½ lb summer beans*
1 pt cherry tomatoes
1-2 ea heirloom or slicer tomato
1 pk (~4 oz) bacon ends and pieces
½ cup creamy black pepper dressing (recipe below)
1 each baguette

As needed blended oil (olive & veg/canola or another neutral oil)
As needed Roasted Garlic & Herb butter
To Taste salt
To Tasteblack pepper

* green, pole, rattlesnake, etc (your choice!)

To prep the vegetables/topping

Blanch the beans - drop the beans in a large pot of boiling, salted water for ~30 seconds - 1 minute. Immediately remove and drop into an ice bath. Once cool, drain onto a towel, then cut into ¾” pieces on the bias.
Halve the cherry tomatoes, and dice the large tomatoes. Drain in a strainer/colander, while waiting, prepare the remaining ingredients.
Small dice the bacon ends and pieces (no bigger than ¼” cubes), and slowly render in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Drain the bacon when done & cool, reserving the fat!

To prep the bread

Pre-heat a cast iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.
Slice the baguette on a bias, about ¼”-⅓” thick.
Add oil & butter to the pan, then toast each side of the bread until golden. Season with salt upon flipping.
Drain when done!

To finish

Mix together the beans, tomatoes, bacon, ¼ cup of dressing, plus salt and pepper to your liking.
While the bread is still warm (you can re-heat in the oven if necessary), top with a heaping spoonful of the tomato/bean mixture, then drizzle with additional dressing & DIG IN!!!

Creamy black pepper dressing

1 cup aioli
1.5 T red wine vinegar
1 t fresh ground black pepper

Mix together all of the ingredients. Store chilled for up to 7 days.

Makes ~1 cup

Aioli

2 eachegg yolks
1+ each garlic clove*
1 ½ Tbsp water
1 each lemon - zest & juice
¾ tsp kosher salt
1 cup EVOO
¾ cup veg/canola/other neutral oil

*(large - heirloom preferred), if subbing store-purchased, use 2 smaller cloves

Paste the garlic clove until relatively smooth with a small pinch of salt. In a small non-reactive bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients and whisk until the yolks are light yellow in color and frothy. You may also use an immersion blender or food processor for this recipe if desired. Slowly whisk in the oil, making sure to start the emulsification properly before adding all of the oil. Adjust seasoning as needed. Keep chilled.

Makes ~ 2 cups

Padron or shishito peppers with lemon-sesame dressing

2 T neutral cooking oil (canola/sunflower/veg)
2 bags padron or shishito peppers
1.5 t kosher salt
½ c lemon-sesame dressing (see recipe below)

Pre-heat a cast iron pan over medium-high to high heat (this may depend on your cooking unit). You definitely want to use a pan that is not going to lose any heat when adding the peppers. Add the peppers, working in batches if needed, to the pan. Be sure not to overcrowd the peppers - you just want a single layer - so they get a hard sear! Cook for 45 seconds - 1 minute, and add a healthy pinch of salt

To serve - drizzle the dressing (in layers if needed) onto the hot peppers and enjoy!