Flat

If food is any indicator of mood, I must be feeling flat. Yesterday we had pancakes for breakfast, and today, dinner was various forms of squished foods.

It was actually delicious- turkey and havarti cheese paninis with spinach and artichoke spread served with a (more than) generous portion of tostones.




Tostones are one of Wil's favorite guilty pleasures. I mean, maybe they're not all that bad for you, they are, afterally, a vegetable, or a fruit, or something. But anything you fry- twice- can't be all that good for you. We only cook them every now and then. Here they are, in for their first swim in the oil. Once they become lightly golden, and semi-soft, you take them out, smash them flat, and fry them until done, seasoning generously with salt as soon as they're out of the oil.

Now, I'm not much of a useless kitchen gadget collector. Most of the things I keep serve more than one purpose, but after burning the hell out of myself smashing hot plantains with the heel of my hand for years, I finally decided that this little bugger was worth the $2.00 or so that I paid for it.


Finally, the sandwich. I could brag and say that I whipped this gourmet baby up from scratch, but I'd be lying. I enjoy a gourmet, home prepared meal just as much as the rest of you do. But reality is, most nights I just don't have the time or the energy for much more than popping a bag of popcorn in the nuker. I cut corners where I can.

So the meat is just your standard variety lunch meat. I did splurge and buy the "all natural" stuff. The cheese- havarti is my absolute favorite cheese in the whole world. I can't really explain it. It's sharp, yet creamy, swiss-like, but without the pungency. I was surprised to find it, presliced, and in the same section as the Kraft singles. For the spinach and artichoke spread I really cheated. You know those little frozen TGI Friday's spinach and artichoke dip appetizers they sell? Yup. Three minutes in the microwave, stirring once. Viola! A gourmet spread for your sammich!
The bread was actually on the markdown cart at the grocery. Apparently it was baked yesterday, and therefore, no good today. Hogwash! It was superb! Garlic and Parmesan sub rolls. Yummy.

So I cut the bread in half, spread both sides with the spinach and artichoke dip, layered the turkey and cheese, then placed the prepped sandwich between two hot and heavy skillets covered in foil. The foil was simply to keep the "nasty" bottom of the skillet off the food. Like I said, I don't own very many kitchen gadgets that don't multi-task, so I could never splurge for a panini maker or sandwich press.



The sandwiches were rich, warm, and incredibly filling. I'm wishing I had given up at the half-way mark right now. I feel like I could absolutely burst.

The tostones were pretty darn good, too. I mean, how do you go wrong with salty, fried stuff?

So that was dinner tonight, in all it's simplicity. I guess I'm posting this to prove that you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen to make a meal that tastes like you did.

I actually sliced and did the first fry on the plantains earlier in the day when I had a little free time. I flattened them and set them aside until we were ready to eat, and then quickly finished them off as the sandwiches were toasting. I also pre-made the spinach dip, placing the extra in a tupperware in the fridge for future snacking engagements, and so once it was time to actually cook, it all came together in less than ten minutes, and that with a toddler underfoot.

Sometimes you can use pre-packaged stuff in ways that make them seem a little more "gourmet" than they really are.