Category Archives: Cheeses

Ham and Mozzarella Cheese Sandwich with Sweet Basil Leaves, Steamed Asparagus, Tomato, Dukkah and Mustard

Growing up, I believe I had ham and cheese sandwiches maybe three times. My mom had found a recipe in a cookbook, and one day she announced she was going to make me a Hawaiian sandwich (The recipe included a piece of slices pineapple from a can, thus Hawaii). It was great, but once you open a can of pineapples you are committed to doing something with the remaining 9 slices, so my mom quickly stopped making the sandwich. A couple of weeks ago I had a dream about it (the dream also involved Jay Leno having purchased a personal Nuclear Missile painted bright red with warning signs, which was bolted down in his back yard with chains. Don’t ask, it was a dream). As you can imagine, it got stuck in my subconsciousness. I know, dreaming of sandwiches probably means we’re spending too much time writing this blog. Anyway, here is my variation of a Ham and Cheese Sandwich, without the pineapple.

Ham and Mozzarella Cheese Sandwich with Sweet Basil Leaves, Steamed Asparagus, Tomato, Dukkah and Mustard
Ham and Mozzarella Cheese Sandwich with Sweet Basil Leaves, Steamed Asparagus, Tomato, Dukkah and Mustard

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Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Cheese Sandwich with Squash, Onion and Fennel Seeds

We love grilling on the BBQ, and we love sandwiches (obviously), so this sandwich was bound to come about sooner or later. Neither of us has done a lot of grilling growing up, so we’re discovering the joy of barbecuing together. We frequently use chicken, and have learned (after a few… mishaps) to get it moist and tender. Grilling chicken usually involves a marinade or a rub, since chicken by itself can be a bit bland. This particular recipe calls for teriyaki sauce, which is great for marinades.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Cheese Sandwich with Squash, Onion and Fennel Seeds
Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Cheese Sandwich with Squash, Onion and Fennel Seeds

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‘Helge’ Cheese sandwich with Italian Salami

Contrary to what you might believe from reading the rest of this blog, sometimes we do enjoy the simple sandwiches. This one is about as simple as it gets: Bread and butter, salami and cheese. The only trick is to get good quality ingredients, freshly made bread, Italian salami with a great taste, and a fantastic cheese such as this Danish one called “Helge”. Yes, in Denmark cheeses have people-names. Go figure. Don’t even attempt this one if your bread is not fresh by the way, it will ruin your day.

'Helge' Cheese sandwich with spicy salami
'Helge' Cheese sandwich with spicy italian salami

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Mashed Potato Sandwich with Beef Jerky, Mayonnaise, Roasted Garlic and Parmesan

If you are following our musing on this blog, you know by now that Anders looooves mashed potato sandwiches and we both love roasted garlics. So it should come as no surprise that we at some point had to mix the two. Of course, we also enjoy cheese, so this sandwich was inevitable. In a moment of pure inspiration (we’re very modest), Anders decided to cut up a piece of Teriyaki Beef Jerky into really fine pieces, very much like little bacon pieces, and sprinkle on top. The result was great. After you finish chewing through the first layer, you end up with little pieces of jerky at the end of each bite. Very cool.

Mashed potato sandwich with teriyaki beef jerky, oven roasted garlic and shredde parmasan
Mashed potato sandwich with teriyaki beef jerky, oven roasted garlic and shredded parmesan

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Spicy Roast Beef Sandwich with Cheese, Olives, Onions, Fresh Basil Leaves and Sprouts

This spicy roast beef cheese sandwich has hot (but sweet) chili sauce inside, and is made with a strong pungent cheese as well, both adding to the spicy flavor. It’s made on a toasted ciabatta roll, and has plenty of crunch from the sprouts. Adding a few fresh basil leaves brings it to a whole new level.

Spicy toasted roast beef cheese sandwich with sprouts and fresh basil
Spicy toasted roast beef cheese sandwich with sprouts and fresh basil

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Spicy Toasted Ham & Cheese Sandwich with Fennel Seeds and Salami

When you need to awake from the schlump that is Thursday night after work, a spicy kick to your system can be just what you need. This sandwich does just that. With a strong danish cumin cheese, sweet (but hot) chili sauce, and a strong organic and local salami from Poway Farmer’s market, this one will wake you up. Just for kicks, I added one tsp of fennel seeds on the bread and cheese while in the toaster oven. It added a very nice flavor that went really well with the cheese and ham.

Spicy Toasted Ham and Cheese Sandwich with Sweet Chili Sauce, Salami and Fennel Seeds
Spicy Toasted Ham and Cheese Sandwich with Sweet Chili Sauce, Salami and Fennel Seeds

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Brie Sandwich with Avocado, Watercress and Sprouts

For me, one of the elements of a good sandwich is relevance. What do I mean? Each element brings something necessary to the sandwhich: the spread might serve to unite disparate flavors, the fried onions to give flavor and also add needed texture etc.  Nothing must be superfluous. Sometimes I fail in the relevance battle because I am outvoted by Anders for whom there is never just enough… in his sandwhich world view, there is always this little bit more that can be added.  As you can imagine, between my relevance approach and his delight in superfluity, we often need the United Nations to mediate our sandwhich choices. Sometimes I win. This little one is one such victory.

Smoked goat brie cheese sandwich with water crest salad and avocado
Brie sandwich with avocado, watercress and sprouts

 

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Roast Beef Sandwich with Scrambled Eggs and Tomato Relish

Admittingly, I never envisioned adding scrambled eggs to roast beef.  It just seems wrong, but scrambled eggs were being made for dinner and so I thought, “Why not”.   You can call this the serendipitous sandwich because lo and behold, it actually turned out quite tasty.  For a little extra crunch, I added onions (both fried and raw, sliced).   Another serendipitous discovery was just how good tomato relish was on this – it went suprisingly well with the eggs and roast beef.

Roast beef panini sandwich with scrambled eggs and tomato relish and onions
Roast beef ciabatta sandwich with scrambled eggs, tomato relish and onions

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Mesquite Wood Smoked Turkey Cheese Sandwich

This is one of my favorite lunch items in downtown San Diego. It is served, surprisingly, at Ralphs, and is not only a great sandwich, but also very affordable at just $5.99.  I particularly enjoy the mesquite wood smoked turkey sandwich on nine grain & seed bread  (Toasted), with cajun and horseradish mayo. I usually get all the veggies, lettuce, green pepper, onion, tomato, sweet pickles, olives, etc, and in this case swiss cheese.

While I can’t claim to be the chef, this sandwich was designed by me, so I think I can claim the recipe at least 🙂

Mesquite Wood Smoked Turkey cheese sandwich with veggies
The entire huge Mesquite Wood Smoked Turkey cheese sandwich with veggies

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Lavash Crackers with Spices and Seeds

Don’t be intimidated by the length of this lavash cracker recipe, or the ingredient list.  The process is a bit involved and definitely requires more time than a sandwich but the effort is well worth it. With a little attention, even novice bakers will be able to make this a staple in their pantries.  Add the spices and seeds you like, and make it your own creation.

Lavash Crackers with Spices and Seeds
Lavash Crackers with Spices and Seeds

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