Sandwich

An open-faced sandwich that cries out for a glass of cold lemonade or beer.

We’ve come to love Old Bay seasoning for its aromatic flavor. (See photo)

This sandwich has been a favorite of Moosewood Restaurant’s customers for more than 30 years. (See photo)

Up to a day before baking, Tortilla Melts can be assembled, wrapped in foil, and refrigerated. Bake in the foil for about 15 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for about 5 minutes more for the tortillas to crisp. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to a week and reheat well.

These open-faced sandwiches are not very traditional, rather messy—and very satisfying.

It’s just a short time from getting out the ingredients to sinking your teeth into these crusty rolls with a warm, soft filling.

Crostini are toasted or grilled slices of bread with tasty toppings, often served as an appetizer. For a relaxed supper, put a plate of toasted baguette slices and bowls of various toppings on the table (however many you like or have time to make) and have a make-your-own crostini simple supper night. The Bread: Many bakeries can thinly slice a baguette for you in their slicing machine. You usually get about 25 slices per average baguette. Each of the toppings recipes makes enough topping for 15 to 20 baguette-sized crostini, although the number depends on how high you pile the toppings. Of course, you can make crostini with the larger Italian or French loaves, also. The slices should be 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick. Toast the baguette slices. There is a difference of opinion on how toasty they should be: Some people like them just lightly toasted, while others like them very dry and crisp, almost like croutons. The bread can be toasted a couple of hours or even days ahead of time. When the slices are cool, store them in a well-sealed container or plastic bag until you’re ready to assemble the crostini.

This sandwich came about in our favorite way: by visiting the greenmarket, picking up the cheese, and then meandering through the farmers’ stands to see what fresh offerings might be paired with it. It was June; we came away with beautiful asparagus, red onions, basil, and a rustic bread—all the fixins for an open-faced sandwich on the grill. (If you don’t have an outdoor grill, you can use a grill pan.) Thinking back to the days when cooks in diners put hubcaps atop burgers as they cooked, to steam them a bit, we recommend either closing the grill or inverting a metal bowl over the sandwich to keep the heat in and help melt the cheese. By the way, if you can’t find or do not care for Vacherin, substitute any good melting cheese.

Perennially popular at Craft are the short ribs braised in red wine. For our ’wichcraft sandwiches, though, we wanted something a bit different, so we chose to braise the short ribs in dark ale with horseradish. The light pickling of the vegetables is so quick there is no time for fermentation; the vegetables retain their crunch and acidity, which contrasts well with the richness of the meat.