Spring Picnic Sandwiches

My blogging activities have been temporarily pushed aside by a social life, however the fast pace and lack of time to cook during said social life got me to thinking.  I've been cooking, and posting, a lot of heavy, wintery type food lately.  I want it to be spring.  You know what people do in the spring?  They go on picnics and eat sandwiches.

Here are three of my favorite sandwiches.  Mayo free, so you won't get poisoned from your picnic.

The TBM

"TBM" stands for "tomato, basil, mozzarella", and is basically exactly what it sounds like: a slightly exotic vegetarian answer to the BLT.  

2 thick carved slices of mozzarella

several leaves of carefully washed basil, or a spoonful of pesto used as spread

1/2 tomato

wheat bread

Assembly should be self evident.  Grills superbly. 

Havarti and Tomato on a French Roll

The beauty of this baby is the texture: somehow the Havarti combines with the French roll to create a blissful, smooth compliment to the tomatoes. Possibly my favorite sandwich in the world. 

1 crusty French roll

2-4 tomatoes, cut into thin slices

1/4th pound sliced Havarti cheese

Cut the French Roll open and stuff it with cheese and tomatoes until it looks like it's going to explode.  

Serve with iced tea, and pickles, if you like them.  

Another variation on this theme is Brie and Tomato, which is also good.  Brie is quite buttery in taste, so if you're not a fan of butter you should stick with Havarti or cheddar.  

Mushroom Cap Burger

1 portobello mushroom, cleaned and skinned

1 tsp olive oil

1-2 garlic cloves

hamburger buns

Various Fixin's:  brown mustard, soy sauce, black bean paste, chili paste, cheddar cheese, pesto sauce

Fry the mushroom in a skillet until brown and wilted.  Make sure you repeatedly press down on the mushroom with the flat of the spatula so that all the water in the mushroom is forced out.  

Serve on hamburger bun with your choice of fixin's.*  Potato chips are good with this dish.  

Can be served either hot or cold.  

*Does anyone else think of Niles Crane when they hear the word "fixin's"? Hee.  

Romano Muffins: Version I

I was trying to think of a compliment to broccoli soup that wouldn't exhaust my meager end-of-the-week supply of bread, and would be able to be cooked in a humble toaster oven* and I came up with this.  

If anyone reading this tries this recipe, I would like input on how to make it better.  I think these came out a little too airy/flaky.

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs baking powder
1/4 cup Romano cheese
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
pinch of salt

Mix all the dry ingredients together, add the egg and butter.  Stir until the dough goes crumbly.  Then add the cup of milk and cup of water.  If the dough seems to be a tad too sticky, add a dusting of flour.

Put in muffin tin and bake at 250 for forty to fifty minutes.  Serves 6.



*my apartment oven doesn't work well at all, my mother lets me borrow her oven for special occasion baking, but otherwise it's just me and the ol' Black and Decker.

Vintage Veg: Cronin for Congress Casserole (1972)

I like to visit my grandmother every week, and sometimes she likes to cook me dinner.  A traditional cook, she was initially perplexed by my decision to become a vegetarian, however she delved into her numerous cookbooks and found this old standby in The Constituents’ Cookbook:  Paul W. Cronin for Congress, 2^nd Edition (1972). 

Election cookbooks are a forgotten footnote of history now, effectively murdered by Lee Atwater, who thought that campaign money would be better spent on the far more effective robocalling and negative advertising that are such a plague on elections today.  However, in the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies, election cookbooks were considered a cute little gimme prize for loyal constituents, and their recipes provide an absolutely fascinating look at middle class life in that era.*

The historical recipe was contributed to the cookbook by Mrs. David (Gloria) Williams of Concord, Massachusetts.  Nana and I have modified its overwhelming eggy-cheesyness through the addition of numerous ingredients, so I will give you the historical ingredients first, and then the modern variation.  It assembles and cooks up in much the same manner, either way you would like to make it.

Cheddar Casserole: The Historical Ingredients 

1/4 cup butter or margarine

6 slices bread

6 slices Havarti or Edam

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 tsps salt

a pinch of nut meg

Cheddar Casserole: The Nana and Marybeth LaRivee Versions

1/4 cup butter

6 slices Wonder Bread (Nana's version) or multigrain loaf (mine)

6 slices American cheese (Nana's version) or cheddar (mine)

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 tsps pepper

pinch of cilantro

chopped tomato, or broccoli, or peas

Combine milk, spices, and eggs. Grease corningware dish. Dip the bread in egg mixture, and put one layer of the bread in the dish.  Add a layer of vegetables. Add a layer of cheese. Alternate until about half an inch away from the top of the dish.  Bake at 350 (US ovens) for about 30 minutes.

*My information on Lee Atwater was taken from the book Bad Boy: The Life and Politics of Lee Atwater by John Brady (1996).  When I'm not reading about cooking, my choice of reading material tends to run to either crime or politics.

Cheese and Corn Chowder

This fantastic chowder is the vegetarian version of a popular Western Mass dish (Cheeseburger Chowder).

I fell in love with it when my boyfriend's mother made another version of it at Christmas, and she just sent me the recipe so I can make it myself.

1/4th cup olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 cans cream of cheddar soup
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon parsley
2 cubes veggie bouillon
1 liter milk
2 cups water
a dusting of flour to thicken
3 potatoes, sliced in thin circles
1/2 bag spinach
1 bag frozen corn

Combine the broth ingredients first: soften onions in olive oil, add the milk and water, crush the bouillon cubes and add them in along with the garlic, and then throw in the red pepper flakes and parsley. Now add the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer when adding the spinach and corn. Let cook 40 mins. Add the flour if chowder looks watery.