Recently in Sandwiches Category

We had pastrami on sale at our local Sprout's Market recently, so I had to pick some up. We also had some seedless rye on hand, sauerkraut, and some 1000 Island dressing so around 9AM I started craving a Reuben sandwich. Really craving a Reuben. Bad. I only had Muenster cheese, so that was going to have to do.

I actually had the willpower to hold off until 11:30, though I have no idea how. While my cast iron skillet and grill press were heating up, I laid a few slices of cheese on a slice of rye, and spread a bit of dressing on top of the cheese. I like to do it this way for a few reasons- the dressing doesn't make the bread soggy, and it mixes in nicely with the sauerkraut, which went on next. I use a fork to strain the sauerkraut well, you don't want a watery mess trashing your nice crispy Reuben, right?

Lastly, the pastrami. I suppose I could've added a bit more meat, but I've had a lot of over-the-top Reubens all across the country- Carnegie Deli, Stage Deli, Katz's, Art's, Jerry's Famous Deli, Canter's, Junior's, and a zillion in between, so I've gotten a bit put off by the 6" tall tasty monstrosities I've encountered, so I figured to best err on the side of caution. Besides, I could always make a second one...

A bit of butter in the skillet and on top of the sandwich, and into the skilled it went. I like to start grilled sandwiches with the cheese towards the heat, to get it melting, then finish the sandwich after flipping it with the cheese melting through all the other good stuff. Not too hot to start, you're trying to heat everything through, once you're confident that everything's good and hot you can raise the heat a bit to get the bread nice and crisp. A grill press, like the one below, really helps things along, retaining the heat, and helping to hold the sandwich together.

So, how was it? Awesome, though I'd like a rye bread with a little more character next time, but the Muenster was a nice change.

Julie introduced me to the concept of a Veggie Reuben. I was, of course, incredulous. "You mean, just Swiss Cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing on rye?" She maintained that you don't need Thousand Island, either.

So, what the hey. The other night I prepped a few, adding some sauteed red onions to the sauerkraut, and I fired up the cast iron griddle, serving them along with some organic tomato soup.

It was good, I have to say. I did have some organic Thousand Island on the side, and I think it's better with it. It's also better with some corned beef or pastrami, but that's another post...

I do need to try my hand at a Southwestern Tomato Soup. One of these days.

Who wants a burger? We had a cookout at a friend's house recently, and I whipped these Survival Burgers up. And yes, the way that I see it, a cookout is plain grilling- burgers, dogs, brats, etc. No smoke, no low and slow, that's barbecue, thankyouverymuch. Gas grills work fine for cookouts, but a handful of soaked wood chips makes a world of difference, try it. These were grilled by my buddy Tim, who did a great job of making sure everybody got the burger that they wanted, the way that they liked them cooked.

For these burgers, I started with 5 pounds of USDA Choice 22% fat beef, and about 2/3 of a tin of our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub, mixing it in with the beef. Nothing wrong with just sprinkling it on top, mind you, but if you're doing it ahead of time, it'll give it time to add some great flavors.

I like a fair amount of fat in my burger meat, because they basically become self-basting, the fat dripping through the meat on its way out. You end up with a moist, flavorful burger that really doesn't have much more fat that it would it you started with the 7% uber-lean beef that is remarkably similar to a hockey puck once cooked, especially if you proceed with the utterly charming "smash-the-crap-outta-it" technique with your turner.

Don't do that! What the hail's wrong with you?

Sorry. I'm sure there's some logic to pressing all the flavor out of a piece of meat that you paid good money for, but it eludes me. Want it crispy? Make it thinner. As you pat it out, let there be some gaps in the edges, then use a super hot fire. The thinner bits will have a nice crunch to them, but you'll still have a moist patty where it counts.

And if you're making burgers for a gang, take the time to carmelize some onions, or saute some mushrooms and sweet peppers, and seek out fresh tomatoes and lettuce. Nothing wrong with a basic burger, but don't let the condiments be an afterthought.

Burgers. I love 'em. You?

I love roasted veggie sandwiches. When I have time I like to grill them first, but this version was a simple sauté. I cooked the veggies in two batches- first, baby red, orange and yellow bell peppers, Anaheim chiles, Italian zucchini, and a red onion in some Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva until they were nice and tender. Towards the very end of their cooking, I seasoned them and added some balsamic vinegar to give them a little acidity and to bring out the natural sweetness of the veggies.

Next, I repeated the process with some with some crimini mushrooms. You can do them at the same time, but because they release so much moisture and cook away to nothing so quickly, I've learned that it's well worth your time to take this extra step.

I sliced and toasted an 8" square foccacia with some fontina cheese, sliced a few Roma tomatoes (salting them seperately), and assembled my Veggie Dagwood.

What a great sandwich. I'm a carnivore, but I've found that with some veggies dishes, such as pizza and curries that have so much flavor, I really don't miss the meat.

(Photo: TPCs Bacon Sandwich on Whole Wheat)

I can't believe I did this. If you think it's time for an intervention, fine, I probably need one.

So... Saturday morning comes, and the cupboard's pretty bare. I've got some good whole wheat bread and there's thick-cut bacon in the freezer, so a bacon sandwich it is. I'm envisioning a Dagwood-sized portion, but there's not much bacon left.

The challenge: Getting monster bacon flavor out of not a lot of bacon. The method: I slowly rendered the bacon in a skillet, getting it really crispy, and leaving a lot of bacon grease behind. I toasted my bread, and instead of butter or mayo, I dipped each slice, briefly, into the grease in the skillet, then assembled the sandwich, adding a bit of ketchup. Okay, mock me and my childhood love of ketchup, but I dig it on bacon sandwiches. Shun me, see if I care. Wait, come back!

It worked well, too. Max bacon flavor without soggy bread. Whew. Glad I got that off of my chest.

This gave me the idea for a really good mayo just for BLTs. I've put it in recipe form below the fold. I haven't tried to make it yet, though I've made lots of mayo over the years with this basic technique. Let me know if you try this!

Take another look at my slightly out of focus picture. See the bacon grease permeating the bread about halfway? Pure love, man. Pure love.

Warning: Uncontrollable drooling ahead!

Oh, man. Ana has presented us with her take on Shauna's "Grilled Cheese with Amaranth Leaves and Blackberry Sauce". Made from a wonderful homemade bread, it's loaded with goodies.

(Photo: Diana's Everyman's Edible Slider w/homemade Chili Sauce)

Wow, Major John should have been so lucky! Diana has submitted an over the top take on what could be an ordinary meal- a simple burger, but made with beef tenderloin, blue cheese, sauteéd onions, and to really gild the lily, a homemade chili sauce that I can't wait to make.

I've said this a lot, but the best home cooking is all about great, simple elements smashed together. Diana's terrific recipes are below the fold.

(Photo: Shauna James, glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com)

Wow, Shauna. The Gluten Free Girl has set the bar high with her "grilled cheese with amaranth leaves and blackberry sauce". The entire post is so informative and entertaining I'd like us all to read it, in order to factor in Shauna's great writing when we vote on the original recipes.

So well done. Stunningly simple flavors smashed together. Wow.

I'm creating two new catagories in the side bar so we can all reference the original and the interpreted recipes easily- FF4- Original and FF4- Interpreted.

Shauna's recipe for the blackberry sauce and her sandwich notes are in the extended entry.