BAM BAM BAM!

I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but there was a mix-up with our cable company last year, and my roommate and I ended up getting a bunch of the premium cable channels for free for a few months.  To my delight, this meant I had access to both the Food Network AND the Cooking Channel!  I was in heaven. It was on the Cooking Channel that I discovered Emeril Lagasse.  I had heard of him before but had never seen his show.  He tends to say "BAM BAM BAM!" a lot while he's cooking.

I was looking through some old magazines last summer when I stumbled upon a recipe for Emeril's Kicked-Up Tuna Melts.  An Emeril recipe?!  Sweet!  I knew I had to try it.  I've made these tuna melts at least three times since I found the recipe less than a year ago.  They are really easy and quite tasty.  Make sure you exclaim "BAM BAM BAM!" at least once while making them.

Emeril's Kicked-Up Tuna Melts

Ingredients:

4 cans (5 ounces each) solid white tuna, packed in water, drained

1/3 cup mayo, plus more for spreading

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

4 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained *we omitted these per my mother's request

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled between fingers

4 slices crusty bread

8 thin slices tomato

4 slices provolone

Directions:

1.  Heat broiler with rack in highest position.  In medium bowl, combine first 8 ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.

2.  Arrange bread on a baking sheet and spread a little mayo on each slice.  Divide tuna salad evenly among slices, then top each with 2 slices of tomato and 1 slice of cheese.

3.  Broil until cheese is golden brown and bubbling (3 to 4 minutes).