Fried Green Tomato Po’boys a Father’s Day hit

No meat-and-potatoes, he-man dinner for my guy’s Father’s Day meal. No sir; he wanted the exotic, er, unusual—typical fare for us since we started eating the garden-fresh way some time ago. So unusual he got, in the form of Fried Green Tomato Po’boys.

In my June 12 blog I raved about learning to prepare Fried Green Tomatoes—really prepare them, the expert way, thanks to Southern Living magazine and its effort to turn its readers into truly Southern cooks. I promised myself I would cook several of the recipe suggestions the magazine made to accompany its basic Fried Green Tomatoes how-to.

Among them the recipe for Fried Green Tomato Po’boys was most intriguing. It promised a New Orleans twist employing the batter-fried tomato, the recipe for which I included in my June 12 blog. It took a fresh baguette roll from the bakery, added a bed of spinach, then the green tomatoes straight from our vines, then bacon (I used turkey bacon), then avocado slices, and then a special Rémoulade Sauce. The crunchy baguettes stuffed with the creamy avocado and Rémoulade and the crisp green tomatoes and bacon made a wonderful crunchy-creamy-crisp trifecta.

I apologized to Hubby that we were out of ketchup (no ketchup for the fried green tomatoes? pity), but he said no problem at all: the wonderful Rémoulade Sauce was ample accompaniment.

However, no being out of green tomatoes—our garden is packed with them still and lots of bright-red ripe ones, too. I expect to try a couple more recipes from the Southern Living page, among then Fried Green Tomato-and-Bacon Biscuits and Green Tomato Garden Party Salad, before the blazing hot sun makes the final green tomatoes all ripen.

Fried Green Tomato Po’boys

Cut French-bread baguettes into 6-inch lengths. Split each lengthwise; cut to but not through the other side; spread with Rémoulade Sauce. Layer with shredded spinach leaves, fried green tomatoes, cooked bacon, and avocado slices. Makes 4 servings.

Rémoulade Sauce

1 cup fat-free mayonnaise

1/4 cup sliced green onions

2 tablespoons Creole mustard

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 teaspoon horseradish

Blend all ingredients; cover and chill until ready to serve. Makes 1 1/4 cups.