cool kitchen: open faced prosciutto + plum sammiches

during the hot summer nights, it's nice not to have to heat up the stove. we try to grill a lot during the summer, but summer storms sometimes get in then way. tonight I'm starting a collection of "cool kitchen" recipes perfect for the summer months!


tonight's dinner was inspired by a recipe in Cooking Light this month and only required the heat of a toaster.

as I tend to do, I made this one my own with what we had on-hand, plus what I remembered to pick up at the store.

ingredients:
4 slices of whole grain bread
6 slices of thinly sliced prosciutto
2 ripe plums
3/4 cup apricot preserves
2-3 tablespoons soft cheese
1/2 cup of arugula, torn into small pieces

directions:

llightly toast the bread on each side. while bread is toasting, slice the plums into thin wedges.

once bread is toasted, evenly spread apricot preserves over each slice of toast. then spread goat cheese over preserves (if you prefer crumbled goat cheese, slightly pressing it into the bread will make it easier to eat). top the spreads with the plum slices.

after the plums are in place, tear a slice of prosciutto into smaller pieces (about 4-5 per slice) and place on sandwich. repeat for each sandwich. i used 1 slice per sandwich, which gave me 2 extras. one is a chef's treat (enjoy!!!) and the other is split between the 4 sandwiches.


after the prosciutto, top with torn arugula. voila!

serving suggestion:
we served with a side salad of mixed greens, red onion, alfalfa sprouts, fresh pecorino cheese, black pepper, olive oil & balsamic.

prep time: 20 minutes
servings: makes 4 open sandwiches, so 2 servings in my house

enjoy!

what are some of your fave summer recipes to keep the kitchen cool??