Fried Green Tomatoes

It's summer (well, near the end of it), and the latest issue of Cuisine magazine had a story on Fried Green Tomatoes. I love Fried Green Tomatoes when they're done right, so I decided to make them the centerpiece of dinner last night. But since it's summer and fresh produce is plentiful, I decided to make it a veggie-lovers dinner as well.

First I made a tomato salad. I made my own viniagrette: one part red wine vinegar, three parts EVOO, some rasperry jam that i put throug a sieve, a bit of parmesan, and salt and pepper, Yumm. I took some small Campari Tomatoes and quartered them, halved some grape tomatoes, took a yellow tomato and cut that up, added some finely sliced red onion and a bit of basil julienne, and voila, a tomato salad. Once it sat for a good hour or two it was wonderful.

Then there was a potato salad. Some baby Reds cut into quarter after cooking. I made a dressing of mayo and sour cream, red onion, celery, dill, and salt and pepper, with a bit of red wine vinegar. Throw in a diced had boiled egg and again, voila, a great potato salad.

But the feature and star of the meal was the BL&fgT's--Bacon, Lettuce, and (fried green) Tomato sandwiches. And some extra Fried Green Tomatoes on the side.

To start I made a remoulade--mayo and sour cream, chipotle for heat, diced capers, red onions, and pickle relish. Let it sit a bit and wow, was it good.

For the fried green tomatoes I sliced them a quarter to 3/8 inch thick, dipped in a buttermilk/egg white mixture, then in some very finely ground cormeal with a bit of cayenne and salt. Let them sit for a good hour in the refrigerator, then fried in oil. Outstanding!

The sandwiches were great. We had two apiece, each with a different bread. The first was a whole wheat, whole grain baguette I sliced and toasted. The second was with an onion-egg bun that i sliced and toasted. The sandwiches were simply built: a bit of the remoulade, some "living" lettuce (got it at the farmers market with the roots still attached and still alive), two sliced of thick center-cut bacon, and the fried green tomato. They were outstanding, if I do say so myself (and I do!).

We had quite a spread, as you can tell from this photo. Bon Apetit!