mi and then to White on Rice for some amazing renditions of this sandwich.

My first attempt follows.  After much procrastination, I’ve finally joined the ranks of those who love this sandwich.

Now, I need to find a local place that makes them.

I could eat them every day.

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Peposo with Roasted Pepper Salad on Focaccia

Peposo & Roasted Pepper on Foccacia

You’re wondering what peposo is, right?  Or perhaps you know what peposo is and you’ve already wondered how it ended up in a sandwich.  If you’re like me, you may even just want to take a big bite of it right now because it’s dinnertime and it would be much easier to have a savory Italian sandwich magically appear instead of needing to make dinner.  Oh, how I wish that might be so tonight.

This sandwich has quite a long story behind it, so I’ll share it soon — along with the recipe for the peposo, the roasted pepper salad, and the focaccia.  But it’s Wednesday, and I’m supposed to be wordless — or nearly so.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Capers

It’s the busy season for my husband so that means dinner is later with each passing week.  There is no complaint from me because I’ve gotten used to it over the last many years — and I’m not the one working late.

The later schedule allows me to think a bit longer about dinner if I’ve procrastinated, or, as in this case, have something ready that takes almost no time to prepare because it’s a) classified as something that can be made ahead of time — as in the day before; or b) it’s left-over.  You’re welcome to choose whichever version you’d like, but I’m going with choice a because that’s what I did.

Pork shoulder was on sale for some ridiculously low price if i purchased two roasts wrapped together, so I thought, what the heck.  Each weighed about 4-5 lbs.  I separated them when I got home, freezing them in ziplock bags knowing that I’d find something that struck my fancy.

My fancy ended up being Pulled-Pork Sandwiches but I had to roast the pork to begin with.  Now you could enjoy the slowly roasted pork for dinner one night, then the pulled-pork sandwiches the next, but my roast wasn’t all that big and I know that had we eaten it after it came out of the oven, there wouldn’t have been enough for the sandwiches.

This recipe caught my eye because of the capers.  I can’t get enough of those sun-dried and brined flower buds that grow in the Mediterranean region.  In fact, I no longer rinse them as most recipes advise, because I enjoy the tang the brine adds to whatever it is I’m cooking.  There’s never enough brine to lose the unique flavor of the capers no matter what I’m making — especially with this recipe.

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Sliders and Bratwurst are Quick Game Day Food

It’s Friday, and much of the food world seems to be focused on one thing:  Super Bowl food. Okay, so maybe not, but I had to start this somewhere, right? Maybe it would be more accurate to say 50% of us use it as an excuse to have a party. What would game day be like without food?  We have to have something to munch on while watching those commercials!

This year, we have no plans to attend or host anything *yes*, but the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals just might make it a good game for a change. Too often, it’s not entertaining in my opinion, so food helps make it an occasion — and not a fancy one with a lot of prep.  We go easy on the appetizers — chips, salsa and guacamole — have a meal at half-time.

It’s casual meal usually of chili or ribs.  But it could be this instead: a spin on traditional stadium food, and which can be put out allowing people to graze at their leisure.

Southwest Sliders in honor of the Cardinals…

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…and Bratwurst Dogs with Peppers & Onions in honor of the Steelers.

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I’m not sure who I’m pulling for, but I am a Zonie by birth.  ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

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So Cal Sarnie: Roasted Veggies & Goat’s Cheese with Arugula on Ciabatta

Several factors have led to my interest in cooking.  Interest was first.  I’ve always been drawn to cookbooks and loved to look at the only one we had in the house.  Yes, I mention it all the time — that old Betty Crocker Cookbook that I still have.  It was the photos.  They opened up a world I would have not been privy to with the staples my mother created.  It’s where I first wondered what popovers tasted like, what Baked Alaska was, and how those flames could be on that “Peach Jubilee Dessert.”

Noticeably missing was a section with photos of sandwiches.  Maybe no one really thought it was necessary.  After all, sandwiches were something made with leftovers, or jam and peanutbutter from a jar, right?

Today, a good sandwich constitutes a whole meal as far as I’m concerned, and we do have them for dinner.  Although I’ll look at a recipe occasionally if the ingredients are unusual, it’s fun to just figure it all out.  I’m not just talking about roast beef and cheddar with a bit o’ mustard, here.  I’m talking about knowing which combinations of flavors you like, and that compliment one another to make a really great sandwich.    Mmmm…do I have a sandwich for you.  Or is it a sarnie?  Well, in this case, it must be a sarnie, because it’s my entry into “Show Us Your Sarnie!” being hosted by Marie at A Year From Oak Cottage.  What a great idea!

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A perfect combination of flavors is roasted peppers, sauteed portobellos, and grilled onions.  The sweetness of the peppers, rich caramel of the onions, and earthiness of the mushrooms really works.  In fact, the combination is excellent for a pasta dish or a salad as well.  But to really get my heart singing, two more important ingredients are necessary….goat cheese, and arugula.  You have to try it.  But don’t get fussy about quantities, because that’s not how this works.  You have to be adventuresome.

Although my sandwich is meatless — yes, and it’s excellent — this combination would work very well with beef or chicken.  It just isn’t necessary with these gorgeous mushrooms.

So Cal Sarnie:  Roasted Veggies and Goat’s Cheese with Arugula on Ciabatta

Ingredients:  Crusty bread such as a whole ciabatta, two very large portobellos, three bell peppers (red, yellow, orange), goat’s cheese, dijon, fresh arugula, sweet white onion, olive oil, salt, pepper.
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To begin:  roast the peppers. You can do this on the open burner of your stove whether gas or electric.  Just lay them on there until they’re black and blistered.  Make sure to turn on the fan because their fragrance is quite strong and will hover in your house…not something you want to smell in the middle of the night.  Next, place the peppers in a paper bag or closed container and let them sit for at least 15 minutes.  Remove them, and with you fingers, remove the blackened skin, the membranes, stem and seeds.  DO NOT RINSE OFF THE PEPPERS.  Sorry for yelling, but you want to retain the lovely oils and flavor from the roasting.  Set aside.

Next: While the peppers are sitting, cut thick slices of onion.  Keep the slices together, and place in a skillet with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat checking occasionally to see how they’re browning.  Flip them over after they’ve browned to your liking.  Remove them from the pan until you are ready to use them.  You can break them up if you wish from the beginning and really cook them down to caramelized rings — quite tasty as well — but it’s your choice.  Keeping the rings together provides more of a bite on this particular sandwich er, um sarnie.
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Now: Slice a couple of very large portobello mushrooms.  Mince some garlic as well.  Put a few splashes of olive oil in another skillet (the onions are in the other) and add the garlic when the oil is hot.  After a minute, place the mushroom slices in the skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook on one side to brown, then turn to brown the other side.  This takes longer than you would think.  You may need to add another spash of olive oil to get the brown you want.  But avoid soaking the mushrooms in oil.  You don’t want an oily mess.

Okay: After you’ve removed the onions, wipe out the pan (or whip out your still new Panini pan that you got for your birthday) and place the ciabatta sections face down to brown them just a bit.  Then spread a bit of dijon on one piece, and softened goat’s cheese on both.
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Ready? Place several mushroom slices on one piece, topped with roasted peppers, then onions.  On the other slice, load the arugula.  Carefully slap the two pieces together, then place in the panini pan.  Make sure the lid has been sitting in the pan while it’s heating so that it’s hot, too.  Place the lid over the sarnie and let it sit for a couple of minutes.  If you’re brave, turn it over and let it sit for another minute.

No panini pan? Using a cast iron skillet works just fine.  Sit something heavy on the sarnie and then turn it over and do the same thing.

No cast iron skillet? You’re kidding, right?  No comment, but, wrap the sarnie in foil and pop the whole thing in a preheated oven for about 5-8 minutes.  The arugula will be wilted, but that will be just fine.

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Some variations:

  • Use fresh mozzarella if you want a more mild tasting cheese that will melt a bit.
  • Use any kind of pesto you enjoy and spread that on instead of the dijon.
  • Use blue cheese instead of goat’s cheese and skip the peppers, but add tomato and switch the arugula with fresh spinach.

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Have fun and enjoy experimenting with my version of a sarnie!  Oh, and chop up the leftovers and saute them with some pappardelle the next day.  It’s even better.Img_4174