French Dip Sandwiches

Hi. I'd like to introduce you to my new favorite thing. (I know I say that a lot, but stay with me on this.)

It's essentially super tender shredded roast beef. On bread. With mozzarella cheese. Dipped in the juice the beef cooked in. And it's filling and comforting and SO YUMMY I COULD DIE.

Like, literally. I almost died for this sandwich.

... ok not exactly.

What happened was I went to slice a baguette in half for a sandwich (my 3rd and final one from this batch, in fact) and I um...didn't have my fingers placed wisely. So I ended up slicing into my middle finger with a bread knife! Albeit a sharp Wusthof bread knife, but still. Embarassing.

So then my finger was bleeeeding and bleeding and I realized this was a much deeper cut than I've dealt with in the past and I realized I might actually need medical attention. But first I called my mom, in hopes she would be like "Nah. You're cool." But she told me to call my doctor. So I did. And they said I, at the very least, should have a tetanus shot so yeah I should go to Urgent Care. So Michael left work (just 30 min. early) and came home and took me to Urgent Care (leaving a bathroom full of bloodiness in our wake) and long story not that short I ended up with 3 stitches.

MY FIRST STITCHES EVER! It was not fun. But you know what I did when I came home?

I made myself that sandwich.* And I ate it. And it was all worth it in the end.

*My mom cut the bread for me this time....just for safety.

So now I'm typing this post with a bunch of gauze on my left middle finger that makes it look like a snowman. And my finger hurts. I should probably take some Tylenol. You probably didn't care about any of this and you just want to know about the sandwich. My bad.

Super tender and flavorful, falling apart, perfect roast beef that you just let cook in a crock-pot gets piled onto your favorite bread (I obtained some roasted garlic loaves of bread from Giant Eagle but you do whatever you want. Next time I'll probably go for a more straightforward kind of hoagie or some such). Then you melt some lovely mozzarella on top. And...then you top it with the other half of the bread that you sacrificed your finger for. And then you dip the bread in some of that lovely "au jus" (which I presume translates to "with juice", yes?) that is the good beefy brothy stuff the beef cooked in. And it's heaven. Perfect for this chill that's currently in the air. Perfect for a girl whose finger is hurting. Perfect for youuu.

{Healthier} Chicken and Waffle Sliders

I've always been like...crazy curious about fried chicken and waffles. Like...I like fried chicken...I like waffles...I'm intrigued.

But I feel like maybe I like it more in a making the waffle savory kinda way as opposed to putting syrup on both. But who knows. I haven't tried it yet.

In the meantime...I tried these:

SAVORY waffles with baked, crunchy chicken. And cheese. Of course there's cheese. These sliders were super tasty-the waffles were crisp, yet tender, and had a yummy cheesy-slightly garlic-y flavor, and then the chicken was perfectly cooked, and the cornflake breading gave them just a hint of subtle sweetness. And the cheese was cheese. And cheese is good.

These are good.

Chicken and Swiss Sandwich with Roasted Garlic Aioli for #SwissWeek

Here we are, the final recipe of #SwissWeek with Lorraine cheese!

(you should totally check out the crostini and healthified dip I've already shared)

It's a party, so we've gotta have a sandwich, amiright?

Sandwiches always make me think of my brother, Josh, (and countless other boys) demanding "Woman, make me a sammich!" Michael stopped doing this because...well...I would go to make him a sandwich. Apparently this took all the fun out of it.

But this was a time no one needed to tell me to make a "sammich". I just did it. And it is good! And a lot of that is attributed to that gorgeous melty Swiss you see up there (AKA the best Swiss I've ever tasted!) It's absolutely PERFECT for sandwiches. I've been using it for all of the sammies I've been making Michael for his lunch as of late. But this sandwich...is SO much more than those little things I throw together usually.

This is like...a serious sandwich.

I intended to make the hoagie myself, from scratch. But...well...I got busy. So I bought hoagie bread. But feel free to do whatever appeals to you! And then I made a fantastic roasted garlic aioli, which has just the right punch of garlic flavor. And I made one of my fave, easy, chicken recipes: it tastes like fried chicken but it's baked! Hooray! And then, obv. Lorraine Swiss and some lovely arugula to add some pretty green. Viola! Sandwich! I really enjoyed this sandwich, and I think Michael might have liked it even more. We were both happily munching away for awhile.

So do yourself a favor. Endear yourself to others and bring some of these sammies to your next party (or, if you're hosting, set them out). You're gonna get yourself a WHOLE BUNCH of new best friends.

And for more Swiss goodness, check out Lorraine Cheese's facebook page and pinterest!

Garlic Herb Ciabatta Grilled Cheese-Great Midwest Flavored Cheeses Review

Let's talk cheese. If you don't like cheese,or are dairy free/lactose intolerant...I'm so so sorry but this post is not for you. You see, I was contacted by the amazing people at Great Midwest cheeses to try their 12 varieties of flavored artisan Cheddars and Monterey jacks, review them for you, give you a chance to win them (scroll past the recipe for that), and to tell you all about this SUPER AMAZING recipe contest they've got going on!

So first, the cheese. Great Midwest is available at select retailers, club stores and cheese shops nationwide (find where to buy near you here). They're all natural, handcrafted in small batches and made in Wisconsin, using only pure, certified hormone free milk! The flavors range from sweet (ooh la la Blueberry Cobbler Cheddar) to savory (such as my personal favorite, Garlic & Dill Cheddar) to spicy (hoo! Most of all the Habanero Jack!)-and Michael and I tried them all. You know...for the sake of professionalism. The one big factor that struck both of us about all the cheeses-their smooth and silky texture, it is divine! Plus, they melt extremely well (part of why they make such phenomenal grilled cheeses!) All of the cheeses did an amazing job at representing their flavors-they were very true to them, but not overbearing. Plus-they're so versatile. Depending on which flavor, they can be used for snacks, on crackers, shredded over salads, added to casseroles, omelets, mac n cheese, even used in baking!

Now, this August and September, Great Midwest is hosting a recipe contest-inviting home chefs (or fellow food bloggers ;P) to submit their favorite grilled cheese recipe, using Great Midwest cheese(s), for a chance to win one of eight prizes including a vacation, Panini presses and cookbooks! You can enter through Facebook or their website, and you can check those out for more details on how the recipes will be judged as well as for any rules or restrictions. Essentially, though, key areas for the judging are: the use of Great Midwest cheeses, taste, and creativity/originality of the recipe (this is a big component so you're encouraged to go crazy and have some off the wall ideas!).  They're also offering bonus points to entrants that share their participation on Facebook, anyone that posts anything on the Great Midwest Facebook page – whether it be a photo of their sandwich, their recipe, them in the kitchen cooking, etc. – will get bonus points on their entry. It's SUPER cool and I strongly encourage everyone to give it a shot and enter!

Since we're talkin' original grilled cheese recipes...obviously I had to make my own! So I did! Using that amazing ciabatta bread with the shredded Morel & Leek Jack, I then layered in some slices of the Garlic & Dill Cheddar (hands down my favorite cheese in the bunch, but are you really surprised?). And what did we get?

BEST GRILLED CHEESE EVER (in my humble opinion).

This ciabatta makes the most gorgeous golden brown, perfectly buttery and crisp bread for the grilled cheese, and it's simply stunning to see how beautifully the cheddar in the middle melted down (and how it really mellowed out the flavor). It is cheesy and buttery and garlic-y and herb-y and just like heaven dancing on your tastebuds. I cannot get enough of it. I didn't even used to like grilled cheese that much and now? I'VE EATEN THIS GRILLED CHEESE EVERY DAY SINCE I FIRST MADE IT-until I ran out of bread! And I miss it! Because oh em geeee. Fantastic. Just...so good. There aren't enough words to express my happiness over one lil cheesy sandwich.

Thank you Great Midwest.

Thank you.

Mozzarella and Pesto Grilled Cheese

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I've never made grilled cheese.

Well...if I have...I haven't made grilled cheese since I was like 11, anyway.

Anyway, I've never been a huge fan of it.

I know-I like bread, I like cheese, why don't I like grilled cheese??

Probably because I've only ever had it with wonder bread and those little packaged slices of American cheese. And uh...to me...that's not uber appetizing. But lately I've been dreaming of slices of good, homemade bread, grilled with brie (mmm so buttery), or...well...this sandwich. So one day I made myself some pesto. And English muffin bread. And then I bought some mozzarella. And made this. 

SO. GOOD.

I think I have officially hopped aboard the grilled cheese bandwagon, guys.

It's like me. It's like "Oh hey I'm an All American girl next door comforting thing, grilled cheese!" But then also "Oh I'm also kinda Italian and maybe a little fancier and a little bit of a surprise, not as predictable as you thought, huh?"....I'm actually not sure if that's the best description of me...it's definitely a good one for this sammy though. Comfort and sophisticated, all at the same time. Mmmm mmm good.

Sandwich Rolls

Sandwiches aren't really my thang.

Except for burgers, I LOVE a good burger.

And you know what's crazy? I have a food blog and you guys probably aren't even aware of my deep and profound love of cheeseburgers. This is because...I can't grill. I can't make burgers or steak. Those are the areas where Michael shines, but as we currently don't have the ability to have a grill, I just get my fixes when we go out to eat.

But I recently decided to give burgers a try.

Yes. I realize this post is about sandwich rolls, not burgers (that's coming up on Friday)--but that's what these rolls are great for! Being buns! They're actually quite easy to make (even for the sad, non stand mixer owners such as I), are gorgeous, are (surprise surprise) great for sandwiches, and Michael realllly loved em.  

For the burgers (and just eating them plain, since I'm a carb-a-holic) I also really enjoyed cutting each roll in 2, buttering each half, and toasting them by placing them facedown on a skillet. Nom nom nom!

I know, this post is a little short and sweet, but we're all busy people, right? And let's face it, you just wanna get on to this amazing recipe!