A Hot Sandwich Dinner Tonight

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It is a long time since this blog focused on food. To make up here is a dinner idea that is simple to rig up in a hurry, is delicious and full of goodness. It consists of hot sandwiches that are fried, grilled or toasted.

For a fried sandwich fry slices of bread in butter, coconut oil or peanut oil until crisp and brown on both sides and add a filling, cut into triangles and serve two or four such triangles on a plate with a side dish of any one of cold Russian salad, Cole Slaw, steamed vegetables or even a tossed green salad. If you serve the dinner on plates you may wish to decorate it with some of iceberg lettuce leaves, sliced cucumbers, tomato slices or celery leaves etc. and a bit of tomato ketchup or mustard sauce on the side. For those who are watching their weight, toast instead of frying the bread then butter the insides lightly. The sandwich can be grilled too in a sandwich griller if you like.

If the filling is ham, sliced cold meats and cheese then they may be grilled along with the bread slices but for a fried sandwich heat the cold meat in a pan separately and fry the bread on both sides before preparing sandwiches. Some other more substantial fillings are

Tuna: Stir fry flaked cooked tuna with sliced onions and some spices to taste. Ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and paprika are great seasoning for stir frying

Sardines: Sardines from a can stir fried similarly with onions but stir and turn lightly so as not to make a mush of it. Never purchase sardine can with tomatoes in ( may harm) it but only those with oil.

Chicken: Shred steamed or left over roast chicken in small pieces and stir fry similarly as above

Paneer: Paneer is unprocessed cheese that does not melt. You may wish to search its recipes on the net. It can be prepared easily at home. Use this to replace fish or meat as mentioned above if one wishes a vegetarian meal

Chick Peas: Stir steamed or precooked chick peas similarly as above but avoid these for the entertaining described next because they may make one fart later and ruin the evening :) LOL

Eggs: A fried egg or an omelet may be used as a filling too but not when entertaining. That may look mean. However on such occasions one may slice hard boiled eggs with a ring cutter and use that to decorate a salad.

Because this dinner has carbohydrates, vegetables and protein it is a balanced and healthy one that can be prepared quickly. It is ideal for single persons who may not wish to fuss for long in the kitchen.

Entertaining

The same dinner idea can be used for entertaining guests too. Begin with some wine and light snacks before dinner, then serve a small bowl of soup followed by dinner. In this case do not prepare individual dinner plates but serve the fried sandwiches and side dishes in serving dishes on a table laid with a table cloth and a vase of flowers and candles in the middle in case romance is on the cards. If it is the latter then do use a stir fry with onions and sprinkle ground cloves as a seasoning for their mild aphrodisiac effect and do not use garlic in anything but sprinkle some rose water on the desert and in the after dinner tea. To make the dinner even more special you may have the sandwiches as open sandwiches set on a large flat serving dish. End with a desert, say ice cream and finally black tea and nuts on the sofa.

Pizza on Toast 

A Pizza on toast can be prepared by putting the toppings as exactly for Pizza on top of bread slices. Press the soft inside of a toast a little before that and bake on a tray, brushed generously with cooking oil, until golden brown. Practice will be required to select the best bread for it available in your area and getting it right without burning the toast bottom. Cut it in triangles before serving four such triangles on a dinner plate with perhaps steamed vegetables or a tossed green salad on the side.

Pizza on Toast