Jersey-Style Tuna Melts

These tuna melts are warm heavenly goodness. A delicious twist on a comforting classic. I've made them three times in the last week, and I could eat another right now!

So let's assemble the ingredients!
Chunk tuna, finely diced onion, fresh parsley, red wine vinegar, diced pickles or celery, tomatoes, cheddar and of course, bread, tuna and mayo.

The tuna mixture gets a nice punch from the diced pickles, onions, red wine vinegar and parsley. Trust me, all these flavors and textures work wonderful together. And of course, the mayo brings everything together in all of it's creamy goodness.

Layer the yummy tuna mixture on top of toasted bread. Top with cheese and tomatoes and more cheese and broil until the tuna is heated through and the cheese is nice and melted.

These look and smell so wonderful as they're pulled out of the oven. Drool.

Cut them in half on the diagonal and serve with chips, pickle slices or....

....a hot bowl of tomato soup. So good!

Tuna Melts
slightly adapted from allrecipes
2 (6 ounce) cans solid white tuna in
water, drained
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped celery or pickle*
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped onion**
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
3/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 pinch salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
4 slices seedless rye bread or thick white bread***
8 slices ripe tomato
8 slices Swiss cheese (I used cheddar)
paprika, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven broiler on low.
2. In a bowl, mix the tuna, mayonnaise, celery or pickles, onion, parsley, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet, and broil 1 minute on each side in the preheated oven, until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and spread with the tuna salad. Place 1 cheese slice over the tuna salad on each piece of bread, layer with a tomato slice, and top with remaining cheese slices.
4. Return layered bread to the preheated oven, and broil 3 to 5 minutes, until cheese is melted.****

* I used pickle for an extra salty kick and because that's how my mom always made them.
** I was a little afraid of the onion, but it really amped up the flavor without being overpowering. I really enjoyed the addition of onion in these.
*** Make sure to toast both sides of the bread so you don't end up with a soggy side. I used white bread, because that's what sounded good to me at the time.
**** Broil these on low on the middle rack so the edges of the bread don't burn.

Beef and Barley Soup

This hearty soup is full of fork-tender beef, diced carrots, onions, cremini mushrooms and of course, barley. It's a delicious fall soup!

Beef and Barley Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

1 pound London broil, cut into 3/4-inch cubes 

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 

1 large onion, chopped 

1 medium carrot, chopped 

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced 

2 tablespoons minced garlic (from 4 cloves) 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

3/4 cup dry red wine 

4 cups chicken stock 

3 cups water 

3/4 cup hulled or pearl barley, rinsed and drained* 

1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley 

Garnish: grated fresh horseradish 

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oil in a medium Dutch oven or a large pot over medium-high heat. Season beef with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon.

Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil, and cook onion, carrot, and mushrooms until golden, stirring occasionally, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Add garlic and tomato paste, and cook, stirring, until caramelized, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and add wine. Return to heat, and bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from bottom using a wooden spoon. Cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

Return beef to pot, and add stock and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Add barley, and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. Uncover, and cook until beef and barley are tender, 20 to 25 minutes more. Stir in parsley. Divide soup among 6 bowls, and garnish with horseradish.

Source: Martha Stewart 

*If using pearl barley omit 1 cup of water in step four.

And for dipping...

Pastrami Tomato Cheese Sandwiches

I love these sandwiches! They're a family favorite. We start making them around Halloween and then whip them up every time we have a pot of soup bubbling away on the stove.

Pastrami Tomato Cheese Sandwiches

1 loaf french bread, sliced thick

2 lbs. Pastrami, thinly sliced

3-4 Tomatoes, sliced

Mozzarella or Monterey Cheese, sliced or shredded

S and P

Preheat oven to 325.

Butter top sides of sliced french bread and place on a baking sheet. Top bread with 2-3 slices of pastrami then a slice or two of tomato. Salt and pepper tomato. Top tomato with cheese and bake until cheese is melted and golden brown.

* I didn't add measurements to the recipe, as you can make as many or as little sandwiches as you want. 

But, if you have one loaf of french bread (not the skinny long loaves, unless you want to make mini appetizer-sized ones! Yum!) you'll need about 2 lbs of thinly sliced pastrami (I like peppered pastrami) and about 5 tomatoes. 

One medium sized bag of shredded cheese should be good or one block of cheese that you can slice/grate yourself. Just pile the pastrami on the buttered bread (two to three slices of pastrami), and add enough tomato to cover the top (one or two slices).

Tea Party with Grandma

My little girl just adores her great grandma and wanted to invite her over for a tea party. We called our special guest and setup the day and time and then headed to the grocery store.

We made cucumber sandwiches, cranberry orange scones, white hot chocolate (tinted pink) and caramel turtle pretzel bites.

Everything was really tasty and we had a great time. The standout dish was probably the scones. They were so good and quick to make. We made everything in about an hour and were ready to relax and visit when grandma came over.

Cucumber SandwichesIngredients
1 container whipped cream cheese
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1 (1 pound) loaf cocktail rye bread or french bread, sliced
2 cucumbers, sliced thin
Dried dill or dried basil for garnish

Directions
In a small bowl, blend cream cheese, sour cream and dry Italian-style salad dressing mix.
Arrange cocktail rye bread slices on a medium serving dish. Spread with the cream cheese mixture. Top each with a cucumber slice and sprinkle with dried herb.

Easy Cranberry Orange SconesIngredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg
Zest of one orange1/2 cup cranberries
Sugar for sprinkling

Directions
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a food processor, pulse flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse frozen butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.

In a small bowl, whisk sour cream, egg and zest until smooth.
Pulse sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Stir in cranberries.

Pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

White Hot ChocolateIngredients
1 cup white chocolate chips 1 cup heavy cream
4 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla whipped topping, for garnish
Mint leaf, for garnish

Directions

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine white chocolate chips and heavy cream. Stir continuously until white chocolate chips have completely melted. Stir in the half-and-half, and vanilla extract. Stir occasionally until heated through. Pour into mugs and top with a dollop of vanilla whipped topping and garnish with mint leaf.

Caramel Turtle Pretzel BitesIngredients
20 small mini pretzels
20 chocolate covered caramel candies
20 pecan halves

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

Arrange the pretzels in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place one chocolate covered caramel candy on each pretzel. Bake for 2-3 minutes. While the candy is warm, press a pecan half onto each candy covered pretzel. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

B L T...M's

My mom made me a delicious sandwich the other day. It was her take on the classic BLT.

First she toasted some hearty wheat bread and spread one of the slices with a little butter (no mayo or miracle whip) then just like it's spelled she layered on bacon, lettuce, tomato (sprinkled with a little salt and pepper) and then topped it off with a fresh piece of mozzarella. It was so tasty and fresh. The smoky bacon paired with crisp lettuce and a juicy garden tomato is about as good as it gets. The mozzarella doesn't add any flavor, but it adds a nice texture to balance everything out.