Grilled Caprese Sandwich with Basil Pestou and Balsamic Reduction

Heirloom tomatoes. The last of the summer crop are still available but wont be for long as we transition in to fall. We have to use them as much as we can while we have them. Tonight I decided to make something quick, easy and fresh with a couple extra levels of flavor that the kids would enjoy as well as Sam and I. Who doesn't love a good grilled sandwich?

Grilled Capresse Sandwich with Basil Pestou and a Balsamic Reduction

 

I made sweet potato wedges for our side but trust me this sandwich stands alone. We make sweet potatoes a lot because they are fiber rich therefor filling and super easy. Get your Sweetpotatoes going first because they take the most time.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
With the skin on slice lengthwise into wedges. We used 2 giant SP's but your family may need more or less.
Arrange on a foil lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and I sprinkled with Paprika for fun.
After 25 minutes, check them. They should be sizzling hot and cooked through. At this point turn on your broiler and place pan back in the oven under broiler for about 10 minutes to crisp them up.  Voila!

While your potatoes are cooking you'll have plenty of time to make the Pestou, reduction and sandwiches.

 

 

 

Easy Balsamic Reduction. 

In a small saucepan over medium high heat add one cup of Balsamic Vinegar and 1 1/2 Tablespoons raw organic cane sugar. Give it a whisk and bring it to a high simmer. Turn down slightly to Medium heat and let it simmer for about 12 minutes until it is reduced down to about a 1/4 of a cup. It should be thick like syrup, look rich and taste amazing.

Basil Pestou 

Prounounced \ PEE - stu \ It's different from Pesto because it doesn't contain nuts as traditional pestos do. I spread this on the inside of the bread and my kids ate it up. It's a great way to sneak in flavors for the littles that they really don't see because the melted cheese and tomato meld everything together.

Here is what you'll need.

A handful of fresh basil

2 cloves of fresh peeled garlic

1/4 cup of olive oil

A good squeeze of lemon about a 1/4 to a 1/2 of one. 

pinch of salt

pinch of pepper

 

 

Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until desired consistency. Make sure you taste it and add more of whatever you think it needs. 

Now on to the Caprese Sandwiches.

Here's what you'll need.

A good rustic loaf of bread.

heirloom tomatoes

whole milk mozzarella cheese. 

Turn your pan on medium heat and brush with olive oil. I assemble them in layers while they cook.
Start with cheese side down then when cheese starts to melt, add tomato slices.

Spread Pestou on top slice of bread and cap it off.

Brush the top of sandwich with olive oil and flip when your ready.

Slice and serve. I drizzle the balsamic reduction right on the sandwich but Mabel prefers to dip. It was even good to swipe the SP wedges in it. If you're feeling not so ambitious and want to leave out the reduction. Just drizzle on regular balsamic vinegar. 

Let me know what you think!

week thirty eight.

 

Mabel: I love her sense of wonder. When she is curious about things she wont stop until she figures them out and has complete understanding.

Gus: I love our mornings together, he is such a peaceful little boy. He loves reading together and taking breaks to snuggle. We have the best conversations about things that you wouldn't think a two year old understood.

week thirty seven.

 

 

  

Mabel: This summer she went from bobbing in the water with her floaties to jumping of the edge end swimming across the pool. She loves the water and has no fear and she always counts to twenty before she jumps.

Gus: What can I say about this boy? He truly is as sweet and happy as he looks.

week thirty six.

 

 

This past weekend we had some major germs rolling through our household. Both kids had bad cold/coughs and sleep was sparse. I'm thankful it has passed.

Mabel: She has always been really great at going to bed without a fuss. Lately she has been coming up with some creative excuses to get out of bed and ends up burning the midnight oil furthermore driving Mama crazy. So we decided to make a chart to keep track of how well she went to bed. If she went 4 nights in a row without getting up, she could pick a prize from the "Frozen section" at Target. Sure-enough she reached her goal and picked out a lovely Elsa dress, drenched in glitter, and has been wearing it ever since.

Gus: We hear from various people often that he is a local celebrity. He loves wearing hats, listening to rock n' roll, calling Daddy Sam, and knows all of his friends' mothers names by heart.

week thirty five.

 

"A picture of my kids once a week, every week in 2014."

Mabel: One morning when we had extra time before we had to leave for school and she wanted her nails painted. I love her little freckles.

Gus: A birds eye view of my favorite boy. 

sweetest reads.

 

Thanks for checking out my first post in my new series, sweetest reads.  Here's how this will go. Every so often I will introduce 3 books recommended by Mabel and Gus and of course myself and Sam. As I have said a  thousand times, we love to read and have done a lot of it. Reading can be boring and become easy to avoid for you and your kids when you read the same book over and over. If you make it a priority and mix it up I think you'll find that reading can be really enjoyable for the whole family.

Check it out below!
*I will always attach links where to buy or you can ask your local children's librarian if they carry the book. If they don't I know that librarians always love a good recommendation.


Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer
This book comes recommended by Mabel. I actually love it as well. She is in full on princess obsessed mode and to be honest it can get a little annoying. I have to constantly remind her that you don't always have to be a princess or that pink and purple and sparkly are not the only colors you can like. I tried my hardest to shield her from our pretty princess culture and the idea that girls should only aspire to be cute or pretty but it's hard once the outside influences start seeping in. All the Olivia books are great for inspiring little girls to be intelligent, assertive, unique and a little sassy.

What can a Crane Pick Up? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Gus loves all things construction right now and this book is just that with a little bit of creative humor.

No Fits, Nilson! by Zachariah OHora
OK so lets be honest for a second. My kids throw fits. All the time. Full on crazy. Sometimes over absolutely nothing. I'm constantly found doing the threatening whisper yell or bribing them in the grocery store to keep them from losing it. This book has really great illustrations and is about a clever little girl and her imaginary friend helping one another to get through the day as smoothly as possible and keeping your eye on the prize.

Feel free to come back and let me know what you thought of this weeks books in the comments. Also if you have your own recommendations I'd love to hear!

Thanks again!