A Taste of Summer, #SeriousSandwich

Caprese Sandwich. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

It may be the same blue sky here in Georgia, but my mind is still in Orange Beach, on the Alabama Gulf Coast, where we spent a gloriously lazy Fall Break last week. Sugar-white sand between my toes (it squeaks when you walk on it!), crazy amounts of fried seafood, and not a care in the world for a week.

View of the beach. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

 No alarm clocks, no homework, no clocking in and clocking out, just building sand castles during the day and strolling idly down the beach at sunset.

Orange Beach, Alabama. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Coming back home to evening temps in the 40s and seeing the trees turn their heathered shades of plum, ochre and sienna, I had in mind a final taste of summer ~ the Caprese Sandwich from "Emeril's Kicked-Up Sandwiches" (Morrow, $24.99). This sandwich is more than a Caprese Salad with a bread foundation and lid ~ Emeril kicks it up with garlic and olive oil, and you'll just have to buy the book to find out! (Trust me, you will find lots of great recipes to make for your family in this book!)

Caprese, open-face. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

I pulled the last of the basil from the garden, the plants offering scrawny, but still flavorful, leaves. Fresh mozz, a final juicy tomato, and there it was, summer on the plate. Like the sand buckets and swimsuits, beach towels and sunscreen, this recipe will be tucked away until next summer. And in July, when the heat beats down and the cicadas start to hum, my gardening friends will bring me homegrown tomatoes. And I'll slice up a Better Boy still kissed with the morning dew, layer it mozzarella, top it with the abundant, full, basil from my herb garden, and savor the taste of summer again.

Sunset at Orange Beach. Laura Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Text and images copyright 2012, Lucy Mercer. 

With the exception of Emeril's book cover, that belongs to Morrow Cookbooks.

Emeril’s Kicked-Up Sandwiches (Morrow, $24.99)

If you love cookbooks like I do, you gotta follow The Secret Ingredient Blog from Morrow Books. 

This post is part of #SeriousSandwich, a cookalong to celebrate the publication of Emeril's Kickked-Up Sandwiches. For more great #SeriousSandwich posts, follow #SeriousSandwich on Twitter.