Sandy's Tomato Jam & Cheese Sandwich

Posted by Sandy Gluck

Last week I had the honor of speaking with Peter Reinhart about his new book "Artisan Breads Every Day." Reinhart is a genius bread baker and teacher: He is inspirational, so much so that I got in the kitchen and baked a loaf from his new book for yesterday's sandwich. Struan, a loaf packed with grains that is absolutely delicious. It has a touch sweet, and is perfect for sandwiches.

Cheese seemed like the perfect protein to pack on it along with a slightly spicy seasonal chutney and my mom-in-law's tomato jam. The recipe for the chutney? A medium-size butternut squash, which I peeled and chopped. Then I cooked it along with brown sugar, cider vinegar, ginger, apple, mustard seeds, and garam masala. The final product was two slices of bread, a buttery fontina cheese from Wisconsin, chutney, and tomato jam -- perfect!

Sandy's Peanut Butter Sandwich

Posted by Sandy Gluck

No secret here -- ever since I was a kid, I loved peanut butter! It's my breakfast, my go-to sandwich, snack, you name it. Sometimes I like to jazz it up and that's what I did for today's sandwich.

Growing up, several of my friends couldn't eat a peanut butter sandwich without a couple of slices of crisp bacon thrown in. It's a super combo and I decided to riff on it. Last night, I seasoned a hunk of boneless pork shoulder with cumin, coriander, paprika, a little sugar, and coarse salt and roasted it until just done. This morning I thinly sliced it and packed it on a ciabatta slathered on one side with chunky peanut butter, on the other side, hot pepper jelly and in between, sliced cukes, and arugula. Now that's my kind of sandwich. Have you got a favorite peanut butter sandwich combo?

Sandy's Doughnut Sandwich

Posted by Sandy Gluck

Last week, I talked about ciders and punches and it made me think of apple cider donuts and how much I like them. So I figured, why not make one into a sandwich. Maybe a little out of the ordinary, but it seemed to me that those autumn flavors, coupled with a really nice cheese, might make a delicious sandwich. I've enjoyed apple cider donuts at Hearth restaurant in NYC and found their recipe at Smitten Kitchen. I swapped in a cup of whole wheat flour for 1 cup of all-purpose, and added a grated apple and I was on my way! These were delicious; cakey, with a wonderful crumb. Perfect for a doughnut, a little less so for a sandwich, there was no way I could halve these horizontally. Not one to be put off, I simply topped them with thin slices of a young Manchego cheese (Cheddar would work well too), and a dollop of a mayo-mustard-honey mix, and voila! An open-face, doughnut sandwich. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.

Sandy's Halloween Candy Sandwich

Posted by Sandy Gluck

With Halloween just around the corner I thought it would be fun to make a sweet sandwich, inspired by favorite candy bar flavors. One of Monty's favorite candies is a whatchamacallit (no, I didn't forget the name, that is the name!) This candy bar is chocolate covered with caramel, peanut butter, and crispy bits. One of my favorite bars is a mounds bar, chocolate packed with coconut. Since both have an outer chocolate coating I decided to make a chocolate poundcake. Here's a recipe, just omit the glaze.

The caramel filling was pretty easy to make, here's how: Place 2/3 sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a small saucepan. Set over medium-high heat, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook until dark amber in color, about 5 minutes. Use a pastry brush, dipped in water, to wash down sides of pan to prevent crystallization as the mixture boils. Remove saucepan from the heat, and gradually whisk in 1/4 cup cream and 2 tablespoons butter. Transfer to a medium bowl, and let cool.

Slice the poundcake, spread one slice with caramel and the other with crunchy peanut butter, put them together and that's a candy inspired sandwich! For the mounds bar, I used the same poundcake, and then made a mix of softened cream cheese, a little sugar and vanilla, and angel flake coconut; that's it. Fun to make, and even more fun to eat!

Sandy's Power Lunch (and Bars)

Posted by Sandy Gluck

Today's sandwich day theme: power lunches. Packed in whole-wheat pitas, loaded with good for you ingredients like tuna (for omega-3’s), pinto beans (fiber and protein), green beans, and tomatoes, all tossed in a lemony vinaigrette. These sandwiches should keep you from hitting the low energy wall when 3:00 pm rolls around. But, in case you do; I made power bars too. You can play around with the ingredients in the bar, swapping in whatever dried fruit (or mini chocolate chips), for the raisins, choose a nut other than almonds, substitute sunflower or any nut butter for the peanut butter, and choose honey instead of agave. In any event, you'll get lots of good-for-you, not too-sweet-bars. Here's to keeping that energy up!

Oat Power Bars
This makes one 9 x 9-inch pan, 12 bars. These bars will keep for a week in a tightly sealed container, or can be wrapped and frozen up to 3 months.

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup natural almonds, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup agave nectar (light or dark), or honey
1/4 cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment or foil (if using foil, lightly oil), leaving a 1-inch overhang on 2 sides. Spread oats on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes, tossing once or twice, until lightly browned and fragrant. (You can skip this step if you like, but I think it makes the bar taste richer.) Transfer to a large bowl.

2. Add raisins, almonds, and salt; toss to combine. Add egg whites and stir to coat.

3. In a small skillet, heat the agave nectar and peanut butter over low until peanut butter has melted. Pour over oat mixture, add vanilla and stir to combine. Transfer to pan and using a spatula spread and flatten to make even. Bake 20 minutes or until set. Cook 5 minutes in pan, then using overhang, lift out of pan and transfer to wire rack to cool. Cut into 12 bars.

Sandy's Power Lunch
Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:
2 cans (6 ounces each) tuna packed in olive oil, drained
1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
4 ounces green beans, trimmed, halved crosswise and steamed
3 plum tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 whole-wheat pitas, tops cut off

Directions: 1. In a large bowl, toss together tuna, green beans, pinto beans, tomatoes, lemon juice, oil, tarragon, and salt. Toss to combine. Spoon mixture into pitas and serve.

Sandy's Asian Chicken Salad Sandwich

Posted by Sandy Gluck

Who doesn't love chicken salad? Creamy mayo based, lightly dressed in oil and vinegar, all-American, Asian, it could go on and on. Think about it? Chicken is mildly flavored and can pretty much take to whatever flavoring you give it. Today, I decided to go Asian. Spring roll wrappers, briefly soaked in water to rehydrate them then filled with sliced roasted chicken breast, slivers of red pepper and yellow squash, tossed with oil, rice vinegar, whole cilantro and mint leaves and a dash of salt. Light, fresh, and delicious.

Sandy's Egg & Cheese Sandwich

Posted by Sandy Gluck

Today I decided to celebrate the perfect marriage: eggs and cheese. Here's a spinach and cheddar omelet recipe that I decided to make and then pack in today's sandwiches. I swapped in a package of thawed and drained frozen chopped broccoli for the spinach and added some roasted peppers (when I added the cheese). Once cooled and sliced, I packed it in kaiser rolls and added a little ketchup. The serving size was enough for 6 sandwiches. Easy and delicious. Do you have a favorite egg and cheese combo?

Sandy's Sausage Sandwich

Posted by Sandy Gluck

I love hitting the road and trying lots of new things. It inspires, and energizes me. Just last week, I was in Portland and nearby Willamette Valley. Boy did I eat well. Fresh Dungeness crabs, lots of wild mushrooms, tons of cheese, and of course, wine.

What I noticed several times were signs at libraries and public schools for classes on preserving and cooking from scratch. I was inspired. So, for Sandwich Day I made my own sausages patties and homemade rolls to put them on. The patties were a mix of ground pork shoulder, cumin, a spicy paprika, marjoram, salt, and pepper. So easy and you can season them however you like. A tip-before you shape all the patties: cook up a small one to make sure you're on the money for seasoning.

The rolls, known as pan de sal were mentioned by a listener a couple weeks ago and I found this great recipe (if you're game, the recipe can easily be halved). Split rolls, filled with sautéed patties and topped with a simple mix of Chinese hoisin sauce and ketchup. A big shout out to Oregon for the inspiration.

Sandy's Porcupine Meatballs

Posted by Sandy Gluck

Growing up, one dish my mom made with a fair amount of regularity was Porcupine Meatballs. Funny name, isn't it? Well, what I remembered were meatballs that were cooked in a tomato sauce and had rice "quills" (hence the name) protruding out. Did a little research and sure enough there it was on the web-- a Betty Crocker recipe. So, for the sake of nostalgia and because I thought it would be fun, I made some for today's sandwich. Not the ones my mom made, but those little bits of rice are sticking out so I think they still qualify!

Sandy's Porcupine Meatballs
Makes 20 meatballs

Ingredient:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/4 pounds mixed ground beef and pork
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 ounce chorizo, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons smoked or regular sweet Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup raw long-grain rice
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes in juice and pureed
1 large cinnamon stick, split lengthwise
2 strips orange zest
big pinch allspice
1 bay leaf

Directions:
1. In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until very soft and tender, about 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

2. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, cheese, chorizo, cilantro, paprika, salt, eggs, and cooled onions. Gently mix to combine. Add the rice and water and mix again. Shape into 20 meatballs.

3. Dredge the meatballs in flour, shaking off the excess. In a large skillet heat the oil over medium. Working in batches, sauté the meatballs until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Once all the meatballs are browned, add the tomatoes, cinnamon stick, orange zest, allspice, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Return the meatballs to the skillet, return to a simmer, cover and cook until the rice is tender and pokes through in many spots, about 25 minutes. Serve with sauce or on rolls.

Sandy's Fish Cakes Sandwich

Posted by Sandy Gluck

Fish cakes on a sandwich? Well, Monty (producer of Everyday Food) and Shavon (engineer) were both skeptical. But they changed their minds once I told them the ingredients: oven-roasted scrod (young cod) cooked with a little smoky paprika, salt, and an olive oil drizzle, then flaked and combined with mashed potatoes, an egg, and sweet caramelized onions, shaped into patties and coated with panko breadcrumbs. As a finishing touch, I split a hard roll, spread it with a ketchup-mayo-chipotle Tabasco mix, and topped it with the patties and a light coleslaw. Both Monty and Shavon thought these were some good eats. Mine were put together with some things I had on hand, so I don't have an exact recipe to give you, but these fish cakes are delicious too. And you can certainly make your favorite slaw; here's one of mine:

Light Dilled Coleslaw
Ingredients:
4 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup grated carrots (grated on large holes of a box grater)
3/4 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons snipped fresh dill
Coarse salt to taste

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, toss the cabbage with the carrots and sugar. Add the vinegar, oil, and dill; season with salt and taste again. Refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.