EGG SALAD AND BACON SANDWICHES

I have not always been a fan of egg salad. At one point in my life, not so very long ago, I was a solid egg salad hater. This probably has something to do with growing up in a  house where hard boiled eggs were boiled until the yolks were a grayish color. It might also have something to do with a trip to Las Vegas and watching friends order egg salad at the "New York Deli" to have delivered to our table a dozen eggs trapped in a mountain of mayonnaise and served on soggy white bread. Shudder. Plus, I loath peeling hard boiled eggs. It is my least favorite of all kitchen chores.*

But egg salad has slowly creep up on me. If started with a recipe on Smitten Kitchen where egg salad spread on a piece of crusty bread looked very intriguing. And then I had a deviled egg smashed on toast after Easter. So I thought about it, got myself into the kitchen and started trying different things out. And at home, turns out that egg salad can be rather delicious. I keep my actual salad very simple, but then add a kicker to my sandwich - bacon. Because there is little on this fine earth better than bacon and eggs and a nice piece of toast.

This is a great meal for summer because it requires no oven. You can boil your eggs in the morning, make up your salad, fry up some bacon and toast some bread. Add a green salad and dinner is done.

*I have found a way to make peeling hard boiled eggs less awful. See below.

Egg Salad and Bacon Sandwiches

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1/4 cup of mayonnaise

1 tbsp. yellow mustard

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. herbs de provence (this is available in the spice aisle in grocery stores; you can also use any combination of rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, savory, and marjoram.)

8 slices of bacon

8 slices good wheat bread

Bring eggs to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes. Drain and immediate emerge in an ice bath (a bowl filled with water and ice). Let sit for 5-10 minutes, drain the water, and peel. Roughly chop eggs. Mix mayonnaise and mustard in to the chopped eggs. Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, cumin, and herbs de provence. Mix well, smashing with a fork, and refrigerate until ready to use. Fry the bacon until crispy and drain on paper towel. Toast the bread, assemble sandwiches. Makes 4 sandwiches.

Enjoy!

HIGH SCHOOL HOT HAM AND CHEESE

 

By the time I was a senior in high school, there was little to encourage me to get to school early. I had been counting down the days to graduation since I was a sophomore; not to mention that my first period class was easy street and didn't require me to be have any sort of assignment ready at 8:00am when the bell rang (FYI: Student government. We planned rallies and spirit week. And we went to Starbucks a lot because they were a "school sponsor.") . So getting to school early was not a big priority. On time, yes, because I've always been that girl. But not early.

Except.
 

My high school had hot ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast. These sandwiches were only served before school, and they were heavenly. The bread was slightly sweet, the cheese was melted perfectly, the ham was salty and piled high. They wrapped them in foil and served them so hot, they would burn your mouth.  They were so very good; they were worth getting to school early.

It has been a rare occurrence that I've come across such deliciousness since high school. Once, on a trip across Texas with a friend, we found a tiny bakery in the middle of nowhere that made them. I ate two. But, the high school hot ham and cheese remains elusive. Then I picked up a bag of Hawaiian Sandwich Rolls. You know the sweet Hawaiian rolls that you eat on holidays? Well now they make them in sandwich roll size. When I bit into one, I knew I could make a hot ham and cheese just like high school. The sandwiches came out perfect. The ham is salty and warm, the sharp cheddar is melted perfectly, and the bread is just the right amount of sweet.  Could a hot ham and cheese sandwich been the best part of high school?

Let's make these at home, shall we? This is a 1,2,3 done kind of meal.

 

 

High School Hot Ham and Cheese

 

Ingredients:

2 King's Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet sandwich buns

4 slices of lunch meat ham ( I use uncured. This brand is amazing. You can find it at Costco.)

2 large or 4 small slices of sharp cheddar cheese

1 tbsp. honey mustard

1 tbsp. mayonnaise

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix mustard and mayonnaise together, spread evenly on one half of each sandwich bun pair. On the other half of the bun, place the ham and top with cheese. Put the mayo/mustard half on top of the ham/cheese half. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is melted and tops of sandwich rolls are slightly browned. Serve immediately.