Low-Fat Cuban Sammich

Now I know what you’re thinking… if it isn’t all greasy, porky, and crispy how can a Cuban sandwich taste good? Au contraire my friends! Take two slices of sourdough (or farmer’s bread or a nice hoagie roll) and spread lightly with Miracle Whip, horseradish, pickle relish, and I like to add just a drizzle of chipotle BBQ sauce for kick. For cheese use Sargento reduced fat cheese. I prefer provolone to swiss, but it does sweat more and swiss would hold the sandwich together better. As for the meat selection, instead of loading it up with ham, roasted pork, and salami… try Oscar Mayer fat-free turkey bologna. Slather the outside pieces of bread with margarine and Cajun seasoning before pressing the sandwich in a George Foreman grill until crispy and you’re set!

Now personally I believe that warm sandwiches should congeal in the middle. However, when the provolone sweats and the bologna sweats things can get slippery. So I add just a pinch of shredded asiago or parmesan cheese between the layers. This is also nice because it adds a bit of salt to the equation.

Convenience Chicken?

I decided to make a BBQ pulled chicken sandwich for dinner tonight!

I bought one of those rotisserie chickens from the market the other day figuring that I could pull the meat and use it for dinner the next few days.  So I portioned it into four servings and froze the others.  I mixed in some spicey chipotle BBQ sauce with my favorite milder smokey BBQ sauce and some mayo to cut the heat down.  Because the chicken had been cold when I pulled it, I popped the mixture in the microwave to heat it up and then mixed it all together.  I got a wonderful farmer’s loaf from Whole Foods the other day so went with an open-faced sandwich and topped it with some shredded mozzerella before putting it in the toaster oven.  Very tasty!

The only thing I’m questioning at this point is why I bought a pre-cooked chicken?!?… it didn’t really save much time since it took forever to pull… but that could be partly due to my germophobia and need to get every bloody, veiny, fatty bit out.  Still, it was overcooked, greasy, and lacked flavor.  I don’t think I’ll do it again.

-Kate

Smoked Bologna Sandwich

I don’t know about y’all, but I loooooove smoked bologna.  Every time I go down to Tulsa and visit my grandparents we have smoked bologna sandwiches, which usually consist of bologna and white bread.  Cheese never did seem to go well with it and I really didn’t believe it possible to improve on those basic flavors.  That is until now! They sent a nice hunk of bologna back with me to Chicago (my sister got stopped going through security with it!) and eventually you actually do get tired of that basic sandwich! :O Tonight I found a suitable runner-up.

Ingredients:

• Brainy Bagel
• Smoked Bologna
• Smokey BBQ Sauce
• Creole Seasoning
• Smoked Gouda

Pop a Brainy Bagel in the toaster oven until golden brown.  Take it out briefly to smear on a thin layer of Smoke Daddy Sweet & Smokey BBQ sauce.  Famous Dave’s Rich & Sassy BBQ sauce is also acceptable   Add slice of smoked bologna.  Sprinkle with the Cajun/Creole sesasoning of your choice. Now it is very important that the seasoning go between the cheese and the bologna because the grease and moisture from both will help to unlock the flavors in the spices.  Naturally, the cheese goes on top!  I had to use reduced fat provolone because it was the only thing I had in my fridge Apparently that does not brown in my toaster oven… That said, I would HIGHLY recommend using smoked gouda!! Its in keeping with the whole smoky theme here plus it would really complement the flavor of bologna. Toss it in the toaster oven until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown on top.  Now there is one thing you could add to this little open-faced wonder … garlic aioli.

Oh hey um yeah you have a little drool over there…

Now bear in mind, this isn’t your crappy garden variety bologna like Oscar Mayer or something… if you’re planning on buying your own bologna to smoke then I would go with Boars Head or something of a similar quality.  Simply go to the deli counter and show them with your hands how big a peice you would like… not sliced. Then pop it in your Hasty Bake! Whats that? You don’t know what a Hasty Bake is?… Don’t worry, most people above the mason dixon line don’t either You could go all Alton Brown and make your own smoker… but that’s probably too much trouble.  Plus if you’re like me, you’re allergic to smoke… and wood chips :/ Soo yeah its best to just buy it already smoked somewhere.  This is where living in Oklahoma or Texas comes in handy