Sandwich

Maytag Blue cheese, made by the same family that became world famous for its appliances, is handmade from cow’s milk and has a peppery, piquant flavor. Start this sandwich about an hour in advance so the chicken has time to marinate. This is an easy recipe to double or triple for a larger group, and the chicken can be made ahead. I like to serve this sandwich on raisin pumpernickel bread, but feel free to use another favorite loaf.

This sandwich is a French import made by dipping a basic ham and cheese sandwich into a beaten egg before sautéing it in butter. It’s like a savory French toast sandwich. It’s best made in a cast-iron skillet since cast iron distributes the heat very evenly. Ask the deli clerk to slice the ham very thin, and use good-quality French bread.

You can serve this brunch favorite as soon as it’s ready, or keep it warm for up to twenty minutes, loosely covered with a clean, damp kitchen towel in a 200°F oven. Avoid using very soft white bread as it tends to fall apart when dipped into the egg mixture. It’s best to use a firm bread such as a large baguette or sourdough loaf. In fact, French toast is a great way to use up slightly stale bread, and you can make this with just about anything from a baguette to brioche to a cinnamon raisin loaf.

French Toast is the perfect way to use up day-old bread. If you’ve made Raisin Challah Bread (page 61), go ahead and use up the leftovers the next morning. Good-quality store-bought thick-cut raisin bread will also work. Cut your challah slices on the thick side, about 3/4 to 1 inch thick, so that when you griddle them, the outside will be crisp and the inside will be moist and creamy. Serve with lots of syrup, homemade jam, sautéed bananas (see Banana Walnut Pancakes, page 122), fresh bananas and strawberries, or the fruit compote of your choosing (see pages 276 to 278).

If there’s anything better than traditional French toast, it’s this crisp, golden variation, made by pressing the bread slices in crushed cornflakes before griddling. Be sure to generously coat both sides of the bread with the cornflakes and use plenty of butter on the griddle. Serve with maple syrup, sautéed bananas (see Banana Walnut Pancakes, page 122), fruit compote (see pages 276 to 278), or homemade jam, such as Strawberry Jam (page 280).

Crisp toast, lightly burned at the edges, with a cargo of melting cheese is to my mind the ultimate snack. Spike it with mustard and I am probably at my happiest, but I do play around with the genre too: a layer of apple or homemade chutney under the cheese; a few bitter leaves of chicory or hot watercress on the side; a few capers, maybe. Sometimes I take the recipe up a notch to give something that is more of a meal than a snack. Like when I trap a layer of cooked spinach between bread and cheese, or just mix the two together and give them a crust of toasted Parmesan. I could add that this is also a sound way of using bits of cheese that have accumulated in the fridge.

Dried porcini are expensive, but even a small handful added to a soup will bring with it a wave of smoky, almost beefy notes. A general instruction with parsnip soup is to prevent the vegetables coloring, presumably to keep the soup pale, but I suggest the opposite. You want the parsnips to cook to a gentle golden color before you add the stock; that way the soup will have a deeper flavor and a color reminiscent of heather honey.

I relish the frugality and bonhomie of a bowl of onion soup. This is slightly richer and thicker than the one in The Kitchen Diaries, possibly for colder weather. I don’t often use flour to thicken a soup but in this case it produces a particularly velvety texture.

Of all the hot snacks I put together, it is this unctuous topping of onions, thick toast, and highly seasoned melted cheese that pleases most. The onions need to cook, with the occasional stir as you pass, for a good fifteen minutes or so. They are ready only when they are truly soft and golden—there is no shortcut. The leftover cold beer solves the problem of what to drink with your meal.

I can live without nibbles with drinks (you might get an olive if you’re lucky), but from time to time the genre gets an outing. They tend to be more substantial than most, as I have a fear of anything that might fit the name canapé. Little rounds of toast piled with grilled eggplant in a lemon and herb dressing is a tantalizing mixture of crisp and soft.

I get emails all the time asking for Philadelphia-style hoagie and cheesesteak rolls. There is something about the cultural connection we Philly folk have with these iconic sandwiches that makes many people believe that Philadelphia’s Amoroso’s Baking Company is the only place to find a good hoagie roll, which is, of course, not true. The key to this type of roll is a nice balance of texture and flavor, somewhere between lean dough and soft enriched dough, with just enough “chew” to stand up to the fillings without making it overly hard to eat the darn thing. The overnight fermentation method is ideal for this because it brings out maximum flavor with very little hands-on time. The optional barley malt syrup provides a nice undertone of flavor that’s difficult to identify and also helps with crust color. This dough also makes great Kaiser rolls.

Banh mi sandwiches are a Vietnamese street food. Instead of the typical pork and mayonnaise, this version features baked tofu, an anchovy-miso dressing, and cucumber pickles. A key element of banh mi sandwiches is fresh bread—day-old bread is too dry. The best bread to use is a thin-crust white flour baguette that won’t overwhelm the sandwich fillings. Try making these sandwiches for a July picnic.

Po’ boy sandwiches are found all along the Gulf Coast and are a New Orleans tradition. There are various tales about the origin of the name: that it’s a slang version of “poor boy” and the sandwich used to be an inexpensive, yet filling meal; that the sandwich was given out to streetcar workers on strike, who were essentially poor boys; or that it is a bastardized version of the French “pour boire.” This last theory holds that the sandwich was a sort of olive branch that men would bring home after a night of drinking and carousing around town. Whatever the name’s origin, it is an excellent sandwich. Although one can find roast beef and gravy po’ boys or fried potato and gravy po’ boys, possibly the most popular version of this iconic Louisiana treat is fried seafood po’ boys made with shrimp and oysters from the Gulf. The key to light and crispy fried food is to use the right oil. Peanut oil is a great choice for frying: it has a mild, pleasant flavor; does not take on the tastes of foods as readily as other oils do; and has a smoke point of about 450°F, meaning you can safely heat it to a very high temperature.

There is an old wooden-handled cleaver hanging from a hook in Mama’s kitchen, the cleaver Meme and Dede used to chop the barbecued pork. Pig roasts were better than the fair or carnival when I was a child. Uncle Raymond would chase the children with the pig’s tail and Meme would always let me sneak a piece of the crisp, golden brown skin. This quick and easy pulled pork tenderloin is a far cry from pit-cooked shoulder, but it is a very good imitation. It is a perfect recipe for a busy week when there is less time to cook. The key to the brief cooking time is to first sear the meat to a dark brown, not tan or beige, but a nice crusty brown.

I cannot serve this salad without thinking of my friend Stephanie Stuckey-Benfield. Her family is the Stuckey’s of the roadside stores and Pecan Log Rolls. Her grandfather opened his first pecan stand in 1937. This simple stand evolved into a veritable empire of Stuckey’s Pecan Shoppes, the highway heaven of souvenirs, cold drinks, and pecan candy. The pecan log roll, for the uninitiated, is a secret combination of sweet, fluffy goo in a coating of crushed pecans, created by Stephanie’s grandmother. In this recipe, once the goat cheese is rolled in pecans it looks undeniably like the candied confection, although the taste is savory.

Working the line in a restaurant is usually challenging, often miserable, but always an absolute adrenalin-filled rush. When dinner service is going at full throttle, the only option is to do as instructed by the expediter and hang on. This is a version of an appetizer served from my station many years ago while I was interning for chef Nora Pouillon at her Restaurant Nora, in Washington, D.C. She was an amazing role model for me: not only was she an industry leader and a woman, but also a pioneer in the organic movement. Her restaurant was the first in America to be certified organic. Fresh mozzarella is radically different from the hard “pizza” cheese commonly found in supermarket refrigerator cases. The fresh version, in the form of balls packed in lightly salted brine or whey, is increasingly available in many local markets.

In French, tartine means a slice of bread with jam, butter, or other spread. It’s a typical after-school snack for children. But there is nothing childlike about this grown-up version: baguette toasts covered with a savory, deliciously salty tapenade, enhanced with capers. Adding capers to olives and anchovies may seem redundantly salty, but they add another layer of flavor. As Meme grew older, her doctor told her to avoid seeds. She loved all sorts of fresh vegetables and typically “worked around” this restriction. I was happy to help her out by removing tomato seeds. Here is my way: halve the tomato crosswise through its midsection with a serrated knife. Use your index finger to scoop out the seeds from each half, then give the tomato a gentle squeeze to draw out any seeds that remain.

One of Mama’s favorite recipes is to simply peel and quarter Vidalias, top them with a pat of butter, and microwave the pieces until they are tender. This recipe is not much more difficult. Confit is most often meat, such as duck, that has been cooked and preserved in its own fat, but the term also describes a jamlike condiment of cooked seasoned fruit or vegetables. This confit is wonderful as suggested, served on toasts as a nibble, but it also shines served as a condiment with pork or chicken. It is absolutely incredible with blue cheese.

My mom thinks these might be more ’60s than ’80s, but they sound ’80s to me, so here they are. These open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches are easy to make and sure to get a comment or two from your friends.

Nothing says German more than sausage, which makes bratwurst a must for any Oktoberfest celebration. This version is made with caramelized onions that get nice and sweet to make the perfect topping for the bratwurst.