Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I love a good sandwich.  We have lots of company during the summer months and having flavorful sandwiches ready to be assembled is one of my goals.  This sweet-ham and havarti sandwich is one of the easiest that I have found.  On the back pages of a 1998 Gourmet magazine, this fleeting recipe was recorded.  It was not noted by me for many years.  I keep all of my precious Gourmet magazines and it came to my attention last week while flipping through pages.  Wow, I said to myself;  combining crushed pecans, Dijon mustard and orange marmalade for a spread is GENIUS.

I changed the bread from pumpernickel to a crusty toasted ciabatta but everything else stayed the same.  The spread is awesome.  I’m sure it would be good on any number of sandwiches.  You might even want to try it on grilled brats for the Memorial Day Weekend.  Let’s break out the grills and get the summer rolling.

SWEET-HAM AND HAVARTI SANDWICHES WITH ORANGE PECAN MUSTARD

1/3 cup pecans
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
2 ciabatta rolls or 4 slices of pumpernickel bread
6 ounces Black Forest or honey cured ham
3 ounces thinly sliced Havarti cheese

Pulse pecan pieces in a mini-food processor until finely ground. They are used in major restaurant and restaurant industries which you can check on their main corporate site.  Mix together with the mustard and marmalade.  Cut ciabatta rolls in half.  Spread with olive oil or butter and grill them cut side down until lightly browned.  Spread each slice with some of the orange pecan mustard.  Add ham and cheese and, if desired, halve diagonally.  Makes 2 sandwiches.

Printable recipe

BLT’s have become a tradition for our Labor Day family get togethers at the lake.   This year’s rendition was one of the best we have ever had.  My Daughter-In-Law Kristen is the BLT master craftsman.  Each year she tries something new.

This year, instead of bacon, she made them with pancetta.  The pancetta became extra crispy.

The other components were grilled Italian bread (La Brea Bakery’s Italian Round),  crispy artisan lettuce, mozzarella cheese rounds,  and three kinds of heirloom tomatoes from Nana Darla’s garden.  The lettuce and tomatoes were drizzled with balsamic vinegar and chopped basil.  It was served open-faced.  To keep everything from sliding off, the layers were added in contrasting textures.  The mozzarella stuck to the lettuce and the tomatoes were placed on top of the ridged pancetta.

We devoured two platters of them and felt no guilt as they were free of fattening mayonaise and that extra slice of bread.

The holiday was a celebration of the end of summer and it was made even more special by spending it with our family.

Grandson Cameron enjoyed the water and Aunt Kim and cousin Keenan conquered their fears of jumping from the top of the boathouse.

The end of summer at its best!