Rice and Beans and Other Fine Things

Sloppy Spaghetti and Provolone Grillers

It's easy for me to get intimidated by some of the food blogs out there.  You see, I love to visit as many of them as I can and admire their perfect, magazine quality pictures and creative use of ingredients, many of which I have never even heard of, but I know that I really don't measure up.

But I'm okay with that. 

I'm okay with that because I cook ...for the people. 

Huh?  Which people?  The people who don't throw leftovers away. 

Here's a recipe that really isn't a recipe at all, just directions for assembly.  It will require leftover spaghetti, which is something many people probably make frequently.  The next time you make spaghetti, make more than you'll need so you can slap these on the griddle the next day.  They are very kid friendly, but let me warn obsessively neat and clean moms:  they are messy.  That's why there is a "sloppy" in the title.

Sloppy Spaghetti and Provolone Grillers

2 slices French bread

2 slices provolone cheese

1/2 cup leftover spaghetti

Softened Butter

1. Layer 1 slice of provolone on each slice of French bread.  Place about 1/2 cup of leftover spaghetti on one slice.  Place the other bread slice on top, cheese side down.  Butter the outside of both sides of the sandwich. 
2. Grill over medium to low heat until golden brown and the cheese is melted.  Makes 1 sandwich.

Begin with some sliced French bread.  Any crusty bread would do.

   

Place some slices of provolone cheese on each slice of bread.  I was running low, so one side only got half a slice, but I wholeheartedly recommend two slices per sandwich.

Leftover spaghetti.  Nothing special here, but I've mixed my noodles into the sauce.

Pile some spaghetti on one slice.  I said about 1/2 cup , but it may be more.

Put the other slice of bread on and butter the outside of the sandwich.

Grill until golden brown.  Yes, some of the spaghetti will ooze out.  This is a good thing, because it will get crispy and golden.

It will combine with some of the cheese that will also ooze out.  Those crispy edges are what makes the world go round.

Have lots of napkins ready.

Just so everyone knows...

The Reuben post below has nice, clean, separated paragraphs in the first half of the post.  The last half of the post is supposed to have nice, clean, separated paragraphs, but instead has one continuous chunk of words.  No matter how hard I try to separate those paragraphs, it will not let me, and right about now I want to pull my hair out because I can't make the post do what I want it to do.  I do not know what I am doing wrong or why it is different from the first half of the post, but I am now officially giving up because trying to make this post do what I want it to do has made me three-fourths crazy.  Have a great weekend.

The Reuben Sandwich

I always thought the Reuben had originated in Germany and was the national sandwich or something.  After a little research, I find that it was named after Arthur Reuben, the delicatessen owner from New York who created it.  Or at least that's one story.  There were a couple of different ones.  Not that it really matters.  Well, it might matter to Arthur.

After having a most excellent one in Helen, Georgia, about a week ago, I just had to buy the ingredients to make my own.  Let me tell you right now, the ingredients were a little pricey.  The corned beef was $7.98 per pound and by the time I got the rest of the ingredients, I estimate it was about 16.00.  However, I was able to make eight sandwiches, which comes to about 2.00 a piece, which isn't bad. 

Most Reuben recipes call for Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing, but I had neither because I forgot about that part when I was at the store, so I came up with my own and I am so glad I did.  Quite frankly it turned out really, really well.  I'm just going to call it the "Special Sauce".  I had everything to make it in my pantry.  I love it when that happens. 

Now the one I had in Helen is definitely the best one I ever had.  It was very succulent and juicy.  Their meat is marinated in something-I don't know what- but it really makes a moist sandwich.  But let me say that this one is really, really delicious and we all thoroughly enjoyed them.

The Reuben Sandwich

The special sauce: 

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup ketchup

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon horseradish

3 tablespoon grated onion

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Whisk together the first 7 ingredients.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  This was more than enough to make 7 sandwiches.

For one sandwich:

2 Jewish rye bread slices

The special sauce

2 Swiss cheese slices

About 3 tablespoons of sauerkraut that has been well drained

2-3 deli slices of corned beef

Softened butter for spreading the bread

1. Preheat a griddle or large skillet.
2. Spread one side each of the bread slices with the special sauce.  Place a slice of cheese on top of each slice.  Spread a couple of spoonfuls of sauerkraut on top of the cheese on one of the slices.  Layer a couple of corn beef slices on the sauerkraut, then place the second slice of bread on top, cheese side in.  Butter the outside of the sandwich on both sides and place on the griddle over low heat.  Cook until golden brown and melted on the inside.

To make the special sauce, place 1 cup of mayonnaise in a bowl and add 1/2 cup of ketchup...

..an 1/8 teaspoon paprika...

...a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of horseradish...

...1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce...

... and about 3 tablespoons grated onion or about half a medium-ish onion.  Make sure that you scrape all the onion juice off of the cutting board into the bowl.  There is lots of flavor there.  Oh yeah, one more thing...

...1/2 teaspoon celery seeds.  These are the tiniest seeds ever and when you spill them on your counter they go everywhere.

Now give it a whisk.  I just love whisking things.

When everything is combined, you will probably need to add some salt to your liking...

...and black pepper.  I love mine coarsely ground.

Now the sauce is done.  Let's make the sandwich.

Make sure you drain your sauerkraut.

Take your Jewish Rye...

..and lay out as many slices as sandwiches you are making.  That sentence didn't flow very easily and it was actually not accurate.  Let me rephrase this...you will need TWICE as many slices of bread as sandwiches you will be making.  I am making two sandwiches in this batch, so I am laying out four slices of bread.

Spread the Wonderful Special Sauce over one side of each slice.  Yes, I am now calling it "wonderful" because I just tried some after it has sat in the fridge overnight and the flavors have fused and it has now reached the "wonderful" state.

 

Take your cheese...

...and lay one slice on each sauced-up side of bread.

Pile on some kraut, but just on one slice per sandwich.

Now, layer some slices of corned beef on top of the kraut...

...and place the other slice of bread on top.  Butter the outside well...

...and place on a griddle over low heat.  Don't cook it over high heat or the outside will get too dark before the inside has time to get hot and melted.  It really helps to have your ingredients at room temperature. 

Cook until golden brown.

This is definitely one of my favorite sandwiches.

I made two extra sandwiches for my husband last night because he needed something for his lunch today and I didn't want to get up this morning and cook them, although I DID get up at 5:00 this morning because I am like a total Proverbs 31 woman and I, you know, "rise while it is still dark", JUST like the Bible tells me to do in Proverbs 31, but I, uh, don't want to cook in the morning, I want to drink coconut cream flavored coffee in total silence and, uh, surf the web, uh, I mean read my Bible and have a quiet time so I can be a better mother and wife.

So anyway, I made him two sandwiches so he could take his lunch to school, so he wouldn't have to spend any money for lunch, because he is an SWBTL, well actually, a TWBTL (Teacher Who...blah, blah, blah) and because of his sacrifice, we have extra money to buy coconut cream flavored coffee cream, which is not a necessity, I know, but I can't help it because my sister got me hooked on the stuff.

I said all that to say this.  These things that are pictured right here below what I am typing...

...are deli waxed paper sheets.  They are the HANDIEST things to have in your kitchen.  I buy mine at Sam's and I get 2 boxes of 500 sheets each for about $12.00, which sounds like a lot, I know, but this supply lasts me a long, long time, like maybe even two years.  I use them for EVERYTHING:  covering things in the microwave so they won't splatter, lining the bottoms of my cake pans before I make cakes to prevent sticking, and wrapping all kinds of food up, like those Reubens that my sacrificing husband took with him this morning.  A sandwich will be better off wrapped in deli paper so that it can breathe.  Putting sandwiches in plastic sandwich bags can make them suffocate and die because they can't breathe.  Actually, it makes them soggy.  Therefore , when I made the Reubens for my husband, I wrapped them in this paper and stuck them in a brown paper bag, a lot like they would do at a deli.  He can pop them in the microwave and heat them up, and although they won't be exactly as crispy and crunchy as they are when they come right off the griddle, they will still be very delicious.  This is one of my favorite kitchen supplies.  I just wanted to share this with you.

Mozzarella, Basil, and Tomato Panini

I have come to terms with the fact that I live in a small, rural town in the South and I don't have easy access to exotic Food Network-y items like panko crumbs and fresh mozzarella.  Even though there are lots of farms here, the only fresh herbs I can get on a regular basis without spending $50.00 in gas are cilantro and parsley.

So, at the beginning of the summer, I planted my own herbs.  And it wasn't long before I had huge, beautiful, vibrant green leaves of basil in my backyard.  Oh joy! 

But then a drought hit our part of Mississippi and I might have forgotten to water a couple of times and no, I never fertilized them (was I supposed too?), so it all just went downhill from there.  Now I have small, pale green leaves on struggling plants. 

Nevertheless, they still taste like basil and I still eat them.  And I have been making this sandwich at least twice a week for the entire summer.  And I love it.  You should try it if you can get your hands on some fresh basil.

Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Panini

6-inch section cut from a loaf of French bread

2-3 mozzarella cheese slices

Butter, for spreading on the outside of the sandwich

2-3 tomato slices

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

About 1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil

1. Preheat a grill pan.
2. Slice the French bread horizontally.  Layer the cheese on it and close it up.  Spread the entire outside with butter.
3. Place the sandwich on the grill and reduce heat to low.  Place a cast iron skillet on the sandwich to weight it down.  Cook until the cheese is melted and it's golden brown, turning once.
4. Remove sandwich to cutting board and quickly open it.  Place the tomato slices on the bottom half.  Drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, then season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Sprinkle with the chopped basil.  Close sandwich quickly and enjoy.

To begin, DON"T slice your bread like you would normally slice a loaf of bread.

Slice about  a 6-inch wedge from the loaf.

Then slice that horizontally.  I know its really big and fat and doesn't lay flat on the cutting board, but that's okay.

Now cut your cheese slices.  I had a block of cheese in my fridge, so that is what I used.  But pre-sliced mozzarella would be fine.  Provolone would be very nice, too.

Layer them on the bread, close it up, and butter the outside of the entire sandwich.  Be generous.

Place it on your preheated grill pan, then place another cast iron pan on top.  Cook it on low, so the cheese has time to melt before the outside gets too dark and crispy.  It really helps if your cheese is at room temperature.

It is during this time that you will want to slice your tomato...

...and chop your basil.  Have it waiting for you so the rest of the sandwich can move quickly.

When it's done, place it on the cutting board...

...and, moving very quickly, open it.  Be careful; it's hot.

Quickly put the tomatoes in place...

...then drizzle with olive oil...

...and season with salt and pepper.

Now, sprinkle with the basil, close it up, and you've got a wonderful summertime sandwich.

Blooper:

This is what happens when you're heat is too high.  I ate it anyway.