BLT Bliss

I must confess, I have a little crush on bacon.  But, really, who doesn't?  All I could think about this afternoon was a BLT and how great that would be for dinner but, I wanted to make the BLT blog-worthy so, I had to kick it up a notch (or two).

First, the bread.  Going beyond your typical grocery store variety, I needed a fresh and flavorful loaf of something special to build my sandwich upon.  The best bread (& wine selection) in my neck of the woods is found at the fabulous Empire Cafe.  A quick stop there this afternoon and I was on my way with a delicious loaf of fresh ciabiatta and a bottle of Zinfandel.  Happy girl.

Next, the B.  Bacon.  I used some higher quality, thick cut bacon purchased at the grocery store.  Nothing fancy or too expensive--just a step or two up from your regular thin slice bacon.  Done.

Now, the L.  Lettuce.  Wanting something that offered a little more flavor, I decided to go with peppery arugula and fresh basil leaves, tossed with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Yum.

And finally, the T.  Tomato.  There isn't a whole lot out there that is better than a ripe, juicy, sweet tomato, straight out of the garden, warm from the sun, sliced thick, dressed with nothing more than a little olive oil, salt and pepper.   Oh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  But, unfortunately, finding a really tasty, quality tomato at the grocery store, on the Oregon coast, in the middle of February is near impossible.  To get the most flavor out the tomatoes I had to work with, I decided to roast them...low and slow...concentrating their flavor and enhancing their natural sweetness.

It was a sunny day today so, in the spirit of springtime, I decided to include the grill by lightly grilling the bread, the base of this open faced BLT, making it slightly crispy and looking oh so delicious with a few toasty grill marks.

Stacked high on a plate, served with a big glass of Bonterra Zinfandel, our BLTs tonight.....were something to blog about. 

Roasted Tomatoes
If you have the time, the best way to roast these tomatoes is low and slow--200 degrees for 1.5-2 hours.  The flavor after roasting is amazing making them perfect for layering in a caprese salad or on a fancy BLT.  If you're short on time (like I was tonight), you can increase the temp in your oven to about 300 and roast for about 45 minutes.

5 Roma tomatoes, halved pole to pole, seeds removed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp sugar

Arrange your seeded tomato halves on a rimmed baking sheet.  Sprinkle evenly with the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar.  Roast at 200 degrees for about two hours (preferred) OR, if you don't have that kind of time, roast at 300 for about 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven, set aside.

While the tomatoes are roasting, fry about 12oz of thick sliced bacon until crispy but not cremated.  Drain of excess oil on a plate lined with a paper towel.

For the greens, combine about 2-3 cups of loosely packed fresh arugula (washed and dried) with 10-12 fresh basil leaves, torn into large pieces.  To the greens add about 2 tbsp of good olive oil, 1 tbsp good balsamic vinegar and about 1/4 tsp each of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Toss to combine.

Slice your good, crusty bread thick and on an angle to create a large surface area.  Lightly drizzle slices with olive oil and grill on a preheated grill (about 250 degrees) until the edges are crispy and you're seeing some light grill marks.  You don't want to over toast the bread and dry it out because it will be too crunchy and harder to eat.

To assemble the BLTs, lay a piece of your grilled bread on a plate.  Place two or three pieces of tomato on top of the bread, followed by a few slices of the cooked bacon and top with a generous pile of the dressed arugula and basil leaves.  Drizzle the whole sandwich with a little more olive oil, and serve with a few slices of avocado on the side.  A fresh take on an old favorite--enjoy!