Category Archives: Sandwiches

Mother Stuffin’ Falafel Pita with Spicy Tahini Dressing

For all the folks out there claiming that vegetarian and vegan food has to be boring, falafel is a giant nanny-nanny-boo-boo in their direction.  These delicately spiced fritters made of chickpeas are toothsome and filling, leaving even the most dedicated meat eaters feeling as if they’ve got all that they need in front of them.

The name of this recipe came from my sister who demanded that I make a sandwich called a “Mother Stuffer.”  In that she is a vegetarian (and most of the time a raw vegan at that), I had to make a concoction that proved that, much like her, veggies are non-stop fun.  This pita is no exception – half the fun of falafel is assembling your pita yourself with your favorite toppings, so feel free to use any combination of pickles, peppers and hot sauce that you’d like. Food is ALWAYS more fun when you can make it your own. Continue reading Mother Stuffin’ Falafel Pita with Spicy Tahini Dressing

Italian BLT Panini with Pesto Mayo

When you can get your hands on a juicy tomato, you need to treat it right.  All of those mealy, hothouse tomatoes that are pushed on us by the grocery store are great for tossing, but that’s about it.  But then there’s that slim window of time where you can get your hands on heirloom tomatoes in a rainbow of colors, bumpy and rough on the outside, brimming with translucent tart juice in the center.  When the planets align and the gods deem you worthy of an incredible tomato, you’d better recognize and step up to the plate. Continue reading Italian BLT Panini with Pesto Mayo

Crispy Halibut Po’boy with Caper Aioli

Nothing says summertime majesty like a tender fish filet in crisp, lacy batter, slathered in luscious tartar sauce.  Correction: nothing says the perfect time of year like the aforementioned fish.  A good piece of halibut, carefully breaded and fried, is a welcome addition year-round assuming that I can get my hands on some.

The secret ingredient that makes this recipe sing is the caper aioli – a homemade mayonnaise enlivened with capers, cocktail onions, tarragon and lemon, this condiment tastes of a majesty so great that one would think that you slaved over the stuff.  But that’s not the case.  Pop the ingredients into the blender and whirr away until the mixture thickens to absolute perfection. Continue reading Crispy Halibut Po’boy with Caper Aioli

Steak and Egg Sandwich with Jalapeno Hollandaise

It’d be selling them short to claim eggs as my favorite breakfast food, as that leaves out all of the other meals where eggs win my heart.  Sure, I can appreciate a fluffy waffle or sugar-dusted french toast.  But if eggs are one of the options, all other sweet delights are off the table.  It’s eggs for me 100%.

Though I’ve yet to meet an egg that I didn’t like, there is something about perfectly scrambled eggs in sandwich form that makes me grin bigger than Christmas morning.  This sandwich gilds the proverbial lily by adding tender steak to the party, and ups the egg quotient with a piquant topping of jalapeno hollandaise (made in the blender for quick and easy eating).  Yes, darlings, this one is trouble.  And the best kind of trouble you can get in to, no less.  Comfort-food noshing, hangover staving off, one-on-one private time with you and your breakfast a la Hall & Oates kind of trouble.  You know exactly what I’m talking about, so don’t even pretend. Continue reading Steak and Egg Sandwich with Jalapeno Hollandaise

Turkey Panini with Brie and Fig Jam

When the Earl of Sandwich ordered his servant to bring him a bit of meat tucked into slices of bread so as to prevent his playing cards from getting greasy, he started a chain reaction that has left me a happy duck.  If I were to live my life eating soup and sandwiches from now until the very end time, I’d be absolutely fine with it all.  Chicken soup and turkey sandwiches along could keep me pleased as punch with enough variety to keep things interesting.

Continue reading Turkey Panini with Brie and Fig Jam

Hippie Roll

Our pizza night growing up was rarely an affair catered by Pizza Hut or Dominos.  We used to frequent a family-owned joint that most Northern Virginians are probably familiar with called Joes.  We’d get take out from the Bailey’s Crossroads location, ordering doughy Sicilian pies with mounds of thinly-shaved toppings.  Their crusty calzones hid pools of creamy ricotta, melty mozzarella and tender ham.  They made the steak and cheese hero that I continue to judge all others against.  And their hippie rolls, a sausage stromboli of sorts with a tasty touch of crushed red pepper, became the fodder for regular, late night food cravings.  Pliant and chewy pizza dough held sweet roasted peppers and onions and a smidge of mozzarella cheese.  My dad would order a couple and slice them into rings for everyone to snack on, and they rarely lasted long. Continue reading Hippie Roll

Pulled Boar Panini with Miner’s Lettuce and Lemon Aioli

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that a dish with a fancy name and a fancier presentation can also be soul-satisfying comfort food.  This seemingly hoity-toity recipe is, at its most base form, an open-faced pulled pork sandwich.  The ingredients married together create a taste profile that is wholly sumptuous and ever so necessary.  I fell in love after first bite and promised myself that I’d make this one on repeat and revel in the glory as much as possible.

I use wild boar shoulder for this recipe, and thought the cut can take some time to braise until tender, I speed up the process with a trip to the pressure cooker.  If you can’t get boar, simply substitute pork shoulder – the taste won’t be nearly as rich, but you’ll still be able to get down.  Once the meat is shredded and cooled a bit, it rejoins the party on a raft of ciabatta, sharp provolone and a zesty homemade lemon aioli.  Miner’s lettuce serves as an interesting counterpoint for the unctuous boar and salty cheese – it’s texture alone, similar to spinach, adds the fresh finesse that makes this one a stunner.  Although this dish is an appetizer, just know that if you serve this dish first, chances are very good that people will fill up on these suckers with reckless abandon without a thought of saving room for anything else.  They are just. that. good.

Recipe for

Pulled Boar Panini with Miner’s Lettuce and Lemon Aioli

Ingredients
1 lb. wild boar shoulder, cut into 2-3 large chunks
4 c. of chicken stock
1 fennel bulb, quartered
1 onion, quartered
2 bay leaves
1 tsp of fennel pollen

2 cl. of garlic, minced
1 egg
zest of one lemon
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp. of dijon mustard
1/2 c. of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

4 oz. of miner’s lettuce, stems removed
1 1/2 c. of sharp provolone cheese, shredded
1 loaf of ciabatta

Begin by preparing the wild boar.  Add the boar, fennel, onion, stock, fennel pollen and bay leaves to a pressure cooker.  Bring to high pressure and then allow to cook for 30 minutes.  Let the pressure subside naturally and remove boar from cooking liquid.  Shred with two forks and set aside.

Now make the aioli.  Add the egg, lemon, zest and mustard to a blender.  Blitz on high and slowly stream in the olive oil.  Turn off blender and taste for salt and pepper.  The aioli should be pretty loose and not as thick as a traditional mayonnaise, so thin with additional olive oil if necessary.  Set aside.

Halve the ciabatta lengthwise and spread with some of the aioli, saving a few tablespoons for drizzling.  Top with the shredded boar and add the provolone to the top.  Bake in the oven on 400° until the cheese has melted.  Remove the two ciabatta loaves to a cutting board and cut into 8 pieces for each loaf.  Sprinkle miner’s lettuce liberally over the top of the panini and drizzle with additional aioli.  Serve while still standing, eating it right from the kitchen and not stopping to take it to the table.

Ham Salad

Ham salad or deviled ham is seemingly pedestrian, but man, is it good.  Just as a rotisserie chicken can be transformed by dijon mustard, tarragon and apples, into sumptuous chicken salad, so too can baked ham be blended into deliciousness with rosemary, shallots and mayonnaise.  To truly make this some devilish goodness, add some paprika and cayenne to make things a little more fiery.  We used to make this after Easter with the tons of leftover ham from the feast the day before.  It kept incredibly well in the fridge for quick sandwiches and was always a treat…for as long as it lasted.

This recipe makes a pretty dry salad, like I like it, but if you want things a little more moist, add a few more tablespoons of mayo to smooth things out.

Recipe for

Ham Salad

Ingredients
1 lb. of ham (leftover baked ham or deli ham works fine)
1/4 tsp. of white pepper
1/4 tsp. of black pepper
1 tbs. of dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1 tbs. of minced shallots
1/2 tbs. of dijon mustard
3 tbs. of mayo

In a food processor, blend all ingredients until smooth.  Spread on crackers or eat as a sandwich spread on crusty bread.

Chicken Salad with Tarragon and Apples

Ready to Shred

So rumor has it that chicken salad comes in a can?  I had no idea – I’d never touched the stuff.  Truly, my first taste of chicken salad came from the Corner Bakery in Tysons Corner.  There, diced chicken, apples and celery (and supposedly currants and red onion according to their website – neither were memorable) are nestled between slices of pumpernickel studded with walnuts and raisins.  It was insanely good, and that wasn’t even including their homemade kettle-cooked potato chips.

I haven’t been to the place in years, so I can’t speak for what the sandwich tastes like now.  No matter, though, because over the years, I’ve just been making this super simple chicken salad, and it surpasses all expectations that I’ve had for that Corner Bakery sandwich.  It’s the perfect marriage of sweet and savory, with the lovely zing of lemon and dijon to wake the whole thing up.  Tender white meat chicken becomes moist and delicious in a fine poaching liquid of lemon and pepper.  And if you can score a really good artisinal bread, it’s a treat and a half.  Dennis and I ambled over to the SpaHa Bakery on 116th and Lexington, and were able to purchase some Mulitgrain Foccacia for him and a Cranberry Walnut Pullman Loaf for me.  What a treat that place is!  Between the excellent bread choices and the freshly prepped chicken salad goodness, Dennis put the sandwich in the Pantheon of his top 5 sandwiches of all time.  I expect him to print out a certificate for this honor and frame it for me for Christmas. Continue reading Chicken Salad with Tarragon and Apples