Super Hero Sandwich

It's been a hot and humid week here in my little state. Muggy, muggy, muggy. I hate muggy. It makes my hair frizz. I hate frizz. I also hate heating up the oven when it's this hot out so we have been surviving on a variety of cold or grilled food this week and lots of salads.

The garden is going into mass production, so we have had plenty of fresh beans, cukes and zucchini. My eggplants are also going into overdrive, there are like 40 baby eggplants on the plant right now. I have a feeling that I will be lavished with eggplants all at once in a week of so. Time to break out the eggplant recipes.

Friday night we finally got a break from all the humidity after days and days of feeling clammy and sticky. I decided that the oven could finally be turned on again and hot food could once again be consumed! Super Hero Sandwiches for everyone!! I was inspired by Cathy's Caesar Salad Club Sandwich over at Noble Pig. This was her version of a sandwich by fabulous Ina Garten. I made my own little version with a few different ingredients, but I think it could stand it's ground with Ina & Cathy's versions.

Super Hero Sandwich

No formal recipe here, but I have found the perfect condiment for the rest of my life.....this herbed mayo! It is outta this world scrumptious.

For the mayo:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

juice from half a lemon

good bunch of fresh parsley finely chopped

fresh chives, finely chopped

fresh thyme, finely chopped

1 heaping teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1 large clove of garlic, pressed

Oh man this is goof stuff. Makes plain ole mayonnaise look downright pitiful and tasteless.

I cooked a pound of thick sliced bacon in the oven. I didn't use the whole pound for this recipe. Lord that would just be too much bacon...well too much bacon for me, the 3 males in the house don't believe in the words "too much bacon". There is no such thing my husband would argue with you. So I hid the rest of the bacon way in the back in the fridge for later use. I wrapped it in paper towel and put it in a bag so they will think it's lettuce and never touch it.

When the bacon was done I cooked some pancetta until it was nice and golden brown and crispy. Then I took a nice big loaf of ciabatti bread, cut it in half, and let it crisp up in the oven for about 8 - 10 minutes. Once the bread cooled a tiny bit I loaded on the mayo, some fresh basil and spinach, some bacon, a few slices of Genoa salami, fresh provolone cheese, some more basil and spinach, the pancetta, and then topped it with some freshly shaved pecorino romano cheese.

My family declared this "the best sangwitch eva" (that was a Rhode Island accent there). Thanks Cathy & Ina.