The money is in the product tie-ins

So my blog dreams haven't quite hit the big time, yet. You know, no book deal, no screenplay, no Oscar...
But I have reached a new milestone--the product tie-in. Check out the Secret Santa gift Beth received from her co-worker, Tracey.How awesome is Sandwich Night Bingo? Thanks, Tracey! I hope Beth lets me play with it!

#300!!!

I ate #300 for dinner on Friday night. It was a delicious panini made from Trader Joe's sourdough, brie, apple and hot pepper jelly. What a journey I've had, counting my sandwiches. How many more will I fit in before 2009? What will next year bring?

Ham and Cheese-tastic

Our last Sandwich Nght was a nasty night weather-wise. 2 inches of snow fell during the evening commute. That doesn't sound that bad, but it turned all roads between St. Paul and Minneapolis into parking lots and turned my windshield wipers into worthless icy sticks, capable of clearing only a two inch arc of glass at their ends. Awesome.
We were expecting several people from St. Paul and I naturally assumed they wouldn't be crazy enough to venture out. I was wrong, of course. Kate could not resist the siren song of hot ham and cheese and slogged her way over. Karen did cancel, but she'd been driving in it all afternoon with two crying kittens so that's understandable. Angie and Katy did manage to drive the 12 blocks to come too.Enough of that! My real point is: Is there such a thing as too much brie? I kicked the festivities off right with a 2 lb. wheel of brie I purchased because it was on special at the supermarket. They lured me in with a free sample of baked brie and hooked me with the low low price. Having a wheel of brie is quite liberating from a sandwich point of view. You don't have to use it sparingly since it's the expensive cheese. No, you can pile your sandwich high with it's creamy buttery cheesy goodness. Aaaahhh.
(I started the day off with a Warehouse Panini Party: Ethan and I went halfsies. Mine was brie, roasted red pepper and hot pepper jelly on sourdough. His was Cory's super awesome meatloaf and brie on sourdough. It was a lovely warm-up!)At Sandwich Night, I had Black Forest Ham, brie, cheddar, Swiss, American, roasted red peppers, apples, and as many condiments as I could unearth from the fridge. We heated up the panini press and it was off to the races. I made two sandwiches. The first had ham, brie, apple and Dijon mustard. That was quite yummy. The second had ham, brie, swiss, cherry chipotle mustard and honey mustard. That one was even better.
Angie carefully sliced her bread into thinner slices so she could make four sandwiches on thin bread. As you can see, they are quite lovely.
And Katy defied the poisonous gluten (to her, at least) by making open faced hamwiches. I really wanted her to press some cheese between two pieces of ham in the panini maker but she opted for the toaster oven. Rebel.
For entertainment, Beth and I introduced our guests to the Biggest Loser. You should try eating fatty foods while watching it. It's fun!

Words of Wisdom from Milwaukee

My friend Joe sent this to me from the Milwaukee Public Museum. I hope the sandwiches were tasty. Now there's another reason for me to visit that institution!

Sandwich Night Tuesday!

It's time for another Sandwich Night, don't you think? I've chosen Tuesday since it works for most people. Our entertainment options include The Biggest Loser finale and Heroes on tape from Monday night.
The hat chose hot ham and cheese as our sandwich. So many options for cheese and condiments! I'm thinking of making apple mostarda...

Closing in on #300

It's terribly exciting, isn't it? I went through a bit of a sandwich drought over the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure why--other things sounded better? I was too busy sleeping in to make my lunch in the morning? Who knows?
This past weekend I came back with a vengeance, though. It started at lucnh on Friday with the always delicious turkey and cranberry jam, this time on sourdough with spinach. Yum. For dinner Friday, I tried the pork Azteca sandwich at Pepito's. It was nice and spicy, with all sorts of stuff on it. It was the type of sandwich you can't put down once you start eating it or else it will goosh everywhere.
On Saturday I braved the early afternoon No Coast Craft-o-rama crowds at the Midtown Global Market in order to get a falafel combination sandwich from the Holy Land Deli. It was totally worth the wait in crazy parking ramp traffic. I managed to escape the line and found a spot on 10th Avenue, just across Lake from the MGM. There's a tip for all you folks looking for close and easy parking! The sandwich, which I ordered with hot sauce and tahini, was as fabulous as always. I ate it while watching the Craft-a-thon competition in the central seating area. I didn't stick around for the awarding of prizes, so if anyone did, let me know. My bet was on the Caffeinator team with their weird looking stuffed animal.
I rounded out the day with a chicken parmesan sandwich from Pizza Luce. It was really good. The chicken is marniated and cooked without breading (so not technically a chicken parmesan, but who's checking?) and toasted up with red onions, tomato, cheese, and red sauce. Lovely!
I finished out the weekend with a grilled ham and swiss at home on Sunday. That's a good companion for a football game, I think!

Patty Melts, Good; ANTM, Meh

Oh my goodness--it's been awhile! The patty melt Sandwich Night was followed by a whirlwind trip to Boston and Thanksgiving so I haven't really had time to put together a nice witty recap of the evening. Kris, Doug, Angie, and Karen came over for patty melts and the America's Next Top Model Cycle 11 finale. The show wasn't really notable except for the Unbeatable Banzuke like runway the finalists had to negotiate. Unfortunately, no one fell down. If only they had been on stilts or pushing wheelbarrows or something.
The patty melts, however, turned out quite nicely, as you can see by Karen's crazy cheese filled blowout sandwich:I made the patties on the panini press since I wanted them to be wide and thin to fill the bread with lots of burgery goodness. The result was tasty enough, but a little to flat and tough. It could be helped by getting fattier meat--I got the leanest ground beef. The benefit of panini pressing burgers, though, was a much less smoky and greasy kitchen! Someday I'll have an exhaust fan...
To the sandwiches! I gathered pumpernickel and wheat bread, the burgers, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, muenster cheese, Swiss cheese, French dressing and Thousand Island dressing.
I gave folks the option of grilling on a griddle or on the panini press. Everyone chose the panini, of course.

Doug's sandwich formed a crunchy skirt of burnt cheese. Yum!
I'll try for another Sandwich Night before Christmas--stay tuned!

14 Year Sandwich

That's what follows the 7 Year Itch, I believe. Not sure what itch comes at 21 years.
Beth and I went to Cupcake on our 14th anniversary last week. Their cupcakes are okay (choose chocolate over vanilla) but I really wanted to try their sandwiches. Beth got a pesto veggie number which was tasty. I got a brie and apple sandwich which was quite delicious.That's sourdough, spread with butter (good choice!), mixed greens, brie, green apple, and dried cranberries. Nice combo. It would be even better as a panini, though. But then almost everything is better as a panini!

Sandwich Night for the ANTM Finale

Don't forget about Sandwich Night this Wednesday, November 19! We'll be watching the America's Next Top Model finale and eating patty melts. Since Beth has a hockey game at 9:00 that night, we're going to start the action a little eary, say 6:00/6:30?
Let me know if you can come!

Portobello Sandwiches are Crazy Delicious

Oh my word. We picked a winner tonight. I don't usually follow recipes very closely for sandwiches but this one spoke to me. I found it in the El Cholo Cookbook. El Cholo is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles and this cookbook does not disappoint. My favorite chile relleno recipe just happens to face the page for portobello sandwich recipe. I know--that's a weird combo for a Mexican restaurant's cookbook, so it must be fate.
The mushrooms marinate in olive oil, lime juice, basil, oregano, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. They suggested slicing red onions thinly and adding them to the marinade as well, which I did. Once the mushrooms have marinated for about an hour you grill them. The sandwich consists of the mushrooms, the marinated raw red onions, roasted red peppers, arugula and goat cheese. They recommend rosemary bread but I knew these sandwiches were crying for ciabatta rolls. I got the ciabatta rolls at A Baker's Wife this morning--literally hot out of the oven.
These sandwiches were awesome! All the veggies complemented each other well, the marinade was amazing and the goat cheese was magical. Sigh.
Angie came over, as did Jane (and her knitting!) As an extra bonus, my friend Katy made her Sandwich Night debut. Katy and the gluten are not friends so she made a stack of the ingredients, minus the bread. Perfect.
America's Next Top Model held few surprises tonight, but it was fun to try and explain it to folks who don't actually watch it. Plus, there were some good sloppy drunk scenes--it's been too long, ANTM.
It was so lovely that we're going to do it again next Wednesday--ANTM Finale!!!
We even drew from the hat and we're having patty melts!!!! I think a panini press could be involved in this one...

Jucy Lucy, anyone?

I've been on sort of an unintentional Jucy Lucy tour lately. It all started with my friends Jane and John looking to branch out from Matt's. The Matt's Jucy Lucy had the curse of being named the best hamburger in Minnesota this summer and the place has been jam packed ever since. Jane is convinced the Matt's Lucy is smaller and not as delicious as it used to be, plus the crowds are clueless and the staff is tired and cranky.
We set out for another South Minneapolis Jucy Lucy establishment, Adrian's. We were shocked to discover they were OUT of the Adrian's Juicy Luicy that night. WHAT? We had double cheeseburgers instead. They were okay.
Then, a couple weeks later, Beth and I ventured out to Matt's for dinner. We got there a little after 8:00 and it was full but not crowded. The Jucy Lucy was as delicious as always, although the burnt crust on the exterior of the patty was a little under done for my liking. Still my favorite, of course!
Then, on the day after the election, we found the best way to wash away the last remnants of our hangovers with the Adrian's Juicy Luicy. It is bigger that Matt's, with fresh cut grilled onions and a big slice of American cheese on top of the patty. They were crazy hot and pretty good. I don't think I needed the extra cheese on top. Processed cheese is so slimy, except when it has undergone the transforming reaction catalysed by heat and the inside of a hamburger patty. I'd say they are second place in the "classic Jucy Lucy" category for me.
Last night I met my old co-workers Kate and Kristi at the Blue Door Pub
in St. Paul. They have an entire part of their menu devoted to cheese stuffed burgers. I'm usually skeptical of these novelties, but I jumped right in and sampled the Blucy. It is awesome--stuffed with blue cheese and garlic, served with pickles and a nice soft bun. I'll be back! (But not Terminator style.)

Next Sandwich Night--Wednesday, November 12!

I know this short notice, but....
I was already thinking about portobello mushroom sandwiches for our next Sandwich Night. I found a really yummy sounding recipe for marinated portobello mushroom sandwiches with roasted red peppers, arugula, and goat cheese. Sounds like a sammy after my own heart. Then, the big sandwich sized portobellos were on sale at the store tonight. So here we go.
Come over Wednesday night. We'll make sandwiches and watch America's Next Top Model. Only four girls remain. Who will be America's Next Top Model???

Order up! The hot roast beef chronicle...

It's been almost two weeks since our hot roast beef Sandwich Night and I've been all distracted by the election and Karen's demand that this post bear some reflection on the intensely personal nature of hot roast beef sandwich assembly. I believe Kate summed it up perfectly when she said that she loves the assemble your own style Sandwich Nights because it's fun to see what everyone does.
For hot roast beef, I roasted a rump roast with lots of garlic stuffed in it. I coated the outside with pepper, salt and garlic powder. I put some onions, garlic, water and red wine in the pan under the roast to make a base for the gravy. After the roast was done I put the pan drippings in the fridge so the fat would harden up. Then I followed a Cook's Illustrated gravy recipe. It turned out nicely--I'm a little out of my element with gravy so it always makes me nervous! I also mashed up a bunch of potatoes and got some squishy white bread. As a side, I roasted brussels sprouts--toss brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt and pepper and then roast them for about an hour. Yum! I also put out some horseradish since it is necessary when eating roast beef.
Here are the results:
Beth went classic diner style: diagonally sliced bread, meat, gravy and potatoes on the side.
I went classic hot turkey style--pile it all up, gravy over everything
Kate's not a huge gravy fan so she went bread, meat and a little gravy. Everything else on the side.
And Karen made a perfect gravy depression in her potatoes in the classic sandwich presentation.
Lisa skipped the gravy altogether and loaded her sandwich up with horseradish. She was also the only person able to eat her sandwich with her hands!
We were entranced by Dancing With the Stars so we decided to watch it and then watch Heroes on tape. The downside to that is that our new converter box will only let us tape what we are actually watching, so we had to huddle around the 13" black and white in the kitchen to watch DWTS in order for Heroes to tape. Classy!It was a lovely night--we got to see Cloris Leachman hip hop. Man oh man. Kate and Karen both brought dessert so we had pumpkin bars and brownies while we watched Heroes. And yes, Sienna the dog got plenty of treats!

You are welcome, Barack Obama

I sent Barack Obama a little good luck charm, sandwich wise yesterday.
I had to run some errands at lunch and realized I could revisit the meal I ate prior to hearing him speak in St. Paul on the night he clinched the Democratic nomination.
Did it help? I think it did. Plus, a Dunn Brothers iced coffee and egg salad sandwich makes a lovely lunch!

Time for some new sandwiches...

(The hot roast beef post is coming, have no fear. Karen demanded a contemplative essay on the intensely personal exercise of consrtucting the perfect hot roast beef sandwich so I'm still in cogitation mode.)
As we sat slumped on the couch and full of hot roast beef sandwiches, brownies and pumpkin bars on Monday night, Kate suggested we revisit the hat. Faithful readers will remember that I keep all of the Sandwich Night sandwich suggestions in a big fuzzy hat. We originally came up with a great number of ideas--they are listed in the "Sandwiches We Will Love" list on the blog. Well, we've worked our way through quite a few of them (see "Sandwiches We Have Loved") and we're ready for some fresh ideas.
The rules: It has to be a new sandwich. It can't already be in the hat. It can't be something we've already featured at a Sandwich Night. (The giant hero is the only allowable repeat under current law.) Additionally, it has to honor the Sandwich Night tradition of being a dinner-worthy sandwich.
I can't wait to hear your ideas!

A New Bad Habit?

The last two Saturdays I have gone to yoga, then "rewarded" myself with fancy sandwiches. Should I be worried?
I go to a yoga class from 12-1 on Saturdays when I can, mostly because the instructor is hysterical. Also because it's at the Y and it's included in my membership and not full of scary hard body pretzels with fancy yoga pants.
Since I don't eat beforehand, I'm always hungry from something on my way home. Last week I stopped at Spiros on University to try their spicy gyro. I've been driving by the sign for ages, why not? The spicy gyro is spicy because they put giardiniera peppers on it. Interesting and quite tasty.
Yesterday I had to run an errand in downtown Minneapolis which brought me perilously close to Be'wiched. Mmmm...I got the smoked ham sandwich which has thinly sliced smoked ham (not too smoky--they might make it there), brie, and apple mostarda on a baguette. Where has apple mostarda been all of my life? That is a seriously awesome condiment--cooked apples and mustard, as far as I could tell. So delicious. A definite entry into the GESTALT! Sandwich
contest.

A Hot Roast Beef Promise

Yes, I promised Karen the vote fraud queen hot roast beef sandwiches next.
How about this coming Monday, October 27?
Come over 7:00 ish and we'll watch Heroes at 8:00.
Mmmm....it does sound good.

Club-tastic!

Our Turkey Club Sandwich Night was delightful. Karen and I were able to get over our mutual hurt over the poll voting fiasco and relish the fruits of late summer/early fall. People always think summer is the time for great produce. But up here in the Midwest, our greatest bounty comes in between the middle of September and the middle of October. Tomatoes and peppers are perfect, late planted greens are crisp and delicious. And going to farmer's market is a delight on a cool crisp October morning, rather than misery on a hot steamy August one.

Where was I?

Oh yes, the turkey club. I wanted it to be delicious and special, so I roasted a fresh turkey breast on Sunday. I am weary of slimy deli turkey. Home brined and roasted is so much better. (And you get to make soup from the bones.) I got Everett's bacon, of course. I very patiently cooked it all over low heat so it would get good and crispy without getting burned. From the farmer's market, I got gorgeous tomatoes and sweet lettuce. I picked up an avocado on Saturday and stuffed it in a paper bag with a banana to get it perfectly ripe by Monday. (Works like a charm--try it.) And finally, I picked up a loaf of peasant bread from A Baker's Wife. Then I panicked that we wouldn't have enough and picked up a loaf of sourdough from Trader Joe's to go with it. Finally--I tried and failed miserably to make some mayonnaise. It's worked before--I'm not sure what happened this time. I'll have to investigate some mayonnaise troubleshooting tips. Any way, I luckily had a fresh jar of Hellman's in the cupboard so we were saved.

I made mine in the traditional double decker manner and I remembered that I had frilly toothpicks just in time. Fantastic

Karen went for a big pile on two slices of bread and smushed it down. She added toothpicks later, after I took the picture.

Kate and Beth were there, too, of course! And Sam the Cat who managed to eat his weight in turkey and not get sick. Good kitty.

We watched Heroes, which has been underwhelming me this season. I found an essay on Television Without Pity that pretty much sums up all of my feelings. Check it out. http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/telefile/2008/10/seven-things-heroes-needs-to-d.php Of course, my sandwich was so heavenly, I barely noticed all the silly plot holes. And I'm glad I was finished eating by the time Mohinder started encasing people in sticky fly goo.

I don't feel bad anymore!

I have identified the source of the many last minute hot roast beef sandwich votes.
It was Karen, following the advice of the old Chicago political machine to vote early (not really) and often. She spent her last moments at work on Friday either sneaking onto idle computers or convincing her co-workers to vote for the hot roast beef. I don't she registered any dead people to vote, but you never know.
She will pay for her fraudulent vote manipulation by eating a turkey club tonight! Ha!

I've got egg on my face...

When I left work on Friday the turkey club was holding a substantial lead in the Sandwich Night poll. When I went to check the blog later on Friday night to find out the winner, I discovered that our internet was out. And it stayed out all weekend. So, I trusted the early returns and exit polls and went on with planning for the turkey club.
I roasted a fresh turkey breast, fried up two pounds of bacon, bought lovely tomatoes and lettuce at the farmer's market, ripened up some avocados and got Trader Joe's sourdough and A Baker's Wife sliced peasant bread.
When I was finally able to check the blog this morning, imagine my shock to see that hot roast beef had a late surge and won the poll. Who are all those roast beef voters? Were they undecided until the last minute? Were they confused by the butterfly ballot?
Well, sorry to disenfranchise you like Katharine Harris and William Rehnquist, but we're having turkey clubs tonight, people. And you will like them!
And, in deference to you Florida voters, I will honor the final vote count and serve hot roast beef at the next Sandwich Night. Happy now?

Amarillo known for steaks, not sandwiches

I spent the last four days in Amarillo, Texas for work and I have to report that the ONLY chain restaurant missing from that metro area is Chili's. Seriously, the city stretches out along I-40 for miles, dotted with major hotel chains and themed restaurants. As I sat in Joe's Crab Shack eating a crab cake sandwich (not bad at all), I thought to myself, "We could be in any suburb in any city in the country right now." I also thought that having the job of the person who gets all the crap to hang up on the walls might be sort of fun. Except that it's probably all corporate and suity.
I don't mean to malign Amarillo's culinary tradition too much though. This is the city with the "free" 72 oz. steak, after all. If you eat it in 1 hour that is. But then the trucker you are competing with will die of beef poisoning and you'll have to take over his run and all hell will break loose.
I manged to get in a ginormous steak cooked over a mesquite fire at the Lone Star Bar and Grill, a local place with lots of ambience. (Bumper sticker on the bathroom door reads, "I'd rather go hunting with Cheney than driving with Kennedy") I just finished feeding the remainder of that behemoth to a meat crazed Sam the Cat. Mraaw!
I did have a tasty barbecue beef brisket sandwich at the Dallas Forth Worth Airport on my way home, so all was not lost on the sandwich front. Now that I'm back, I can focus on Sandwich Night. Don't forget to vote--it's a close race!

It's about time...

...for another Sandwich Night!
How about Monday, October 13th? We'll kick it old skool and watch Heroes. Come over around 7:00. Show's at 8:00.
You may ask what sandwich we will be having? Let's put democracy into action. Vote in the poll!

More Prosciutto Shenanigans

Well folks, I have finally finished off the meats from the giant hero. It's a good thing they are cured for long preservation!
My final hurrah was a panini (of course): prosciutto, goat brie, Swiss and fig jam on sourdough from the Salty Tart. The prosciutto was a little strong, but all in all a lovely treat. It also featured my new bread find. The Salty Tart just opened in the Midtown Global Market (sadly, it replaced the Starlight Bakery, one of our favorites). In addition to fancy pastries and cakes they have really beautiful sourdough rounds. Check them out!

Banner 4 Sandwich Day

Yesterday I achieved a new high in sandwichness: 4 of them in one day!
I met friends at the Citizen Cafe for breakfast and I decided to try their fried egg sandwich. It was very simple--too simple for my overblown taste buds, perhaps. It had one over hard egg, two homemade sage and pork sausage patties and some butter on a ciabatta roll. The sausage was really tasty--delicately flavored and not too salty or greasy. The sandwich actually worked, once I settled into it, but some hot sauce would have been nice. Hee hee!
Then, I had to follow my prosciutto panini yearnings for lunch. I made two sandwiches since I was cutting off the narrow end of the bread, you know.And finally, I turned my leftover Ted Cook's pulled pork into a sandwich for dinner. Luckily we had a hamburger bun! The pulled pork is relatively new to the menu and you should check it out. The portion is enormous--I got three big dinners out of it. I reheated my leftover jo-jo potatoes with it. They got soggy, but they still tasted good. Also--I took all the mustard greens left from my failed attempt at using them on a prosciutto panini and stewed them up as a side. Delicious.

Goat Brie? Yes, Goat Brie!

I'm still using up the giant hero leftovers. I've reached the prosciutto, which took me back to memories of the Warehouse Panini Parties this past spring. I decided to revisit the prosciutto. fig jam, and goat cheese panini.
I stopped at the Seward Co-op and picked up a loaf of Miche bread from Rustica Bakery, a jar of fig jam and soft ripened goat cheese. Yes! I was standing there with a little log of chevre in my hand looking at the other fancy cheeses when I spied the wedge of soft ripened goat cheese. For real? They make goat brie??? That log of chevre went right back on the shelf.
I have made three paninis on the Miche bread so far:
Prosciutto, fig jam, goat brie, mustard greens (couldn't find arugula, unfortunately). The mustard greens were a little weird, a little too mustardy. They made the sandwich taste vegetal, I guess. It wasn't unpleasant, but it also wasn't the bitey zip of arugula I was looking for. The goat brie was lovely--subtly goaty and it melted well.Prosciutto, goat brie, honey. This one was too salty. I think the goat brie brought out the saltiness of the prosciutto and the honey wasn't assertive enough to calm it down. It definitely grew on me as I ate it, though. (Oh lord, pun SO not intended!)
Goat brie and fig jam. This, my friends was the winner. While it did not accomplish my goal of using up prosciutto, it did make me very happy. It also proved the point that fig jam and goat cheese are meant to be together!

Giant Hero Leftovers Are Yummy

It seems we always over buy meat for the giant hero. Which is lovely, since I get to make sandwiches out of them for a whole week. For example:
On Wednesday, I made Italian roast beef, provolone and walnut Dijon mustard on multigrain sourdough for lunch. I wisely zapped it in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the cheese. Perfect.
Wednesday night I made myself a meatball sandwich on a hamburger bun. I added leftover pepperoni and mozzarella from the giant hero, plus pickled jalapenos. I toasted it all up and ate it hot in approximately 4 bites. Little Angie came by and made herself a kitchen sink sandwich with lots of hero leftovers, meatballs and pickled jalapenos on multigrain sourdough. It was a monster!
For lunch on Thursday, I had porketta, provolone, country garlic mustard and lettuce on multigrain sourdough.
On Friday I made salami, hot soppresetta, lettuce, yellow mustard and country garlic mustard on multigrain sourdough. The mixing of mustards was quite delectable. I will do it again!
Even though I've been steadily eating my way through all of the paper packages from Cossetta's, there are still more left. So, let me know if you want to stop by for a delicious sandwich of cured Italian meats and fancy mustard!

HEROES FOR HEROES!

Aaah. The return of the giant hero. I missed you my friend. Isn't it pretty?
For this version of our giant hero, I wisely let Angie take the reins. She and Beth went shopping at Cossetta's, of course. The picked up salami, pepperoni, hot soppresetta, porketta, Italian roast beef, provolone, mozzarella, asiago, marinated artichoke hearts and a loaf of Vienna bread. They also stopped off at Whole Foods and got red onion, lettuce and marinated mushrooms. Then they came home and Angie went to work for an hour, chopping, slicing, layering and working her usual magic. She even made a veggie version for Robynne.
Once assembled, the sandwiches went into the oven for a bit, just to warm up and bring out the flavors. It was totally worth the wait. So delicious!
And we enjoyed Heroes, too. Looks like it will be a good season. I'd also like to note that my friend T celebrated her own Heroes sandwich night with pulled pork sandwiches! Yay! Let's spread the Sandwich Night movement, people!

Sandwich for an invalid day

I had some minor knee surgery last Friday so I've spent the last three days laying on the couch. I'm starting to get a little stir crazy, what with thinking about the giant hero tonight and avoiding bed sores. I was able to distract myself at lunch with this tasty number.
Grilled 1 Year cheddar and Branston's pickle on multigrain sourdough. Mmmmmm...I hope it holds me until Sandwich Night!

One day to go!

The Heroes premiere is tomorrow night! Beth and Angie are going shopping for the giant hero at Cossetta's. I can hardly wait! The fun starts around 7:00. The show starts at 8:00. Come on over!

Lamb Burger back at Longfellow Grill

I'm not a huge lamb fan but I do enjoy the tasty Lamb Burger at the Longfellow Grill. After being off the menu for a while, it's back as a special. Yum!
And I can even eat it while everyone baaaas around me. So there.

One Week Warning!

We will be holding a Sandwich Night in honor of the season premiere of Heroes on Monday, September 22.
Following tradition, we will be serving a GIANT HERO.
Please let me know if you will be attending so we know how many pounds of salty cured Italian meats and cheese we need to pick up.
Yay!!!

Tour de Pastry ends with a sandwich, thankfully

My friend Ian organized a Tour de Pastry on Saturday. We rode our bikes to four bakeries and ate pastries. Not a bad plan! We pedalled in the misty drizzly rain from the Birchwood Cafe (cornmeal cherry scone) to A Baker's Wife (creme brulee danish) to Patrick's (coffee eclair, featured below) and finally to Common Roots Cafe.
Common Roots was a great place to end because they have beer. Oatmeal stout really plays well with the hazelnut brownie I ate!
By the end, I needed a little substance. So, we ordered a roast beef sandwich at Common Roots as well. It had kicky pickled onions on it. They bread was a little weak for the ingredients, but all in all it was a tasty treat!The rest of the day was spent trying to avoid the diabetic coma. Beth didn't stop shaking until Sunday afternoon. I can't wait for the next Tour de Pastry!

Oops, missed a few!

I consulted my tiny travel notebook to make sure I counted all of my sandwiches correctly and I missed two.
First there was the most expensive club sandwich ever from room service in Toronto. I know, we were steps from good food in the neighborhood, but sometimes it's nice to just kick back, watch cable and have someone bring you a club sandwich. It was pretty good, so no regrets!
Then there was the Mack-N-Awe Burger from the Mackinaw Pub in Thorold, ON. This thing had just about everything but the kitchen sink on it: BBQ sauce, bacon, grilled onions, cheddar, Swiss, mushrooms, tomatoes and lettuce. If there had been Thousand Island dressing, it would have been perfect.
Unfortunately, both of these sandwiches missed photodocumentation so you will have to make a mental picture!

Everything We Ate at the Canadian National Exhibition

We couldn't resist going to the Canadian National Exhibiton. We wanted to see how it compared to the Minnesota State Fair. Plus, there was an air show. Sadly, the CNE is a pale shadow compared to the MSF. The grounds are hot and exposed. There wasn't much to see, either. We did take in the air show, which was fun and full of noisy fighter jets and precision flyers. We saw part of a rodeo with bull riding. We saw the Harmonicats. And of course we tried out some of the food. We went to stands that looked busy and unique. Hopefully we sampled some of the CNE favorites. Here we go--see the list at the bottom!


From the top: pierogies, beaver tail with maple butter, bacon on a bun, lemonade, Montreal smoked meat sandwich, Ting Twist ginger ale, poutine, hot ice cream waffles.
Okay, the CNE gets points for some lovely foods. The beaver tail was amazing. The smoked meat sandwich was delicious. And I finally got to try poutine, which was not bad at all. Cheese and gravy on your french fries? Why not?
Also, in Canada, they call Canadian bacon, "bacon." Just like how English muffins are just called "muffins" in England. Funny! I wonder what parallels there are with American foods?

So Many Things to Tell...

Our trip to Buffalo/Niagara/Toronto was really fun. We actually relaxed and took an easy pace. We had some sandwiches and other local delicacies. We went to the Canadian National Exhibition to see if it could hold a candle to the Minnesota State Fair (it can't) and we took photos of everything we ate. That will be a separate post. Here are some sandwich highlights from the trip!

We compared competing beef on weck sandwiches in Buffalo:

That's the Anchor Bar (originator of Buffalo wings) beef on weck on the left. On the right is the beef on weck from Charlie the Butcher. The verdict? Go to the Anchor Bar for wings. Go to Charlie the Butcher for beef on weck. That sandwich is awesome!

Look at this pretty four cheese panini. The four cheeses are marscapone, swiss, feta, and mozzarella. There are some chopped up tomatoes thrown in for good measure. Delicious. This restaurant near our hotel in Toronto also served crepes. I love crepes. But not as much as sandwiches. Don't freak out.

This is a Spadina Street Hot Dog I got at the Minnesota Twins/Toronto Blue Jays game we went to. They fried the all beef kosher dog on a griddle, then topped it with almost caramelized onions. I added all kinds of relish and pickled hot peppers and mustard. There was only one stand selling such a lovely dog. The rest of the stands were selling regular old hot dogs. Nice find! Oh, and the Twins lost. Bummer. At least my tummy was happy.

And finally, here is the turkey club panini I ate when we visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY. The turkey was sliced from a real roasted turkey breast and there was good bacon and sliced avocado and tomato on it. I can't remember the cheese--it was white and helped hold it all together.

Welcome Newberries

I featured the blog in my family calendar this year. Yes, Sandwiches I Have Loved is Miss September!
So, family calendar recipients, welcome!

Escaping the Republican National Convention

The RNC starts next week, right across the street from my work. Since getting to work will be a challenge, we've decided to head out on another vacation! Beth and I leave for the Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Toronto region this afternoon. I am looking forward to sampling some local delicacies of the sandwich persuasion, such as beef on weck
I'll be back online in about a week!

Everything We Ate (and Drank) at the State Fair, Part 2

Oh yes. We did it again. We went to Fair yesterday afternoon with Angie. I could say that our main goal was to see the llama dress up judging (which was fabulous.) Really it was to eat all the foods we hadn't already gotten to eat, drink too much beer, and see the Gnarls Barkley/Cloud Cult Grandstand show (which was also fabulous.)
Enjoy...full list at the end of the post!




















From the top: deep fried pickles; deep fried cheese curds; Twisted Sister (porketta sausage wrapped in bread dough, on a stick); Quirky Jerk (jerk sausage in puff pastry on a stick); fish taco; Summit Extra Pale Ale; strawberry malt; Summit Extra Pale Ale; Minnesota Farmer's Union Mocha Frappe; roasted corn; cheese on a stick; Pronto Pups; Summit; more Summit; pot roast sandwich; Vita Mix soup sample; even more Summit; Pig Lickers (chocolate covered bacon. for real.); mini donuts; deep fried Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.