Category Archives: Ingredients

Basil, Breads, Cheeses, Closed sandwiches, Food, Herbs, Iceberg, Lettuce, Meats, Panini, Paprika, Potato bread, Saint Faron Cheese, Sandwiches, Spices, Turkey, Tuscan Bean Spread, Vegetables

Turkey Sandwich with Lettuce, Fennel Seeds, Muffaletta, White Bean Tuscan Paste, Paprika, Fresh Sweet Basil Leaves and Saint Faron Cheese

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We recently discovered a great food store in Little Italy in San Diego. It should be noted that Little Italy is very aptly named, since it’s basically just one street. You blink, you miss it. If you are of Italian descent, please move to San Diego so we can add a couple more streets. In Little Italy, we found Assenti’s Pasta, a wonderful little delicatessen shop where you can get fresh pasta of all shapes and forms. Arriving there at 5:59pm we were simply happy traffic had not delayed us more, and positively exuberant that Assenti let us in. Yes, we had a rushed 5 minute shopping spree, but it was great. Here we found muffaletta and tuscan bean spread as well as fresh pasta (which weren’t really for sandwiches, although Anders tried and failed).

This sandwich is our first using the muffaletta, is was delicious. It  fell a bit apart due to the iceberg lettuce, which became very  slippery with the oil from the muffaletta and the melted cheese. We had to add toothpicks to hold it all together long enough to take pictures.

Turkey Sandwich with Lettuce, Fennel Seeds, Muffaletta, White Bean Tuscan Paste, Paprika, Fresh Sweet Basil Leaves and Creamy Cheese
Turkey Sandwich with Lettuce, Fennel Seeds, Muffaletta, White Bean Tuscan Paste, Paprika, Fresh Sweet Basil Leaves and Creamy Cheese

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Breads, Cheeses, Chili flakes, Food, Ingredients, Lingonberry, Mushrooms, Open Faced Sandwiches, Roquefort, Sandwiches, Spices, Vegetables

Sauteed Mushrooms and Roquefort Sandwich on Lingonberry Bread

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There’s something to be said for simplicity, and when we cook it is usually Wendie saying it. After we baked our Lingonberry bread, Wendie made this sandwich and I made the “Turkey Sandwich with Creamy Garlic Paste, Avocado, Red Bell Pepper and Onion on Lingonberry Bread“. Both were good, but given the exuberant amount of toppings on mine, it should have been 4 times better. However, this simple construction proved to be a worthy contender in our internal struggle for sandwich supremacy. The slight chewiness of the mushroom goes really well with fresh bread. Wendie’s genius is of course to sauté the mushrooms in olive oil with a hint of chili, which really pops out your taste buds so they can pick up the flavors of the wonderful Roquefort.

Mushroom and Roquefort Sandwich on Lingonberry Bread
Mushroom and Roquefort Sandwich on Lingonberry Bread

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Asian Pear, Avocado, Breads, Closed sandwiches, Coconut oil, Fennel, Fish, Food, Fruits, Herbs, Iceberg, Mayonnaise, Olive Oil, Pandesal roll, Sandwiches, Sesame seeds, Soy Sauce, Tandoori, Tuna

Seared Ahi Tuna Sandwich with Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise and Lettuce, Asian Pear, and Avocado on a Pandesal Roll

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Since his birthday lunch of seared tuna at Blue Water Seafood Market and Grill, Anders has been dreaming about making a tuna sandwich.  But the price of fresh tuna and our relative inexperience with cooking it has served as  a big deterrence.  You don’t want to ruin a $14/lb tuna steak!  Anyway, this weekend he could not be stopped. We finally succumbed and  bought a ginormous ahi tuna steak at Costco. This was one fantastic looking steak – probably big enough for 4-5 tuna rolls.  So the plan was to sear the tuna, and, borrowing inspiration from Blue Water Seafood, serve it on a soft bun, rather than the artesan-style breads and rolls we typically use. 

With a game plan in mind, the search was on for an acceptable roll. Anders just happened to be shopping at Lucky Supermarket – one of the 6 supermarkets that we just had to visit this weekend to satisfy our finicky grocery needs – when he happened upon: Pandesal rolls. Slightly sweet Filipino bread rolls which are very soft. Getting home with the unexpected find, it was time for the searing. A quick Google search, and a plan were laid to do one steak with sesame seeds, and one with a spice rub. From this point on we basically improvised the recipes below based on the content of our pantry, and the rest was… well see for yourselves.

Seared Ahi Tuna Sandwich with Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise and Iceberg Lettuce, Asian Pear, and Avocado
Seared Ahi Tuna Sandwich with Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise and Iceberg Lettuce, Asian Pear, and Avocado

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Breads, Burger, Ciabatta Roll, Cilantro, Cilantro mayonnaise, Closed sandwiches, Food, Mayonnaise, Mixed greens, Olive Oil, Salmon, Sandwiches

Salmon Burger with Cilantro Mayonnaise

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Another day.. another sandwich. I’ve been dreaming of making a salmon patty ever since we started this blog.  Today, desire rendezvoused with opportunity.  I used Paula Deen’s recipe (of Food Network fame) for the salmon burger and improvised on the cilantro mayonnaise. Actually used miracle whip in place of the mayonnaise. It resulted in a tangier taste than mayonnaise would provide and had the added benefit that it was much healthier (a built in justification for eating that extra sandwich).

Bear in mind that the brevity of the recipe is actually a bit deceptive. All told, it took us about 1 1/2 hours to make this sandwich. It’s probably not an ideal mid week meal but made for a wonderful Friday evening dinner.

Salmon Burger on Ciabatta with cilantro Dressing, Lettuce and Tomato
Salmon burger on ciabatta with cilantro mayonnaise

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Balsamic vinegar reduction, Breads, Cheeses, Ciabatta Roll, Closed sandwiches, Cress, Dressings, Food, Horseradish mayonnaise, McCormick steak seasoning, Mustard, Rib eye steak, Roasted garlic, Roquefort, Sandwiches, Watercress

Steak Sandwich with Blue Cheese, Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise and Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

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About two weeks ago I promised Anders that I would make him the perfect steak sandwich. His raised disbelieving eyebrows might have been because I am frankly not a fan of beef. I mean, I don’t get it – what is the fascination?  Still, a promise is a promise so I determined that this would be the day.

I left work with the plan in mind: rush to Trader Joe’s to buy ciabatta bread, watercress and the requisite rib-eye steak and get home and get down to business. Alas, the steaks at Trader Joes were disappointingly thin – a setback that resulted in a trip to two more supermarkets before I found the perfect steak.  Two hours later, I finally made it home, tired and with some of the wind gone from my sail.  Still, the look on Anders’ face when he bit into this sandwich made the evenings’ frustrations well worth it.

Steak Sandwich with Blue Cheese, Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise and Balsalmic Vinegar Reduction
Steak Sandwich with Blue Cheese, Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise and Balsalmic Vinegar Reduction

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Appetizer, Breads, Cracker, Food, Muffaletta, Pecorino romano, Roquefort

Torched Roquefort Appetizer with Muffaletta Spread and Pecorino Romano Cheese

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For Christmas 2007, Wendie bought me a torch – one of those you use in making desserts such as creme brulee.  I had seen one on TV and I wanted it desperately. When I got it, I started manically torching everything, hoping to discover new uses and develop new dishes. As it turned out, most things don’t do well being torched. Roast beef… not so good. Vegetables…nope. Cornflakes… wouldn’t recommend it. The one thing that actually has its moments is cheese.

With the torch I can melt the surface of the cheese, and when biting into it you get a a feeling of warmth on your upper lip, while the rest of the bite is cold. Not entirely unpleasant. For a cheese sandwich, this requires a huge amount of torching action, due to the surface that needs to be melted, but for appetizers it works. After two years I still haven’t made creme brulee, but I’ve managed to construct this appetizer, which in my opinion is perfect for all those torches out there collecting dust. Enjoy.

Torched Roquefort Cracker with Muffaletta Spread and Pecorino Romano Cheese
Torched Roquefort Cracker with Muffaletta Spread and Pecorino Romano Cheese

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Bagel, Breads, Closed sandwiches, Creamy garlic paste, Food, Liver pâté, Meats, Onion, Sandwiches, Smears, Vegetables

Liver Pate Sandwich with Onion and Garlic Spread on Sesame Bagel

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Sometimes a simple sandwich is the best; this one has Maria’s liver pâté, onion, creamy garlic paste and a little onion. A perfect combo, so despite an urge add more, we stuck to ‘simple’. After being sick with the cold for 5 days, this was also pretty much what we could handle, as we were both exhausted. It’s nice to recover with a great sandwich, and we hope to get back to creating some great new ones this upcoming weekend. Thanksgiving is also approaching, so if anyone has great turkey sandwiches, let us know and we just might give them a try!

Liver Pate Sandwich with Onion and Garlic Spread on Sesame Bagel
Liver Pate Sandwich with Onion and Garlic Spread on Sesame Bagel

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Avocado, Bell Pepper, Breads, Creamy garlic paste, Food, Fruits, Lingonberry, Meats, Onion, Open Faced Sandwiches, Sandwiches, Turkey, Vegetables

Turkey Sandwich with Creamy Garlic Paste, Avocado, Red Bell Pepper and Onion on Lingonberry Bread

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Lingonberries are small red slightly sour berries that are famous throughout Scandinavia. Lingonberry bread, as the one we have here, is a mix we got at the local Ikea. It is a dark bread, almost rye, with a minimal amount of lingonberries (We found 3), and decent if you’re in a rush (and for just a couple bucks, it’s very well priced). However, we won’t be trying it again, at least not without some augmentation. This sandwich was made on our first lingonberry bread ever, fresh out of the oven (and that’s always good). Sliced turkey from the local deli, creamy garlic paste from the local farmer’s market and fresh avocado and red bell peppers makes up this little adventure. The creamy garlic paste we found is amazing on sandwiches, and we highly recommend it. It’s from ‘The Majestic Garlic”.

Turkey Sandwich with Creamy Garlic Paste, Avocado, Red Bell Pepper and Onion.
Turkey Sandwich with Creamy Garlic Paste, Avocado, Red Bell Pepper and Onion.

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Baguette, Bell Pepper, Breads, Cheeses, Cilantro, Closed sandwiches, Eggplant, Food, Fruits, Garlic, Herbs, Meatball, Meats, Mozzarella, Roasted garlic, Roasted Tomatoes, Salsa, Sandwiches, Smears, Tomato, Vegetables

Meatball Sandwich with Grilled Veggies, Fire Roasted Salsa, Mozzarella Cheese, Roasted Garlic, Cilantro, Green Pepper, Roasted Tomatoes

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Living in San Diego means being influenced by Mexican cooking. Each street corner seems to sport a Mexican fast-food joint. Our cooking regularly employs cilantro and salsa, bothView Post of which can be tasty new ingredients to familiar meals. In this sandwich, we use both, and with the French bread, this becomes an international affair. Danish meatballs (frikadeller), Italian mozzarella, cilantro and salsa, made by a Dane and a Jamaican living in the US. It is a small world these days.

Meatball Sandwich with Grilled Veggies, Fire Roasted Salsa, Mozzarella Cheese, Roasted Garlic, Cilantro, Green Pepper, Roasted Tomatoes
Meatball sandwich with grilled veggies, fire-roasted salsa, mozzarella cheese, roasted garlic, cilantro, green pepper, roasted tomatoes

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Closed sandwiches, Creamy garlic paste, Food, Lettuce, Potato bread, Roquefort, Sandwiches, Smears, Tomato

Roquefort Cheese Sandwich with Creamy Tarragon Garlic Spread, Lettuce, Tomato, and Roasted Tomatoes on Potato Bread

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Blame it on my Danish upbringing, but I can’t walk away from a good cheese, and this sandwich sports one of our favorites: Roquefort.  For those not in the know (but care to be), it’s like a mild blue cheese, soft and tangy, and usually crumbles easily (although this one didn’t). We bought it at Costco (which means we have a family sized block for the two off us). Since it is a ‘Product of France’, European law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may be called Roquefort. Similarly, Feta cheese may rightfully be called Feta if and only if  it’s from Greece. We always find it interesting to know where our foods really come from, and this is one of those rare occasions where we have a clue.

The sandwich itself is simple, lettuce, tomato, roasted tomatoes, Roquefort and a wonderful creamy garlic paste with tarragon from Majestic Garlic which we got at the Temecula’s farmers market. You need to get this spread it’s fantastic on sandwiches, eggs, pasta and so much more!

Roquefort Cheese Sandwich with Garlic Spread, Lettuce, Tomato, and Roasted Tomatoes
Roquefort cheese sandwich with garlic spread, lettuce, tomato, and roasted tomatoes

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