Ranch Cucumber Sandwich

Well, well, well summer finally decided to show up. Nice of you to visit. Please stay awhile.

I was just thinking to myself, "Wow Crystal, you eat a lot of sandwiches." I must admit that generally they aren't your ordinary sandwich, but still. I think I need to start being a little more creative. However, who can pass up a good sandwich, especially a warm one? One that has gooey cheese or spicy mustard.  Oooo and perfectly crisp toasted bread. I certainly can not. 

By the way, these are nothing like that. What they are is...easy, delicious and light.

I made these little snackers for Memorial Day and to munch on today. Believe it or not kids tend to like them. 

Ranch Cucumber Sandwich

1 loaf fresh pumpernickel bread

1 8 oz package cream cheese

1 (0.4) packet ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix

1 cucumber, sliced

Mix together the cream cheese and ranch seasoning. Spread onto pumpernickel bread, layer on cucumbers and voila, you've got yourself a reasonably light and yummy snack. Unless you don't like pumpernickel or cucumbers or ranch; then this is not your cup of tea.

Side note: how many of you cut off the ends of your cucumber and then rub it against the actual eaten part of the cucumber to remove the bitterness? I do. It is something my Dad told me to do years and years ago. I'm not totally convinced that it works, so I think I just do it more out of habit.  What do you think? Does it work or not?

Sweet n' Tangy Turkey Ham Sandwich

Late night blog post folks....

So, we decided to go fishing today. Entirely because this was the first day that we had off work together. Anyway, I knew it was cold, but it was teeth chattering cold.  How does it get this cold in May? Obviously, if today was a day in December it would have been considered warm, but it's not December! And we didn't catch anything!

I digress. All in all today was a good day. The Pens won, ending the series for Ottawa. And I made this seemingly weird, but perfectly palatable sandwich. I think most people would shy away from the combination of pickles and cranberry sauce.  I was leery myself. However, I gave it a try, after I spent a good bit of time convincing my sister-in-law that I was not pregnant and craving out of the ordinary food combinations. Let me tell you, it was delicious. It was sweet and tangy...the perfect flavor combination.

This sandwich is influenced by a sandwich I saw on a menu in a local restaurant, this is my remake of it.

Sweet n' Tangy Turkey Ham Sandwich

2 slices ciabatta bread

2 slices baked ham

2 slices smoked turkey

2 slices swiss or provolone

2 tblsp whole cranberry cranberry sauce

1 dill pickle, sliced

2 tblsp horseradish sauce

butter

Butter on side of each slice of bread, on opposing side slather 1 tblsp of horseradish sauce on both slices of bread. Layer on one slice of cheese, turkey, cranberry sauce, ham, pickles and then another slice of cheese. That is the exact order that I layered it. It worked well. Then throw on the grill or panini press until the cheese is melted and gooey and the bread is golden brown.


It's a little messy to eat, but definitely worth the sloppy fingers. Enjoy your night!

Grilled Steak Sandwich

It's finally starting to get nice out. Well at least there have been a few days thrown in here and there where you could walk outside in a t-shirt and shorts and no one would look at you funny. I even got to run outside last week. It was fabulous, except for the fact that they were spreading lime through the fields. However, at that point nothing could dampen my mood. The other thing that the warm weather gets me excited about is the ability to grill out. So, that's what I did. And this recipe is what I came up with.

Grilled Steak Sandwiches

1 loaf rye bread

1 lb. steak (shaved or thinly cut)

brown mustard

Grillmates steak rub

1 large green pepper (thickly sliced)

1 large red onion (thickly sliced)

feta cheese

butter

3 tblsp. mayo

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

3 tblsp. basil, chopped

salt and pepper

Cover steak (any cut of your choice-go cheap, there really is no need to buy a really expensive cut) in brown mustard and then the steak rub of your choice (I used Grillmates onion and garlic). Massage the mustard and seasoning into the meat and then let come to room temperature. While allowing the steak to sit, prepare mayo. Mix together mayo, garlic and basil and chill for at least 20 mins. Prepare peppers and red onion for grilling by covering them in olive oil and salt and pepper and wrapping in foil.

Heat grill to 500 degrees F to get a good sear on the steak and vegetables. Start grilling the vegetables first and let cook for ~10 mins. Then grill the steak, 1-2 mins on each side since it is so thin. You could get a whole flank steak, grill it and then thinly slice it against the grain. However, I had bought the meat from the butcher already sliced and this worked out fine.

Reduce the heat on the grill.

Now to assemble the sandwich. Cut rye bread in thick slices, butter one side of each slice of bread. Slather the mayo on both slices of bread on the sides opposing the butter. Layer steak, feta cheese, green peppers and onions on the mayo side. Throw them down on the grill, and use a spatula to press them down, much like a panini. Grill 4 or so mins on each side, or until cheese is all melty and gooey.

Obviously the possibilities are endless with this sandwhich. You can put whatever combination of vegetables on it you want. The sandwich in the picture is lacking green peppers and onions, but does contain mild pepper rings because that is what my sister-in-law wanted. I forgot to take pictures of all the other sandwiches assembled that day. oops. In any case, I really like the combination I suggested in this recipe. The recipe makes 4-5 sandwiches, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.