Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Cheddar, Dijon Mustard & Sauteed Balsamic Mushrooms

While I have had mixed experiences with their large cousins the Portobellos, I think those ordinary, decidedly-far-less-gourmet little white mushrooms are wonderful things. Maybe it's because they are so delicious, or because I know they're so healthy. Or maybe because they are already cleaned and sliced when you buy them. That might be the one.

Oozy deliciousness!

This is basically your traditional grilled cheese sandwich, with the addition of balsamic-marinated and sauteed mushrooms. Yum, right? This recipe makes one sandwich, and would make a great weekend lunch, though you probably don't need the recipe at all after the mushroom bit. Still, in the interest of consistency...

Ingredients:

4 oz mushrooms (1/2 box), cleaned and sliced

Deli roll or 2 slices multi grain bread

A few thin slices of mild cheddar or Swiss cheese

Balsamic vinegar 

1 clove garlic, smashed

Cooking spray

Dijon mustard

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

1. In a small-medium frying pan, heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, adding garlic and mushrooms. Saute for a couple of minutes, then add salt and pepper, and continue to saute until mushrooms are tender and nicely browned. This should take about 8-10 minutes, or more if you want yours extra browned.

2. Add about 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, immediately remove from heat, and mix to coat mushrooms. Heat a grill pan (over medium heat), sandwich press or George Foreman Grill, spraying with cooking spray.

3. Thinly butter your bread or rolls on the "outside" surfaces, and put a thin layer of dijon mustard on the "inside." Spoon mushroom mixture onto bread/roll (omitting the garlic), stack layers of cheese on top and top with other piece of bread or top of roll.

4. Grill your sandwich for about 5 minutes on each side, or longer if you like them extra-crispy, just be sure the cheese is melted. Slice in half and serve hot with extra Dijon mustard.

With a green salad, this was a delicious and very satisfying meal. I think that's why I like white button mushrooms more than Portobellos; I think that they tend to retain their "meaty" texture more, and have a more substantial mouthfeel. Or maybe I overcooked my Portobellos? I can't be sure, but now I have to try again. There are worse things!

Brined Dijon Pork Chops, Crock Pot Baked Sweet Potatoes & Baby Spinach Salad

Yeah, that title is a bit of a mouthful. (Get it?)

I love terrible puns. The worse, the better. I'm sorry you had to find out this way.

Okay, but on the serious: I find pork chops very frustrating. My dad and his partner Kathy will insist - and I am sure rightfully so - that the pork available in stores today pales in comparison to the fatty, moist, flavorful pork of their youth. They may even tell you not to bother with it at all. (If you've tried my dad's crown roast, though, you would strongly disagree). But personally, I see it as a challenge to marinate, brown, and perfectly cook (generally braise) it into a tender and moist cut of meat. So far, I wouldn't say that I have succeeded, exactly.

I've cooked a few that were pretty tasty, but none that have been outstanding, and tonight's was no exception. What was different this time, though, is that I brined the two boneless chops for over 36 hours. Still, a tiny bit dry. (What's a girl gotta do?!) I lightly browned both sides over medium-low heat in a grill pan, then covered and let them cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. The meat retained the tiniest bit of sweetness from the brine, which was great with the dijon mustard that I marinated it in post-brining. I'm only partially clear on the science behind brining, so perhaps it was the combo of salt&sugar brine and mustard that inhibited its juiciness. It was a flavorful but still slightly dry result.

I can't really explain the odd pattern of the grill-marks...

The LIFE CHANGING part of tonight's dinner is the concept of baking potatoes in a crock pot. Who knew you could do that? Not me. At least, not until I read this. I skipped the limes and rubbed the spuds with seasoned salt, cumin and garlic powder. I also forgot to stab them with a fork before wrapping them up in aluminum, but they didn't explode, so all's well that ends well. Ours cooked on high for about 7 hours, but that's just as much because of my schedule as their actual required cooking time. They may have been done at 5 hours, but if they were, they surely didn't suffer for it.

These sweet potatoes came out PERFECTLY. The skin was crispy and the flesh was buttery soft with a slightly oozy sugary goop-glaze. This might have happened differently if I had stabbed them, but I'm not totally sure. Either way, I am very happy with both the result and the process, and when the craving strikes, you too can have a fully-loaded baked potato in the middle of summer without having to evacuate your overheated kitchen. My two-quart crock pot (the "baby" to the 5-quarter) snugly held two medium-large tubers. I was surprised how subdued the cumin flavor became though. Next time I will probably try a more varied blend of spices. Naturally, I served them with a little butter.

For color and "balance," I tossed some baby spinach greens with oil and my new favorite salad vinegar, the apple cider variety. This is such a simple thing, but the three components of this meal worked so well together that I think I will make sweet potatoes and spinach salad a more frequent combination. We were pretty happy!

Quote of the Day: “It is a solemn thought: Dead, the noblest man's meat is inferior to pork” ~ Mark Twain