These are the sandwiches of our lives.
It's Sunday, take a break!
I may have been a bit hasty in celebrating my making of the publisher’s deadline last week. I still I have to do a little recipe testing to confirm amounts as well make sure my Recipe Remixes are dialed in. All-in-all I’ve got to make ten sandwiches this week (on top of the ones I am making for regular posting). Zoinks!
Last week we got to travel to Malaysia (virtually), revisit the Peanut Butter Sandwich of 1900, and enjoyed a rare breakfast sandwich. Not too shabs McDabs.
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Nasi Lemak Sandwich (Malaysia)
International Sandwich Sunday
Original rating: 9.5
Plus up: Fried shallots
Plussed up rating: 10
Man, I have been thinking about this sandwich ever since Chef Anis Nabilah made it when she guest hosted last September. It’s an adaptation of probably one of the most recognized dish from Malaysia, Nasi Lemak. An almost vegetarian sandwich with a homemade sambal, cucumbers, and sliced hard boiled eggs. I say almost as the sambal had fermented shrimp paste. Like fish sauce, it is intensely aromatic but adds a nice depth of flavor when cooked. But you could leave it out, add salt, and it would still be delicious. Plussed with crispy fried shallots and man, you’ve got a flavor bomb on your hands.
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Monday, January 29, 2024
Monday Sandwich (1936)
1,001 Sandwiches
Original rating: 7.5
Plus up: Chipotle powder and bacon
Plussed up rating: 8.5
If you hand me a sandwich with ham, jam, and eggs between toast, I am in every time. This one was oddly reminiscent of a Monte Cristo with that combo of ingredients (though totally different). Plussed with the smoky heat of chipotle powder and bacon (because why not two kinds of meat?) and it was tasty. Ancho chili would’ve also been good albeit a lot less spicy.
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Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Anchovies Aweigh (1977)
Ken Dodd’s Butty Book
Original rating: 5.5
Plus up: Everything But The Bagel Seasoning | Moroccan Meyer Lemon Past
Plussed up rating: 8 | 8
The initial sandwich here was tasty. I like anchovy filets from a can. I mean, I like the ones from a jar too but to me they’re more of an ingredient to be used with a lot of other ingredients. At any rate, the one down side of the sandwich was that it was just kind of unseasoned. The Everything But The Bagel Seasoning from Trader Joe’s not only brought some great flavors to the party but also a bit of crunch. And while the Moroccan Meyer Lemon Paste didn’t add texture, it definitely packed a flavorful punch that also went great with the original sandwich.
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Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Peanut Butter Sandwich Revisited (1900)
The Sandwich Book
Original rating: 3.5 full strength vinegar | 5 half-strength vinegar
As you’ll recall, the week prior I made this sandwich and it was a zero. Way too tangy to hork down. But, as many folks pointed out, five cents worth of peanuts in 1900 would’ve meant me using a heck of a lot more peanuts. Many folks sent in links (thank you) but I ended up searching the Library of Congress’s newspaper archive for ads from 1899 (when the recipe was likely written) and 1900 to be sure I got it right this time. Sure enough, five cents would’ve yielded a half a pound. Which means I need to do this again but with that amount of peanuts. I also did a version using half strength vinegar as some asked if it would’ve been as strong back then (it is standardized to 5% acidity today). I couldn’t find any evidence that it was weaker but gave it a shot as well. The result? While not inedible as the first pass, the full-strength was still a bit too strong in my opinion. The half strength one turned out to be tasty enough for me to keep the leftovers. Go figure! Fun aside, Redditor BohemianPrime made a GIF of the garbage can toss plus up from the first pass of the sandwich
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Thursday, February 1, 2024
Chewy Ham Sandwich (1965)
The 1,000 Fabulous Sandwiches
Original rating: 4.5
Plus up: Tajíin (affiliate link)
Plussed up rating: 6.5
I’m not sure who thought to have ‘chewy’ and ‘ham’ in the same sandwich name but to me that seemed like a bad idea. Thankfully, it was not chewy. But it was a combo of savory ingredients mixed with one sweet - banana. If you follow my Barry’s Ice Cream O’Clock account, you know that I dig the intersection of sweet and savory. But this combo just really didn’t work well. The Tajín seasoning with it’s bright, tart, sour notes did work well with both. But yeah, this won’t be made again by me.
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Friday, February 2, 2023
Chili-Cheese Sandwich (1959)
Woman’s Day The Collector’s Cook Book #29
Original rating: 6.5
Plus up: Red chili flakes and closing it up
Plussed up rating: 7.5 but 7 because I made it sloppier
First off, a recipe book dedicated entirely to cheese? Yes, please! I have to say, the name Chili-Cheese Sandwich got me excited. Love that combo of cheese and spicy chilis. I should’ve known better that it would be a reference to Heinz Chili Sauce. You know, the one that has no chili, and therefore no heat, in it? Still, the additional ingredients and the chili sauce came together nicely once heated while broiling the cheese. And broiled cheese…I mean, c’mon. Naturally, I brought the heat with the chili flakes to pay off the name which worked well. Closing it up to be a more traditional sandwich did not work so well. With the crusts gone, filling oozed out everywhere. Oh well.
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Saturday, February 3, 2024
Los Angeles Sandwich (1936)
1,001 Sandwiches
Original rating: 7
Plus up: Jawndiments Cherry Pepper Mayonnaise and hickory smoked cheddar cheese
Plussed up rating: 8.5
Every once in a while I stumble upon what is clearly a breakfast sandwich. But interestingly enough, none of the old cookbooks have that as a category. This was tasty and just one ingredient away from a Denver Sandwich (see you next time, green bell pepper). Bacon, onion, and eggs between slices of toast make for a tasty sandwich. Oddly enough, this is one of the few sandwiches from the book that didn’t say to butter the bread. And it needed a little sandwich lubrication. So, I opted for the cherry pepper mayo from Jawndiments. Nice creamy mayo with just a little kick of heat. It was like an area rug for a room, it really tied the sandwich together. The smoky cheddar cheese just made it that much better.
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Well, that’s all the sandwiches that are fit to email. Busy week ahead for me due to the aforementioned recipe testing and cookbook stuff. Oh, and the day job. Lol.
Have a great week!
Cheers!
Barry
