Saturday's Story

I was up and wandering around in the night, so I woke up late on Saturday. I made a four cup pot of coffee, turned on Saturday Morning Over Easy and drank a cup on the couch. After a while, I went and cut up a grapefruit for my breakfast.

I shaved and showered, then headed out on my Saturday errands. First I went to the library and got some books. Then, on the way back home, I stopped at the Value Center Market and got a head of cabbage, some scallions and a red pepper.

When I got home, I treated the cats and unloaded the veggies. Then I went out, filled the new feeder and hung it up. I took some photos for you and posted them.

Back inside, I made the coleslaw I explained in the last post. Then I grabbed a book and hit the couch.

About halfway through the book (page 145 to be exact) that elusive nap finally found me!

When I woke up, it was about 6:00 PM. So, I started dinner. First I made the fried onion strips. I whisked together one egg, a half cup of buttermilk and a big splash of hot sauce.

Then I peeled a Vidalia onion and sliced it into 1/2 inch thick strips. The strips went into the buttermilk mixture and got tossed about to coat them evenly.

I let them set for a bit while I prepared the dry ingredients: one cup of flour, one teaspoon of cayenne pepper, a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. That all went into a baggie and I shook it around to mix it up.

Meanwhile, I put about an inch of canola oil in my Dutch oven, stuck in my candy thermometer and heated the oil up to 360 degrees F.

While that was heating up, I made my Cuban sandwich. Now the last time I made them, I used Hoagie buns and they were great. But the show I'd watched that inspired my dinner tonight, the host insisted on using "crusty" bread. She had a French oval loaf. I couldn't find any! So, I bought the baguette instead.

I cut off a chunk that would fit in my "pannini press." No, I don't really own a pannini press. I just use my old George Foreman grill. I bought it back in St. Clair (on my Brother Carl's recommendation) when Jake and I lived on hamburgers. But, it works great!

First problem: I cut the bread almost though and tried to bend it back to make a bun. No way! The crust just snapped. Undaunted, I put together the sandwich. Based on the TV show, I altered my original recipe slightly as well. Instead of yellow mustard on both sides, I put mayo on one side and Dijon mustard on the other. Then I added the ham, two of those "Stacker" Kosher dills and the Swiss cheese. I stuck that in the grill and shut the lid.

The oil was up to temperature, so I added the onion strips into the flour bag and shook it to coat them. I deep-fried them in two batches until they were golden brown (about two minutes). When they were done, I transferred them to a rack over paper towel on a cookie sheet and immediately salted them.

The sandwich was ready, too, so I plated everything up and ate my dinner.

Second problem: the "crusty" bread was so crusty that every time I took a bite, the filling started to squirt out! No, I'm convinced that Hoagie rolls are the way to go!

I watched the taped Friday Night Fights and then went to bed. Just before I drifted off, I realized I'd completely forgotten to try the coleslaw!