Butter and toast your buns under the grill.  Top with cheese, pickles and onions,   Pop back under to melt the cheese.  Divide the shredded pork amongst the buns, close up and enjoy!

 

(A tasty salad from the archives for a delicious Bank Holiday weekend! For 56 other tasty salad offerings check out The Tumblewood Contessa Blog!  http://www.tumbleweedcontessa.com/blog/salads-saturday-dishes/)

I haven't been really able to do a lot of cooking this week during the day, what with all of this work going on in our bathroom, and at night I'm far too tired. You wouldn't think that renovating just one room would create such chaos, but it does . . . happy to say though, things are well  on the way towards being done, and there should only be a few more days of mither.  It's looking great so far!!  Anyways, simple food has been the rule of the day with as little cooking as possible.  You can't really plan much with the power being turned on and off haphazardly . . . it would be terrible to have a cake or a roast in the oven and have the power shut down.

 

Today I was really craving salad and oddly enough grilled cheese sandwiches.  I got to thinking and we all know what happens then . . . my creative mojo goes into overdrive and you just never know what I am going to end up with.  Most of the times it's something quite, quite delicious . . . others maybe not so delicious, but always interesting largely edible.  I'm happy to say that today I ended up with something quite, QUITE delish!

 

Think about it . . . crisp salad greens scattered across a nicely chilled plate . . . and topped with some of your other favourite salad ingredients . . . crisp and peppery radishes . . . crunchy cucumber . . . snappy and sweet red onions . . .

 

Now top that with a fantastically devilishly moreish fresh Lemon Thyme and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette dressing . . . not a lot . . . just a drizzle . . . coz there's more to come.  Oh sure you could use regular thyme if that's all you have . . . but the lemon thyme just adds just a teensy bit more depth to the flavours . . .



Finally . . . top all that goodness with a crisp freshly toasted Cheese Sarnie, deliberately sliced on the diagonal . . . some of the cheese oozing out . . . just laid here and there on the top . . . now a final drizzle of that scrummy dressing . . .

 

Presto!  A deliciously easy, scrummily edible, moreishly wanton Grilled Cheese Sarnie Salad.
And you thought salads were mostly boring???  Aha!!  Not in this house!  This just could not get any better!

 

*Grilled Cheese Sarnie Salad*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Don't knock it til you try it.  This salad rocks!  Fresh salad fixings, topped with toasted cheese sarnie croutons and drizzled with a lemon thyme honey mustard vinaigrette!

4 small heads of baby gem lettuce, washed trimmed and leaves separated
(tear any larger leaves into bite sized pieces)
4 large radishes, washed trimmed and slivered
1/2 small red onion, peeled and slivered
1/4 of a medium sized English cucumber, washed, unpeeled, cut in half lengthwise and
then sliced into half moons
8 slices of fresh bread
4 ounces of good strong cheddar cheese, grated (a heaped cup)
softened butter
For the dressing:
4 1/2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 TBS liquid honey
1 TBS Dijon mustard or to taste (grainy or smooth, it's up to you)
a few springs of lemon thyme (you may use ordinary fresh thyme if that's all you have)
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
A few springs of thyme for a garnish (optional)



First make the dressing.  Strip the leaves from the thyme sprigs and whisk half of them together the olive oil, vinegar, honey and mustard until thoroughly amalgamated.  (Reserve the remaining thyme leaves for the sarnies.)Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

Wash and dry the lettuce.  Scatter the leaves onto four plates, tearing any larger leaves into bite sized pieces.  Scatter the radish, onion and cucumber over top.

Spread the softened butter onto one side of each slice of bread.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Toss together the cheese and remaining thyme leaves.  Place 4 of the bread slices, butter side down into the heated pan.  Top each with an equal amount of the cheese/thyme mixture.  Top the cheese with the remaining slices of bread, butter sides up.  Toast over medium heat, until golden brown on the outsides and the cheese is melted.  Cut each sandwich into 3 or 4 pieces diagonally. 

Give the dressing a quick whisk and then drizzle some of the dressing over each salad.  Top each with 1 cut sandwich, and then drizzle the sandwiches with some of the dressing.  Garnish each salad with a small sprig of thyme if desired.  Serve immediately!

 

 

You may recall me showing you a delicious casserole the other day called Beef and Beans.  Oh my but it is some good.   Just in case you missed it, that's a picture up there at the top of this  post, and you can find the recipe here.  This may not be a very pretty dish, but it is certainly one of the most delicious dishes you could ever want to eat. Economical, easy and tasty.  You can't get much better than that.

 

Well, after what I show you today . . . you may want to double that recipe the next time you make it, because I have a real winning sandwich to show you here today, and it involves using the leftovers from Beef and Beans.

 

Because there are only two of us we normally have leftovers when I bake a casserole unless it is a very tiny one or we are lucky enough to have someone here at the house to enjoy it with us . . . and this was the case the other day after I had baked Beef and Beans.   I could have just reheated the leftovers and they would have been really delicious that way, but . . .

 

I got to thinking about the baked bean sandwiches that we used to eat back home  the day after an especially tasty feed of homemade beans.  Oh my they were so good . . . mashed cold beans spread between two slices of buttered bread with a few thin slices of raw onion . . . oh boy . . . were they ever tasty.   A real favourite!



And then I got to thinking about patty melts . . . and how good they are and then . . . I thought to myself, why not combine the two ideas and create a delicious sandwich, using the leftover Beef and Beans???   Why not indeed!!  I heated some of the leftovers up and spread it on the un-buttered side of two slices of thick white bread.   Then I topped them with some thinly sliced raw onions and some slices of strong cheddar cheese.   I topped them with another slice of buttered bread, buttered side out and then toasted them like you would a grilled cheese . . .



The end result was one of the most delicious toasted sandwiches we have ever eaten.  So delicious.   So easy.    So good that it is one I will repeat . . .I love it when that happens and I am able to turn my leftovers into something which is every bit as delicious as the original meal.  I do hope that you will make the Beef and Beans . . . and that when you do, you have enough leftover to make one or two of these tasty sarnies!



*Beef and Bean Patty Melts*
For one
Printable Recipe

This may well be the tastiest patty melt you have ever eaten!  You will want to make sure you have leftovers from my Beef and Bean recipe, in fact I suggest you double the recipe when you make it!

Softened butter
two thick slices of sturdy white bread
about 1/2 cup of the leftover Beef and Bean Casserole
or enough to cover the bread in it's entirety
(Even better if you have managed to save some of the bacon from on top)
sliced strong cheddar cheese to cover the beef and beans
very thinly sliced raw onions



Warm up your beef and bean mixture in the microwave so that it is not cold.  Butter the two slices of bread on one side.  Place one slice buttered side down in a heavy skillet.  Spread the side facing up with the beef and bean mixture.   Top with thinly sliced onion and cheese to cover.  Place the other slice of buttered bread on top, butter side up. 

Grill over medium low heat, until the bottom side of the sandwich is crisp and golden brown.  Do not be in a hurry.  Carefully flip over and brown the other side in like manner, until the sandwich is golden brown all over the filling is nice and hot and the cheese has melted.

Serve immediately, cut into diagonals and topped with a pickle if desired.

I actually made this the other day to take to our Relief Society Activity last Thursday evening and am only getting to show them to you now.  They were stuck in the queue!



They went down a real treat with the girls and I brought home an empty plate.  I like it when that happens, don't you?   That means they are winners.



I got the recipe from out of one of those baking books you pick up in the magazine section at the grocery shops.  It is in the Best Baking Series, Volume 7, Tasty Traybakes.   I adapted and converted the measurements for my North American readers and I did not use the frosting recipe which was given with the recipe as it didn't look that good.



I made a chocolate buttercream icing.  I am a big fan of buttercream icing.   It went very well on these delectable little squares . . . it really did.

 

It's a good thing that I was taking them to church for the ladies as they would have been far too dangerous for me to keep in this house with a chocolate cake hating husband around.  They would have been too, TOO tempting for me.



That layer of raspberry jam in the middle is a nice touch and helps to make what's moist and delicious, even moister and delicious.   You can easily see why they would have been too dangerous for me to have here all on my own.  I could not risk eating them all myself . . . I'm fat enough already!



These are perfect for sharing though.  Your friends and chocolate loving family will love you to bits if you bake them a pan of these!  Trust me on this!  Mine did!!   Go on . . . make them.  You know you won't regret it!  (Well, your hips may not thank you on this one, but . . . meh!)



*Rasberry Brownies*
Makes one 9 inch square pan
Printable Recipe

Try to let these sit overnight.  They become even moister if you can resist them!

4 large free range eggs
300g caster sugar (1 2/3 cup)
150g unsalted butter, melted (2/3 cup)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
150g of plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
75g cocoa powder (not drink mix) (2/3 cup)
100g of finely chopped toasted walnuts (3 12 ounces, 14 TBS)
3 TBS seedless raspberry jam

Chocolate buttercream frosting to cover
(A tub of prepared or your own recipe)

Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F gas mark 3.  Butter and line a 9 inch square pan with baking parchment.  Butter the paper.  Set aside.

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and frothy. Whisk in the sugar and then slowly whisk in the melted butter and vanilla.    Sift together the flour, cinnamon and cocoa powder.  Gently stir it in and then stir in the nuts.  Spread the batter in the prepared pan, level the surface and bake for 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch.  Allow to cool completely in the tin,

Once they are cold, carefully remove from the tin and cut in half horizontally with a sharp knife.  Warm the jam and spread it onto the bottom half of the brownies.  Sandwich wih the top later.  Frost with some buttercream frosting. Cut into squares to serve.  Delicious!

 

As you know from time to time I am sent cookbooks to trial.  I love that part of my job . . . you can never have too many cookbooks.  Todd would beg to differ, but I have noticed he never complains at being able to test the fruits of my labours.

The latest book I was sent was  for the Grilled Cheese Lover in each of us!   "Melt," by Shane (Sanford) Kearns, creator, GrilledShane.com.   Over 100 recipes, each one accompanied with a beautiful colour photograph.   I just love cookbooks which have lots of photos.   It's nice to be able to see what you're cooking is supposed to look like.



The book is basically divided into two parts.  Part 1 is "Seriously Savory Sandwiches."  It compromises of  chapters ( Gastronomically and Living on the Edge.)  Here is just about any savory combination the brain can think of . . . and then some . . .  like:



Basil Peppercorn - Caramelized Vidalia onions, Chaumes and Havarti Cheeses, and with hints of basil and pepper corn, grilled between two slices of Italian bread.   What's not to like?

And that's just one of the taste tempters on offer.   There are other delicious delights such as Sweet and Spicy Popcorn, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Cheddar (how is that for inventiveness!), the Sunflower Gouda Griller, . . . and even the simple . . . such as The Fried Egg, but even that has an inventive twist to it.

Part Two is entitled Surprisingly Sweet Stacks, again comprised of two chapters . . . Epicurean Adventures and Experimental Territory.



Anyone up for "The Cinnamon Roll?"  A rich mix of refrigerator cinnamon rolls and Philadelphia Milk chocolate Cheese Spread and caramelized pecans . . .



The Candy Cane . . . Refrigerator Biscuits layerd with crushed peppermint candies/candy canes/ ricotta cheese and crushed gingersnaps.   Now, that is called pushing the envelope I think!  It does look incredibly tasty though . . .

and that is just the tip of the iceberg!

 

Scattered throughout are "Tips from the Stovetop." Handy little tips and bits of advice to help you make the most of your "Grilled Sandwich" experience.

I chose two recipes to test out . . . first up was the Baked Pretzel Beans.  We really like baked beans in this house and we love beans on toast.



It looked and sounded very appealing to say the least . . .

I adapted it very easily to what I had in the house to use and this is how mine turned out.  Looks delicious eh?   It was!   A new favourite twist on beans on toast.  I had to switch a few things around as we don't have the ingredients were not readily available over here, but it worked out fine.



*Pretzel Baked Beans*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

A rather upscale Beans on Toast!

1 cup Vegetarian baked beans
(I used one tin of Heinz baked beans)
2 TBS Barbecue sauce
(I used Jack Daniels)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 TBS soft light brown sugar
1/8 cup mushrooms, chopped
(I left these out as I did not have any)
1/8 cup onions, chopped (about 2 TBS)
pinch dried dill tops
2 round pretzel rolls, scooped (see tips)
(I used two round Bavarian rye rolls as I didn't have pretzel rolls)
1/2 cup Jarlsberg cheese
(I used strong cheddar, about 2 TBS)



Combing the beans, barbeque sauce, garlic powder, brown sugar, mushrooms, onions, and dried dill in a saucepan.   Simmer on medium high heat for 5 to 8 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180&C/350*F/ gas mark 5.  Place the scooped rolls on a baking tray.   Fill them with the bean mixture.  Top with the cheese.   Bake for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted.   Serve hot with a spoon.

Tips:  A pretzel roll is exactly that, a roll made out of soft pretzel dough.  Scooping a pretzel roll is different from scooping a normal roll.  You want to keep the flaps intact whilst removing the bread inside.  I cut a cross into the top and then used a fork to  scrape and pull out the insides.  It worked really well.

 

The next recipe I tried was an upscale version of what we call a "Chip Butty" over here in the UK.  Our version is not elaborate . . . simply fried chips (french fries) salted and vinegar-ed with malt vinegar and slapped between two buttered sliced of cheap white bread.   This is delicious folks.  Simply delicious.  There's many a kid in this country that was brought up on chip butties!

Shane's version is really upscale though . . . no salt and vinegar here, just a nice mix of spices, crisp potatoes laid out onto a ciabatta roll, slathered with cheese and onion and grilled.  What's not to like about this??

I cheated a bit and used the low fat Skin on Baked Oven Chips, chunky cut and that worked fine.  It was not as tasty probably as the fried version . . . but with all that cheese on top, who cared?   Certainly not me!  It really soothed this carb lover's heart!   I love, LOVED it!

 

 *Ultimate Cheesy Fries*
Serves 1
Printable Recipe

Half a ciabatta roll topped with fries and cheese.   Don't knock it until you try it!

1/2 a large (12 inch) ciabatta, approximately 4
inches in length
(I used half of a small cheese ciabatta roll)
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced like thick cut French Fries
(I used  a handful of skin on, low fat thick cut oven chips)
1/4 tsp dried dill, divided
1/4 tsp paprika
sea salt to taste
1 TBS vegetable oil, for frying
(I didn't need this as I didn't fry my chips, only baked them)
2/3 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
(I used cheddar)
1 TBS red onion, diced
(I used spring onions)
ketchup for side



Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5.   Slice the bread horizontally.  Save top for another use.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sliced potatoes, 1/8 tsp dried dill, 1/8 tsp of paprika and sea salt to taste.  Toss until the fries are covered.  (I did this to my oven chips before I put them in the oven on a tray and baked them.)

Cook the seasoned fries in 1 TBS oil on medium heat, continually tossing/stirring.  As fries cook, add the remainder of the dried dill, paprika and sea salt to taste.  Cook until they begin to crisp and brown.

Place the cooked fries on top of the ciabatta, followed by the cheese and red onion.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, to melt the cheese.   Serve warm with a side of ketchup if desired.

All in all the recipes are quite taste tempting and easy to execute from what I can see.  The only hardship might be the lack of American Ingredients here in the UK, but that is hot a hurdle which you couldn't cope with.   I think any inventive cook could cross that hurdle quite easily and may-hap even come up with something tastier than the original.

 

If you're a fan of the Grilled Cheese (or Cheese Toastie as it is known over here in the UK) you will love this book.   I think it's a real winner.   I can't wait to try out the Chocolate Brownie Indulgence and the Candied Baconator . . . I just have to lose about ten pounds first!



Published by Aadamsmedia.   You can get a copy here in the UK via Amazon for £13 and a bit of change, a 15% saving off the cover price.

Many thanks to FWmedia International and Aadamsmedia for sending me this review copy.

I give it two thumbs up,  a high five and a ten out of ten!