First of all, we’re sorry about the VERY slow release of new sandwiches and recipes, we’ve been extremely busy with other projects, but we hope to return to making at least a couple of posts per month.
Last night we had a great New Years eve dinner with our friends. It’s a tradition, and we always cook a 7-course gourmet meal, with each couple making one or two dishes, paired with a great drink/wine. As you can imagine, we’re rather buzzed at the end of the night. Since Wendie got a Thomas Keller The French Laundry Cookbook, she decided to make a Caesar Salad. The Caesar Salad was made with a crouton, which makes it a sandwich (a tiny one) in our mind!
Deconstructed Caesar Salad Parmigiano-Reggiano Custards with Romaine Lettuce, Anchovy Dressing and Parmesan Crisps
We recently went on a short weekend getaway to Santa Barbara, and on the way home we decided to stop by the Mario Batali pizzeria in Los Angeles called “Mozza.” We shared a Fried squash blossoms with ricotta pizza which was excellent, but did lack a little bit of oomph. It was bland I guess, but good. We were sitting at the bar, watching the chefs prepare the dough, and learned a new technique to keep the bubbles in the edge. So we thought we would give it a try, and make a similar pizza in style, but with much more taste in it.
Prosciutto Pizza with Pesto and Portobello Mushrooms
One sandwich I have never gotten around to liking is the chicken salad sandwich. Perhaps it’s because I was introduced to it at a deli counter. The mayonnaise was so plentiful that I could hardly taste the chicken. Since then I’ve stayed away from all chicken salads, and supermarket deli counter foods for that matter. Still searching for a quick meal last night I decided to attempt to make my own and thereby kill two birds with a single chicken breast: rescue the chicken salad from mayonnaise hell and make a week night meal in time for Anders and I to enjoy a date night (go see the movie Unstoppable). Both were handily accomplished.
We love light spring-sandwiches that brings out the best in the ingredients such as heirloom tomatoes or burrata cheese. For this one we happened to have a bit of both, plus some of our homemade dukkah which is perfect for sandwiches like this. We also recently bought an amazing Lavender Vinegar from VivaOlivia which worked perfectly with the mild burrata and the pop-pop of bursting tomatoes as you chew.
Spring has arrived in San Diego. The weather is warm, our vegetable beds are loaded with freshly planted tomatoes, and we are just finishing a couple retainer walls that give us a few hundred more feet of planting space. Life is good. And to celebrate, we made this lovely (and simple) roast beef panini sandwich.
NO matter how much we want to push the envelope for sandwiches, we can’t possible fit this posting into that category. However, after growing fava beans over the winter (they call it winter here in San Diego, but it’s really similar to spring in Denmark), we have a tremendous harvest. Wendie came up with an amazing recipe for fresh fava beans, and in a moment of optimism, we decided to make a youtube video of the entire process.
And so, ladies and gentlemen, for once we have a non-sandwich recipe, and a video to go with it. Please let us know if this is something you want to see more of in the future, and what you think of the video. Wendie didn’t want me to tape her head for some reason, but if we do more I’ll make it happen to avoid further ‘headless presentations’ 🙂
On the scene reporting from Portland, Jamaica at the Frenchman’s cove: Juici Patty with coco bread.
In Jamaica, patties are made from a sort of think filo-dough with various fillings: Chicken (spicy), beef, lobster, shrimp, vegetable or soy. They are sold from a chains of stores spread over the island, each of which are as hunger inducing as staring at cardboard. However, don’t let their boring interior put you off.
Essentially two major chains are vying for the hearts of the locals: Tastee, the original chain, and Juici Patty, the copy-chain. Having tried both, I have to join the revolution and vote for Juici Patty. Their patties are more crunchy, and with better filling. On warning though, if you click on the link, your computer will start playing some pretty awful music without warning. Such is the power of marketing and sales in Jamaica…
For the purposes of this review, I chose a chicken patty, with coco bread. I realize this is odd, taking a patty which is already baked in dough, and then wrapping it in even more bread. But, this is the way of the local, and who am I to argue with cultural traditions. The coco bread also justifies the review, since anything wrapped in bread is a sandwich in our book.
There are occasions when my enthusiasm goes a bit overboard… This is one such occasion, where dinner turned into a monster sandwich. By the way, nerd moment; the top photo reminds me of the “alien” in the movie of the same name. Anyone see the resemblance?
