Grilled Veggie Sandwiches with Garlic Spread

With summer here, it means I actually have time to cook.  And not just frozen chicken nuggets.  Real cooking.  With real food.  Summer also means a lot of great produce.  Sadly, I was too busy this spring to get my garden going, so I'm relying on neighbor Jerry's generosity and the WinCo produce section.

This week I loaded up on vegetables.  Thursday's dinner was grilled veggie sandwiches with homemade garlic spread.  Last night we had my dad over for dinner and threw some hot dogs (ok, that's not real food, but it was fun) and veggies on the grill.  Afterward, we let the kids roast marshmallows.

I don't really have a recipe for grilled veggie sandwiches.  I buy whatever vegetables are reasonably priced.  This time I ended up with onions, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes.  I really like red bell peppers, but at over $1 each, I can do without.  The eggplant cost more than I like to pay for produce, but I knew it would be so good.

The veggies would be best cooked on the grill, but I usually stick them under the broiler.

Kimiko made a similar sandwich a few years ago.  You can find it here.

Roasted Veggie Sandwiches

Veggies (onions, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, etc.)

Oil for brushing (I use vegetable)

Salt and pepper

Bread

Garlic spread

Slice veggies and place on broiler pans.

April helped me cut the zucchini and squash.  Otherwise,
I would have cut it lengthwise to fit better on the
sandwiches.

Brush both sides with oil; season with salt and pepper.  Place under broiler until veggies start to turn golden.  Turn; brush with more oil.  Return to broiler until second side is cooked as desired.

Meanwhile, toast sandwich bread and make Garlic Spread.  When veggies are done, spread garlic spread on toasted bread and top with veggies.

Garlic Spread

2 ounces Neufchatel cheese, softened (softened cream cheese will work)

1 clove garlic (more or less as desired)

Pinch kosher salt

2-3 Tbsp. mayonnaise

In a small bowl, cream Neufchatel; set aside.  On cutting board, finely chop garlic.  Add a pinch of kosher salt.  Using side of chef's knife, press down and drag knife toward you over garlic to pulverize.  Run knife blade through garlic.  Wipe off knife and pulverize again.  Repeat process until garlic is a smooth paste.

Mix into creamed Neufchatel.  Mix in mayonnaise until smooth.  Yield:  makes about 3 sandwiches with spread on both pieces of bread.