Eat: Grilled BCAT (bacon, cheddar, arugula, and tomato) with pan-seared corn on the cob, & grilled asparagus

Tonight I almost lost it. Crying, er, make that screaming, baby and cooking were cause for a near meltdown. Add to that a raging barbecue and a frying pan of bacon and it's a wonder I made it through with only water and not a margarita. Why is it that in this house 4:45 marks the beginning of the witching hour? The hellish hour when everyone needs mama and mama just needs fifteen minutes to get dinner going. FIFTEEN minutes! Is that really too much to ask? Apparently so because instead it takes me over an hour to make even the simplest meal fit for human consumption. And did I mention that I'm married to a vegetarian? A very picky vegetarian? But I digress. This post is about what finally made it to the table, and not so much about the amount of patience, shhhhshing, and naughty words it took to get there.

Grilled BCAT
Let me start by saying I just threw this together because I happen to have an abundance of arugula (from last night's dinner) and tomatoes that are on overdrive in the garden right now. It basically is just a slightly snooty BLT. And for the vegetarian husband, I modified and made just a CAT. Hehe.

cracked wheat sourdough bread (Or just plain old sourdough, or any other bread for that matter. I just used what I had, as pretentious sounding as it is. Heck, you could use Wonder white and it would be just as good.)
olive oil (for brushing on the bread)
bacon (I am embarrassed to admit how many slices, but you go ahead and use as many as you'd like)
arugula
cheddar cheese, sliced
fresh tomatoes
dijon mustard (I didn't actually use the dijon, but I would have had there not been a screaming baby in my arms)

Prepare the bacon and set aside. Grill up the bread (brush olive oil on both sides first). Ultimately you want both sides grilled so grill a side and then flip it before continuing. Add the cheese to one slice of the bread and let it get melty. The add the bacon, tomato and arugula. Spread the mustard on the other slice and assemble. Yummy, melty goodness awaits.

Pan-seared corn on the cob
This is a variation on a recipe from Parents magazine of all places. I say a variation because I really don't like to measure stuff. 

olive oil
3-4 ears of corn
1 t cider vinegar
3T water
2 cloves minced garlic
pat of butter
chopped parsley (a pinch? a tablespoon? use however much you like)
salt + pepper

In a large saute pan on medium-high heat, heat the olive oil and add the corn. Sear corn on all sides until it gets some color (about 5 minutes). Meanwhile combine the vinegar and water. Reduce heat to medium and add the butter and garlic to the pan and saute for about 10-20 seconds, just to take away the raw taste of the garlic. Add the water/vinegar mixture and cover. Cook about 3-4 minutes more. Add the parsley, salt and pepper and you're good to go.

Grilled Asparagus with Balsamic and Parmesan
I think the title is pretty self explanatory, but if not, here goes.

asparagus (I like the super thin kind)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar (Preferably a good one that is slightly sweet and syrupy. Fini is what I like because it doesn't break the bank)
parmesan (The real stuff really makes it better. You know, like the kind that comes in a wedge, not in a bag.)
salt + pepper

Heat your grill to a low flame. Trim the ends of the asparagus and drizzle with olive oil. Throw them on the grill and watch them and turn them until they are to your desired done-ness. This totally depends on how thick the asparagus is. For the pencil-thin kind that I used it only takes a couple of minutes ion a very low flame. When they are ready, drizzle with balsamic, sprinkle with salt and pepper and parmesan shavings. Easy peasy.