The Best Sammies in Existence

The Best Sammies in Existence

When my neighbor Andy was here, we (him, myself and Annie) used to gather on Wednesdays and either watch True Blood or Sons of Anarchy depending on which show is in season. It was the start of what is now termed Wednesday Night Supper Club, a standing tradition just like Sunday Tea.

I looked forward to Wednesday nights, Munchkin was at karate and I had a few hours free to hang with friends and not be Mom. I also usually got to make something neat for us to eat while we watched our show. The menu varies dependent on what we were watching, classier (a tad) when watching True Blood, bar food when watching Sons.

This particular Wednesday we were watching Sons so bar food was the order of the day. I had stumbled upon these sandwiches on Pintrest and was inspired. What says bar food and motorcycle gang more than beer (Guinness in this case) and a good sandwich, piled high with corned beef, Swiss cheese and onions on dark bread? Nothing, am I right?

So, once I saw this recipe for a corned beef sandwich with Guinness caramelized onions, I knew it was going to be on the menu for Wednesday night and it was going to be a hit. And believe me, I was not wrong on that point.

I wish I had a picture of this sandwich from that night, but when I make it again next I will add a picture to show how extremely yummy looking this sammie is.

Grilled Corned Beef Sandwich with Guinness Glazed Onions – Adapted from Kevin Lynch @ Closet Cooking

Serves 3-5

1 tbsp oil

1 large onion, sliced

1 to 2 cups Guinness

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

4 tsp grainy mustard

2 tbsp butter, room temp

6-10 slices pumpernickel bread

6-10 slices Swiss cheese

¼ lb to ½ lb sliced or shredded corned beef

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and add sauté onions until just tender.

My little helper Caleb

Add ½ cup of Guinness, cover and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, repeating until Guinness is gone.

Once all the Guinness has been added and mostly evaporated, add Worcestershire sauce and mustard and remove from heat.

While the final portion of Guinness is evaporating and adding the Worcestershire sauce, heat a skillet over medium heat.

Butter the outside of the bread for the sandwich, placing the buttered side down in the pan, place 1 or 2 slices of cheese, corned beef and onions on the slice of bread in the pan and cover with 2^nd slice of buttered bread.

Heat in pan until the done to desired color. Repeat as needed!!!

Tea Time Part 1

I have a wonder group of people I meet up with every Sunday for a no kidding actual teatime. I know it sounds old fashioned and even a little silly, but it’s a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon, decompressing before starting the week all over again.  I look forward to Sunday’s very much.

Originally the people who came to Sunday tea was myself and two of my neighbors Andy and Mac, but since there was a shake up in our dynamic, tea turned into just myself and Andy with a roving cast of characters that has seem to stabilize into the following:  Andy, Annie, Jenn, Kevin, Buzz and myself. This cast of characters is a pretty good mix of personalities and interests and we have a lot of fun together.

This past Saturday night our little group had what has been termed “Midnight Tea”, with the main component booze since we don’t start until midnight. Our Midnight Tea is something that we’ve since decided needs to be a monthly occurrence, with each tea having a theme.  Our inaugural teas theme was Tarts and Vicars. The girls dressed like a tart (British slang for ho) and the boys dressed as Vicars (British clergy)

The tea was a resounding success, everyone had fun, the food was delicious and everyone looked amazing.  It was completely worth the weeks of menu planning and all day cooking Saturday and stressing out that even though I’d planned all the cooking down to the last minute to be ready by the time everyone arrived. The phrase “went off without a hitch” comes to mind.

Our drinks menu read as such: Earl Grey Martinis, Lemon Drops, Absinthe and whatever various sipping drinks we desired. The goal was to have our normal enjoyable teatime, but an adult booze enhanced tea.

Please don’t read that as saying we need alcohol to have a good time, not this group, but libations of this sort didn’t hinder the fun any either. Being responsible adults, no one went anywhere after the tea since we had all be drinking.

The food, now I am very pleased with how the food turned out. I tried out several new recipes, which always makes me nervous. I always want the food I serve to my friends and family to be good, I’m Italian and that’s how we show affection, we serve our loved ones lots of good food.  On tap food wise we had: Beer Battered Pickles, Pineapple Upside Down Jell-O shots, Earl Grey Crème Brule, Salted Whiskey Caramels, Mocha Kahlua Mascarpone Dip, Guinness Beer Dip, Jack Daniels Turkey Meatballs, French Vanilla Kahlua Meringues, Chocolate Rum Cake, Chocolate Chili & Chocolate Mint Chocolates, and Chocolate Guinness Pudding.

I know seems like so much food and drink for just 6 people to consume and to be fair, it was, however there were many leftovers and they were enjoyed over the following week.

Recipes will be following in the next posting I just wanted to lay the groundwork for perhaps what will be a deluge of pics and recipes. I just love new recipes and sharing!!!

An Intro

I’m starting a few new ventures in my life and I’m not going to sugar coat it, it’s a bit daunting to me on several levels, so please bear with me if I go a bit off track or jump around a bit.  Sadly my thought process can be like a hyper child who just ate a pixie stix, man I loved those things as a kid.

I’m starting a new chapter in a my life, one I honestly never thought I’d even see in the book, the chapter entitled “Single Motherhood”, but I’m a bit into the chapter already and it’s been a tough read, but also worth it. Side note, I’m a huge reader and bibliophile, so there will be lots of book references as well as cooking and baking references. I won’t even try to explain my music references even I don’t always understand them.  

Also, this blog is another new and scary venture. I’ve always told stories and given my perspective on things and shared my recipes and sometimes they all come out at the same time, usually when I’m in the kitchen, which is where I feel the safest.

It’s a commonly held theory that the kitchen is the heart of a home that the hearth is what makes a home and I fully subscribe to that theory, the kitchen is where I have my best ideas and share the love I have for my family and my friends.

That’s what this blog is going to be: a series of stories, recipes, and pictures of what’s going on in life, also advice and help if it’s asked for.  I hope everyone enjoys it as much I’m sure I will enjoy writing it.