I’m a lady… and this Valentine’s Day I’m going to treat myself like a lady. I’ll open doors for myself. I’ll pour myself the first glass of wine. I’ll let me eat the last soft french fry. I’ll drape my coat over a puddle for me to walk across. I’ll slyly check myself out as I walk by. Huh? I’ll buy myself movie tickets and tell me I look pretty today. That’s how it’s going to go down. Except… I won’t put my jacket in a puddle because that’s just dumb. Who does that? Dummies.
This Valentine’s Day is going to get pretty glamorous. I’m going to make myself a sandwich, scoop up some olives and drink a perfectly reasonable amount of wine. Dig it.
This Valentine’s Day, I’d also like to tell these people that I love them… because I do. I love you Asher, Launa, Lauren, Whitney, Zach, Rachel, Jenelle (you crazy lady), Jill, Kitten and Michael. I love you all so much. I love you enough to throw chocolate at you and run away. Wait… what? Let’s make out. Nevermind.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you and you.
It’s a good day to love people. It also seems like a good day to love olives and marbles and wine.
Don’t confuse olives and marbles in your mouth. Mistake.
I’m no rocket scientist. Yea. Duh. This sandwich isn’t a genius combination of ingredients. It is super delicious and melty and green and salty. So at least there’s that.
This is the world in which I’ll be shoveling this sandwich into my face.
Cat eats my olives.
Oh! And this is what I’m having for dessert.
It’s a banana stuffed with dark chocolate and white chocolate and salted peanuts and shredded coconut. I wrapped it in foil and baked it in the oven. When I was a kid we would pull this sort of stunt while at sleep away camp, but we’d cook the foil covered bananas in the campfire. That’s livin.
Also… don’t be alarmed that the baked banana peel will be black. That’s what happens when bananas peels are baked. The inside will be a warm baked banana topped with melted chocolate, et al. But… it’s not like this is a fancy show piece dessert. It’s more of a dessert-for-one sort of situation.
Now this is the part where I give you instructions on how to make a sandwich…. as if you don’t already know…. forgive me.
Spinach Goat Cheese Ham Sandwich
Makes: one sandwich
2 slices whole wheat or sourdough bread
2 tablespoons goat cheese, softened
handful of fresh spinach leaves
4 slices thin sliced ham
whole grain mustard
fresh ground black pepper
scant 1 tablespoon butter for the skillet
Place a skillet over medium low heat and melt butter.
Spread one tablespoon of goat cheese on each slice of bread. Top one slice with spinach and the other slice with ham. Spread a bit of whole grain mustard atop the ham and smush the two pieces of bread together. Grill on either side until golden brown and delicious. Remove from skillet. Allow to cool for two or three minutes before cutting in half. Enjoy with olives and wine.
Baked Bananas
Makes: one banana
1 banana
2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips
1 tablespoons white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon sweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon roasted and salted peanuts
Place a rack in the center of the oven and place a baking sheet on the rack. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut the head and butt of of a whole banana. Slice lengthwise down the peel (not through the entire banana, just the peel) and open the peel, revealing just the top of the banana.
Stuff banana with chocolate chips, coconut and cuts. Wrap loosely in foil and place on baking sheet to cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before unwrapping and enjoying straight from the peel. Get in there.
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Joy,
You made me blush. I look good when I blush. For that, I thank you. For being you, I love you. For loving Rachel, I adore you. I could go on and on and on…
I have been looking forward to making this sandwich all week (sad, I know) and just had it for dinner. Sweet Lord. It.was.perfect.
Thanks, Joy! :)
1st off just wanted to say that I LOVE your blog and Happy Valentine’s Day! And I love that idea of the banana dessert over a campfire. I do alot of camping and I am soooo gonna be hit on the next trip, thanks!
Amazing sandwich! Tried it on ciabatta bread. Yum! Getting ready to attempt your peanut butter pecan biscotti. Thanks for your recipes.
I made a variation of this sandwich for lunch today. I used the basic concept, but used spreadable swiss cheese instead of goat cheese (not a fan of goat cheese), and I used spicy dijon mustard. I also made it on whole wheat honey-oat bread and used cooking spray instead of butter. Less calories :) It was delicious!
hey!
I made the sandwich for my son and friends, I must say it was an exito!
Thanks Joy for your delicious recipes!
for a second i was afraid you weren’t gonna give the banana recipe.
sorry i doubted you :(
I love your sense of humor, and my cat would be eating the olives too. I have goat cheese, spinach, ham and a panini maker. Sounds like dinner to me.
I have been looking forward to making this sandwich all week and just had it for dinner. Sweet Lord. It is perfect.
There are just so many good things about this post. First –you always make me chuckle! I hope you had a wonderful V-day. The sandwich looks amazing and I’ll try it one day for sure. I love goat cheese but my hubby only likes it in minimal amounts so I’m always looking for ways to use it up. Of course I buy the Costco size log. Haha. Lastly – we called those Banana Boats and used to make them camping with choc chips and mini marshmallows (kind of a replacement for Smores) but I make them occasionally for myself with just choc chips. The idea to add coconut and peanuts is friggin’ brilliant and I cannot wait to try this. Simple but sooooo YUM-O!
Oh, I am SO EXCITED for your cookbook! Will the yummy dessert-banana and Fancy Grilled Cheese recipes be in it too? : D Because that would be awesome.
Wow. You’re a genius! I love this blog of yours. I’ve been bookmarking recipe after recipe. And such beautiful photographs to match!
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