Unusual Sandwiches

megamania · Apr 20, 2015

Toast, peanut butter and banana is always good

I like putting potato chips on most of my deli meat sandwiches also.. Texture, crunch and flavor.

Scott DeWar · Apr 20, 2015

Now that is something i liked to do, as well as fritos in my chili

Dannyalcatraz · Apr 20, 2015

Fritos in chili is cool.

I never warmed up to chips on sandwiches, though. I've tried a few- including some that included onion rings/sticks, too- but I always found I preferred my sides as...well...sides. When I want crunch on a sandwich, I turn to veggies- things like pickles, peppers, carrots or fresh greens. Fresh parsley, too.

I also put celery in my chicken or tuna salads for crunch. Sometimes, the chicken salad gets pecan (or rarely, almond) bits for flavor & crunch, too.

Another source of crunch is- obviously- toasting. What you get depends heavily on what you start off with, though. I have found that the artisan breads I've been using more of lately tend to have heavier, thicker crusts. When you toast those, they can get very hard indeed. Bite off too big a chunk, and suddenly, you're chewing on a small rock! A modest bite, OTOH, will get you a tasty "crouton" effect to your sandwich...

Dioltach · Apr 20, 2015

I was making a beef stew today, but my parents phoned and distracted me and the whole lot burned. So I had to improvise dinner: I sliced a focaccia bakeoff down the middle to make two sandwich halves, buttered the halves with yoghurt mayonnaise, added a handful of rocket, and filled the sandwiches with grilled chicken breast, grilled avocado slices and crispy bacon. I use a large press when I grill chicken so it cooks quickly and doesn't dry out. The result was pretty good -- even my wife agreed, and she's no fan of avocado.

Dannyalcatraz · Apr 21, 2015

Sounds good, except for the rocket. I find that green is generally too bitter for me to enjoy.

Dannyalcatraz · May 25, 2015

Dannyalcatraz said:
Working with Easter leftovers now...

Rosemary & olive oil artisan bread, lightly toasted
High-grade EVO, drizzled on bread
Cracked black pepper
Cambozola soft blue cheese
Strawberry & pineapple glazed ham slivers

The herbaceous flavors of the bread, the sweetness of the ham, the bite of fresh pepper and the tangy blue cheese come together well.

This sandwich inspired a new variant:

Rosemary & olive oil artisan bread, lightly toasted
Lox
Cambozola soft blue cheese
A generous sprinkle of black pepper
A generous sprinkle of powdered garlic
A generous sprinkle of dried parsley

I tried it yesterday with roasted garlic bread, but something about the sandwich- good as it was- told me that the rosemary olive oil bread would be better. And it was.

If you don't have that bread, a good crusty rustic white bread of some kind, toasted and enhanced with a drizzle of EVO and restrained sprinkle of rosemary should be a decent substitute.

Dannyalcatraz · Jul 12, 2015

A couple of others:

I have found that some restaurants in our area are serving up battered & fried artichoke hearts with some kind of aoli as an appetizer, garnished with a lemon wedge, and Tabasco if you ask for it. The thing is, served this way, the artichoke hearts are about the same size and consistency as medium sized fried oysters. So, if you are a Catholic looking for something different to eat during lent, or are a more traditional kind of vegetarian...

Order the fried artichokes, apply lemon and Tabasco to taste.
Get a 6" section of French bread- the REAL kind with a crispy exterior and a soft interior, not hoagies or other similar breads.
Slice it open, and liberally apply mayonnaise (or the aoli that came with the artichokes, if any)
Add a layer of lettuce
Add some sliced tomatoes
Put artichoke hearts on the bed of lettuce and tomatoes.

Voilà: a vegetarian Po'boy! A Fauxboy, if you will.

*****

Some years ago, I went to Russia and my last meal in St. Petersburg was a sandwich at the hotel. But what a sandwich!

Use dark rye or pumpernickel bread
Butter it well with a good, salted butter.
Add a generous layer of cilantro
Add a layer of lox. If you prefer, good smoked salmon or even raw sushi grade salmon will work just as well.

Simplicity itself, but so tasty!