Tuesday 17 November 2020

Grilled Bacon And Cheese Open Sandwiches (AKA Tartines)

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:-)




                                                 © Sherry's Pickings


36 comments:

  1. Such a lovely meal! Anything that involves bacon and cheese has got to be very yummy!

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    1. you're so right Angie. you can't go wrong with bacon and cheese!

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  2. Oh 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!

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    1. hi sammie
      these are tasty little devils (no veg?) And what does hubby cook on Christmas Day? turkey? :)

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  3. Vintage cheddar? Bacon? Works for me! We sometimes have sandwiches for dinner, so these would be right up our alley. Thanks!

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    1. yes they work for us too:) yep we have sangers for dinner sometimes too. and a good thing too:-)

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  4. Oh yum! I might just have to try this one!

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  5. Mmmmmmmmm. 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.

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    1. a cheese omelette? that's very brave of him, if he doesn't cook often.

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  6. ANY 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.

    be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. thanks Mae. i'd never had a tuna melt till we went to the US years ago. delish!

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  7. Count me in, that thing is a beauty

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  8. This looks amazing!!my favorite things in one except for bacon.

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  9. All you have to do is say "bacon" and you have me hooked. This is a very hearty sandwich and looks scrumptious.

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  10. That 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.

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    1. thanks 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!

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  11. Sherry, 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.
    Great 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.

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    1. hi Ron
      my 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:)

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  12. 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!

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    1. hi aarthi
      thanks 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!

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  13. 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.

    I missed you and so I am going to blog about food again.

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    1. yep he's a good fella! great to see you blogging about food again! thanks for dropping by.

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  14. Salad and tartine, now that is a lunch that would certainly make me happy.

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  15. Beautiful work, Mr. P! It is making me very hungry!

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  16. Great food and great pictures! Just found your blog from your comment on Weekend Cooking at The Intrepid Reader!

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  17. 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! :-)

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    1. yes Mr P. is very useful! thank goodness he cooks!

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