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Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwich with Bacon & Caramelized Onions

Name: Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwich with Bacon & Caramelized Onions
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 2 slices of bacon, fried until crisp (or as you desire); 1/2 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced; pinch sugar; 2 TBS butter, divided; 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard; 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 fresh Kaiser roll; 4 slices deli ham; 2 slices deli swiss cheese

Tuesday, 9 August 2022

I am a person who is a huge fan of the hot sandwich. Well, in all honesty, I am a fan of any kind of sandwich really, but a hot sandwich gets my taste buds tingling in a really special way.

Especially when you start talking about hot ham and cheese sandwiches in foil. I always used to enjoy making Heavenly Ham & Cheese Hots for the missionaries when they came over to eat. But it is a hot sandwich for a crowd, and I am no longer a crowd.

But why shouldn't single people be able to enjoy the same types of foods as families or crowds? Why indeed! I have been on a quest over these past months to small batch some of my favorite eats for the smaller family.

This hot ham sandwich recipe I am sharing with you today is sized perfectly for one, although if you are more than one, you can certainly multiply it to feed as many people as you like, or even check out the recipe link I dropped above which makes 12 sliders.

This version is slightly different in that it uses a nice fresh Kaiser roll. Today I chose poppy seed. It also included sweet caramelized onions and crisp slices of smoky bacon.

This is the full deal! And yes, incredibly delicious!

I do not want to fall into the rut of eating frozen dinners or simply grazing, or eating out just because there is just me in the house. I shouldn't have to wait until I have people invited over to cook a nice meal.

There is no reason on earth why a singleton shouldn't eat as well as a family eats.

This is my quest at any rate and I am sure that there are many of you out there who have the same challenge, which is to cook decent, delicious meals for one or two.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE HOT HAM & CHEESE SANDWHICH

with bacon and caramelized onions

I have managed to downsize the original and make it even tastier with a few special additions.

2 slices of bacon, fried until crisp (or as you desire)
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
pinch sugar
2 TBS butter, divided
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 fresh Kaiser roll
4 slices deli ham
2 slices deli swiss cheese

I am often able to buy bacon marked down because it is at its sell by date. I will usually pick up two packages. One package I will cook the whole thing. I then it into an airtight container with wax paper between the layers and freeze it, ready to take out when I have a need or a use for it.

This is much cheaper than buying the already cooked bacon in the shops, which is expensive and incredibly thinly sliced!

The other package I will open up, roll each slice up tightly and pop them all into an air tight zip lock baggie in a single layer, ready to take out one or two slices as and when I need it. It also chops incredibly well when frozen in the way for recipes that require your bacon to be chopped. I chop it while its still frozen!

The only faffy bit about this is caramelizing the onion. I suppose if you wanted to and were thinking straight, you could slice up a whole lot of onions and caramelize them, and then freeze them in small containers for later use.

Or, if it was available to you, you could use a caramelized onion chutney. Now that would be especially good. I miss all the different chutneys that were available in the UK. There are not a lot on offer here in Canada, although I suppose I could make my own.

I actually have plans to make a mango chutney next time mangos are on offer. I love mango chutney. Its one of the first things we learned how to make in Culinary College.

HOW TO MAKE HOT HAM & CHEESE SANDWICH

with bacon & caramelized onions

These really are very easy to make. Probably the most time consuming part is the caramelizing of the onions. If you are not keen you can always leave them out, but I highly recommend you do make them as they really add to the deliciousness of this tasty sandwich!

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.

While the oven is preheating, melt half the butter in a small skillet. Once it begins to foam add the sliced onions and a pinch of sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have begun to caramelize.

Melt the remaining butter in a small dish in the microwave. Whisk in the mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Have ready a large square of aluminum foil.

Cut your bun in half through the middle, horizontally. Brush both sides of the bottom half of the bun with some of the butter/mustard mixture.

Layer as follows. ham, cheese, onions, bacon.

Brush both sides of the top half of the bun with the butter/mustard mixture. Place on top of the sandwich, cut side down.

Place into the middle of the square of foil. Bring all of the sides of the foil up to cover the bun completely and twist to close.

Place onto a small baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sandwich is heated through and the cheese has melted.

Enjoy it while its hot.

This really is a delicious sandwich. I love the combination of salty and sweet. The saltiness of the bacon and the ham, the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the swiss cheese.

If you wanted to you could use honey mustard Dijon instead of plain Dijon. That would also be incredibly tasty!

You need only add some crisp vegetable sticks on the side and you have a really decent meal. Hearty and delicious and very easy to make!

I really am a fan of the hot sandwich and actually the sandwich altogether. Some of my favorites are:

ITALIAN BAKED SANDWICH -These are so delicious and easy to make. You can make one large one, or small individuals. Tasty either way you do it! With mayonnaise, mustard, layers of Italian cold cuts and cheese. All baked together in a toasty bun. Yummilicious!

ULTIMATE MEATLOAF SANDWICH - Not just any old meatloaf sandwich but a delicious combination of slices of leftover meatloaf, browned in a skillet and tucked between slices of crusty bread with lettuce, cheese and homemade onion rings. Delicious!

BBQ CHICKEN SANDWICH - Leftover cooked chicken, heated up in some BBQ sauce and piled between layers of toasty bun with some crisp, cool and creamy coleslaw. Fabulously tasty!

Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwich with Bacon & Caramelized Onions

Yield: 1 sandwich

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Quantities are for one delicious sandwich, but can be easily multiplied to feed more!

Ingredients

For one sandwich:

2 slices of bacon, fried until crisp (or as you desire)
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
pinch sugar
2 TBS butter, divided
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 fresh Kaiser roll
4 slices deli ham
2 slices deli swiss cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.
While the oven is preheating, melt half the butter in a small skillet. Once it begins to foam add the sliced onions and a pinch of sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have begun to caramelize.
Melt the remaining butter in a small dish in the microwave. Whisk in the mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
Have ready a large square of aluminum foil.
Cut your bun in half through the middle. Brush both sides of the bottom half of the bun with some of the butter/mustard mixture.
Layer as follows. ham, cheese, onions, bacon.
Brush both sides of the top half of the bun with the butter/mustard mixture. Place on top of the sandwich, cut side down.
Place into the middle of the square of foil. Bring all of the sides of the foil up to cover the bun completely and twist to close.
Place onto a small baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sandwich is heated through and the cheese has melted.
Enjoy it while its hot.

Did you make this recipe?

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The Classic Tomato Sandwich

Thursday, 4 August 2022

What I am sharing today is not a recipe per se. I am sure you don't really need a recipe for a tomato sandwich, and we all probably have our own ideas of what is the best tomato sandwich recipe.

I think my mother was the Queen of Tomato Sandwiches. I believe she had a tomato sandwich for her lunch almost every day of her life. She loved them and it is a love I very much share, however I probably would not have one every day for lunch.

To my way of thinking you need only very simple things to make a great classic tomato sandwich! Basically only 4, and if you make sure those are the best, then you are in for a real treat.

Good soft white bread. That is the first thing. You don't need anything fancy. No sour dough, or brioches, etc. Just good old plain soft white bread.

Some people swear by mayonnaise and that is surely an excellent choice. Myself, I love miracle whip on my tomato sandwiches. Its a personal preference really. I think miracle whip is slightly sweeter and it goes really well with tomatoes. In my opinion it brings out the best in a tomato.

I also like a nice fresh crisp lettuce on my sandwich, although certainly I have enjoyed tomato sandwiches without lettuce as well. For me it has to be simple, crisp, plain, old fashioned iceberg lettuce.

And finally you need a nice big fat ripe fresh tomato. I think beefsteak tomatoes make the best tomato sandwiches, but, having said that, I have been known to enjoy a tomato sandwich made with just about any fresh tomato.

Mom always kept her tomatoes on the counter top (before she cut into them). There was always one or two fresh tomatoes ripening on the counter top. Tomatoes are one fruit (and yes they are a fruit, not a vegetable) that continues to ripen at room temperature.

If you keep your tomatoes on the counter top when you bring them home from the shops, you will find that their flavor improves immensely after a day or so.

I think that they pick tomatoes just short of their prime so that they have a longer shelf life, and then they keep them really cold so that they stay that way. Leaving them on the counter for a day or so, improves their taste and texture greatly.

There is really only one way to make this sandwich. You can butter your bread or not, as you wish. I choose to butter because my tomatoes are usually really ripe and that helps to prevent the sandwich from being soggy.

You don't need a lot of butter, just a light covering.

Onto that I place a hefty schmear of Miracle Whip or mayonnaise. Only on the tomato side, but you can do both if you want to. I like to taste my spread and so I do spread it on rather thickly. I probably use about 2 tablespoons. (Don't judge me.)

Onto the plain buttered side, I layer the lettuce. I like to leave the lettuce in nice crinkly leaves. And I am not stingy with it either. I use a fair amount of lettuce.

On the miracle whip/mayo side I layer the tomatoes. I like to cut the slices of tomato fairly thin and use a lot of them, layering them on top of each other haphazardly. I like to cover all of the spread with a nice layer of ripe tomatoes.

Finally I season the tomatoes with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkling of freshly ground sea salt. I love the pure flavor of sea salt. Call me a salt snob. I like sea salt.

And I have my favorites there as well. Maldon is my clear cut favorite. And I like it flaked.

Once you have both slices of your bread loaded you can slam them together. Here is when you will be glad that you buttered the lettuce side because your lettuce will hold in place and not slip and slide all over the place.

Press the bread down a tiny bit to make everything stick together. Don't smash it. Just press it down gently.

Its up to you whether you choose to cut it in half or not. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. It all depends on how juicy the tomatoes are and how generous I have been with the miracle whip/mayonnaise.

If your tomatoes are really juicy you probably want to keep it all in one piece so that it isn't too overly messy. I like to enjoy my sandwich, not wear it. And, unfortunately, tomatoes can stain.

When I first moved over to the UK, I worked in a Care Home. I did some hours cleaning and I was also a kitchen assistant. This was while I was taking my college training as a Chef. There I learned to love cheese and tomato sandwiches.

I had never heard of a cheese and tomato sandwich before. It was, to me at any rate, an unusual combination.

But it was another, no bells and whistles needed, delicious simple sandwich. Buttered bread. Thinly sliced seasoned tomato, and freshly grated medium cheddar cheese. Delicious! Which reminds me I haven't had one of those in a while either.

The British love their sandwiches and they do sandwiches really well. So well that they have shops that are dedicated to just producing and selling them, and spots in the chiller cabinets of all their other shops dedicated to just sandwiches.

Maybe tomorrow. Today I am enjoying my classic, simple, delicious tomato sandwich. Every single mouthful. Oh how I love the summer months when we can enjoy an abundance of freshly grown local tomatoes.

They do have a huge edge flavorwise against their nursery farmed counterparts.

One final word. The best tomatoes I have ever eaten in my life were from the Isle of Wight in the UK. I used to get a box of them delivered to me every couple of weeks from a place called The Tomato Stall. They were absolutely lovely. Was I ever spoiled!

When it comes to home delivery of food the UK really does it well. I could get just about everything (Quality meats, cheeses, poultry, fish, vegetables, fruits, etc.) delivered right to my door, and quite affordably too. I miss that.

Thank you so much for visiting! Do come again!

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Greek Chicken & Cucumber Salad

Thursday, 23 June 2022

This delicious Greek Chicken & Cucumber Salad recipe is what summer eating is all about! Simple ingredients and fresh flavors, with minimal fuss!

Nobody wants to be spending all their time in the kitchen when they can be outside enjoying the warmer temperatures! Quick and easy recipes are the order of the day!

This recipe I am sharing with you today is one that I downsized from a recipe I found on the New York Times for a delicious Greek Chicken with Cucumber Feta Salad.

The original recipe served four people. There is only one of me and whilst I am keen to try new things, I don't want to be eating them four days in a row, although I can manage to enjoy it at least twice.

So I downsized it to feed only two people. I have also streamlined the instructions and made them a bit easier to understand. At least I think that I have!

This is built for two and deliciously keto, low carb and diabetic friendly as well!

What you have here is a delicious salad with very Mediterranean flavor and textures. Broken, bruised cucumbers, baby plum tomatoes, garlic, yogurt, feta cheese, salt and pepper.

I added a bit of red onion because I like the spark that it brings to the table, but you can leave it out by all means.

Something really wonderful happens to cucumbers when you bash them around a bit and bruise them. The exercise creates lots of rough edges which are perfect for soaking up all of that lovely yogurt dressing!

The chicken is likewise filled with flavor. Marinated for about 15 minutes in a garlicky yogurt and oregano marinade it becomes really tender.

I loved the garlic and herby flavor that the marinade gave to the chicken. It made the chicken really moist and juicy!

The chicken and the salad together were a brilliantly tasty combination!!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GREEK CHICKEN & CUCUMBER SALAD

There is nothing spectacularly out of the ordinary here. Fresh an simple ingredients put together in an incredibly simple and delicious way!

For the chicken:

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
1/2 cup (125g) Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried oregano
oil to grease the grill or grill pan

For the salad:

3/4 pound seedless cucumber (Japanese, mini seedless or Persian)
1/2 pound ripe baby plum tomatoes
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup (65g) Greek yogurt
2 ounces (60g) feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 clove garlic, peeled and grated
salt and black pepper to taste
6 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
thinly sliced red onions, optional

You can use either full fat or low fat yogurt here. Both work well. I used fresh fat garlic cloves for this. My chicken was free range free from antibiotics chicken. I trimmed it of all the fat that I could.

I used dry oregano, but you could use fresh oregano. Just double the amount and chop it.

I used Kalamata olives in brine. I had to pit them and then tear them in half. Confession here, I always like to suck on the pits while I am working. They have loads of flavor in them.

I used block feta cheese in brine that I found at the store which was made here locally in Nova Scotia. It was lovely. The brand is Holmestead. It has a lovely flavor and texture.

I have not been paid or given free product to tell you that either. I speak the truth as I find it. I am enjoying discovering new things now that I am back in Canada and I like to share them with you when I do.

I used local hothouse English cucumbers, which are all that are available to me in my small town, and baby plum tomatoes.

HOW TO MAKE GREEK CHICKEN & CUCUMBER SALAD

This was really very simple to make. Whisk together the ingredients for the chicken marinade and then marinate it while you are making the salad.

The most unusual part of making this was the bashing of the cucumber to bruise and crack it. I had never done this myself. I had seen Molly Yeh do it on one of her programs the other day however and I was keen to try it.

I didn't have baby cucumbers, but I used half an English cucumber and just gave it a good bashing with the flat side of my meat pounder.

Then I ripped it apart with my hands into small chunks, which sounds a lot more aggressive than it really was. I didn't bash it very hard, just bruised it and it broke apart very easily.

Apparently this helps to create nice craggy edges to help soak up all that dressing. Who knew?

Now that I have tried it I will be doing it regularly. I loved the resultant rough looking bits of cucumber! Much more interesting than flat cubes!

The dressing is made by mashing grated garlic, yogurt, crumbled feta and some seasoning together with a fork. Easy peasy, and oh so delicious. Do remember that feta cheese and olives are both very salty ingredients so be careful when salting the dressing.

The marinated chicken is simply grilled until golden brown and down and then served along side of the salad. I grilled my chicken in my Cuisinart Griddler machine. I love the results it gives.

I had one of these in the UK which I used a lot and so it was one of the first things I purchased for myself back here in Canada. You can use either the ridged side of the plates, for grilling meats and panini, or the flat side for making pancakes, etc. It opens out flat for that purpose.

Its a really cool little machine. I have the waffle plates for it as well. Yummy!!

Altogether this made for a really delicious and simple meal. It was quite healthy as well I think. I very much enjoyed it.

If you are looking for more chicken to grill might I recommend the following:

MORROCAN SPICED GRILLED CHICKEN & COUSCOUS SALAD - I love Moroccan flavours . . . cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garlic . . . lemon . . . olive oil . . . so delicious. Both the chicken and the salad benefit from them in this delicious summery recipe.

GRILLED PEANUT CHICKEN - A delicious marinade which yields a really tasty bit of chicken. I like to make extra marinade to dip the finished chicken in when I am eating it. Its just so tasty!

EASY CHICKEN GYROS - Gyros are a Greek sandwich which consists of grilled meat (chicken, lamb, beef or pork) which has been marinated in a delicious marinade prior to grilling, sliced and layered onto a flat bread along with some salad and some creamy Tzatzki sauce. These are quick, easy and most delicious!

Greek Chicken & Cucumber Salad

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

This is simple to make, delicious and filled with flavor. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are marinated and then grilled to perfection and served along side a deliciously creamy and crunchy salad!