Cooking on a Sunday Afternoon

After discussing fried green tomato recipes with Martha, at the farmers market,
     and bringing home her beautiful organic tomatoes,
I felt inspired to try to replicate the awesome BLT that I had,
weeks before,
     at the Smithfield Inn.
I, also, found the PERFECT recipe to use up some of that corn,
     as well as Martha's red tomatoes and peppers! 
With my sister's Mumford & Sons c.d. playing,
     and the kitchen to myself,
I was feeling inspired,  and ready to create a wonderful meal.     
    
The Corn

First thing I did was pull back the husks of the corn, and remove the silk.

I replaced the husks over the corn, and soaked them in water.

When the preheated oven reached 350 degrees,
     I placed the corn directly on the oven rack, and set the timer for 35 minutes.

While the corn was roasting in the oven, I started working on my green tomatoes.

The Tomatoes

I sliced them to a medium thickness, coated them with flour, dipped them in egg,
     then finished them off with a coating of Panko breadcrumbs.  

I placed them in a canola oil drizzled pan, set on medium-high heat,
     allowing the tomatoes to gradually turn nice and golden brown on both sides.  

Once the juices of the tomatoes began to escape, I scooped them out of the pan,
     and placed them on on a paper towel.

During this time, while the corn was in the oven, and the tomatoes were in the pan,
     I put the bacon in the microwave, following the directions on the package.

The Bacon

I used Trader Joe's Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon.

While the corn was roasting, the tomatoes were frying,
                                               and the bacon was in the microwave,
I prepared my ingredients for the salad.

The Salad

I sliced up two juicy red tomatoes into bite-sized pieces,
     as well as a small, sweet onion that I had purchased at a farmers market, the week before.

Like things spicy?  I DO.   

I diced up one of Martha's small, green jalapeno peppers,
     and added it to the tomatoes and onion.

Time for the corn.  

 My timer went off, and I pulled the corn out of the oven,
     allowing them to cool for about 5 minutes, or so.

Once cool, I used a sharp knife to cut the kernels off of two cobs,
     adding the corn to the bowl full of vegetables.

Adding my own twist to the recipe, I threw in a handful of cilantro,
     which I happened to have in the fridge. 

I LOVE cilantro, and will use it any opportunity that I can.
 
I sprinkled the veggies with salt, squeezed the juice from half of a lime, and half of a lemon,
     and tossed the ingredients together with my hands.     

The Sandwich

I heated two store bought artisan rolls in the oven.

I pulled them out, sliced them in half, and began to create "the sandwich". 

I placed a fried green tomato on the roll,
     two to three slices of bacon (broken in half),
then another fried green tomato.

At the Smithfield Inn, they used some type of pimiento spread, which I did not have,
     so I used the homemade honey mint dressing that I also purchased at the farmer's market.  

I plated the sandwiches, adding a few spoonfuls of the salad to each,
     poured myself a glass of red wine, and . . . . . . VOILA!

The Meal

And, I will be honest, the sandwich, while not as good as Smithfield Inn's,
     was PRETTY DARN GOOD.
 
I think if I had used their homemade yeast rolls, it would have been awfully close.

And, the salad?

DELICIOUS. 



I LOVE recipes that use very simple and fresh ingredients that come together so wonderfully.

Enjoy!