Sandwiches

Larry made these sandwiches for us for dinner. I picked them out because they sounded really yummy. But they weren't. I don't know - maybe the combination of a salty meat with a salty cheese? I liked the pear in the panini a lot, though.

• Pear, Pecorino, and Prosciutto Panini (Cooking Light, June 2004)

Amy and I had these sandwiches the first time when she was visiting and we went to the Ferry Plaza farmer's market. Chef Chad Callahan was showing a demo, and we got big samples of the sandwiches. I really like these because they're different. I made these up ahead of time and stored them tightly wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator until it was time to eat them.

Saigon Salmon Sandwiches
(makes 4 servings)

Marinade
1 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 oz. fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 scallions
3 large cloves garlic

Sandwiches
4 wild salmon fillets, without skin (about 5 oz. each)
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 tablespoons tartar sauce or mayonnaise
4 Acme torpedo rolls or solft rolls, lightly toasted
2 cups grated carrots
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro

1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a blender and puree until the aromatics are minced finely. Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 5 days to allow the flavors to meld.

2. Set aside 1/4 cup of the marinade. Immerse the salmon fillets in the remaining marinade and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Remove the fish from the marinade; sprinkle with the black pepper and brush evenly with the oil. Grill or broil the chicken over medium high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or to desired doneness.

4. Spread the tartar sauce or mayonnaise on the top halves of the rolls. Layer the carrots and jalapeno on the bottom halves. Place the salmon on the vegetables, drizzle with the reserved marinade and top with the cilantro.

• Saigon Salmon Sandwiches (Fish, Sausaulito)

This was lunch today. Cook's Illustrated sent me a recipe to test, for making roast beef out of an inexpensive cut of meat. Yum! Nothing magical about this - in fact, it's not much of a recipe. Just plenty of salt the day before, make sure the meat is dry, sear it, then roast it slow and low at 225 degrees. We don't eat very much beef but this is really lean and I always have a hard time getting enough protein in my diet so it's probably a good thing.

The sandwiches are made with toasted sourdough bread, fresh heirloom tomatoes, a bit of horseradish and mayo, and pea shoots.

• Inexpensive Roast Beef (Cook's Illustrated Test Recipe) Sandwiches

I finally made the chicken salad that Amy loves. She's right - it's really good. I followed the recipe since it was the first time making it, but next time I'll just eyeball the amounts. I was unsure about the smoked almonds, but I chopped them up pretty good and it was a surprisingly good addition.

Larry is the sandwich maker - he lightly toasted whole grain bread and added avocado to the sandwiches. Yum.

• Rosemary Chicken Salad Sandwiches (Cooking Light, April 2005)

Wow, was this a sandwich. Guacamole, homemade fresh salsa, sliced avocados, melted swiss and mixed greens on grilled salsa bread. We couldn't even pick the sandwiches up - we had to eat them with a fork. The bread doesn't stay together very well because of the fillings. The sandwiches were delicious and it was a fun experiment, but I can't see making these again unless I have an awful lot of time on my hands.

• Avocado and Melted Swiss on Salsa Bread (Beautiful Breads and Fabulous Fillings: The Best Sandwiches in America, p. 87)

I whipped up some Simply Roasted Pork over the weekend so we'd have something to eat for lunches or a quick dinner. I also cooked up a huge batch of caramelized onions - just onions and some salt, I didn't follow the directions in this recipe, and I made up the horseradish spread for these sandwiches also.

The Simply Roasted Pork is so easy to make, and really versatile. I love it for sandwiches, and these were really tasty. Jay was over after work, so I made these up for our dinner. We both really liked them, and since everything was prepared ahead it was really simple to make everything. I toasted the bread first.

• Horseradish and Caramelized Onion Pork Sandwiches (Cooking Light, September 2004)
• Trader Joe's Spinach Salad

Larry and I took Coco to Ed Levin County Park today for a Memorial day picnic. The park is in the hills of Milpitas, and is quite large so we had no problems finding a nice spot in the shade, near one of the ponds. Coco was thrilled to be out somewhere new, and Larry and I enjoyed the beautiful weather and yummy lunch that I packed.

I made the salad components yesterday, so that all I had to do is layer and dress it. I made the Aïoli and cooked the pancetta yesterday also, so it wouldn't be a lot of work to put everything together. The sandwiches are toasted so they didn't get soggy at all. They're a fancy version of a BLT with avocado, and are really tasty. We liked the salad, too. The recipe is re-printed in Fine Cooking #79.

• Pancetta, Tomato & Avocado Sandwich with Aïoli (Fine Cooking #79, July 2006, p. 90c)
• Barley & Black-Eyed Pea Salad (Fine Cooking #28, September 1998, p. 37)
• Thick Scottish Shortbread (Fine Cooking #26, May 1998, p. 54)
• Lemon Curd (Fine Cooking #26, May 1998, p. 54)
• Mini Watermelon

We had panini for lunch today. The great thing about panini is that it's easy to make a delicious sandwich with very little effort. I consulted my sandwich-maker extraordinaire (Larry) for input on the combination of flavors.

I knew I wanted chicken (skinless breasts pounded thin, seasoned with salt and pepper, and cooked on the grill pan), and sun-dried tomatoes. Larry picked spinach and extra-sharp cheddar. Another option would have been basil and goat cheese - but I had neither on hand.

The panini pan just needs a spray of olive oil to keep the bread from sticking. We used medium-thick slices of a rustic country loaf. They turned out excellent.

• Chicken Panini with Cheddar, Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Tonight was quick sandwiches with the panini machine. It included a spread which was a mixture of fresh thyme, diced red onion, Dijon mustard and fat free sour cream. I don't use fat free sour cream, so I used regular. I liked the sandwiches fine, but Larry thought the spread was weird. He made a second sandwich using just regular mayo, and it was much better. Larry has an excellent sandwich instinct.

• Grilled Tomato, Smoked Turkey, and Muenster Sandwich (Cooking Light, July 2001)
• Trader Joe's Baby Spinach Salad

I made panini again for lunch, this time something very different. I liked the combination, although Larry thought it was too salty. I agree that it was on the salty side - both Pecorino and Prosciutto are on the salty side. I liked the addition of satueed pears, but I probably won't make these again since Larry wasn't that crazy about them.

• Pear, Pecorino and Prosciutto Panini (Cooking Light, June 2004)

I needed to make an easy appetizer for a ZAP volunteer luncheon tomorrow. This was super easy, and a great way to use leftover cheese. I used all sorts of leftover cheese: sharp white cheddar, fontina, gruyere, asiago, parmesan and aged mimolette. I added a little extra wine to get the texture just right. Larry said it was okay, but "too cheesy". I wasn't surprised. I like cheese a lot more than he does. I think the spread would be good on a grilled sandwich.

This is the second time I've made these sandwiches, and they're excellent. Everything can be made ahead and assembled just before grilling. They turn out beautifully in my panini machine. The article that these came from has a bunch of other yummy-sounding sandwiches, but I keep wanting to make this one instead.

• Fromage Fort (Good Eats, Say Cheese!)
• Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwiches with Fontina Cheese (Cooking Light, June 2004)

I made pork tenderloin yesterday, for lunches this week, using the recipe in this article in Cooking Light. The pork was easy to make, and turned out to be very tasty. I prepared everything for today's sandwiches yesterday. Larry made his sandwich this morning, and took it to work. I don't like sandwiches to sit there and get soggy, so I brought all the fixings and made my sandwich just before lunch. It was really good. Larry loved the pork but thought the pesto flavors masked the yummy pork.

• Sourdough Pork Sandwiches with Parsley-Pesto Mayonnaise (Cooking Light, September 2004)

I made these last night to have for lunch today. It's from one of the same Cooking Light articles I've been cooking from, one on taking lunch to work. The lentils aren't vegetarian, but I could have used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. The wrap was a little soggy, probably because I sliced the cucumbers the night before and stored them in water. I dried them off, but still. This was okay, not something I'll make again.

• Lentil Dal Wraps (Cooking Light, August 2004)

This is based on a sandwich that Oakville Grocery makes. Amy ordered it when she was here earlier this year, and now I get it every time I'm at Oakville Grocery. I used the slow-roasted tomatoes that I made the other day. I used Cabot sharp cheddar and Asiago cheese, and grilled it on sourdough with my panini machine. The tomatoes make the sandwich. I could eat these every single day.

• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Larry was flipping through one of my cookbooks the other night, and when he came to the photo of these sandwiches, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist making them. I picked up Willie Bird turkey bacon today on the way home (they only had peppered, but it was fine). I added a bit more chipotle powder, but I think I'd prefer chopped chipotle in adobo sauce. I wish I could have made the avocados more chunky, but they were pretty soft. And I used arugula as our greens instead of red leaf lettuce. These were really yummy and easy to make. Nothing fancy, good for a weeknight dinner.

• Chipotle Guacamole and Bacon Sandwich (The Carefree Cook, p. 76)

We marinated and grilled the chicken for these sandwiches yesterday - it made it an easy weeknight dinner. These were excellent, and of course I used my panini grill.

• Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwiches with Fontina Cheese (Cooking Light, June 2004)

It was tuna melts again tonight, since I poached a couple of pounds of tuna today. It gets used up quickly, between the melts, and Larry's favorite tuna salad and his tuna sandwiches. It's almost effortless to poach it, so I try to keep some on hand.

I've gotten into the habit of modifying this recipe - I use a little mayo plus some of the ingredients from the Remoulade (gherkins, tarragon, shallots, dijon mustard, lemon, and capers) to make the tuna salad, instead of using the oil from the poaching.

• Olive-Oil-Poached Albacore Tuna, Remoulade, and Cheddar Cheese Sandwich (Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book, Nancy Silverton, p. 76)
• Chips

Wine: David Coffaro 2000 Cabernet Franc (Dry Creek Valley, California). I opened another bottle of red, just because I like a glass of wine while I'm making dinner sometimes, and because I'm trying to clear out some cellar space. This was okay. Needs a good steak to go with it.

Tonight was quick and easy tuna melts. I usually poach fresh albacore, but good oil-packed tuna in a jar will work in a pinch, like it did tonight. I usually don't like tuna, but I love these sandwiches.

• Olive-Oil-Poached Albacore Tuna, Remoulade, and Cheddar Cheese Sandwich (Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book, Nancy Silverton, p. 76)