Tuna Salad

Elevating the Can…

A friend of mine, Lora, asked me for a “not the run of the mill” tuna salad recipe. I found this one, which got many spectacular reviews. It’s certainly got a “grab bag” of ingredients. The secret is the curry and Parmesan cheese! Odd combinations but this makes a terrific tuna sandwich! You can make it for an appetizer with gourmet crackers or make a sandwich. I hope this fits the bill!

Tuna Salad

Serves 4

1 (7 oz) can white tuna, drained and flaked
6 Tbs mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 Tbs Parmesan cheese
3 Tbs sweet pickle relish
1/8 tsp dried minced onion flakes
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 Tbs dried parsley
1 tsp dried dill weed
1 pinch garlic powder

In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients and serve with crackers or on a sandwich.

Grilled Turkey Sandwiches With Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce

Leftovers – ugh!

Another year, and a boatload of leftovers in the kitchen. I am not a fan of leftovers. Once I’ve come up with menu, shopped for days, cooked for days, I’m done! Anyway, here is in my opinion the only way to get rid of the Thanksgiving leftovers disguised as a sandwich – think Monte Cristo.

No, I am not out shopping! I slept in!

Grilled Turkey Sandwiches With Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce

Serves 4

5 Tbs mayonnaise
8 thick slices French Batard bread (or other dense bread such as ciabatta or boule)
6 oz Emmenthaler cheese, grated or brie
10 oz roast turkey breast, sliced
1/2 to 3/4 cup leftover Thanksgiving stuffing (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 Tbs cranberry sauce
4 Tbs butter, melted

Lay the bread on a work surface and spread a little over 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise on 4 slices of bread.

Sprinkle the cheese on half of the bread slices, top with the turkey, and season with salt and pepper.

Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of the stuffing over the turkey, if desired, then spread the cranberry sauce on the remaining 4 slices of bread. Close sandwiches, pressing each one tightly together. Brush both sides of the sandwich with some of the melted butter.

Heat a grill pan over medium-low heat and brush the pan with the remaining butter. Place the sandwich in the hot pan and grill for 5 to 8 minutes per side, pressing the top of the sandwich with another pan. The sandwich should be hot and the cheese should be melted. Continue this process until all the sandwiches are grilled.

Shrimp Po’boy with Spicy Ketchup

Preserving New Orleans Culture, One Po’Boy at a Time 

Don’t you wish you were in New Orleans right now?   I’m actually glad I’m not, I hate crowds!  My greatest Mardi Gras memory is watching my Dad and Uncle trying to get the Mardi Gras beads out of my cousin’s nose with a flashlight!

Anyway, what’s better than a Po’Boy?  Nothing!  Poor boy sandwiches represent bedrock New Orleans. The shotgun house of New Orleans cuisine, Po-boys are familiar but satisfying. The sandwich is as diverse as the city it symbolizes. The crisp loaves have served as a culinary crossroads, encasing the most pedestrian and exotic of foods: shrimp, oyster, catfish, soft-shell crabs as well as French fries and ham and cheese. Comfort food in other cities seldom reaches such heights.

This version is a low fat version that broils the shrimp instead of deep frying.

Shrimp Po’boy with Spicy Ketchup

Serves 4 (serving size: 1 sandwich half)

3 Tbs dry breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs olive oil
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp hot sauce
2 (10-inch) submarine rolls, split
2 cups torn curly leaf lettuce
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

Prepare broiler.

Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Combine breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and garlic in a medium bowl, stirring with a fork. Combine oil and shrimp; toss well. Place half of the shrimp in the breadcrumb mixture; toss well to coat. Place breaded shrimp in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Repeat procedure with remaining shrimp and breadcrumb mixture. Broil 4 minutes or until shrimp are done.

Combine ketchup, juice, Worcestershire, chili powder, and hot sauce in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Spread 2 tablespoons ketchup mixture over cut sides of each roll half. Place 1 cup lettuce over bottom half of each roll; top with 1/4 cup onion. Arrange 1 cup shrimp on each roll half; top with remaining roll half. Cut sandwiches in half.

Monte Cristo Sandwich

The History of the Monte Cristo Sandwich

Where in earth did this sandwich come from? I remember eating it as a child when we went out to eat. My friend, Brady, just took my daughter, Grace, to Disneyland for her birthday. They were there from 10 am until it closed at 11:30 pm! One of the highlights of the day was lunch at the Blue Bayou where they had a Monte Cristo sandwich. I hadn’t really thought about them in years. It’s not something I would order now, given the fat / calorie count!

1910 – Most food historian generally think that the Monte Cristo sandwich is a variation of a French dish called Croque Monsieur. This original grilled cheese sandwich consisted of Gruyere cheese and lean ham between two slices of crust-less bread, fried in clarified butter. It was originally served in 1910 in a Paris cafe. This sandwich is still a popular snack or casual meal throughout France and Switzerland in most bars and cafes. It is usually made in a special sandwich grilling iron consisting of two hinged metal plates, each with two shell-shaped indentations. At most Paris cafes, the Croque Monsieur is no longer prepared as a square sandwich but rather as a one-sided tartine made with a large single slice of bread from a round loaf.

1930s to1960s – Many American cookbooks published in the 1930s to1960s featured this sandwich under different names such as French Sandwich, Toasted Ham Sandwich, and French Toasted Cheese Sandwich.

1950s – Although there are no existing documents to support this, it is felt that the Monte Cristo Sandwich was first served in southern California in the 1950s.

1966 – Disneyland in Anaheim, California also contributed to the trend of eating this sandwich. In 1966, it appeared on their menu of the Blue Bayou and Tahitian Terrace restaurants in New Orleans’s Square in Disneyland and has continued to be a popular menu item to this day.

Monte Cristo Sandwich

Makes 4 sandwiches

BATTER
2/3 cup water
1 small egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder

SANDWICHES
8 slices white bread
4 slices roasted cooked turkey (1 oz each sandwich)
4 slices swiss cheese (1 oz each sandwich)
4 slices smoked ham (1 oz each sandwich)
vegetable oil, for frying

GARNISH
powdered sugar, for dusting
raspberry jam

BATTER: Place water, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl and using an electric mixer, mix well at low speed. Add flour and baking powder and mix until batter is smooth. Chill.

SANDWICHES: Make 4 sandwiches, putting cheese between ham and turkey. Cut into fourths and put a toothpick through each quarter.

Heat about 6″ of oil to 340 degrees in a fryer. Dip sandwiches in batter to cover all surfaces. Deep fry sandwiches until golden brown, turning as needed. An alternate way of frying it to put approximately 1/4″ oil in a large pan and fry the sandwiches on both sides until crispy and brown.

Remove from oil and take out toothpicks. Drain on paper towel to remove excess oil. Sprinkle sandwiches with confectioners’ sugar. Serve with raspberry jam.