Pesto Chango Your Lifo

When’s the last time you slathered bread with homemade pesto before building a sandwich? Pesto Chango your lifo with this wonderful sandwich building block that will have everyone you know lined up around the block for a sample. Of course, you could mix and match ingredients to build the combo of your dreams, or you could put your faith in the experts who created this masterpiece, chef Eddie Davis and his partner, beer brewer Kevin Vanblarcum. Kudos to their “ Grilled Cheese & Beer, Recipes for the Finer Things in Life” for Pesto Chango-ing my life!

Pesto Chango

• 4 thin slices grilled eggplant
• 3 slices grilled red pepper
• 2 – 4 slices mozzarella cheese
• 1 whole-grain ciabatta, sliced in half
• 1- 2 T homemade pesto

Coat each half of the ciabatta with pesto. Cover each side with mozzarella. Lay the eggplant and red pepper on top of the cheese. Use a toaster oven or regular oven at 350F for 5 – 8 minutes to melt the cheese. Put the halves together, and as Kevin and James say, abracadabra, you’ve got yourself a Pesto Chango. K & J recommend beer pairing: a pilsner like my fav Pilsner Urquell or Magic Hat’s Hocus Pocus, in keeping with the magical theme.

(Disclaimer: Grilled Cheese & Beer, Recipes for the Finer Things in Life was sent to JC for review. The opinions expressed are genuine. Recipe was reprinted with permission from Hatherleigh Press.)

Pesto Chango Print Ready Recipe

Final Notes:

• Swap out the mozzarella for cooked chicken, or use both if you’re not kosher.
• Make an open-faced sandwich with whole-grain toast, pesto, grilled eggplant and mozzarella. Melt it or don’t; it tastes amazing either way.
• It’s not enough to have magic in your belly. Listen up to Magic System‘s Magic In the Air. Sing along with the lyrics below and dance along to the flash mob version.