Fancy melted sandwich

A few weeks back, I bought some gruyere to fancy up a meal or two. When the cupboards were a bit empty one night, I decided to scrounge up some dinner, and make a grilled sandwich.

This masterpiece is made with whole wheat bread, Boars Head turkey, bacon, granny smith, and gruyere. Melted on a handy one burner vintage nonstick grill pan from my grandma. This is one of those sandwiches that I would order out at a cafe, and think "hey, I could make this at home" and then forget. This time, inspiration hit! The crisp granny smith added some nice textural crunch, and the bacon added a layer of saltiness that was missing from the turkey. Melted gruyere tied the whole sandwich together. Delicious!

P.S. I do not recommend snacking on cold, non-melted gruyere. It is pungent and nutty and kind of acrid tasting. When melted, it really transforms itself and accents the other flavors in the dish. I definitely learned my beginners lesson!

Violet Vignette

We have a small patch of grass outside of our place, and these lovely wild violets pop up each spring. This year, I found some really inexpensive bud vases at Crate and Barrel (where else!) and snatched two up. Since purple is my favorite color, I decided to spruce up the inside of our place with some violet clippings in the bud vase.

Do you like my vignette? I think it adds just the right amount of color.

I've also been secretly dying to try Creme Yvette, which I first read about in Martha Stewart Living last spring. French liquer distilled from essences of violets and berries? Sign me up! I should make it my mission to find a local place to purchase it; their website only lists California and New York City retail stores.