Cooking with Kathleen

Well, my daughter has been bugging me for over 2 weeks to make this sandwich that she loves.  It is so easy to put together and keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days once assembled.  I typically bring it to my booksignings since it is easily transportable and is very sturdy.  I love the flexibility of the sandwich too.  I can bake, microwave, grill, warm in a skillet or campfire, or eat it cold.  My daughter doesn’t seem to care how I prepare it…she just loves it.

Tonight is a perfect night for this sandwich.  I have been gone all day with meetings and errands and p iles of laundry will be started this evening.  Husband has an extended business meeting this evening, son is busy with his gadgets and gizmo’s in the basement and my daughter has an emergency Color Guard sectional at 7pm.  The sandwich will satisfy everyone’s busy schedule and my daughter will finally stop bugging me to make it.

So without much further ado - here is the Italian Country Sandwich…one of the most popular recipes in my cookbook - Good-to-Go!

Italian Country Sandwich

2 (8″-inch) pre-cooked pizzashells, such as Boboli, which come 2 per package

4 ounces seasoned cream cheese (vegetable cream cheese works well) (1/2 of an 8 ounce container)

3-4 thin slices tomato

3-4 thin slices green pepper

3-4 thin slices pastrami

3-4 thin slices salami

2 thin slices red onion

4 slices provolone cheese (smoked, if available)

Lay the pizza shells on a work surface.  Spread 1 pizza shell with cream cheese.  Top with even layers of tomato, green pepper, pastrami, salami, and red onion,  and end with provolone.  Top with the remaining pizza shell.  See chart below for cooking options.  Cut the hot sandwich into wedges and serve.

Cook Method             Time                                       Preparation

Microwave                  1 minute, 30 seconds              on paper plate covered with plastic wrap

Oven                           25 minutes at 350⁰F                wrapped in foil set on baking sheet

Grill                             20 minutes med/hot coals       wrapped in heavy-duty foil

Skillet                          8-10 minutes per side              wrapped in heavy-duty foil

Campfire                     8 minutes per side                   wrapped in heavy-duty foil

btw: this sandwich is great for football tailgates!

It was the first day of school yesterday for my daughter, but many returned today as well.  I am trying to find myself this week.  Yes, I lost myself this past year.  Working on a Big Trip with our High School Band for over 2 years (can’t say tirelessly because it was very tiring), saw the release of my second book - The Good-to-Go cookbook - that was fun, and getting our son through his senior year of high school.  Yes, I am trying to find myself.  What am I really like, what do I like to do in my free time - what free time - I have free time?  What kind of book do I want to write next?  etc…

This past weekend was spent mourning the death of a fellow friend and high school student of my kids, today we buried him - not a good time to find “me” so tomorrow I will start and tonight I am Good-to-Go for dinner since my husband is picking up pizza on the way home for dinner.

So some of us make New Years resolutions…I am make a New “school year” resolution.

Today is the first day back to school and our daughter is starting her senior year.  It has been quite a busy summer…actually summer did not really exist for us with our son graduating from High School, getting him ready for college, college visits for our daughter, band camp, color guard practices the entire summer, cross country training, 2 big house projects and let’s not forget the ’slightly’ cool summer weather we had here in Michigan.  So I am determined to start a new ‘year’ on my blog and it starts today and the first question is: what exactly am I making for dinner tonight?

Well, I found some left over corn-the-cob, steamed green beans in the fridge and some cherry tomatoes from the garden on the window sill.  I cut the corn off the cob, tossed it with green beans and the tomatoes and placed in a large bowl.  I cooked a pound of elbow pasta and added it to the bowl, made a quick vinegarette with 3 parts olive oil to 1 part red wine vinegar, a bit of salt, pepper, and herbs and whisked before tossing with vegies and pasta and left on the counter to “relax” for a few hours and let everyone in the bowl get to know each other.

Then I went to the grocery store and found some split chicken breast on sale.  When I came home I threw them in a 315 degree oven , with a generous sprinkling of sage, rosemary and thyme, a bit of salt and pepper and baked them covered for about 2 hours while I sat down to do some work.  Once done, I chilled the chicken and will leave a note on the table for the family to help themselves to salad and chicken for dinner.

So far, I am Good-to-Go with feeding my family.  Until tomorrow - Kathleen