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January 14, 2008
It's All in How You Stack It!
For years I’ve had a secret and very un-American culinary confession—I do not like sandwiches. In fact, I seem to lack the sandwich gene entirely. The same creations that send my colleagues racing to the lunch line, like cold meatloaf sandwiches or roast beef on rye, make me twitch with discomfort. And don't even get me started on wraps—they make my teeth squeak!
This has been my truth for as long as I can remember. Like any kid in the seventies, I ate my Oscar Meyer, but never on bread. And I adored peanut butter, but ate my Jiff straight from the jar, a habit I paid for in dearly in adolescence. So when I ate not one, but two incredibly delicious sandwiches this week, I was so unarmed that I began to travel back in time, sandwich by sandwich, to study every aspect of what I didn’t like (soggy bread, gloopy mayo, slippery meat). Out of those bland detail emerged 10 GLORIOUS SANDWICHES, the sum of which stacked up just may alter my opinion of the humble sandwich forever.
10 Glorious Sandwiches
1. Double Stack Peanut Butter and Jelly, Honey and Banana Sandwich:
Three slices of Wonder Bread (what else?) layered with a generous slathering of peanut butter, Smuckers' Grape Jelly, honey (from the bear), and sliced bananas. (It was my first experiment with excess. I still remember the way the bread gummed up in the roof of my mouth, and that it took at least three glasses of milk to swallow every bite!) [Home, Rockford, IL; circa 1984]*
2. Applebee's Club House Grill:
Toasted and buttered white bread with sliced ham, turkey, mayo, tomato and a sweet generous slop of barbeque sauce. [Anywhere, America; circa 1990]
3. The Turkey Tom:
Crispy white bread with soft interior bread removed (fascinating) and stuffed with crunchy, shredded iceberg, thinly sliced tomatoes, turkey and mayo. [Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, Madison, Wisconsin; circa 1993]
4. The Veggie Stack:
Fresh seven-grain bread smothered with hummus, sliced cucumber, shredded carrots and sprouts (This one justifies at least two cookies for dessert) [Mary's Market, Rockford, IL; circa 1996]
5. My first Bánh mì :
Vietnamese pate, pickled carrots, cilantro and daikon radish on a French Baguette (This cost exactly $2 and kept me full for 2 days) [San Francisco, CA; circa 1999]
6. Culinary School Chocolate Sea-Salt Sandwich:
A Tom Cat baguette drizzled with high quality olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt and slabs of bittersweet chocolate (inspired by the late nights and low-budgets of me and my fellow culinary students). [Institute for Culinary Education, NYC; circa 2001]
7. Jambon Buerre :
A 2-hour old baguette slathered with French butter (salted, of course), and deli ham. (Simplicity perfected!) [Sandwich Cart, Paris, France; circa 2002]
8. Fried Fish Sandwich:
Line caught fried fish, with spicy mayo and cole slaw on Hoagie roll. (Best eaten under a coconut tree!) [Unknown Beach Shack, Caribbean; circa 2005]
9. The Veggie Rueben:
Tempeh, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on a soft roll. [Northeast Kingdom in East Williamsburg, NY; January 2008]
10. Cambodian Num Pang (Sandwich):
Ginger rubbed-peppercorn catfish with shallots, pickled carrots, cucumber and chili mayo on sweet Portuguese bread [Kampuchea, Lower East Side, Manhattan; January 2008]
No matter how you stack it, I'd love to hear about it. Send me your favorite or freakiest sandwich creations!
Sarah Copeland, Food Network Kitchens
*dates signify the original date and location of my first tasting. Many of these sandwiches are still alive and well (some in multiple locations) and available for consumption today!
Posted by Food Network at January 14, 2008 9:46 AM
Comments
My kids favorite sandwich: Nutella spread in toasted Trader Joe's whole grain Pita Bread. (at least its whole grain bread - this sandwich won't win me any mother of the year award!)
My favorite sandwich is: Ciabatta or other hard roll with roasted peppers, avocado, lettuce or sprouts, tomato, oil and vinegar. I think this one could justify some cookies too :)
My husbands favorite sandwich: Philly Cheese Steak
Sharon
Posted by: Sharon at January 18, 2008 6:10 PM
Those are all truly glorious sandwiches!
I made a weird sandwich combination the other day. Fried egg, sharp cheddar, creamy avocado, on buttered and grilled cornbread.
Actually...really good. I know it sounds strange, but it worked!
Posted by: Emiline at January 20, 2008 3:00 AM
What is Tempura? I see in lots of recipes?
Posted by: irene Cole at January 21, 2008 12:03 PM
Emiline:
Your fried egg sandwich sounds amazing--great layering of flavors and textures! I think I know what I'm having for dinner tonight.
Sharon:
Thanks for sharing your sandwich ideas! Giada often talks about the Nutella sandwiches she grew up on, so I think your kids will be in good company.
Thanks for your comments!
Sarah
Posted by: Sarah at January 22, 2008 5:16 PM
Irene,
Thanks for your question. Did you mean to ask what Tempura is, or Tempeh?
Tempeh, which I mentioned in the description of the Vegetarian Reuben above, is a fermented soybean cake, which originated in Indonesia but has become a wonderful protein substitute for vegetarians.
Tempura is technique of dipping vegetables or seafood or other foods in a light batter of wheat flour, egg and water and deep frying. It's delicious! I love sweet potato tempura and shrimp tempura with a big, warm bowl of Udon noodles!
Happy eating!
Sarah
Posted by: Sarah at January 22, 2008 5:25 PM
A great sandwich I just tried was actually on an airplane! I believe it was created by Todd English. It consisted of sharp cheddar, applewood smoked bacon and thinly sliced granny smith apples, all on a buttery croissant slathered with apple butter. I thought that the cheddar would be too strong, but after taking the first bite, I realized that it was the perfect counterpoint to the sweet tartness of the apples!
Posted by: Monica at January 24, 2008 4:18 PM
I can't believe I'm admitting this, but my favorite sandwich used to be white bread toast with Hellman's mayonnaise. And when I ate more conventional sandwiches, the cheese was never allowed to touch the bread...
PS Your blogging is great. I did a sidebar review of it on my blog, which will be up for a couple days.
Posted by: Sue at January 26, 2008 12:10 AM
tuna salad with kim chi sandwich. make sure to toast the bread, put some best foods mayo onto the toast then put some tuna salad (just tuna and mayo) add some won bok kim chi. :) enjoy!
Posted by: kat at February 29, 2008 12:57 PM