Showing posts with label sandwich. Show all posts

Saturday, June 6, 2026

Shrimp Po' Boy Sandwiches Lightened Up #Recipe Peg Cochran/Margaret Loudon

The original poor boy sandwich came about in New Orleans during the 1929 streetcar strike. The Martin Brothers ran the Martin Brothers Coffee Stand and Restaurant. They vowed to feed any striking transit worker for free. When any of them walked through the door, the kitchen staff would call out “here’s another po’ boy.” The original sandwich was made with fried potatoes, roast beef gravy and trimmings—known as debris—in a French bread roll. Eventually the recipe expanded to include seafood, which was inexpensive in New Orleans.

In a true shrimp po’ boy, the shrimp would be fried but this recipe lightens up the sandwich by baking the shrimp instead.

For the Sandwich:

1 tablespoon Creole or Cajun seasoning

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb. jumbo shrimp (16-20 count), peeled and deveined

4 pieces of French bread, halved lengthwise (about 4-5 inches each) and lightly toasted

2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

2 sliced tomatoes

Sliced dill pickles (optional)

Hot sauce, for serving

For the Remoulade Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons Creole mustard or Dijon, spicy brown or stone-ground mustard

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1-2 teaspoons hot sauce

1 clove garlic, grated (or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix together the shrimp, Creole or Cajun seasoning, lemon juice and olive oil. Cover and marinate in fridge for 15 to 20 minutes.

Prepare the remoulade sauce: Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl.

Toast bread. Remove shrimp from marinade and arrange on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 4 to 5 minutes or until pink and firm.

Assemble the sandwiches: spread remoulade sauce on each piece of toasted bread. Add shrimp, top with lettuce, tomato and pickles if desired.

When a wealthy local benefactor is slain on the farm, Monica has to figure out who wanted to cash in on the killing . . .

As Sassamanash Farms hunkers down for the long winter, Monica agrees to let the local animal shelter host their Christmas-themed fundraiser there. The draw of the event—a chance to have your pet’s picture taken with Santa—brings in animal lovers from far and wide. But when the crackling fire dies down and the festive holiday props are all carted away, Monica discovers a very un-jolly sight next to the barn—the dead body of one of the shelter’s biggest donors. With the farm’s good name in jeopardy, Monica goes to work to root out the killer.

By all accounts the victim was a charming and generous supporter of the shelter, but Monica discovers that he was loathed by those who knew him for being tight-fisted and unscrupulous. Suspecting money might be the motive, she turns her sights on his stylish wife and her lavish lifestyle, along with the manager of the struggling shelter, who stood to collect a hefty bequest from his will. But as Monica closes in on one final clue, the culprit closes in on her. Caught unawares, she’ll have to survive the brutal winter weather, as well as a cold-blooded killer . . .

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Sunday, September 11, 2022

Summer Sandwich Magic from @JHAuthors plus #giveaway

MADDIE DAY here, so pleased to bring you my good friend and Wicked Authors blogmate, Julia Henry (aka Julie Hennrikus), for our Sunday guest feature. I love her Garden Squad Mysteries, and I know you will, too. Take it away, Julia! (Maddie note: both she and I are traveling home from a big mystery convention today and will pop in to reply to comments as we can!)

Summer Sandwich Magic

My goddaughter’s birthday is at the end of August, and when she was growing up her parents always celebrated with a cookout.

My favorite part was the pesto/mozzarella/tomato sandwich Tom grilled as an appetizer. In the years since, I’ve used the same technique for what I like to call the leftover magic sandwich.

I write the Garden Squad series, which takes place in Goosebush, Massachusetts. Though the central interest of the series is gardening, food also plays a part. Group dinners, trips to the Star (Stan’s Theater and Restaurant), stress bread baking–these are all part of the stories I write. In The Plot Thickets, my fifth Garden Squad mystery, sandwiches play a role in the story. Stan Freeland, the owner of the Star, has made a mess of his life, and comes to talk to Lilly Jayne about it. He had trouble opening up, so Lilly suggests he make sandwiches, and he takes leftovers and condiments and makes magic. It’s a fun way to get Stan to open up and add food to the story.

In my life, I love a good sandwich. These two sandwiches are perfect for late season cookouts, fun to make, and a great way to use the bounty of a garden or leftovers.

Pesto, Mozzarella, Tomato Sandwich

Take a loaf of French bread, and slice it lengthwise but not all the way through. Hollow out some of the bread in the middle.

Slather pesto on both halves of the bread. You are welcome to make the pesto, or use whatever brand you like. Late summer, this is a great way to use up basil.

Lay fresh mozzarella on both sides.

Lay fresh cut tomatoes over the cheese.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Wrap the sandwich tightly in foil.

Leftover Magic Sandwich

Decide which leftovers to use. We had leftover eggplant parmesan and garlic pasta. But meatloaf, seafood casserole, mac and cheese–anything will work.

Take a loaf of French bread, and slice it lengthwise but not all the way through. Hollow out some of the bread in the middle.

Drizzle the bread with olive oil.

Take leftovers out and slather them on both sides of the bread.

Add cheese, or sauce. In my opinion, fresh mozzarella works every time.

Wrap the sandwich tightly in foil.

The final step is to grill the sandwich. That’s what makes these great appetizers for a cookout. Grill for 5-8 minutes. Pull the foil back gently. You want the cheese to melt, and a bit of char, but you don’t want to burn the sandwiches.

A special thanks to my nieces Tori and Mallory for their help with photography, and Jason for the slicing and dicing.

Readers: what can you imagine grilling on French bread? I’ll pick one commenter (please include your email address) and send you an ARC of The Plot Thickets.

As Julia Henry I write the Garden Squad mysteries. The Plot Thickets will be released on October 25. Follow me on social media @jhauthors and sign up for my newsletter on jhauthors.com.

About The Plot Thickets:

With spring’s arrival in Goosebush, Lilly and the Beautification Committee turn their eyes to new projects. A cleanup of the historic Goosebush Cemetery may be in order after Lilly and Delia find the plots there sorely neglected and inexplicably rearranged. Lilly soon discovers that Whitney Dunne-Bradford snapped up custodianship of the graveyard once she inherited Bradford Funeral Homes. But before Lilly can get to the bottom of the tombstone tampering, she stumbles upon Whitney’s body at the Jayne family mausoleum.

Although it at first appears Whitney died by suicide, Lilly has doubts, and apparently, so does Chief of Police Bash Haywood, who quickly opens a murder investigation. Plenty of folks in town had bones to pick with Whitney, including her stepdaughter, Sasha, and funeral-home employee Dewey Marsh—all three recently charged with illegal business practices. But when the homicide inquiry suddenly targets an old friend, Lilly and the Garden Squad must rally to exhume the truth before the real killer buries it forever.

Sunday, June 9, 2019

Mystery Lovers' Kitchen Welcomes Guest Sally Goldenbaum

Sally Goldenbaum writes about knitting but her true love is cooking (shh, don't tell)!

Marla’s Grilled Brie and Avocado Sandwich

An enormous thank you to the amazing mystery writer cooks who inhabit this bountiful kitchen. Have all of you seen the recipe list? I gained weight reading it! I am so happy to be here and to have the chance to talk food with these writers I greatly admire.

Summer is finally coming to New England, making me think of all those summer things: the seashore, gardening, and attempts at a ‘healthy’ lunch. My go-to choice for today is a grilled Brie and avocado sandwich. Fictionally, the sandwich was developed by Marla, a gossipy bakery and café owner in A Pattern of Clues. She put it on the menu to satisfy Kate Simpson, a sometimes vegetarian recently returned to Crestwood, KS from Berkeley, CA (and the sandwich, for a minute anyway, made Kate think she, along with Dorothy, wasn’t in Kansas anymore—even though she very much was).

But the real life place that gave me the inspiration for this sandwich is a place my daughter and I discovered in Beverly MA. On Fridays we team up, looking for places with great food, coffee, and plenty of outlets for our laptops—Aria to do development work for her nonprofit and me to eavesdrop and come up with murderous ideas in beautiful sunlit places. That’s exactly what we found in the Tartine Kitchen and Eatery. Bright and lovely—and they do incredible things with avocados and grilled toast, an inspiration for these grilled sandwiches. (Although Tartine’s, as their name implies, makes open-faced sandwiches. An option with these, unless you love bread as much as I do~)

But before we get into the sandwich, an apology for the photos. A food photographer, I am not. The fictional Kate in the Quilt Shop mysteries is a substitute teacher, but also on her way to becoming a talented photographer. And if I had good sense, I would have had her take them. But thank you everyone for seeing the creamy grilled treat behind and beyond my photographic attempts!

Marla’s Grilled Brie and Avocado Sandwich

Makes two sandwiches

Ingredients

4 T butter, softened

3 T Dijon-mayo (mix equal parts Dijon mustard and mayonnaise together)

1 medium just-ripe avocado, sliced

4 generous slices Brie, rind removed

4 slices sourdough, 8-grain, ciabatta, or your favorite bread

1 T sliced black olives (optional)

2 slices fresh tomatoes

S&P

4 leaves fresh basil

leafy lettuce

Directions

Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread

Heat griddle or pan to medium-low and grill bread until golden (approximately 4 minutes)

Assemble sandwiches

On toasted side of bread, layer a piece of lettuce, Brie, avocado, and tomato slices. Add a sprinkling of olives. Then S&P to taste.

Top with the remaining slices of bread, toasted side on inside of sandwich.

Spread the mayo-Dijon sauce on the outside of each side of sandwich. Place back in the skillet and cook until cheese is melted and each side is golden brown, about 4-6 minutes on each side.

Enjoy!

Sally will be giving away both an ebook and POD of A Patchwork of Clues (June 2019) and one hardcover of How to Knit a Murder (the latest Seaside Knitters Society). To enter to win, leave a comment below and please include an email where you can be contacted.

Sally Goldenbaum writes the Seaside Knitters Society Mysteries and the Queen Bees Quilt Shop mystery series, the latter being re-released this summer. She and her husband recently packed up years of living in the Midwest and followed the seaside knitters to Cape Ann, MA, where they are happily settling into a home by the sea.

You can reach Sally at:

Website: sallygoldenbaum.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/

Twitter: @sallygoldenbaum

fb: https://www.facebook.com/authorsallygoldenbaum/

About the Book

Small-town quilters look for a killer's pattern in this delightful new series by the national bestselling author of the Seaside Knitters mysteries . . .

On her morning jog, Portia Paltrow comes upon the dead body of antiques store owner and college professor Owen Hill, sprawled across the back doorstep of Selma Parker's fabric and quilt shop on Elderberry Road. The site of their Saturday morning quilting bee just became a crime scene. Violent crime is rare in the charming village of Crestwood, Kansas, and rumors are soon circulating of a burglary gone wrong. But who would rob a quilt shop? No, Owen Hill has been murdered.

Selma and her assistant manager Susan are understandably at loose ends over the crime. So while the tightly knit covey of quilters—who range from a new mother to a wise octogenarian—work together on a Crystal Pattern quilt for Selma's store's anniversary, they also get busy stitching together a patchwork of clues. But they'd better work fast—before a crafty killer bolts . . .

🌷

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Our Secrets to Making The Perfect Patty Melt -- A Holiday Buzz recipe from Cleo Coyle

Patty melts are absolutely delicious and (IMO) even better than burgers. The traditional version is made with juicy ground beef, but you can certainly mix it up with ground turkey or chicken. The only drawback to making these instead of burgers is an extra step or two in the process, which is why I make them extra-large—eight big ounces per patty melt. No, I do not eat the whole eight-ounce sandwich myself, and that's the point...

Cut this mondo patty melt in half, and you’ve got dinner for two. Cook two of these big boys, and you’ve got dinner for four.

Less sandwiches = less work.

And less work always helps me eat with joy! ;)

A Note from Cleo

Cleo Coyle has a partner in

crime-writing—her husband.

Learn about their books

by clicking here and here.

The 5-Napkin Burger is a popular eatery here in New York City, which is what inspired our 8-Napkin Patty Melt. Why eight napkins? One napkin for every ounce of meat, of course.

Our readers might recall this sandwich from a scene in our 12th Coffeehouse Mystery, Holiday Buzz. Coffee hunter Matteo Allegro, weary of the healthy but flavor-challenged appetizers served at a string of Manhattan holiday parties, ventures into the December night to bring back a more satisfying snack—this 8-napkin patty melt. He shares it with his partner in the coffee business, Clare Cosi, while she shares the facts (and a cogent theory) behind the murder of a part-time employee.

To see more recipes from the book, click here.

Click here for the
Free Recipe Guide.

AND NOW...

Our Secrets to Making

The Perfect Patty Melt

🍴

To download a free PDF

version of this recipe that

you can print, save,
or share, CLICK HERE.

Click here for Free PDF to -
The Perfect Patty Melt

OUR SIX SECRETS

Secret #1: Be patient with grilling the onions. Cook them long enough to caramelize and you’ll have a much tastier sandwich.

Secret #2: Use large slices of bread and shape the patty long in order to fit the bread.

Secret #3: Don’t make the patty or bread slices too thick, about an inch.

Secret #4: Once your ingredients are ready (the onions caramelized; the burger cooked), build the entire sandwich on a spatula. This will allow you as much time as you need to fix the ingredients just right. Then you can move the spatula to the hot pan, and slip the entire sandwich into the bubbling butter in one quick move.

Secret #5: To prevent your grilled onions from falling out of the sandwich, follow the "building" instructions in the recipe (you'll see it below). The trick is with the placement of the cheese.

Secret #6: Use the spatula to push down on the sandwich during cooking; a simple way to make a delicious “pressed sandwich” without a sandwich press.

And here is the full recipe...

Cleo Coyle's (Perfect)
8-Napkin Patty Melt

Makes two 8-ounce Patty Melts (for four servings)

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion

(a bit of) vegetable oil and butter

4 large slices of bread (see my note below*)

16 ounces (1 pound) ground beef

8 slices of Swiss or cheddar cheese

Kosher or sea salt

*A note on the bread: A patty melt this big requires large (but not overly thick) slices of bread. Fresh crusty Italian or rye bread from a rustic loaf will make a truly amazing patty melt. If using pre-packaged bread, go for the super-sized sandwich-style and not the standard slices.

Directions:

Step 1: Cook the onion – Peel and chop the large yellow onion. Place a pan over low heat, melt a bit of butter, add a splash of oil, and stir in the onions. Slowly cook the onions, stirring often, until they are caramelized (soft, sweet, and dark golden brown), about fifteen minutes. Set the cooked onions aside.

Step 2: Form and cook the patty - The shape of the ground meat patties should fit the bread that you're using, so shape the meat accordingly. Each patty should be 8-ounces in weight and about 1-inch in thickness (or a little less). Cook the patties over medium-high heat, three to four minutes per side. For best results, try to flip the patties only once. When the patties are cooked through, set aside.

Step 3: Build your sandwich – Start by buttering two slices of the bread...

- Place one slice on a spatula, buttered side down.
- Lay one or two thin slices of cheese on the bread.
- Place the cooked ground meat patty onto the cheese.
- Place another slice of cheese over the patty.
- Add half the caramelized onions.
- A final slice of cheese should cover the onions (when it melts this last slice will help to hold the savory sweet onions inside the sandwich).
- Finally, top the patty melt with a slice of buttered bread, but this time you want the buttered side up.

Step 4: Grill and press – Heat a skillet and add a bit of butter. When the butter begins to bubble, use your spatula to transfer the fully-built sandwich to the hot pan. From this point on, treat the patty melt as if it were a grilled cheese sandwich...

Toast one side for 3 to 4 minutes and then flip. After flipping, press down hard on the sandwich with your spatula. Pressing the patty melt as it cooks will help the parts of the sandwich fuse together. Grill for 3 or 4 more minutes, until the cheese is completely melted. (Make the 2nd sandwich exactly the same way.)

Serve hot! A dill pickle is a thing of beauty with a patty melt. The bright tartness of the pickle (not to mention the happy, green color) nicely complements the rich unctuousness of the sandwich. Cole slaw, French fries, or potato chips are tasty sides, too. However you serve it, I certainly hope you will...eat with plenty of joy!