Couscous Salad

Many years ago we did a mother/daughter evening at Symphony on the Prairie.  We rented one of the tables up front so we'd have ringside seats - and so the mom's wouldn't have to schlep a folding chair in or sit on the ground.  Everyone pitched in.  I made pork tenderloin with scallion mustard sauce and a couscous salad.  Everyone raved about the salad and wanted to know where the recipe came from.  It came from my imagination.  What is really easy, can be served cold, is refreshing and is a starch?  Potato salad and macaroni salad sounded so pedestrian.  I'd just discovered couscous and wanted to experiment.  Over the years I've changed the recipe a bit.  Back then I just used a box of garlic couscous, a cucumber and some  feta cheese.  Now, I'm known to throw lots of different things in.  This particular version is one I made last week with some of the leftover greek vegetable salad I'd made with the golden cherry tomatoes from the CSA.  We liked it so well that I decided to take it to this evening's Symphony on the Prairie. 


Now, I realize I keep chatting about Symphony on the Prairie and I've not begun to describe it.  Conner Prairie is a living history museum with several ages represented.  It's original focus was 1816. 

Since then, they've added a Lenapi Indian (aka: Delaware Indians) camp, a farm and a tethered hot air balloon. Just as a side note - some day I"m going to make the grape noodles I had once in the Lenapi camp.  We happened to be there a day when they were showcasing cooking as it would have been done way back when.  I actually found the recipe in one of the Bear Wallow cookbooks.  You know the cookbooks that they sell in most of the living history museums?  The little paper ones that are pretty topic specific?  Well, some friends own that company so I was able to call Linda and figure out where the recipe was...  Ok, back to Conner Prairie.  Every summer they have what they call Symphony on the Prairie.  It's put on in a band shell that's erected on the shores of the river. 

There are some tables for rent down in front but most of us bring coolers, folding chairs, blankets, candles, bottles of wine, folding tables...  Folks look like they're moving in when they start hauling their stuff in!!  The Boy Scouts have a great gig taking folks to the prairie using their wagons.  There's a great variety in the entertainment.  A few weeks ago they had three fellows who performed country and bluegrass and who really needed lessons in our opinion.  We left at intermission muttering about the "boiling cat" music.  That was the worst.  Most, though are very good and we don't want the music to end.  Saturday night was like that.  It was Beatles night and it was PACKED.  Conner Prairie is located about 134th and Allisonville just north of Indy.  We normally have a 20 minute trip to get there.  Saturday was a different story.  We were calling back and forth to the friends we were meeting.  Some were in traffic on Allisonville for 90 minutes.  Needless to say, we took an alternate route as soon as possible and approached Conner Prairie from the north.  Traffic was still bad but we figured we cut off 30-45 minutes.  Leaving was just as entertaining.  45 minutes from our parking space to the gate of the museum.  But, it was totally worth it!

Bill danced and danced and danced - and in between took care of opening a bottle or two of wine. 

We all sang along. 

And, since we were on one of the walkways, we enjoyed watching all the folks walking to and fro and singing as they went.  Dinner was wonderful.  I brought some mushroom pesto,

another one that won't load the right way...

the spinach blueberry salad and the couscous salad.  Doris brought ratatouille

and pork tenderloin stuffed with garlic. 

Bill brought wine.  Jeffrey coveted our wine glass stakes.  A great time was had by all!

Couscous Salad

Ingredients:
1 c dry couscous
1 cucumber, diced (peel if the peeling is bitter)
1-2 c cherry tomatoes, halved or whole
2-3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
handful fresh basil, coarsely chopped
olive oil
red wine vinegar

Directions:
Cook the couscous.  Allow it to cool.  Put the cucumber, cherry tomatoes and feta in a large bowl. 

Add the couscous, making sure to break up any clumps.  Toss to combine.  I've found here that hands work better than spoons.  Add the basil.  Then, add olive oil and red wine vinegar to taste.  You can also add a small zucchini (diced) if you'd like. 

Muffaletta Sandwich

On Saturdays, our first stop is the farmer's market to pick up our CSA share.  Sometimes I make out our menu before I go and sometimes I take a stack of cookbooks with me and figure out the menu on the way to the office.  This week, there were several ideas leftover from last week and some new ones floating around in my head.  So, on the way to the farmer's market, I asked Connie to rate them.  Ten ideas for what will probably be five dinners and five lunches.  Since lunches are typically leftovers, we had to choose our top five. 

We're off to Symphony on the Prairie Saturday evening and I'm in charge of the starch, the salad and a dessert.  The starch is easy:  couscous salad (I'll get that on the blog soon.)  We've got some blueberries to use up and a box of spinach so we'll do the spinach/blueberry/almond salad with shagbark hickory vinaigrette.  Then, a newbie for dessert - Nesrine's roasted peaches with mascarpone cheese and a balsamic drizzle.  Can't wait to try those. 

In our CSA basket, we got tomatoes, beans, corn on the cob, okra and an eggplant.  That means that with the catfish and slaw, we'll have corn on the cob instead of mustard vinaigrette potato salad.  I also want to do a pork tenderloin with peaches so I needed some for tonight and some for that.  Our fourth dinner will be eggplant parmesan.  YUM!  One of my favorite dishes ever.  Last, but not least, chicken stuffed with spinach, cheese and other goodies.  All of that meant I also had to pick up a cabbage, zucchini and cucumber.  Then, I found these darling little eggplants.  Can't remember what they're called but I can't wait to figure out how to fix them!!  While we were at the market we saw the stand with all the pestos.  Yes, they had the incredible mushroom pesto with truffle oil.  I managed to recreate that last year and it looked REALLY good.  Since we also needed water softener salt, it was a good excuse to head to Sam's and load up on mushrooms to make pesto. 

On the way to Sam's we stopped at my favorite gourmet foods store - Frasiers.  Joy and Myron have a really fun selection of goodies - both food and cookware.  I've known Joy since my teens (truth be told - I was the first babysitter for her kids...) so it's always a treat to get to see her.  There's something I read in a recipe that I know I can get there.  I just can't remember what it was...  So, time to go browse the shelves.  Still no clue.  But, I did find a jar of lingonberries (memories of Ann Sather's in Chicago!) a jar of Lyle's Golden Syrup and a little container of alder wood chips for smoking more salmon. 

One last stop.  Trader Joe's.  We needed mascarpone for the peaches and feta for the couscous.  Oh, and they were giving out samples of a muffaletta sandwich.  To die for!  All those ingredients went in the cart too!  Connie unloaded the car and I started the sandwiches. 

Muffaletta Sandwiches

Ingredients:
4 slices crusty bread
selection of cured Italian meats (prosciutto, salami, )
4 slices provolone cheese
1/3 c green olive tapenade or muffaletta salad
Olive oil

Instructions:
Drizzle two of the slices of bread with olive oil.  Put them in a skillet or on a grill pan oil side down.  Lay the cheese slices on the slices of bread that are grilling. 

Top the cheese with the olive tapenade.  Putting the tapenade in between the cheese and meats helps keep the bread from getting soggy. 

Then, top the tapenade with the meats. 

Top all of that with the last two pieces of bread and drizzle them with olive oil.  Grill until both sides are golden and the provolone has melted. 

Ode to Chicken Via Veneto

For many years, we on occasion visited a restaurant by the name of Sangiovese.  They served a dish called Chicken Via Veneto.  It was basically chicken strips lightly dipped in flour then browned and served in a white wine sauce with artichoke hearts and pistachios.  It was served in a small copper pan that was always hotter than blazes.  I loved that dish!  Unfortunately, Sangiovese was a casualty of the economy about a year ago.

Many years ago, I set out to recreate Chicken Via Veneto.  I was pretty pleased with the results and made it on a regular basis.  Then, it kind of drifted out of my favorites list.  A few weeks ago, on Annies-Eats, I saw a recipe for chicken with an artichoke heart and mushroom sauce.  It reminded me a bunch of Chicken Via Veneto.  So, I took a couple of ideas from Annie's recipe and added them to my Chicken Via Veneto recipe and presto, a new and improved version - except for one thing - I forgot to put the pistachios on top!  Darn, now I'll have to make it again - soon - have to get a photo the right way, you know :-)

 A side note here - Recently I've read that mushrooms that have a bit of age on them are more flavorful than those that are totally fresh from the grocery.  I tested that theory with this recipe.  Unbeknownst to Connie, I used mushrooms that came home from the grocery a week before.  I was shocked when he commented during dinner that the mushrooms were really flavorful - more so than normal.  I thought I was tasting more of their flavor because I expected to.  But it looks like the research may have been correct!

Chicken Via Veneto

Ingredients:
two chicken breast halves, either whole or cut into strips (ours were very small so I left them whole)
1/2 c flour
1 tsp bouquet garni
salt and pepper
4 T olive oil
1 can artichoke hearts (reserve the liquid)
8 oz sliced cremini mushrooms
2 T flour
1/2 c white wine
1/4 c roasted pistachios


Directions:

Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a medium skillet.  Once it's hot, add the mushrooms.

Cook them until they're browned and softened.  Chop the artichoke hearts and add. 

Turn the heat to low.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in another medium skillet.  Put it on medium heat.  Mix the flour, bouquet garni, salt and pepper. 

Roll the chicken strips in the seasoned flour. 

Brown the chicken once the oil reaches the point that a drop of water sizzles. 

(I cannot get this photo to load right side up...)

Once the chicken is browned nicely, remove it from the skillet and put it on a plate or in a baking dish.  Tent it with aluminum foil to keep it warm. Add more olive oil or a bit of butter to the pan.  Stir up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan (aka the fond.)  Add the flour and stir for 5-10 minutes until the roux is light brown. 

Slowly add the reserved artichoke heart liquid and the white wine.  Stir until it's thickened.  Add the vegetables to the pan and stir to coat. 

Plate the chicken over rice or couscous.  Serve the vegetables over the chicken.  Top with the roasted pistachios. 

Thank you for the inspiration, Annies-Eats!!!  BTW - the changes I made based on Annie's recipe were to add bouquet garni to the flour mixture and mushrooms to the artichoke hearts.

Boss Tweed

So, have you ever read a recipe and think "that might be interesting!".  Then you read it to someone else and they say, "that sounds digusting!".


Connie is a big fan of Scotch (NOT!).  The words gasoline, kerosene or some other euphemism for a flammable element spew forth whenever he tastes it.  He does taste it and truth be told the older, more mellow forms he can stomach.  Not much, but a least he doesn't make one of those three year old faces and gripe.

I on the other hand, grew up thinking Scotch was great.  Dad used to drink Scotch and water.  Actually I should say he drank WATER and a little bit of Scotch.  A shot of Scotch in about 8 oz of water.  It was truly Scotch flavored water.  Mom, on the other hand, is a fan of a good martini.  Gin on the rocks with the vermouth waved over the glass.  Consequently, when I was in high school and made their drinks for them, I'd take a sniff of Mom's and wrinkle my nose.  Dad's, the sip was a pretty good thing.  When I got to be of drinking age (you believe that, don't you?) I became a bona fide Scotch drinker.  I still have about a third of a bottle of really good Scotch that a dear friend's widow gave me.  It's pulled out when I have a really fantastic day and I have just a little teeny bit and toast Terry.  I had lunch with Snipper today (his widow) and almost had a toast tonight - til Connie suggested the Boss Tweed while we fixed dinner...


One day, I read the following recipie and the aforementioned conversation took place.  Anyway, one of Connie's sayings is "What could possibly go wrong?".  I think he thought that the worst case scenario is that I get two drinks and he retreats to the basement to grab a beer.  He graciously agreed to make the drink and at least give it a shot.  As it turns out, it is very tasty and Connie doesn't complain and even savors it.  It is a double shot of liquor, so feel free to halve the recipie if you wish, but it doesn't taste anywhere near as strong as it sounds.


So here is a Boss Tweed, named after a somewhat legendary politician from New York City in the days of Tammany Hall.  I will leave the other adjectives to describe him off of my page, but truth be told he was convicted and died in jail.  Unfortunately, I printed the recipe at work many months ago and didn't note the source.  I am pretty sure that it came from Food and Wine's website and they credit the Blue Mill Tavern in New York City.  I can't take credit since it wasn't my idea to begin with, so I will give them the nod and apologize in advance if it truly belongs to someone else.

Boss Tweed (for two)

2 oz blended Scotch (we use Johnny Walker Red)
2 oz brandy (we use E&J)
2 oz light rum (we use Bacardi)
3 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 oz simple syrup (we use 2:1)
6 dashes Angostura bitters

Mix all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.  Shake vigorously.  Strain, toast the one you love, and enjoy!

Chicken Elegante

Many years ago, when I was married to my first husband, I fixed this for dinner.  He promptly got up from the dinner table and fixed himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Turns out he did NOT like blue cheese.  Poor guy, just think of all the wonderful dishes he's missing.  The recipe came from a family friend who has always been referred to as Cousin Polly.  Mom's made it for years and I have too.  It's great served over rice or just plain.  It freezes really well too.  I'd say that I usually make enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day and freeze some for another meal, but the extra usually disappears during a Connie midnight raid on the refrigerator.  Now, let me say that the version here is pretty different from Cousin Polly's original version.  Her's started with making a roux out of butter and flour and adding ingredients to make a sauce.  Then, she folded in the chicken and broccoli...  Well, I've made it a much user-friendlier recipe.  And, lowered the fat and some calories along the way.  And, to me, the flavor is much fresher than the higher calorie version...

Chicken Elegante

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 box chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 can lowfat cream of chicken soup
1/4 c - 3/4 c crumbled blue cheese (we love blue cheese so I put more in)
1/4 c finely shredded parmesan or romano cheese
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 c sour cream

Directions:
Mix everything together and put it in a baking dish. 

chicken and marjoram (fresh from the garden)

broccoli, blue cheese, cream of chicken soup, parmesan

Sour cream then all mixed up

Bake at 350 until it bubbles - about 30 minutes.  Serve over rice or potatoes or plain. 

Simple Syrup

It seems hardly worth a whole post for two ingredients.  However, I am going to continue to refer to Simple Syrup in my drink posts, so it makes sense to write it down.  Simple Syrup is, well, simple.  It consists of boiling water and adding twice as much sugar as water.  You stir until all of the sugar is dissolved and then store it in the refrigerator.  Since so many drinks call for an ounce of the stuff, it is well worth the effort to have it prepared ahead of time.  If you rarely have a cocktail I suppose it makes no sense, but Connie and I are always experimenting with different drinks, so we have an old jar that we use over and over.

We have tried the different formulations, 1:1 and 2:1 (sugar to water) and have found the 2:1 superior in drinks.  The sugar is meant to take the bitterness out of the alcohol and to balance the sour of various fruit juices, such as lemon or lime.  We have decided that 1:1 just doesn't do the job.  Everyone's taste is different, so figure out what you prefer.

Connie Ate Cooked Salmon!!!

So, why is that such a big deal?  Because Connie LOVES smoked salmon.  And, we never go out for sushi without getting some sake - which is salmon sushi.  But, when it comes to cooked salmon.  No thank you.  He's polite.  He eats the stuff if it's served to him.  But, he would never order it in a restaurant.  And, attempting to be a really nice person, I've only tried to serve it to him only one other time in the six years we've been together. 


So, a quick funny story here.  We were invited to Trish and Steve's for some kind of family birthday party.  Trish and I've been the best of friends since about 1965 so we go WAY back :-)  She served salmon poached in a white wine sauce.  It was heavenly.  Connie said later that it was ok.  A couple of weeks later we went up to Lafayette to Donna and Phil's.  Salmon yet again.  THEN, a couple of weeks later we were invited to Doris and Jeffrey's.  You guessed it.  Salmon again...  Connie was a trooper and ate it and asked that I not tell them that he really doesn't like the stuff.  But, after three times in a row, I've kind of hinted to my friends that although I love salmon, it's not Connie's favorite dish. 


Now, back in my single days, I'd buy a salmon from Sam's Club and grill it.  Then, I'd freeze individual portions and put it on a caesar salad or a baked potato with some fresh spinach and hollandaise.  Or, just eat it plain.  Needless to say, I miss my salmon terribly.  Connie knows that.  So, one of his goals for the next year or so is to find ways he'll actually enjoy it.  I've started looking for recipes that might work.  Mother Rimmy posted one with a hoisin sauce glaze that I thought might work.  Then, I found the recipe.  In a Simple and Delicious magazine of all places.  A gal had written in and said she put strawberry jam on top of salmon that'd been marinated.  Hey, that sounded like it might work.  I used orange marmalade instead but guess what Connie still liked it. So, now I can every once in a while have salmon at home.  WHEEEEEE!!!!!!  Ok, so we had this for dinner last night and I really wanted to come home tonight and fix it again.  Just to have salmon at home. 

Salmon with Marmalade Glaze


Ingredients:
8 12 oz salmon steak
1/2 c soy sauce
2 t dijon mustard
1 T lemon juice
1/4 c orange marmalade


Directions:
Mix the soy sauce, mustard and lemon juice in a ziploc bag.  Add the salmon. 

Marinate for about 30 min in the refrigerator.  Put the salmon in a grill basket. 

Throw away the marinade.  Coat the top of the salmon with the marmalade.  Cook the salmon on the grill over indirect heat until it flakes easily.  We added an apple wood smoker can and loved it. 

adapted from Simple and Delicious

(Not So) Red Blossom

Well, Sunday means cocktails!  Looking through Shaken by Jane Lawson, Connie found a drink for which we had all of the ingredients, and even more fun, used the raspberries we are growing in our garden.  Normally, we munch a handful of them as we're doing our evening walk through the yard.  All of the sudden, we've got enough to do something else with.  Not quite enough for anything big like a pie, but plenty for a drink.
 
That's where the Not-So comes in.  We grow Fall Gold raspberries which are golden, or as Connie says, orange (he thinks there are only eight colors in the world and they came in the Crayola box he had as a kid).  Anyway, he made this drink and as most things from Shaken, it was delicious.

Red Blossom


Ingredients:

Ice cubes
3 oz gin (we used Tanqueray)
1 oz peach liquer (we used DeKuyer peach schnapps)
6 tablespoons raspberries
1 oz lemon juice (fresh squeezed, if you please)
1 oz sugar syrup (we use 2:1)
8 blueberries



Directions:

In a cocktail shaker, combine all of the ingredients except for the blueberries and shake, shake shake!  Strain the mixture into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with the blueberries.  Toast the one you love and enjoy!


Serves two.

Fried Green Beans

I can't remember EVER making anything deep-fried in my life.  First off, it seems like a tremendous waste of oil and second, I thought the calories would go through the roof.  Well, based on the amount of oil that was left on the paper towel when we drained these, most of the oil stayed in the pan.  I think this recipe came from the Food Network magazine.  It's got a black background with white printing and they tend to do that.  I guess it's a way for a page to look different but in my opinion, it's a way for a recipe to be barely readable!!!  Not only that but I can't read the initials I put on recipes to tell me where it came from.  Or, maybe I cut it out before I started posting from magazine recipes.  I don't know.  (addn:  Sommer tells me this was in the most recent Everyday with Rachael Ray.)  At any rate, ranting aside, this was a fantastic recipe.  We're planning on trying it again but doing it with eggplant, okra, zucchini and green beans.  I may add a second dipping sauce next time too.  Marinara?  Soy sauce based? Garlic?  We may have to try several and do a taste test to see which is better!  I'll be that I'll find some good ones on Foodbuzz!!  Just a note, this is a great appetizer but be ready to NOT be hungry for dinner :-)

Deep Fried Green Beans

Batter:
2/3 c beer
1/2 c flour
2 T cornstarch
salt and pepper


Aioli:
1/2 c Hellman's olive oil mayonnaise
2-3 T fresh, chopped tarragon
2 t dijon mustard
1-2 clove(s) garlic, finely chopped


2 c vegetable oil
1 pound green beans, trimmed

Mix the ingredients for the aioli and refrigerate.  Mix the ingredients for the batter then allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes.  Heat the oil until a drop of batter immediately bubbles back to the surface.  Working in batches, roll the green beans in the batter, then use tongs to gently drop them into the hot oil.  Turn them once during cooking.  (Note: that's easier said than done!!)  Once the batter is nice and crispy and brown, remove the beans from the oil and drain them on paper towels.  Serve hot with the aioli.  Connie even interrupted his jigsaw puzzle to munch on these wonderful beans!

adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray

Tomato Frittata, East West BBQ Sauce, and Corydon, IN

The first full day of our vacation.  We started with a big breakfast - ham and egg sandwiches and fruit with honey greek yogurt.  Then, came the where to go question.  Louisville is a couple of exits south on I65.  New Albany has some interesting tourist attractions - and a brewery.  But Corydon was the first capital of Indiana and we love history.  So, off to Corydon it was. 

We started with the old state capitol building. 

It housed the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court.  About 80% of the windows are original or of the era.  Love that old wavy glass.  The walls are of limestone and are a couple of feet thick.  Here's what the House chambers looked like:

Then, we were on to a private residence of the same era.  I've been to many living history museums and always enjoy seeing the kitchens.  It's kind of a game to see how many things I can find that I own one of.  Eons ago when my grandmother moved to a nursing home, I moved into her home.  Ergo, I have a LOT of old kitchen tools.  And, in a lot of cases, I use them instead of their newer incarnations.  The old stuff just works better.  At any rate, the kitchen was cool to see:

Probably the best part of the house was getting to see a painting of Jonathon Jennings.  He was the first governor of Indiana.  I'm in a DAR chapter named after him and had never seen what the fellow looked like.  Yup, he looked like most of the other guys of that era!

After Corydon, it was back to Huber Winery for a comparative tasting of reds.  In some cases the differences were VERY obvious and in others they were very subtle.  One of the obvious cases was the barrel aged vs steel.  Huber also has a wonderful farm market.  I bought a few peaches and some ears of corn for dinner Friday night.  I'd planned on making my blueberry spinach salad with shagbark hickory vinaigrette for dinner but found that the blueberry season had ended a couple of days before and there were NO blueberries to be found.  So I decided peaches would be an excellent substitution.  Yay - I was right.

Now, the other thing is that some idiot dropped her camera on Friday. I won't say who, but her initials start with K... That meant that Friday night's dinner didn't get photographed. A pity because it was very pretty and very good.

We had grilled chicken with an east/west barbecue sauce, corn on the cob and spinach salad with peaches, toasted almonds and shagbark hickory vinaigrette. 

Chef Ryan is cooking up an east/west barbecue sauce. He's not sharing the recipe because he's going to sell the sauce. Now, if it's anything like the rest of the recipes on his blog, it's gonna be killer. He mentioned it in a blog and I started salivating. He's not got it ready for market yet and besides, we were leaving for vacation in a couple of days. So, I had to make my own version up. Some Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce was the base. Followed by five spice powder, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. We loved it.



Finally a meal I can show you a photo of... Breakfast Saturday morning...  It finally dawned on me that I had my point and shoot in my purse. 

I fixed a tomato frittata with basil and cheddar cheese.  It was pretty basic.  A bit of olive oil in the bottom of a skillet, a couple of tomatoes peeled and cut up, four eggs whipped with a little milk and grated romano, a handful of basil and a handful of grated cheddar. 

Breakfast at Rosewind Farm

I hate those big fluffy excuses for a bedspread/blanket etc that most hotels have these days.  The "puff" is typically hidden in the closet and housekeeping is called to provide a real blanket.  One that doesn't smother me.  Most of the time I have a miserable night's sleep in a hotel.  Imagine my delight when the bed at Rosewind had a real blanket to start with. And, it was a VERY comfortable bed.  Nirvana.  On vacation.  A wonderful night's sleep.  Awakening to time to fix a good breakfast before we headed out on the day's adventure.  MMMMMM.  I'd seen a recipe for an egg and prosciutto panini.  Maggie had provided plenty of breakfast goodies.  We had eggs, ham, bacon, frozen blueberries, pancake mix, syrup, honey greek yogurt, apples, bananas, grapes, cereal, and coffee.  I'd brought along almost all of the condiments we use on a regular basis:  Hellman's olive oil mayonnaise, dijon mustard, capers...  And, a handful of my beloved golden raspberries. Chives were outside the door.  Let's not even list the cheeses I had in the refrigerator.  I'd brought some and bought some at Huber's the evening before.  So, needless to say, I was ready to fix brunch.  Now, since I didn't have prosciutto or a panini press, these were technically ham and egg sandwiches...

Ham and Egg Sandwiches (what a blah and boring name - Dr. Seuss where are you???)

Ingredients:

2 whole grain english muffins, halved and toasted
4 eggs
milk
chives
romano, grated
havarti, grated
dijon mustard
1 slice ham (1/2" thick)

Directions:

Whisk the eggs with a bit of milk, some chopped chives and a handful of grated romano.  Pour them into a small skillet that is very lightly oiled.  As the omelet cooks, lift the edges to allow the uncooked egg to fill in at the edges.

While the eggs are cooking, toast the muffins.  When they're toasted, spread them with a bit of dijon mustard.  Then, sprinkle them with grated cheeses.  I used romano and havarti.

Also while the eggs are cooking, slice the ham into "fingers" and brown them in a medium skillet.

Once the eggs and ham are done, cut the omelet into four equal parts.  Put the hot omelet onto the cheese and muffins.  Top with the ham.

I served these with leftover goat cheese mashed potatoes turned into potato pancakes.  Simply form them into pancakes and lightly dust them with flour.  Brown in olive oil.

I also served diced apples, grapes and golden raspberries tossed in honey greek yogurt.