Two Tasty Tunas and Some Grilled Pear Topped with Brie!

Tuna is the kind of sandwich ingredient that you can really play and experiment with to suit your taste at any given moment.  It’s like the black cardigan of sandwiches: it pairs well with other elements and is very hard to mess up.  I had a hard time deciding what kind of tuna sandwich to share, so I picked my two top favorites and threw in a desert/appetizer/side sandwich as a bonus, grilled pear and brie.  I also couldn’t help but have a lot of fun coming up with this post’s title, a funny play on the 12 Days of Christmas Song.  Enjoy!

Tasty Tuna #1: The Veggie Tuna

This sandwich is packed full of fresh, crunchy veggies piled thickly on some artisan bread.  I also went light on the mayo since I don’t like my tuna drowning in excessive sauce and I wanted to be able to taste each vegetable in the mix.

You will need:

-Sandwich Bread; I used Black Pepper and Swiss Cheese Bread from the Save-On-Foods bakery for all three sandwiches and it worked beautifully!

-One 170 g can of Clover Leaf Solid White Tuna, drained and flaked (one can makes 2-3 sandwiches, depending on how thick you make each one)

-Grated Carrot

-Chopped Red Pepper (one half to a whole pepper, depending on its size)

-Chopped pickles or ½ tbsp of sweet relish

-One heaping tablespoon of Hellmann’s Light Mayonnaise

-Cheese; I tried Saputo’s Monterey Jack for something a little different

-Dill sprinkled on top

Assembly tips:

1-Mix the carrot, chopped pepper, pickles/relish, mayo and tuna together.

2-Spread on bread.

3-Add cheese.

4-Serve with leftover red pepper strips or carrot sticks.

5-Enjoy!

Some popular add-on's for veggies: celery (normally a tuna classic but individual stalks were short on hand at the store), green pepper, red onion, spicy banana peppers (could also be a very interesting addition; try it!)

Tasty Tuna #2: The Spicy Tuna 

I was really excited to try this spicy sandwich because of its unusual ingredient: horseradish!  I was inspired by a salmon spread of my Mom's because she always uses a generous helping of hot horseradish and I wondered how it would taste with tuna.  It was so good that this sandwich completely forgoes the mayo in favor of the horseradish for a full and spicy tuna mix that's sure to surprise and satisfy.

You will need:

-Sandwich bread (see above)

-One 170 g can of Clover Leaf Solid White Tuna, drained and flaked

-Two tablespoons of Woodman’s Extra Hot Creamed Horseradish

-Chopped Red Pepper

-A mellow cheese, like Swiss or the Monterey Jack I tried with Tasty Tuna #1

-Paprika, sprinkled to taste

-Fresh Ground Pepper

Assembly tip:

1-While you mix the tuna with the horseradish and red peppers, keep tasting a little bit until you've reached your desired spiciness, along with the paprika and ground pepper.  I think this sandwich would pair well with a mixed green salad or a tomato vegetable soup.

Desert/Appetizer/Side-Sandwich: Grilled Pear and Brie

This bite-sized sandwich of grilled pear and brie sizzled happily on my go-to tool for grilled sandwiches: George Foreman's Lean, Mean, Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine.  Just plug it in, let it heat up and grill away! The creamy, decadent brie oozes apologetically when heated, wrapping snuggly around the pear, still sweet and juicy.

You will need:

-Sandwich Bread (see above)

-One pear, cut into thin slices

-Belle-Creme, Triple Cream Brie, cut into thin slices

Assembly Tips:

1-Put a slice of pear between two slices of brie, like a sandwich within a sandwich. ;)  This ensures the sandwich will melt together.

2-Check for melted cheese on each side of the pear and remove when it starts to melt out to avoid burning.

It would make a lovely appetizer sandwich at a holiday party - any excuse to eat good brie! 

I feasted on a half of each of these lovely sandwiches tonight, as I hope you do whenever you make your favorite kind of tasty tuna sandwich.  

Cheers!