Italian Pressed Sandwich

This is my favorite "packed" sandwich for traveling. You can make it the night before you travel and eat it the first day or even better the second day! You can play around with your favorite Italian meats and never go wrong!

I don't like fast food, in fact I hate it! But, I probably get stuck having it once a month because we travel so much. I prefer to pack a cooler with "good food". The night before our trip to Colorado, I made terriaki chicken breasts and baked Italian drumsticks for our first night on the road. I also packed cheese and fresh veggies to go along with the chicken. I figured the leftovers would be lunch since we had breakfast at the hotel. On our second night we enjoyed this Italian pressed sandwich along with a Greek salad. (I packed the tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, olives and feta cheese in a Tupperware in our cooler, then later cut up the vegetables in our hotel room to make this salad.) I had previously made the vinaigrette and put it in a tiny Tupperware. Who says that eating on the road has to be fast food and calorie laden???

1 loaf of Italian Bread sliced horizontally
8 slices of prosciutto
8 slices of cured Italian dried salami
8 slices of provolone
Balsamic vinegar
Olive Oil

Drizzle oil and vinegar on bread, layer meat and cheese on top. Wrap the sandwich in wax paper and foil. Press something heavy (milk jugs works great!) on sandwich to flatten. Refrigerate overnight for best results.

Super Bowl

Normally I try out recipes in advance to make sure they are "company ready", but heck it is football and hungry guys (who have been drinking) who really don't care, so I decided to make this...

From a "sober"point of view this was a good one to make!

24 good white rolls
24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
2/3 cup mayo

POPPY SEED SAUCE:

1 1/2 TBSP poppy seed
1 1/2 TBSP yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 TBSP minced onion
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Spread mayo on both sides of the roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss cheese inside each roll. Close rolls and place on a large baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together the poppy seed sauce ingredients and pour evenly over all the sandwiches. Let sit for 10 minutes. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes.

Tuna Nicoise

My very fortunate daughter is visiting Paris for a third time and it brought back memories when we last visited there. We were in the beautiful city of Nice when I first tasted this sandwich. This is a classic sandwich which is commonly found on street carts in France.

For the Olive Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup pitted Nicoise Olives
2 anchovy fillets
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper to taste

For the Sandwich:
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 hard boiled eggs, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 can albacore tuna fish

In a food processor, combine the olives, anchovies, vinegar, water, mustard and blend until smooth. Slowly add the oil and blend until emulsified. Add the parsley and pulse a few times to incorporate it. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Assembly the sandwich and top with the vinaigrette.

MY TIP: This sandwich tastes even better after it sits for a while and the flavors have a chance to mingle.

Croque Mansieur

Some of the best food I have ever eaten was in Paris. My daughter Jenny will be returning there in a couple of weeks and I reminded her that even on the streets of Paris she could find delicious food. This is a classic French sandwich which is found in cafes and on street carts and is considered one of their "fast foods". There are two versions of this sandwich--Croque (which means to crunch) Mansieur and Croque Madame.

For Croque Mansieur:

2 mini baguettes, sliced in half longways
2 tbs. butter, softened
2 tbs. dijon mustard
4 oz. thinly sliced cured ham
4 oz. gruyère cheese, grated
fresh thyme and tarragon
ground black pepper

For Croque Madame:

add
4 fried eggs, sunny-side up
4 tbs. bechemel sauce

Directions:
1. Turn on broiler in your oven. Butter each baguette half and broil until toasted to your liking (just a couple minutes max.). Remove from oven and let cool.
2. Spread mustard on each bread half, then place ham and then top with cheese. Add herbs and pepper, and broil again until cheese is melted and just browning.
3. For croque madame, top a fried egg onto each croque monsieur sandwich, and top with the bechemel.