[1] Open-face Caprese sandwich for breakfast or brunch (photos #1 and #4 © Stella Cheese).

[2] Mozzarella, tomatoes and basil are the components of “everything” Caprese. Check out the recipes (photo © S Vario Photo | Panther Media).

[3] The same concept turns into crostini for snacks or cocktails. Here’s the recipe (photo © DeLallo).

[4] Thanks to Stella Mozzarella for the breakfast sandwich recipe.

August is National Sandwich Month.

Usually, we head to our Sandwich Glossary and pick a different type of sandwich each time we make one.

Go beyond the everyday tuna or grilled cheese to something more celebratory, bánh mì or a Croque Monsieur?

With the beautiful summer tomatoes at hand, we’re adding them to every type of sandwich.

Here, an open-faced sandwich for breakfast or brunch—although you can have one any time.

Think of it as a variation of Eggs Benedict or a sophisticated Egg McMuffin.

If you’d rather have a more conventional sandwich, make a:

 
And check our:

 
 
RECIPE: CAPRESE BREAKFAST & BRUNCH SANDWICH

Ingredients For 4 Open-Face Sandwiches

 
Preparation

1. THINLY SLICE the tomatoes and mozzarella. Lightly toast the English muffins (this can be done while you continue prepping).

2. POACH the eggs: Add a few inches of water to a cooking pot and bring to a light simmer. Add the white vinegar and swirl lightly.

3. CRACK the eggs and slowly guide them into the swirling water. Allow them to cook for 2-3 minutes (the whites should be firm but flexible when removed).

4. REMOVE the eggs from the pot with a slotted spoon and carefully air-dry them on paper towels.

5. TOP one side of the toasted English muffins with a slice of mozzarella, tomato and poached egg. Add the basil, and lightly drizzle with balsamic. Garnish with a grind of black pepper.
 

MORE CAPRESE RECIPES

It’s more than salad. How about Caprese sandwiches and pasta?

For those who like the idea of homemade jam but have never wanted to undertake the labor to make it:

This tip’s for you!

These fresh quick jam recipes—Strawberry Jam and Blueberry Preserves—came to us from Anson Mills, purveyor of organic heirloom grains: the finest grains, flours, grits, rices beans and peas we’ve ever had (check them out).

They recipes below make “fresh” jam because they have no pectin or other gelling agent, and aren’t sterilized in jars to preserve them.

They’re “quick” because they take just 45 minutes to make.

“They’re is so much tastier than a jar of [conventional homemade] jam,” says Anson Mills.

“We wonder why anyone goes through the labored orchestration of traditional jam.

“Fantastically perfumed, lightly jelled, perfectly balanced with bright berry acid and sweetness, this jam is great on ice cream, yogurt, in hand pies, or on toast.”

All you need are:

 
 
> Jam, Jelly, Marmalade, Preserves & Other Spreads: The Difference
 
 
RECIPE #1: FRESH STRAWBERRY JAM

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the strawberries and lemon juice in a 4.5-quart Dutch oven. Cover and bring to a very gentle simmer over medium-low heat, occasionally swirling the pot. Cook until the berries begin go limp and are swimming in juice, about 10 minutes.

2. ADD the sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Return the mixture to a gentle simmer and continue to cook, uncovered and stirring infrequently—just to check for sticking—until the jam registers 221° to 222°F on a digital instant-read thermometer, 35 to 45 minutes.

NOTE from Anson Mills: Berry jams are typically cooked to 221°F. While temperature is an excellent guideline, pouring the hot jam into a bowl set on a scale to weigh it provides a more reliable indicator for us. Some jam-makers swear by a wrinkle-test whereby a spoonful of cooked jam is dropped from a spoon onto a frozen plate. If the jam wrinkles as a finger pushes through it on the plate, the jam is done. We tried that, too. It works!

3. TRANSFER the jam to a glass container or jar with a lid and let cool to room temperature (lid off). Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze indefinitely.
 
 
RECIPE #2: FRESH BLUEBERRY PRESERVES

The recipe stir 6 ounces of the cooked, strained berries back into the jelly. If all the cooked berries were added back in, the preserves would be too loose. Use the remaining cooked berries in another way; e.g., mix into yogurt, smoothie or shake; serve as a dessert sauce.

We made blueberry soda by mixing the preserves with club soda.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. POSITION a fine-mesh strainer over a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan and set aside.

2. COMBINE the blueberries and lemon juice in a 4.5-quart Dutch oven. Cover, bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until the berries go limp and are swimming in juice, about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Pour the berries into the strainer and let the juices drip into the saucepan for 15 minutes without pushing on the fruit.

3. MOVE the strainer with the berries to rest atop a medium bowl to collect additional drips. Bring the juices in the saucepan to a simmer over medium-high heat, add the sugar, and stir until completely dissolved. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally to check for sticking and adding newly collected juice from the berries to the pot, until the jelly registers 221°F on an instant-read digital thermometer and weighs 9 to 10 ounces when poured into a bowl on a digital scale, about 10 minutes.

4. STIR 6 ounces of the strained blueberries into the jelly. Transfer to glass container or jar with a lid. Let cool completely, cover; refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze indefinitely.
 
 
© Copyright Anson Mills 2020. All Rights Reserved.

[1] Homemade jam in 45 minutes (photos #1, #2, #3, #4 © Anson Mills)!

[2] Beyond toast: Spoon it on oatmeal, pancakes,ice cream and other desserts.

[3] Look for firm, just-right strawberries. This isn’t a recipe to use up overripe fruit.

[4] Who needs the toast? You’ll want to eat it from the jar.

[5] Use fresh, not frozen, berries.

[6] Top ice cream or sorbet (photo © MS Photographic | iStock Photo

*Get more juice from a lemon by heating it whole in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds. No microwave? Roll it on the counter under heavy pressure from your palm. In either case, a room temperature lemon is best.

August 13th is National Filet Mignon Day.

The simplest way to garnish a steak is with a pat of butter, or a compound butter like blue cheese butter, garlic herb butter or truffle butter (photo #2).

While we’re fine with steak sauce with a sirloin steak, a tender, subtle cut like filet mignon benefits from a more complicated preparation like mustard sauce, red wine sauce (photo #3) or mushroom sauce (photo #4)?

Add Dijon mustard to taste for a Dijon sauce, add a bit of cream for a cream sauce.

We’ve even tried it with creamy parmesan sauce (our suggestion is to save this preparation for a less expensive cut, like sirloin).

But we actually like the “more is better” approach, and serve grilled filet mignon and other cuts of steak with three or four sauces (photo #5).

Different bites, different experiences.

Don’t want a sauce, per se? Use a topping:

 
 
WHAT IS FILET MIGNON?

The most tender cut of beef comes from the small end of the tenderloin, inside the rib cage of the steer. It accounts for less than 1% of the entire carcass (see the small red triangle on image #6).

That’s why it’s so expensive.

The tenderloin runs across the back of the steer. Because this area of the animal is not weight-bearing, the connective tissue is not toughened by exercise. This results in extremely tender meat.

Filet mignon is lightly marbled and mild flavored compared to other cuts, and is best served rare to medium rare.

Boneless, it is ideally 2-1/2 inches thick (although it is sliced thinner) and 1-1/2 to 3 inches in diameter.

The term “filet mignon” is a French term. The literal meaning is small, cute or dainty (mignon) boneless slice (filet).

Chateaubriand is the center, thickest cut from the tenderloin, and a specific preparation.

Filet mignon can also be served raw, as carpaccio.

On restaurant menus it is called filet mignon, tournedos, medallions, filet de boeuf and tenderloin steak.

But the term filet mignon is not used in France!

It was invented in 1906 by O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) in his book, The Four Million.

Some Other Names For Filet Mignon

 
 
> Check Out The Different Cuts Of Beef In Our Beef Glossary

[1] Filet mignon naked, waiting of a sauce or garnish (photo © Chianina Steakhouse | Long Beach).

[2] Filet mignon with truffle butter (photo © Eddie Merlot’s).

[3] Filet mignon in red wine sauce (photo © Palm Restaurant | New York City).

[4] Make a mushroom sauce, or add mushrooms to the red wine sauce. Mushrooms and filet mignon are a perfect pairing (photo © Bagatelle Restaurant | New York City).

[5] Fun food: a choice of sauces for dipping (photo © Fleming’s Steakhouse).

[6] See the little red triangle? That’s the filet mignon (image © Joe Smack | Wikipedia).