Fried Tomato Sandwiches

YUM!  Buck's tomato plants are yielding beautiful, fresh tomatoes, and we couldn't wait to try them out.  These open-face sandwiches were delicious!  We had friends over and made two separate batches of these.  So good!

Notes about the recipe: The tomatoes tend to fall apart in the skillet, so slice them a bit thicker than you might normally.  Since I fried the tomatoes in butter, I wanted to save some fat somewhere, so opted for fat-free cream cheese on the baguette.  I also thought about substituting Laughing Cow cheese for the cream cheese; I might try that next time.  Also, you'll probably have to cook these in batches.  There's no skillet in my house big enough for so many slices of tomatoes, but I could fit half of what it called for.

I want to especially thank my aunt Carolyn and my wonderful cousins for giving me the cookbook that contained this recipe.  I appreciate it very much. :)

Fried Tomato Sandwiches

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3-4 ripe tomatoes
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
Salt and pepper
1 baguette cut into thin (1/4" slices)

Melt butter in skillet.  Place sliced tomatoes in pan, and sprnkle with half of the sugar, salt, and pepper.  Saute for 4-5 minutes; flip and sprinkle with remaininng sugar, salt, and pepper.  If tomatoes seem runny, continue to saute on low heat until sauce thickens. 

Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet, and broil until golen.  Spread with softened cream cheese, and return to oven until cream cheese bubbles.  Spread friend tomatoes over open-faced toasted baguette.