Tag Archives: Sandwiches

Bread, Breakfast, Sandwiches, Vegetarian

Peanut Butter, Butter, and Lingonberry Jam Sandwiches

I went to my regular restaurant, the one I favor over all others. I ordered my favorite dish only to be disappointed. It lead me to wonder why it wasn’t as good as usual. In my head I worried the quality of the restaurant was slipping, are they ordering a lower quality product that isn’t as flavorful? To be fair I stopped and thought it might be me, maybe my taste buds were off that night. It happens.

I think a lot about taste, not so much about the five taste receptors; bitter, sour, sweet, salty, and umami but more about the law of diminishing returns. Take for instance today, I am making a tomato soup that clearly states in its recipe title it’s the only recipe I will ever need. I hope it’s that good and it may well be delicious but I also know after I eat it 5 or 6 times I will more then likely move on to another recipe for tomato soup, say, the world’s best tomato soup. Knowing my taste buds become familiar with tastes, if the food on the plate in front of me becomes to familiar at some point it is less likely to excite me. I also know there are people who don’t care. They eat simply to survive, their interest lies elsewhere, or they want the familiar. I don’t.

How many times have you eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Are you ever excited to eat them anymore? As a kid I could eat them breakfast lunch and dinner if my mother would have let me but they began to wear thin and I started to eat ham sandwiches or turkey, sometimes a grilled cheese. As an adult there are times I get a kick out of eating a PBJ but they never seem to match the intensity and joy of eating them as a child. I compare it to going back to the neighborhood sledding hill as an adult only to find what at one time seemed like the Rocky mountains now looks more like a speed bump. Childhood can make experiences larger then life.

Peanut  Butter, Butter, and Lingonberry Jam Sandwiches

While I am and always have been enamored with simple foods that use honest ingredients it doesn’t mean I don’t stray from time to time. My cooking has become more about good technique and nurturing rather then showmanship. In a way simple food is like going back to my childhood experiences without fear of being disappointed.

1 brioche hamburger bun or 2 slices of brioche, toasted almost burnt

1 1/2 tablespoons Skippy Natural Peanut Butter

2 unsalted butter pats, about 2 teaspoons at room temperature

1 tablespoon lingonberry jam or red currant jam

Maldon Sea Salt (this is a big flaky sea salt meant for finishing dishes)

  1. When the bread has cooled enough not to melt the peanut butter spread the peanut butter evenly across the bottom bun.  On the top bun smear the butter and top it with the lignonberry jam.
  2. Sprinkle the peanut butter with Maldon salt to taste.  Smush the top bun onto the bottom and serve.

 

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Smokin’ Black-eyed Sandwich

This is a perfect example of vegetarian food that stands on its own. Not much different than falafel which has stood its ground for years. Your could in fact replace the mayonnaise with a yogurt sauce of your liking.  Something with tomato and cucumber would draw down the heat nicely. It would go well with grilled pitas too so if you wanted to you could take the whole meal and easily give it a Middle Eastern flare. When it is a sandwich like the above I really like it with crunchy shoestring fries and I have even been known to stack the fries right between the bread with the fritter for a nice crunch.

Serves 6

2 each 14 oz. cans black eyed peas, drained

1/2 to 2/3 cup rice flour

1/2 onion minced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

2 carrots, peeled and grated, about 1 cup

lettuce, shaved

vegetable oil

bread, buns or pitas

mayonnaise or you choice of condiment

1. Place the drained peas, 1/2 cup rice flour, onion, garlic, thyme, cayenne and a 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper into the bowl of a food processor. I like the mix to maintain some chunkiness but it is important for it to be fairly smooth so it holds together. Add up to 1/3 cup more rice flour as needed. So process until smooth but it doesn’t by any means need to be perfectly smooth. Add the carrots and mix, not process, them in thoroughly with a spatula. I like to let this sit for at least an hour so the rice flour has time to hydrate and thicken the mix so it stays together better. You could even cover it and refrigerate overnight. If it seems loose before you are getting ready to cook it add more rice flour.

2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and let it get hot. Form the mix into 6 balls and then shape them into patties. Fry then until crispy on both sides. Build you sandwiches and serve.

Grains/Legumes, Meatless Monday, Sandwiches, Vegan, Vegetarian

Smokin’ Black-eyed Sandwich

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Beef/Veal, Main Dishes, Offal, Sandwiches

Sweetbread Po’ Boy

Sweetbreads make the perfect po’ boy for anyone not living close to the ocean and oysters, well, and for that matter even those living near the sea may want to give this a go.

It is so amazingly delicous but then you have to be a fan of sweetbreads. If you have never eaten them this would be a good way to go at them for the first time and if you love them you will really like this sandwich.  This is also a great latenighter or one of those things you eat when you are the only one at home, then of course, you can revel in its full splendor.

Makes 4 Po’ Boys

To poach the sweet breads:

1 pound, sweet breads, carefully cleaned of any membrane

1 lemon, halved

1 onion, peeled and quarted

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 bay leaves

4 sprigs flat leaf parsley

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

11/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 cup white wine

water

For the poor boy:

blanched sweet breads

2 cups flour, season with 1 teaspoons each black pepper, thyme & paprika

egg wash, two eggs beaten with 1 cup milk

kosher salt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon capers, drained and chopped

1/2 teaspoon cornichon pickles, minced

1 teaspoon flat leaf parsley, minced

2 cups romaine lettuce shaved into ribbons

2 loaves french bread, halved

peanut oil for frying

1. Squeeze half the lemon and then drop the spent lemon into a 3 quart pot along with the onion, celery, bay leaves, parsley, peppercorns garlic salt and wine, Add the sweetbreads and enough water to cover.

2. Place the pot over low heat and slowly bring it to a boil, adjusting the heat as necessary. Simmer the sweet breads till just cooked through, not long. Remove them from the heat and let them sit in the poaching liquid until it has cooled.

3. Remove the sweetbreads from the liquid and place them on a parchment lined sheet tray. Place another piece of parchment on top and then a sheet tray. Wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap to keep the sweetbreads from drying out.

4. Put the wrapped contraption into the fridge and place a gallon of milk, or some sort of weight on top of them and let them compress overnight.

5. The next day make the spread. Place the mayo into a small mixing bowl and add the lemon juice from the left over half a lemon, the capers, cornichons, and parsley. Stir the spread and season it with salt and pepper. taste and adjust the seasoning.

6. Remove the sweetbreads from the fridge and unwrap them. Season them with salt.

7. Place 1 inch of peanut oil into a 3 inch high, or higher, Dutch oven and place it over medium high heat.

8. Put the seasoned flour into a paper or plastic bag and add the sweetbreads. Gently roll them around to coat them with the flour. Remove them and drop them into the egg wash. Check the temperature of the peanut oil with a deep fry thermometer. It should be close to 350˚F.

9. If the oil is to temp remove the sweetbreads from the milk, let the excess milk drain back into the pan, and put the sweetbreads back into the flour. Toss them around gently until they are well coated with the flour.

Place them gently into the oil and deep fry them until brown. Remember they are already cooked so you needn’t worry about anything other than making sure they are hot.

10. Once they are browned assemble your sandwiches, bread, spread, lettuce and sweetbreads, then dig in to some good eating.

 

Note: If you are going to make the fries heat your oven to 250˚F and fry the sweetbreads and then place them on a rack placed over a sheet tray and keep them warm while you fry the fries.

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