A Thrown Together (Sandwich) Story

A low rumble roused me from my brief sleep.

My eyelids flew open and I jolted myself up, ready for action. Other than the strange rumbling sound, it was still quiet. I let out a long, silent sigh but the mysterious rumbling returned. It was a moment before I realized, with relief, it was coming from my stomach.

I needed food.

I paused briefly at the mouth of The Monster’s den and listened intently. The barely audible ‘shh, shh’ of The Monster’s breath was the only sound.

I crept silently and stealthy, avoiding the creaky steps with practiced precision. A small grunt suddenly pierced the silence.

The Monster was beginning to stir. I didn’t have much time.

I gathered up all the food I could find within reach: meat, cheese, bread. As I searched for something leafy, The Monster’s grunting grew louder.

I had less than two minutes now.

I pulled out a bundle of greens and barely stifled a curse as I noticed how damp and wilted they were and I had to throw them away.

The Monster’s grunts morphed into shrieks. Time was running out.

I piled the food together sloppily and crammed it into my mouth.

“I’m coming!” I called between chews with my mouth still full.

The Monster responded by shrieking and snorting more intensely.

Wiping my hands on a random cloth, I ran back to The Monster’s liar.

I was out of breath but ready; my hunger satiated, my energy restored. Thanks to the sandwich I’d thrown together and eaten in record time, I could resume my duties.

When The Monster saw me approaching, her snorts subsided and she reached out a pudgy hand towards me. Cooing instead of crying, a wide, gummy smile spread instantaneously across her face.

My Baby was awake and happy to see me, her Mom.

And then she realized she was hungry too…

*******************************************************************************************************

The above is a based-on-true-events story of some of my sandwich adventures as a new mom. In the past three months, I’ve made many a Throw-Together-Sandwich and it’s helped keep me going. It’s important to eat well and eat frequently while taking care of one’s baby. Since time between feedings, changings, and naps can be short, when you get the chance to grab something, DO IT!

I’ve said from the very beginning of this blog that the true beauty of sandwiches lies in how versatile and adaptable they are depending what you have on hand. A Throw-Together Sandwich is the absolute embodiment of this fact. Paired with other no-fuss snacks, like apples, bananas, dried cranberries, crackers, chocolate and potato chips, you’ve got a reliable standby meal in just minutes. And as my story shows, Moms sometimes only have minutes to refuel and recharge before getting back to their monsters.

I look forward to when I’ll have more time to make, enjoy and blog about sandwiches that are a bit more involved, but for now, I’m happy and thankful for fresh, non-wilted, non-gross sandwich ingredients, and for writing/blogging one nap at a time.

Some of my favorite Throw-Together Sandwiches are:

-Classic ham, cheddar, tomato and lettuce

-Salami, gouda and spicy mustard

-Leftover chicken, mayo, tomato and lettuce

-Turkey, any cheese and any vegetable; red and yellow peppers are great

Good luck to you all with your Throw-Together Sandwiches and a special shout-out to my fellow Mom Warriors on this crazy child-raising journey. We’re doing it, one sandwich, one nap, one day at a time.

PS. My husband and I refer to our girl as The Monster in a ‘My Pet Monster’/term of endearment way. She is a very content and generally sweet-natured girl…unless of course, she’s very hungry. :)

I cheated with the photo. These are not true Throw-Together Sandwich because no such photos exist.

Mmmozzarella Meatball Subs

Remember when Joey on Friends swore his meatball sandwich was “the greatest sandwich in the world”? He loved it so much he even dove to ‘protect it’ from what he thought was gunfire, prompting Chandler to think he cared more about Ross, who was next to the sandwich, than him. 

Turns out it was actually a car backfiring and nobody and no sandwiches were ever in any danger but whatever - to Joey, it was worth taking a bullet for.

To quote Chandler, could there be any higher compliment paid to a sandwich?

Ever since I started this sandwich blog, I’ve wanted to make a meatball sub-style sandwich and revisiting this Friends episode reminded me that our previous attempts, while commendable and tasty, just weren’t quite blog-worthy yet. I knew we were close to something great; we just needed a little something extra…

So I consulted one of my new Jamie Oliver cookbooks and found the answer – our meatballs needed to be a mixture of beef AND pork. Another burst of inspiration had us tossing in some sautéed green peppers for another layer of flavour and with a side of Crunch Veggie Salad, we’d finally done it – our Mmmmozzarella Meatball Sub was ready to meet the world.

Mmmozzeralla Meatball Subs

You will need:

Ground Pork

Ground Beef – I’d recommend getting lean ground beef since ground pork is usually higher in fat content

Bread crumbs – we used our immersion blender to crumb-ify half a dried baguette; worked great

One egg

Minced garlic or garlic powder – we didn’t measure specifically but it looked to be around ½ - 1 Tbsp

Minced rosemary – around 1 tsp-ish

Fresh baguettes or sub-style loaves, 1-2 depending on how many sandwiches you want to make

Mozzarella cheese, torn into chunks

A jar of your favorite tomato-based pasta sauce – after experimenting in our previous attempts, we recommend one with a bit of a spicy kick, like our favorite Arrabbiata sauce from Barilla

One green pepper, sliced and sautéed

Process:

1-Combine the pork and beef in a big bowl and use your (clean) hands to mix it all together.

2-Add the egg and bread crumbs and keep mixing until the meat sticks together but isn’t too wet; add more crumbs to achieve this and add the spices.

Meatball process

3-Shape the meat into balls; try to make them the same size so they cook evenly.

4-Place the meatballs into an oiled pan and bake in the oven until they’re cooked all the way through. (You will probably have to sacrifice one to check, but you can still use it in your sandwich.)

Watching and waiting for meatball goodness

4.5-Make the Crunchy Veggie Salad:

            -Chop and combine red and yellow peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery and crumbled goat/feta cheese in a bowl

            -Mix olive oil, cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar and oregano and pour over salad 

(Tip: If you make a big batch and know it will all get eaten, pour it over everything. But if you plan to eat this salad with a few meals, only pour the dressing over your individual serving to avoid it turning into a soggy mess.)

Crunchy Veggie Salad

5-Cut the baguette in half, length-wise and fill with meatballs and green peppers.

6-Pour pasta sauce on the meatballs and top with chunks of mozzarella.

7-Bake or broil the sandwiches in the oven, around 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden.

8-Serve with a side of Crunchy Veggie Salad.

Mmm!

Definitely one of the most photogenic sandwich creations we’ve made.

The pork and beef combo work so well together, I can’t believe it took us this long to figure it out. One fun variation to try is to stuff the meatballs with mozzarella before you bake them. This makes for some oozy, cheesy meatballs, if that’s your thing. I could go either way on this, but the pork and beef togetherness are a must.

Meatballs are actually quite easy to make and there are so many recipes out there to experiment with, so don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and get in there.

Here are some meatball recipes to get you started – have fun! 

http://www.food.com/recipe/authentic-italian-meatballs-92095

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/meatballs-and-pasta/

http://www.citrusandspice.ca/pitas-with-lamb-goat-cheese-and-rosemary-meatballs/

Joey would certainly approve.

Pulled Pork Perfection

Pork is a great sandwich staple and I enjoy a good ham sandwich as much as the next person. It’s classic, straightforward, no-nonsense meat that pair well with all kinds of mustards, cheeses and pickles. For a refresher on this concept and some inspiration to get you started, check out an earlier post from 2014, 3 Parts Mustard/2 Parts Pickles/1 Part Ham.

But it’s always fun to change it up and try something different and it’s even better when you have some outside help. So I must give the majority of the credit for this sandwich creation to my husband Mike, since it was his kitchen-wizardry that came through in a big and tasty way when we made our own Pulled Pork Sandwiches, on some fresh-from–the-bakery bread, topped with some lovely caramelized onions.

Pulled Pork Perfection, in 3 stages

To make your own Pulled Pork Perfection, you will need:

Leftover Pork Shoulder Meat, shredded

1/2 cup White Vinegar

1/4 cup Red Wine or Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Water

1/4 cup BBQ Sauce

1/4 cup Ketchup

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tbsp Spicy Mustard (heaping)

Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste

Caramelized Onions (optional)

Sandwich Bread, thickly sliced

Smells so good!

Prep:

1-Shred the pork meat with two forks and put in a pot on the stove.

2-Add the three kinds of vinegar.

3-Mix the water and sugar together and pour over the meat and vinegar.

4-Bring to a boil, uncovered for 10 minutes.

5-Turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and let out the steam. Your kitchen will smell amazing at this point.

6-Mix the BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.

7-Pour sauce over the pork, mix and reduce heat.

8-Top with some fresh ground pepper and caramelized onions. They’re optional, but a very nice touch. Simply heat the sliced onion in a skillet with some olive oil and stir until they soften and brown slightly.

9-Assemble the pork and onions into sandwiches.

10-Serve warm and enjoy!

This pulled pork is tangy, sweet and just a touch spicy. You can always adjust the quantities of the vinegars to suit your tastes and play with different types of mustards and breads. It would pair really well with a cool, crisp coleslaw or salad. Think classic deli-style. Yum.

This is a great way to use up leftover pork shoulder meat from a Sunday dinner. It works well with bread and wraps stuffed with whatever you like. And it freezes well too. So with all that going for it, what’s not to be excited about?

Leftover Turkey Dinner Sandwiches

Gobble, gobble! 'Tis the season to celebrate big dinners and lots of leftovers!

It’s the time of year when turkey dinners make themselves at home in our kitchens, dining rooms and after all is said and eaten, in our fridges in leftover form. You could enjoy piling up plate after plate of leftovers for the next few lunches and dinners – and there’s nothing wrong with doing just that. Who doesn’t love another meal of mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce?

Or you could compress all that goodness between two thick slices of bread instead.

And from the Tupperware and Pyrex containers of leftovers rises the Leftover Turkey Dinner Sandwich.

I’m not going to pretend the idea for this sandwich creation is uniquely mine because I know for a fact that many people have been enjoying this sandwich for countless post-turkey dinners. It’s probably not as iconic as Grilled Cheese, but it’s up there. At least, it is for me.

It’s hard to describe the sheer pleasure I got a few weeks ago, from pulling out the leftovers from our big Canadian Ex-Pat Thanksgiving Dinner and heaping them together in a huge, delicious mouthful of a sandwich. So tasty, so filling. After your next turkey dinner, I encourage you to do the same.

This was only part of the feast. Potluck dinners are amazing.

You will need:

Sandwich bread, thickly sliced, or a small baguette, ciabatta or sub-style loaf cut lengthwise

Whatever leftovers you have from Turkey Dinner: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, potatoes, etc.

Mustard and/or mayo, if you so choose

A hearty appetite

Stretchy pants or a belt you can loosen after eating are nice to have too

Stuffing, mustard, cranberries, turkey and bread.

Prep:

1-Spread your chosen condiment(s) on the bread or loaf.

2-Pile on your turkey dinner fixings in any order you choose. My personal favorite is turkey (dark meat, if possible), then stuffing, then topped with cranberries. We almost never have mashed potato leftovers, so I haven’t tried them on the sandwich. Hopefully I will someday.

Ready for stacking and snacking upon.

3-Stack the sandwich closed. This part is a bit messy but worth it.

4-Enjoy with a Cranberry Ginger Ale. If you’re lucky enough to find the real Canada Day stuff, good for you! If not, top up your half-full glass of ginger ale with cranberry juice.

Stacked to perfection.

My sandwich was good and thick and biting into it brought back many memories of Thanksgiving Dinners past: at home with my family in Canada and here in France with seven other families that make up one big combined, extended family. Always great times with great people on both sides of the Atlantic.

A question I’d like to put out there in the blogosphere – to heat or not to heat?

I didn’t heat mine and it tasted just fine, but when my husband made his, he pre-heated the leftovers before assembling his sandwich. It comes down to personal preferences and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

My husband's version, baguette style.

I hope this post gets you inspired with something fun to try after your next turkey dinner. For those of you who aren’t hosting and therefore don’t necessarily get leftovers, I hope your host sends you home with a care-package so the holiday gluttony can last for a few more days. Whether you eat your leftovers heaped on a plate or piled high in a sandwich, the end result should be the same: the satisfied silence of a turkey-dinner coma, complete with a full belly and a loosened belt.

Gobble, gobble, Sandwich Lovers. Eat up!

Ciabatta Goodness

Can you pronounce ciabatta?

It’s a tricky one – the ‘ci’ is actually pronounced like ‘chi’, so to say the name of this lovely bread correctly, try ‘chi-batta’. I actually looked up how to pronounce it – thank you Macmillan Dictionary and your audio clips for pronunciation!

Fresh Ciabatta Goodness!

This sudden attention to the pronunciation of foreign words is a result of the intensive English Teacher training course I recently completed at the International Language Center in Paris. I can now apply for English teaching positions and the world is wide open to me once again!

During my course, I brought my lunch from home as much as possible. This was helpful to save money, since buying lunch everyday can be expensive, and to save time, especially on those afternoons when I was teaching. I often brought homemade sandwiches made with ciabatta bread and stuffed with my favorite sandwich innards: multiple types of meat and cheese, veggies and mustard.

Stacked and Packed!

I can get fresh ciabatta bread  at my local grocery store and one loaf can make multiple sandwiches, depending on the size of my appetite: 3 small or 2 large. Ciabatta is lovely bread, crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, with lots of nice little nooks and crannies to hold reserves of mustard. It’s a worthy alternative to the baguette and it makes some pretty amazing sandwiches, both fresh and toasted.

A medley of goodness and ingredients

Possible ingredients for some Ciabatta Goodness include:

Meat: Ham, salami, sausage, roast beef, roast chicken or turkey

Cheese: Emmental, gouda, camembert (so good!)

Veggies: Feuilles de chêne (salad greens), arugula, spinach, avocado, red pepper, tomato, etc.

Condiments: Butter, mustard (multiple kinds in the same sandwich!), mayo

Prep:

1-Cut a fresh ciabatta loaf in half, length wise.

2-Spread butter and/or mustard on the halves, alternating or combining as per your tastes.

3-Pile on your choice(s) of meat(s) and cheese(s).

4-Top with veggies.

5-Assemble the top half of the loaf.

6-Cut to your desired size and number of sandwiches.

7-Serve and enjoy!

One Ciabatta Loaf = Multiple Sandwiches!

To create a tasty toasted ciabatta sandwich, place both halves of the bread (after the meat and cheese are in place, but before adding the veggies) in the oven under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, top with veggies, cut and serve!

Tasty and Toasty Ciabatta Sandwich

This sandwich was a conversation starter among my new classmates during my course and it was extremely filling to eat for lunch. It also works well at sandwich parties or potlucks, where there are lot of fun ingredient combinations to play with. We brought some ciabatta to a recent gathering of sandwich lovers (friends) and they were a big hit there too.

So give it a try with your favorite ingredients and when someone asks you about your sandwich, because they will, tell them it’s all in the ciabatta bread and help them pronounce it correctly.

Just don’t talk with your mouth full!

Upside-down Ciabatta Goodness.

National Grilled Cheese Month - A Teaser

Grilled Cheese is sheer sandwich excellence.

The concept of cheese – any cheese – on beautiful bread, grilled to buttery, golden, melted, oozing perfection is simple and brilliant.  It’s messy, melted goodness is appealing to even the most picky of eaters, like I was as a kid.  It’s still a favorite among grown-ups – especially when fancy grown-up cheeses like Brie or Gruyere are the ones to be grilled.

A grilled cheese sandwich comforts, satisfies,  delights and inspires creativity like no other kind of sandwich. In my research, I've  bookmarked countless pages of grilled  cheese recipes, utterly mesmerized by  beautiful images of the melted cheese spilling  forth from the crispy, golden bread, like a  welcome banner, each more mouth-watering  than the last. It’s exciting,
overwhelming and  absolutely impossible to do justice to this  idolized sandwich in one or two
blog posts.

A good skillet is a must for stove-top grilled cheese.

A great tool to invest in is a small panini grill.

Seriously – it’s hard to even know where to begin!

So I’m beginning at the start of the month, which is fitting since April has actually been declared National Grilled Cheese Month. No, it’s not an April Fools thing, it’s true! There’s even a Grilled Cheese Invitational in Los Angeles on April 12, also known as National Grilled Cheese Day, where amateur and professional chefs come together to battle it out for bragging rights and Grilled Cheese Supremacy. Who knew this little sandwich could evoke so much in so many?

Throughout the next few weeks, I will be sharing my favorite grilled cheese finds - some old, some new, some weird but all wonderful.  I have lots of ideas but I’m also extremely open to hearing from you, my fellow Grilled-Cheese Connoisseurs.  Feel free to comment or message me any of your ideas, tips or feedback and we will celebrate this amazing sandwich together!

Here’s a tease of some of what’s to come:

Brie...Cheddar...Bacon...Sourdough...Apples...Mozzarella...Potatoes...Jalapenos...Gouda...Tomatoes...Baguette...Raspberries...Onions...Classic...

April is shaping up to be a great month.

Grilled Cheddar, Turkey and Apples. 

Epic Sandwich Party!

Planning a party is usually one of two potential things: it’s really fun or it’s really stressful. There’s a lot to do and never enough time and dealing with the food aspect is usually the biggest source of stress. I wasn’t sure what to do for my recent 30^th birthday, but when it became an Epic Sandwich Party, all stress went right out the window - right along with my 20's!

Epic Sandwich of stacked proportions!

The rules of the Epic Sandwich Party are just like those that govern general sandwich creation: there are no rules! Any kind of sandwich can be created with a few key ingredients and this creative freedom brings out the fun – and sometimes weird – tastes of your guests.  Plus having your guests make their own sandwich masterpieces takes all the cooking pressure off you, the host, so you can spend more time mingling and partying with your people!

Three Major Reasons Why Epic Sandwich Parties Rock:

1-You can’t please everyone, but everyone can please themselves:

The dollop of grainy mustard makes this sandwich epic!

Let’s face it – if you try to plan your party’s menu so everyone is consistently happy, you’re in for a disappointing evening. People’s tastes are too different and with so many different eating styles (vegetarian, vegan) and/or food restrictions (gluten-free, allergies, etc.), coming up with something that everyone can eat is pretty near impossible. But an Epic Sandwich Party empowers everyone to please themselves. If you provide variety in meat, bread, veggie and side options (I’ll get to the Shopping List in a moment), you are appealing to broad tastes and letting your guests get more specific for themselves. You might not think that toasted rye bread with raspberry jam and sharp cheddar tastes good (it really does, just so you know!), but you don’t have to because your guests will think up their own food and everyone’s happy because they take care of themselves.

It's enormous! Or is it...?

2-Epic Sandwich Parties are Very Kid-Friendly:

There are lots of kids in our circle of friends and family and I wanted them to feel welcome. An Epic Sandwich Party is a fun and super easy way to include the little ones in the festivities.  Kids love sandwiches!  And getting to make their own can appeal to even the pickiest of eaters. My six-year old nephew made the first sandwich of the party and he was so excited to have that honor. I pointed out the different choices he had and he considered each one thoughtfully before putting together a Roast Beast (beef), Cheese and Ketchup Sandwich. It was just what he wanted! All the kids at our party seemed to have fun building their own sandwiches, which made their parents happy and able to have fun too!

3-The prep is so minimal, it’s hardly prep!

Just stock up on sandwich essentials, add some general party junk food, chill the drinks and you’re good to go! Have some napkins, plates and cups standing by and let everyone be inspired to create their own sandwich greatness.

You can’t go wrong with this basic Shopping List for your Epic Sandwich Party:

So many tasty ingredients!

Bread: 3-4 different kinds, such as:

Basic Sourdough

Rye (dark and light)

Multi-grain

Buns (my Dad brought his special homemade buns and they did not last long!)

Meat: Variety is key!

Turkey breast, like Lilydale’s seasoned and roasted turkey breast slices

Roast Beef

Montreal Smoked Brisket

Spicy Capocolo

Smoked Prosciutto

Bacon

Turkey, sliced applies and sharp cheddar!

Veggies/Fruits:

Lettuce (spinach and mixed greens)

Tomatoes

Peppers

Onions

Mushrooms

Granny Smith Apples, thinly sliced

Sprouts

Avocados

Cheese:

Sharp Cheddar

Mozza

Jalapeno Havarti

Goat Cheese

Grilled roast beef, mushrooms, and 3 kinds of cheese!

Condiments:

Mustards (plain yellow, spicy, grainy, Dijon, Honey, Cranberry)

Mayo (plain and Dill)

Butter

Pickles

Banana Peppers

Ketchup

Hummus

Sides:

Potato chips (your favorite kinds!)

Veggies and Dips (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)

Grapes

Potato salad

Drinks:

Root Beer

Orange Pop

Coke

(just add ice cream for floats!)

...and don't forget real beer for the adults!

Special Equipment:

Skillet/Grill for those who want a grilled sandwich experience

This party wouldn't have been complete
without an Epic Sandwich Birthday Cake! 

Dessert:

Cupcakes

Ice Cream

...and Epic Sandwich Birthday Cake!

Convinced now? I hope so! Our guests had fun building their own epic sandwiches and we did too! For your next gathering, forget the planning stress and throw an Epic Sandwich Party instead!