Grilling quick goodies on those hectic summer nights

Is your family like mine?

When it warms up, family members spend hours outside and don't want to go in the house, even for dinner. I know that I don't even want to go inside to cook dinner.

When my two children were young, they chased fireflies until 11 p.m. on summer evenings.

I don't know how many times we cooked dinner on the grill and ate hotdogs on the run.

As they got older, their palettes changed and I cooked different food items.

One of their favorites was a Grilled Sandwich.

The best thing about the recipe was I could put it together the night before and just throw it on the charcoal grill whenever we wanted dinner.

Make a quick trip to the grocery store to purchase two pounds of roast beef and one pound of Swiss cheese (both sliced thin) from the deli, get two loaves of crusty French bread from the bakery (small rolls work too, but remember to adjust cooking time to five minutes) and get a large purple onion, two tomatoes and a head of lettuce in the vegetable isle.

Slice the two loaves of bread in half; spread butter on the bread and sprinkle with some garlic powder. Place face down on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Combine one cup of red wine, a quarter-cup each of teriyaki sauce and bourbon and a tablespoon each of ginger and cinnamon in a small pot. Bring to a boil then turn off the burner. Pull apart the roast beef slices and place in the sauce for about 5 minutes and then drain off the excess liquid.

Melt three teaspoons of butter and a splash of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet. Slice the purple onion and add to the skillet. Season onions with fresh ground black pepper and salt, cook until light brown. (You can add fresh sliced mushrooms, jalapeños and/or thin sliced green or red pepper at this point if you want.) Remove from heat and let cool.

To make the sandwich, layer the meat, onion mixture and cheese on the bread, garnish with your favorite mustard. Close the sandwich, spray with Pam or coat with garlic butter before wrapping tight with aluminum foil.

Refrigerate until ready to warm on the grill.

To heat, place on a warm grill and cover with lid. Turn at least once during the 10-minute cooking time. Cut the sandwiches into four or five pieces.

Garnish with the sliced tomatoes and lettuce, or eat plain.

This recipe will work well with any type of crusty bread, lunchmeat and cheese. It is also a good way to use up those meat leftovers.