This is one of Mr P.'s dishes. He's the rice and pasta cook in the family, and also the grill (and grilled sandwich) man. (And considering that he's disabled, he does a damn good job of it.) I've mentioned before how he taught his young, female housemates to cook. He was brought up well by his mum, who brought up six children pretty much on her own.
I mean, he had a dad of course, but dads didn't often do much in the way of housework and cooking in those days:-) Mr P.'s dad spent his weekends golfing and gliding in light planes. Lucky fella! I still shudder when I hear women say their husbands don't cook. What the??!! Shove a recipe book and a saucepan in their face, I say. Or maybe just get them to heat up the grill for these tasty sandwiches, and leave them to it.
grilled and gorgeous! |
Serves 4:
ingredients:
1-2 tbs EV olive oil
250g. (8 oz) shortcut rindless bacon, cut into thick strips
1 red onion, sliced into half-moons (quoth Mr P.)
1/2 large red capsicum (bell pepper), cut into thinnish strips
1 zucchini, cut into strips
slices of thick sourdough or similar bread - we made 8 tartines
lotsa butter, to spread over the slices of bread
cheese slices, one for each open sandwich - Mr P. used vintage cheddar slices
parsley, roughly chopped - for serving - to scatter over the tartines
Salad:
leaves of your choice: I used a baby leaf mix
1 green apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced thinly
1 avocado, cut into chunks or slices - or some fetta chunks
a big handful of toasted pecans
a splash of EV olive oil or an agrumato oil - I used mandarin
a splash of balsamic vinegar - I used cranberry balsamic
1 tbs lemon juice
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
a scattering of chopped parsley on top
Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large frypan, toss in the bacon and onion, and fry for about ten minutes till starting to caramelise
Tip the bacon and onion into a bowl, and put aside while you add the capsicum and zucchini to the frypan, and fry gently till golden
Toast the bread slices in your toaster, or the grill if you prefer
Butter your bread generously right up to the edges of each slice
Put a helping of the bacon and veg. mix onto each slice
Top each one with cheese, then under the grill it goes for several minutes till the cheese is melted and bubbling
Place all the salad ingredients into a medium bowl, and toss gently
Grab a slice or two or three of the beautifully-laden bread, and a bowlful of salad
Notes:
Make these with mushroom slices instead of bacon for a vego. version; or try Mr P.'s suggestion of grilled halloumi
cut your veg into strips |
and the bacon |
cut the onion into half moons |
and stir the bacon and onion now and then |
buttering the toasted bread right to the corners:-) |
frying up the veg. |
under the grill they go with a slice of cheese |
till they get all golden and melty |
throw the salad ingredients into a bowl |
grab a bowlful |
ready for eating - by him |
and by me:-) |
Such a lovely meal! Anything that involves bacon and cheese has got to be very yummy!
ReplyDeleteyou're so right Angie. you can't go wrong with bacon and cheese!
DeleteOh yumbo! These look so good and (without veggies) would be right up my hubby's eat street! Too bad my MIL wasn't like yours, she treated my husband like a little prince even when he was a grown man! Although he only cooks once a year on Christmas Day, he does make a mighty fine job of it!
ReplyDeletehi sammie
Deletethese are tasty little devils (no veg?) And what does hubby cook on Christmas Day? turkey? :)
Vintage cheddar? Bacon? Works for me! We sometimes have sandwiches for dinner, so these would be right up our alley. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteyes they work for us too:) yep we have sangers for dinner sometimes too. and a good thing too:-)
DeleteOh yum! I might just have to try this one!
ReplyDeletethanks Jeanie.
DeleteMmmmmmmmm. I’d be happy if my husband only cooked these! Actually, the only thing he actually cooks is hamburgers out on the charcoal grill. And they’re magnificent. And I wasn’t raised on burgers, and they’re not my favorite food, unlike most Americans. But after my hand surgery he actually made me a cheese omelet, and it was perfect! He seemed really concerned about how well it came out, which was cute.
ReplyDeletea cheese omelette? that's very brave of him, if he doesn't cook often.
DeleteANY sandwich is better with melted cheese on top, especially cheddar. Well, ok, not PB&J. But I also love tuna melts etc. The higher the better -- just eat it with a knife & fork.
ReplyDeletebe well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
thanks Mae. i'd never had a tuna melt till we went to the US years ago. delish!
DeleteCount me in, that thing is a beauty
ReplyDeletethank you Raymund!
DeleteThis looks amazing!!my favorite things in one except for bacon.
ReplyDeletetry mushrooms or halloumi...
DeleteAll you have to do is say "bacon" and you have me hooked. This is a very hearty sandwich and looks scrumptious.
ReplyDeleteme too MJ. Bacon is the bomb:)
DeleteThat looks so delicious!! I love a good toasted sandwich. Wow his mum brought up kids without much help around the house? She deserves a medal! It's hard enough bringing up one kid let alone six.
ReplyDeletethanks lorraine. i think most mums did that in those days. dads were never around - either at work or doing their hobby stuff with their mates!
DeleteSherry, I started cooking when I was a wee lad, not because my mom taught me but because she worked late. But, my kids were raised in the kitchen, boy did we used to make some fun messes.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking tartines Mr P's got going there. You know all of our sandwiches are open faced here, but we don't often toast them.
hi Ron
Deletemy sister and I were cooking family meals when we were knee-high to a grasshopper! that's just what happened back then. i think it's a bit different these days:)
Bacon and cheese cannot go wrong, and it so yum on a open sandwiches. Mushroom is a great idea, and I love how you've written about Mr.P , thank for sharing this Sherry!
ReplyDeletehi aarthi
Deletethanks for dropping by. yes it's great that you can make this vego with mushrooms and/or halloumi! Glad to hear you like hearing about hubby!
Oh Sherry, you ahve a good man there and wow - what a sandwich! I have been making breakfast sandwiches with English muffins, egg, bacon and cheese. Looks like I need to expand this to include Mr. P's recipe.
ReplyDeleteI missed you and so I am going to blog about food again.
yep he's a good fella! great to see you blogging about food again! thanks for dropping by.
DeleteSalad and tartine, now that is a lunch that would certainly make me happy.
ReplyDeletegood to hear that Karen:)
DeleteBeautiful work, Mr. P! It is making me very hungry!
ReplyDeleteMr P. is clever like that:)
Delete:)
Deletethank goodness for husbands who cook!
DeleteGreat food and great pictures! Just found your blog from your comment on Weekend Cooking at The Intrepid Reader!
ReplyDeletehi laurie
Deletehow nice to meet you! cheers S
I do love grilled sandwiches! Truth be told, I think I could eat a sandwich at every meal. This combination sounds fantastic - you're lucky to have a Mr. P around the house who can whip up delicious recipes like this one! :-)
ReplyDeleteyes Mr P. is very useful! thank goodness he cooks!
Delete