Grilled Cheese Remix 2

As you may know, I've been mixing it up around here with my Remix series. These are my quickest, easiest, and most basic recipes for the busiest of times. Enjoy!

Wheat bread
A thin layer of pesto on each slice
Salt and pepper
Shredded mozzarella
Fresh baby spinach

Grilled Cheese Remix

For today's remix, I'm starting out basic:

"The Traditional"
Sharp cheddar
Wheat bread
Brushed with olive oil
(because it's faster than spreading butter and it crisps up nicely!)

Sandwiched In

It's another rainy day here in Northern California. The weather gods can't make up there minds whether to give us winter rain or spring sunshine! I guess I don't mind the messy weather so much since I'm stuck inside prepping for my LAST SET OF LAW SCHOOL FINALS EVER!!! Things could certainly be worse...

As I've mentioned, I was recently inspired to explore the genre of the sandwich by all the tea sandwiches I consumed at the lovely Tea List here in Davis. I went to two lovely showers there and fell in love once again with high tea.


Today I'd like to tell you about an old favorite ~ curried egg salad. If you've never mixed curry and eggs before this may sound weird. But trust me. . . this combination is shockingly good! I should warn you that my curried egg salad is truly curried. If you're skeptical about how much curry flavor you want, you might cut this in half. Also, my inner health-nut-self refuses to go hog wild with the mayo. If you like your egg salad wetter, then by all means add more mayo.


This salad tastes best on a brown bread, like this hearty multi-grain bread. And don't you love the beautiful yellow color?

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Curried Egg Salad

• 5 eggs, hard-boiled, cooled, and peeled (I usually boil the day before)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp brown mustard (yellow will work too)
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 2 dashes of Tabasco (2 flits of the wrist should do!)
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

Finely chop the hard-boiled eggs. Mix all the ingredients. Adjust the seasonings and add more mayo, as needed.

Tea Inpired

After all the tea parties I've been to recently, both big and small, I've decided to become re-acquainted with the sandwich. I've never loved sandwiches. At least, not as a daily thing. But I definitely recognize that there are some darn good sandwiches out there. Tea sandwiches are some of the cutest, so I decided to start my sandwich kick with a tea-inspired sandwich spread.

This spread turned out great. I would recommend it for a party dip served with veggies or pita chips for dipping. It's good on focaccia bread with fixins, as pictured here.


It's also good as a wrap or as a simple but elegant tea sandwich. I know all of these statements are true because this recipe makes A LOT! Beware...


I should also mention that I've made a lot of roasted veggies in my day.


I find that the quickest and neatest way to toss them with olive oil is to use your {superbly clean} hands. Really ~ just get down and dirty. It works especially well if you have cute little hands like these:


I love having a little helper in the kitchen!

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Roasted Eggplant Spread
Inspired by Ina Garten

• 1 medium eggplant
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded
• 1 red onion, peeled
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can canellini or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Place them on a baking sheet, then toss by hand with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, turning once during cooking.

Cool slightly.

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the drained beans, and pulse to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.