T'was the week before Thanksgiving
Well, in America, anyway.
Yes, this week bring Thanksgiving here in America. It’s probably my favorite holiday. Not because of the highly questionable origins of it but because I get to cook a lot of food. I mean, I cook most food for Christine and I but this week I get to cook for three more folks. Which means, smoked brisket, smoked turkey, Gumbo Z’Herbes, and more. Oh, and uh, sandwiches, of course. I am pausing In The Chips with Barry this week so it won’t be in the recap next week. But this week you get the bonus of a bonkers ice cream I made. So it evens out…I think…kinda?
The Sandwiches of the Week 🥪
Monday, November 17, 2025
Hot Shrimp Sandwich (1920)
The Calendar of Sandwiches and Beverages
Rating: 6
Plus ups: Capers | Crystal Hot Sauce | Capers + Crystal Hot Sauce
Plussed up rating: 7.5 | 7.5 | 8
This sandwich certainly had promise but man, the final execution was odd. From going with scrambled eggs to pouring the a white sauce around the sandwich, it just felt off, technique-wise. Flavor-wise it was solid. Plussed up with capers and Crystal Hot Sauce, even better. Still, this feels like a good candidate for a Recipe Remix™. What do you think?
Should you make it? Not this version.
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Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Theda Bara Sandwich (1916)
Photoplay
Sandwich rating: 5
Plus up: Removing sweet pickles and adding smoked paprika
Plussed up rating: 7
Well, Theda Bara may have been a silent movie star but she sure was no expert at sandwich construction. The idea of dabbing mayonnaise onto ingredients seems to odd to me. Either mix it with the ingredients for even distribution or put it on the bread. Not to mention the use of sweet pickles (which I do believe have their uses). So, I took ‘em out, added a little smoked paprika for the plus up. Better, for sure, but not making this again. Oh, and Theda Bara was her stage name how she got it, though, is disputable, apparently.
Should you make it? Nah
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Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Bacon Sandwich (1915)
What My Children Love To Eat
Snack Sandwich Rating: 9
Plus up: Bacon, HP Sauce, Bacon again
Plussed up rating: 9.5
Ok, this was one of those “shooting fish in a barrel recipes.” Bacon and butter between bread? But it felt like a prime opportunity to use bacon as a plus up…twice. The HP Sauce brought it a nice tangy contrast to the bacon and butter.
Should you make this? Yep!
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Thursday, November 20, 2025
Round Dog (1976)
Winning Sandwiches for Menu Makers
Rating: 6.5
Plus up: Melted Gruyere cheese
Plussed up rating: 7.5
This was a fun one! The hot dog, with slices not quite all the way through, curled up (with a little encouragement) to fit nicely onto a hamburger bun. Sauerkraut and mustard brought enough tang to relegate the Miracle Whip to an enriching ingredient only. And with all those bright flavors, I felt it just begged to be plussed up with some nutty, melty Gruyere cheese. To quote Bender from Futurama, “It was fun on a bun!"
Should you make this? Absolutely!
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Friday, November 21, 2025
Another Sardine Mixture (1920)
The Calendar of Sandwiches and Beverages
Rating: 6.5
Plus up: Ras El Hanout
Plussed up rating: 7.5
With such a dull name and the inclusion of both anchovy paste and salt, I was not expecting a 6.5 base sandwich. But I got to control the amount of salt thus the ingredients worked quite well together. Plussed it up with the warm spices of Ras El Hanout which worked great with everything in it.
Should you make this? Yeah but skip the mortar and pestle/ricer and just mash stuff with a fork
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Saturday, November 22, 2025
Bologna, Ketchup, and Potato Chips Sandwich
Our History
Rating: 7
Plus up: Inglehoffer Spicy Brown Mustard
Plussed up rating: 7.5
Another fun “sandwich of our history!” I wasn’t sure it would be interesting enough going in but between the potato bun, bologna, ketchup, and chips, this was one tasty fun sandwich. I did want to balance the sweetness of the ketchup a bit so I called up Inglehoffer Spicy Brown Mustard. And boy, did that do the trick. Btw, I am recording a Recipe Revisit AND a Recipe Remix™ on this sandwich today. Look for that video next week!
Should you make it? Yes!
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Saturday, November 23, 2025
Jamón y Queso (Argentina)
International Sandwich Sunday
Rating: 6.5
Plus up: Smidge more ham, lettuce, and seasoned slice of tomato
Plus up rating: 7.5
Some folks opined that this was “just a ham and cheese sandwich.” While their not wrong, the bread was the thing here. Soft, spongy, sweet which made hit above “just a ham and cheese sandwich.” But it wasn’t a total revelation thus the score that it received. My plus ups for this were simple but made it feel like a more substantial sandwich.
Should you make it? If you want to make pebetes - yep!
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In The Chips with Barry 🥔
Alright, time to recap the potato chips review. Just a heads up, ITCwB is taking Thanksgiving week off but will be back at the following week.
Doritos Taiwan Sichwan Peppercorn Chicken
No chicken flavor to be found but the lemony, floral flavor of Sichuan pepper corn did come through. Even had a touch of the numb and tingly sensation associated with too.
Bacon Up x Rusty’s Potato Chips
These were taaaaasty. The fact they were cooked in bacon grease actually gave them a subtle but very real bacon flavor that let the potatoes stand out. Pretty rich, though.
Coop Sea Salt & Chardonnay Vinegar Potato Chips
Tang! These are easily some of the sharpest vinegar flavored chips I had. But they did it such a way that it faded enough to taste the salty potatoes almost immediately. Well done you.
Can It Sandwich?
Well, can it?
Barry Is Cooking Again/Barry’s Ice Cream O’Clock 🍨
What’s this? A bonus video?! Yep! I have a channel on Instagram and TikTok called Barry’s Ice Cream O’clock where I make sweet/savory flavor ideas. Rather than start a new YouTube channel, I’ve decided to fold these into my Barry Is Cooking Again channel on that platform. Anyway, I had my first Irish Spice Bag when I was in Dublin this past July for Sandwiches of History: LIVE! and it was delicious! So, why not try and make it an ice cream. And it worked! Frankenrecipe here if you’re interest.
You made it! Thank you for watching for making it to the end of the post! If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope it is a relaxing one. If you don’t, I hope you have a great Thursday (and rest of the week, of course).
Cheers,
Barry
