Pulled Pork Sandwiches

 

 The best thing about driving to Atlanta, Florida, or North Carolina is that we go past Smithfield's Chicken-n-BBQ.  There was a long time in my life when I couldn't eat any barbecue (horrible food poisoning), but that has thankfully passed, and pulled pork sandwiches have returned to their rightful place in my heart.
At Smithfield's, when you order a bbq pork sandwich, it comes with pulled pork, a tasty white bun, and a huge helping of cole slaw on top.  I really don't like slaw in any other setting except this one.  There's the tangy vinegariness (is that a word?) with the sweet, crunch slaw, topped with carbs.  Yes please!
The upside is that we don't always have to drive to get Smithfield's.  If we're very good, Grandma in North Carolina will send JP a bottle of the sauce for Christmas!  Follow the recipe below for making a really delicious meal that will make enough leftovers for an entire week of bbq sandwiches.

Easy Peasy Pulled Pork Sandwiches
1 jar bbq sauce (we like vinegar based ones like Smithfield's or this one)
1 pork shoulder (one that fits comfortably in your crock pot, 3-5 lbs.)
Sandwich buns
1 pint cole slaw
1. Place pork shoulder into crock pot.  Pour jar of bbq sauce on top.  Turn crock pot low for 8-10 hours.
2. Go about your day.
3. When it's dinner time, pull the bone out of the pork and shred meat with a fork.
4. Toast buns, if desired.
5. Place heaping spoonfuls of pork onto the buns.  Top with slaw, other side of the bun, and dig in!

Use the leftover pork to mix in with rice and peas, make sandwiches, even top with a fried egg (hey, no judgment!).  And thanks, Grandma, for the jar of bbq sauce!!

 

 

Tuna and Hummus Sandwiches

Are you ready for an incredibly easy, super tasty meal?  Yes, I say meal because anything with "sandwich" in the title can count, although others may see this as more of a tapa or appetizer than main course.  My dad and Karen got me Ina Garten's lastest cookbook, How easy is that?, for Christmas, and this is the first recipe I tried out of it.
Oh my!  It's simple (no cooking involved) in technique, but the flavors are salty, tangy and rich.  Using tuna in olive oil keeps the fish moist, while the hummus adds smoothness to the chunky tuna salad.  I used a very thick ciabatta loaf cut in half and sliced, to add some crunchy crust to the pot.  A couple of ingredients were left out of the final product (Seriously, celery?  You're a useless vegetable.), but I don't think it detracted from the taste at all.  This could be great served with a green salad for a light lunch...or a Thursday night dinner, if you're feeling a bit lazier than usual.

Tuna and Hummus Sandwiches (adapted from How Easy is That? by Ina Garten, 2010)
14 oz. jarred or canned tuna in olive oil
2 Tbsp. minced cornichons
2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp. good mayonnaise (I made my own, because the storebought stuff always looks a bit iffy to me)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
Crusty bread, sliced thickly and toasted
Hummus (we used a white bean hummus)

1. Drain oil from tuna, reserving the oil.  Place tuna in a mixing bowl and flake with a fork.  Add cornichons, lemon juice, Mayo, 2 Tbsp. of reserved oil, mustard, salt and pepper; mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow flavors to mellow.
2. Spread each slice of toast with a layer of hummus.  Top with a generous portion of tuna mixture, top with a cornichon and serve immediately.

 

 

Turkey Sloppy Joe's

Yay for sloppy joe's!!  It's the meal that's meant to be messy, that should drip down your chin, that shouldn't look really pretty while cooking.  This particular recipe is made with turkey, rather than the usual ground beef, and lots of carrots added to increase vitamin and nutrient intake.
And, I think, for the taste.
It's so delicious: lighter than red meat, fresh because of the carrots and crushed tomatoes, and slightly sweet from the brown sugar.  I topped them off with provolone and put everything on toasted whole wheat buns.  If there are any leftovers, they're tasty when thrown in with some rice and stirred up.  Bon appetit!
I used the recipe from Everyday Food with no changes made to the ingredients and procedure.  Out of sheer laziness, just follow their excellent directions for a trip to taste central!

 

 

Steak and Onion Sandwiches

Every time I post a vegetarian recipe, I can hear my Aunt Nesi in the background saying, "I'm a carnivore, Abbi, where's my meat?!"  And she's right; there's nothing wrong with indulging in a little steak every once in a while.  If I'm going to have some red meat, though, I like to do it with lots of carbs...you know, to balance out the protein.  Add a little caramelized onion, a couple slices of cheese, and I'm in nirvana.  Obviously, top this sandwich with whatever makes your skirt fly up: mustard, homemade mayonnaise, tartar sauce...

Steak and Onion Sandwich (courtesy of John Paul, cook extraordinaire)
For 2 people:
2 onions, sliced into strips
4-5 shakes of Worcestershire sauce, to taste
1 ribeye steak, sliced thin
2 ciabatta rolls
Salt and pepper
1. Toss onions into olive oil and soften in a large sautee pan over medium heat, about 15 mintues.
2. Remove onions from pan, and cook steak until opaque, in batches if necessary. Remove to a plate until ready to assemble.
3. Without cleaning pan, put onions back in and turn heat up to medium-high. With a wooden spoon, scrape off burnt parts of the steak in order to "preserve the essence of the meat" (JP's words, not mine!) and add Worcestershire.
4. Toast rolls.
5. Pile a ton of onions onto rolls, top with steak and your choice of toppings. Eat with your hands, like a caveman would!