Patty Melt

A Lunch Counter Favorite



Recently (as I write this) I read an ode to the patty melt. You know the sandwich: hamburger patty, grilled rye bread, Swiss cheese, and (often) 1000 Island dressing. When done well it's crisp and juicy, sweet and slightly salty, rich and savory. It's the sort of sandwich I could order as a kid at Woolworth's or the drug store's lunch counter. But I probably haven't seen it on a menu more than once or twice since then and it had dropped from my mind. However, after reading Janet Zimmerman's praise of this sandwich/burger hybrid I had to make one — or two.

Recipe here...

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Soup & Sandwich

A Match Made in Heaven



I've already confessed my love for sandwiches on several occasions. And it's true that a sandwich alone can be a complete meal depending on what's on it. But sandwiches have a natural co-partner: soup. A good match between soup and a sandwich can result in an extraordinarily good meal, for example, a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup is something most of us remember from our childhoods &mdash and well we should as it's classic pairing of unctuous cheese, butter, crisp bread, and rich soup.

There are other equally good matches, though perhaps none so classic, and these are a few of my favorites.

Clam Chowder — It's Chowdah, Baby: Year's ago I set off on a quest for the perfect New England clam chowder. I ate bowls of it in San Francisco; Eugene Oregon; and Seattle, Washington and was unsurprised they were un-exceptional (wrong coast) but I had high hopes when I moved to the East Coast but I was still disappointed in most cases. But eventually I gathered enough data to make an honest effort at my own recipe. I won't call this perfect, but it's among the best I've eaten.

Country Ham Panini — Feelin' Country: A good chowder includes some pork. It could be bacon, lard, fat-back or even salt-back, but the background pork flavor is an essential element of great chowder. The last time I made a batch I'd made a recent trip to Bentons and so had some of Alan's "prosiutto" - his country ham slice paper thin. I made a panini. Crisp, salty, cheesy. I couldn't have chosen a better match for clam chowder.

Gumbo & mdash; Laissez le Bons Temps Rouler: We tend to think of gumbo as a New Orleans soup — or, at most, a Louisiana dish. But it's real origins are blend of African and French cuisine and so it's found wherever the French kept slaves, which includes most of the Caribbean islands. In fact the best gumbo I've eaten was at a Caribbean restaurant in Sacramento that's owner/chef was from Haiti. Of course, add rice and gumbo is meal in itself with meat, broth, vegetables, and starch. Nevertheless, sometimes a sandwich rounds it out beautifully.

Muffaletta — Interesting: New Orleans has two "most" famous sandwiches — the Muffaletta and the po' boy. And don't get me wrong, a good fried oyster or shrimp po' boy is mighty fine, even deeelicious. But to me no sandwich says New Orleans like the Muffaletta. And the olive mix is a wonderful contrast to the deeply savory gumbo. I've found it best, though, to have a big mug/small bowl full of gumbo and an entire quarter Muffaletta so that instead of the sandwich backing up the soup, the soup backs up the sandwich.

Ciopino - A Common Pot: Ciopino is a fish soup developed by Italian fishermen in the San Francisco area. Like all such dishes, it's composed of by catch - the fish caught during the day that probably won't sell. It's a close relative (in both flavor and history) to the famous French bouillabaisse. And like all such soups it's easy to make. Just cruise down to your local fish market and buy whatever looks good as well as bones and such-like to make the stock. Add the fish and serve.

Roast Pork Sandwich - Magic Sandwich: Unlike gumbo, ciopino isn't heavy. Nor does it already contain pork so a pork sandwich is a great match. My local equivalent of Whole Foods (Fresh Market) sells a very good sourdough bread and since sourdough starter died (God rest it's yeast and lacto bacillus) I've relied on them for that particular bread choice. Though I call for a Kaiser roll in this recipe, sourdough is a better pairing with the ciopino and complements — the red onion and pickled daikon.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | soup | sandwich | recipe collection

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Italian Roast Beef Sandwich

Collections



I have three collections that I've pursued over the years with relatively little vigor — meaning lackadaisically. The first was a collection of boxes that I collected prior to adulthood. I was never interested in ordinary boxes so my collection only has 10 members and my favorite is the first, a box handmade and intricately carved with a geometric motif by my father's father, a man who died before I was born.

During my early adult years I collected hats, a collection that began with a beret I bought when I was around 13 and most recently with my acquisition of a straw cap (you know the kind, the sort of things people driving sports cars wear, but made of straw instead of tweed). My most prized item in that collection is a very old straw boater.

I have one more thing I've collected with some assiduousness over the past 10 years: sandwiches.

I also have around 25 cork screws. Some old, some new; some were gifts, some I purchased in my travels; some quite efficient, some almost worthless. All are distinctive except for three that are nearly identical. I purchased one of those similar cork screws and then was given the other two within the next four months — an odd coincidence.

But I have one more thing I've collected with some assiduousness over the past 10 years: sandwiches.

No, they aren't arranged in a display case or strewn artfully around my house. Instead most of them are displayed in this blog. I'm particularly interested in sandwiches associated with a particular place or culture. So while I consider the basic hamburger/cheese-burger a member of the collection (as a supremely American cultural icon) most other burgers don't count. And although the ham sandwich is the most popular sandwich in America and has been since at least 1970 there is no particular format considered Kosher — figuratively speaking.

I do consider the Muffaletta a member of my collection as well as the Rueben, Bahn Mi, Cubano, a prosciutto panini, and the grilled cheese. In fact, last year I won a prize for my grilled cheese sandwich, beating out dozens of imaginative competitors by concentrating on getting the details right on a basic cheddar-and-white-bread version.

Before adding a sandwich to my "collection" I do as much research on it as I can, trying to home in on all the common elements. Then I put together a recipe and make it. The initial recipe gets tweaked until I'm happy with it. So here I present the latest addition to my collection: the Chicago Italian Roast Beef. This sandwich is awesome.

Italian Roast Beef Sandwich
Makes 10.

3 lb. rump roast*
4 c beef stock or broth**
Dried Italian herb mix
Garlic powder
Onion Powder
Salt and pepper
10 hoagie rolls***
Gardiniere (Italian pickled salad)

Heat oven to 300F.

Generously season the roast with herbs, garlic and onion powders, and salt and pepper. Allow the seasoned roast to warm on the counter for two hours.

Pour stock into a medium roasting pan and bring to a boil on the stove. Then place a rack over the pan (I used a cooling rack), place the roast on the rack, and set in the middle of the oven. (Note: You want the roast above the jus, not resting in it.

Cook for about 3 hours until the internal temp is 130F. This may seem like a long time (and do keep an eye on the roast's temperature) but the liquid below the roast will slow the cooking. You're shooting for a medium-rare roast.

Let the roast cool, then refrigerate for at least four hours or, better, overnight. Store the jus separately.

Skim any fat off the jus and pour it into the roasting pan. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to about 2 cups. Taste and adjust seasoning. Reduce heat to a simmer.

Cut hoagie rolls in half — but not all the way through, leave a hinge. Slice roast extremely thin (a circular meat slicer is your best tool for this job, but I just use a very sharp carving knife) and add to jus for about 2 minutes — just to warm through. Spoon about 4 ounces of meat with plenty of jus onto each roll then top with gardiniere. Serve with plenty of paper towels and the rest of the jus for dipping.

*Although rump roast is the most common choice, I used chuck with great success.

**I had homemade stock in my freezer and used that, but it's equally authentic, perhaps more so, to use bouillon cubes and when I tasted the juice I'd made I ended up adding a tablespoon of Better than Bouillon beef base to the mix.

***Look for rolls that are somewhat chewy (meaning well-developed gluten) or the rolls will simply dissolve in the juice. In fact, in some joints in Chicago they dip the whole roll in the juice before adding the meat.

Try this sandwich with...
Tomato/Garlic Soup
Italian Apple Cake

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | main dish | sandwich | beef

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Earl of Sandwich

This is the birthday of the reputed namesake of this marvelous hand-held meal, the 4th Earl of Sandwich.

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Chicken in Pita

Supper, in'sh'Allah



When I lived in Oregon I was invited to a party where the host and hostess provided an array of fillings and were baking pita loaves as we stood around stuffing the pockets and then our faces. It was loads of fun as well as delicious and I've had it in my mind to make pita ever since — but somehow have never gotten around to it.

Then a couple of years ago Susan at Farmgirl Fare finally posted her long-promised pita recipe and tips and I finally ran out of excuses. So that afternoon I made pita and, just as Susuan promised, it was quick and easy. If you have any interest in baking bread, you've got to do this.

The thing to do was pull out a skillet, slice some garlic, grab a few spices, and, in'sh'Allah, I had supper.

So having made the bread, the next question was what to stuff it with. I had some chicken tenders in the fridge and recently I'd made koftas and they whetted my taste for Middle Eastern flavors. So the thing to do was pull out a skillet, slice some garlic, grab a few spices, and, in'sh'Allah, I had supper.

Middle Eastern Chicken
Serves 2.

1/2 lb chicken tenders — cubed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic — sliced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 pinch crushed red pepper
salt to taste
4 scallions — cut into 1/2" lengths
1 md tomato — diced
1/4 c yogurt

Heat oil over medium high heat. Add spices and cook, stirring, for about two minutes. Add chicken and brown. Stir in garlic, remove from heat, cover, and let rest for two minutes. Stir in tomato, scallions, and yogurt. Stuff into pita. Fills two pita halves.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | chicken | sandwich

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SG Archive: Welsh Rarebit

Phoney Coney



When I was around 10 my family visited Colonial Williamsburg. I only remember one thing from that trip: My first taste of Welsh Rarebit (or rabbit, the etymology is rather confused). It was at Chowning's Tavern (I remembered that as well) and I adored it. Smooth unctuous cheddar with a hint of spiciness served on crisp toast and contrasted with the bright acid flavor of tomato. Seriously good stuff.

When I lived in northern Virginia a few years ago I made another visit to Williamsburg and again had rarebit at Chowning's. To my complete surprise, the intervening 40 years (and the multitude of rarebits I had made) hadn't affected my memory of the way that first experience tasted at all.

However, in the intervening years I'd developed a recipe of my own and it remains my favorite.

Welsh Rarebit
Serves 4.

24 oz. sharp cheddar cheese — shredded
1 cup beer
2 tbsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
6 tbsp butter

Melt butter in a heavy sauce pan over low heat. Add cheese a small handful at a time and stir until melted. (Note: The butter and cheese will tend to remain separate.) Whisk in half of beer. (This should combine the butter and cheese.) Add additional beer in small increments until mixture is a smooth sauce. Whisk in remaining ingredients.

Note: Depending on the cheese and your preferred consistency you may not need all the beer or may need a bit more.

Although toast is traditional, my favorite base for rarebit is homemade English muffins.

Try rarebit with...
No-Knead English Muffins
Tomatoes Parmigiano
Fried Okra

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | sandwich | cheese

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Ruby's Mushroom Burger

Still Im gonna miss you...



In 1970 (give or take a year or two) a student at the University of Tennessee named Sandy Beall and two of his buddies open a restaurant off-campus that they named Ruby Tuesday. Ruby's great claim to fame in the beginning was it's burgers, which were completely different from anything else around. For one thing, they were quite thick (around 3/4") and hand formed. For another they were served as open-faced sandwiches on English muffins instead of hamburger buns. And lastly, they had sauces.

As I recall they offered four different burgers and my two favorites were the bacon cheddar burger (which featured a sharp, cheddar sauce akin to Welsh rabbit) and the mushroom burger which was covered with a mushroom/wine sauce. I only ate at the original restaurant a couple of times, but the second restaurant they opened was in the same strip center as the Pier 1 Imports where I worked and I ate in that one frequently.

Ruby's great claim to fame in the beginning was it's burgers, which were completely different from anything else around.

As Ruby Tuesday began it's expansion, Beall would come into Pier 1 with his designer whenever they opened a new store. By this time I was managing the Pier 1 and those were red letter days — or, perhaps more accurately, black letter days because they'd drop $3000 in an hour or so, which made my month.

It's hard to believe now that Ruby's was an unusual restaurant back then, but it was. It was an up-scale place that served up-scale burgers. I still eat at a Ruby's every couple of years or so and the last time I was in there I was remembering how the company started and those burgers, so I had no choice but to try to recreate one and I went for the mushroom burger.

Burger with Mushroom/Wine Sauce
Serves 4.

Burger:
1/2 lb chuck — cut into 1" pieces and partially frozen
1/2 lb sirloin — cut into 1" pieces and partially frozen
4 oz beef fat — cut into 1" pieces and partially frozen
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. tomato paste
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 English muffins (I like the
Sauce:
1/2 lb mushrooms — sliced
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 sm shallot, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 c red wine
1/2 c beef stock
1 tsp arrowroot mixed with 2 tbsp water
Salt and pepper to taste

Burger:
Combine chuck, sirloin, and fat (fat can be trimmed from a chuck steak or roast) and grind. Mix in all remaining burger ingredients, form into four burgers, and refrigerate, covered, for an hour to let flavors combine.

Build a two-level fire in your grill.

Sauce:
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms to the dry skillet and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Cook until mushrooms begin to give up their liquid. Increase the heat to medium high and cook until mushrooms being to brown. Stir in butter, shallots, and thyme and cook another 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

Add wine to pan and reduce by half. Add stock and reduce liquid by half. Mix arrowroot with a couple of tablespoons of water. Stir in arrowroot slurry and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and keep warm while you cook the burgers.

Try this Mushroom Burger with...
French Fries
Potato Salad
Cookies

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | hamburger | sandwich | beef | main dish

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Caribbean Jerk Burger

A Taste of the Islands




No, a Caribbean Jerk Burger isn't a burger for Caribbean jerks, it's a burger containing jerk seasoning. Jerk seasoning is a collection of spices popular on grilled meats (pork, beef, and chicken) in the Caribbean. In this recipe instead of sprinkling the seasoning on the surface of the burgers, it's mixed into the meat along with a bit of lime juice. I like serving them on onion rolls with a slice of aged provolone and a spoonful of mayo. These are also good made with half beef and half pork - and they freeze beautifully.

Recipe here...

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | cooking for two | hamburger | main dish | grilling | sandwich

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Tuna & Chicken Salad

Same Song, Different Verse



This past week I made up boxed lunches for one of my clients. She had a series of luncheon meetings with her contractors and wanted something more interesting than the ordinary turkey or roast beef sandwiches she usually picked up. This was right up my alley.

Years ago, in my second foray into the food service business, I sold sandwiches on home-baked croissants and I had a couple of fillings that were popular with my customers back then. They had the advantage of being old standards -- and so familiar -- while offering a different take on those classics.

This business of reinventing old favorites and comfort foods has been gaining popularity among chefs and restaurants for a few years now.

This business of reinventing old favorites and comfort foods has been gaining popularity among chefs and restaurants for a few years now. As one would expect, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. In the following two cases, as measuredby popularity with my customers, the recipes worked

Tuna Salad Parmesan

In my version, bell peppers provide a sharper vegetable flavor than the traditional celery, capers provide the briny taste but without the clutter of dill (or, even worse, the sweet pickle relish sometimes used), red onions provide a touch of sweetness along with heat, and the shredded parmesan brings a deeply savory flavor to the whole.

1 ea canned tuna in oil — 12 oz, drained
1/4 ea bell pepper — diced
1/4 ea red onion — diced
1/2 ea lemon — juiced
1/4 c shredded parmesan cheese
12 ea grape tomatoes — halved
3 tbsps capers — rinsed & drained
3 tbsps mayonnaise
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together. Chill. Serve stuffed in pita with a lettuce leaf.

Curried Chicken Salad

This is seriously good stuff. Chicken is a marvelous base for all sorts of flavors the sweetness of the fruit highlights the curry flavor.

3 lbs chicken — whole, cut up
1 ea celery stalk — with leaves
1 ea carrot — cut up in 1" chunks
1 ea bay leaf
1 ea apple — large
3/4 c raisins
1/2 c coconut flakes
1/2 c scallions — cut into 1/2" pieces
3 tbsps mayonnaise
2 tbsp curry powder — hot
salt to taste

Cut up chicken and boil with celery, parsley, carrot, and bay over medium-high heat until cooked through, removing smaller pieces as they become done. Discard vegetables and strain and reserve stock for soup.

Skin and bone chicken cutting pieces into a half-inch dice.

Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Chill for at least four hours.

Serve stuffed in pita bread.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | sandwich | chicken salad | tuna salad

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Muffaletta

Interesting



I'd never been in a sex shop before. It was… interesting. The fur-covered handcuffs were interesting. The leather collars were interesting. The costumes were interesting, And the, well… It was all, uhmm, interesting. According to Susanne and Judith, who had insisted that Michael and I accompany them into the store, we men were blushing like adolescents caught with a Playboy. The ladies, on the other hand, were merely fascinated.

It was about 11:00 o'clock on a bright, clear October morning -- neither cold nor warm. The streets were wet from rain the night before, and still strewn with trash. Halloween was coming up and although that holiday isn't quite the bacchanalia of Mardi Gras, New Orleans still takes it seriously -- in a manner of speaking. We were wandering the streets of the French quarter on our way to Jackson Square. The four of us had a culinary goal and it wasn't the Café Du Monde and beignets.

There is an art to the business of making sandwiches which is given to few ever to find the time to explore in depth. It is simple task but the opportunities for satisfaction are many and profound… ~ Douglas Adams

On this morning the four of us had our sights set on the Central Street Grocery and muffalettas. This is an extraordinary sandwich that, while not as famous outside of New Orleans as the po' boy, holds a place of honor within the city. Surprisingly, the muffaletta's origins are Italian, Sicilian specifically. According to gumbopages.com, "the muffuletta sandwich was invented by Signor Lupo Salvadore, who opened the now-famous little Italian market called Central Grocery on Decatur Street in the French Quarter in 1906 and created the muffuletta sandwich, named for a favored customer…"

The sandwich is distinguished by the generous use of an olive salad and is served on round loaf of bread. It's delicious, different, interesting.

Muffaletta

1 loaf bread (see below)
1 c olive mix (see below)
1/4 lb sliced ham
1/4 lb sliced mortadella
1/4 lb sliced Genoa salami
1/4 lb sliced provolone
1/4 lb sliced mozzarella

Cut bread in half horizontally. Spread half with olive mix then layer on meats and cheeses. Cover with top. (Note: Ideally the sandwich should be made an hour or more in advance and then tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to enable juices to soak bread.) Slice into quarters and serve.

Olive Mix

1 1/2 c pimento-stuffed olives
1/2 c pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 c giardiniera (Italian pickled vegetables)
1/4 c pepperoncini
1/4 c pickled onions
1 tbsp capers
1 clove garlic, large – minced
1 tbsp fresh oregano
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 c olive oil

Drain all ingredients. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Refrigerate overnight.

Mixture will keep for several months sealed in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

Muffaletta Bread
(adapted from CD Kitchen)

4 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c water
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp rapid-rise yeast

Using the dough hook, combine 4 cups flour, water, salt, sugar, olive oil, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer -- scraping down sides as needed -- at low speed until blended. Add additional flour if needed, but dough should be a bit sticky. Increase speed to medium and knead for eight minutes.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and form into a ball.

Clean and dry mixing bowl and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, seam-side down, and spray top lightly with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Turn dough out onto the floured board and knead for 2 minutes. Divide in two, and form into balls. Let dough rest for 15 minutes then flatten out into discs 7 - 8 inches in diameter. Place each disc on a baking sheet, dock with a fork, and cover with plastic sprayed with oil. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Bake each loaf for 20 to 25 minutes until well-browned. Cool completely before slicing.

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Country Ham Panini

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Paisano: Schawarma

Strange Connections



In 1970 I spent Thanksgiving in Beirut, Lebanon. It ended up being a tragic visit.

At the time I was living in Egypt and attending the American University in Cairo and some of my fellow students and I decided to enjoy the week-long school break visiting what was then known as "the Paris of the Middle-East." Beirut was, indeed, a cosmopolitan city and after several months in the decidedly non-cosmopolitan Cairo we had a wonderful time visiting clubs, restaurants, and shopping (at any rate, the women enjoyed shopping and the guys were young enough to still enjoy following good-looking women around).

I returned with a love for Beirut's then-most-popular street food, the schawarma that has haunted me ever since.

We had been there for about three days when one night one the girls had an asthma attack and died. She had no history of asthma and the hospital she was rushed too was apparently very good - of European caliber - but by the time she arrived at hospital it was too late. We cut short our trip and returned to Cairo the next day under a shround of sadness.

Nevertheless, I returned with some good memories as well and a love for Beirut's then-most-popular street food, the schawarma that has also haunted me ever since.

The schawarma is a Middle-Eastern version of the Greek gyro made with chicken, turkey, or lamb. In either sandwich the meat is meltingly tender, partially because of the marinade and partially because it's pre-sliced and then packed back together before roasting on a vertical spit in front of a layered fire. But my efforts to duplicate this have failed in the past and I finally figured out why, it was because I was cooking the meat too quickly. So I slowed it down by giving the meat an hour to cook in a low oven and achieved as close to perfect as you can get without a vertical rotisserie.

Schawarma
Serves 4.

Marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic - crushed
1 teaspoon ground sumac
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Sandwich:
2 lamb leg steaks (~ 2 pounds)
2 tablespoon olive oil
4 loaves flat bread or pita
thinly-sliced tomato
lettuce
Sauce:
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons Tahini
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground sumac
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Thoroughly mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a large zippered bag and add lamb steaks. Toss to coat thoroughly and refrigerate for 8 - 24 hours, Tossing every now and then to redistribute marinade.

Heat oven to 225F.

Remove steaks from bag, discarding marinade, and wipe dry (more or less) with paper towels. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, lidded sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brown steaks on both sides in pan (about 3 minutes per side).

Pour off excess oil, cover sauté pan, and cook in the oven for 1 hour. In the meantime, combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Remove from pan and slice steaks thinly across the grain. Spoon sauce down the center of a loaf of flat bread or pita. Add tomato and a leaf or two of lettuce. Add lamb, roll up, and enjoy.

Oh, and save those juices in the sauté pan and sop bread in them for an amazing treat.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | sandwiches | lamb | middle-eastern

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Grilled Cheese Sandwich

The Ultimate

This was the second post I made on this blog, sort of ironic that it's about a grilled cheese sandwich. I decided to repost it when I happened to run across it because whenever I describe this sandwich almost everyone wants to know about the bread.

I've been fighting off an urge for a grilled cheese sandwich for a couple of months. I don't know why I was fighting it off, but I was. So this past weekend I gave in. But not easily.

In Beard on Bread, James Beard has a recipe for sour cream bread that is the absolute best grilled cheese bread on earth. (Susanne, I think I gave you the wrong recipe when you asked for it.) The bread is tender but also has an open crumb. So as the sandwich cooks and the cheese melts the bread absorbs the cheese.

As the sandwich cooks and the cheese melts the bread absorbs the cheese.

This brings a new element to a grilled cheese sandwich because it isn't two pieces of bread containing melted cheese, instead it is a single thick slice of bread suffused with cheese.

Sour-Cream Bread - Adapted from Beard on Bread
Makes 2 loaves.

2 1/4 tsp quick yeast or 1 package active dry yeast
3 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup warm water (100F to 115F)
2 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Mix the yeast, sugar, warm water, sour cream, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Using the paddle attachment, add 4 cups of the flour, cup by cup, to make a very wet, sticky dough. Switch to the dough hook and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, adding additional flour as needed to form a slightly sticky dough. Scrape out onto a floured board and finish the kneading by hand.

Shape the dough into a ball, place in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat it with the butter. Cover with plastic and let sit in a warm spot to double in bulk.

Punch the dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for a minute, then divide into two equal pieces. Butter two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf tins. Shape the dough into loaves and fit into the tins. Cover loosely and let rise again until doubled. Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on top and bottom. Cool thoroughly before slicing.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Having just spent several hours baking bread just to make a grilled cheese sandwich, choosing the right cheese is essential. My preference is for Grafton Village One Year-Old Cheddar. It's available mail-order, but happens to be the best cheddar you can also find in some stores. (Note: The older cheddars don't melt as well.)

Please forgive me if this recipe seems obvious and fussy, but sometimes we don't devote the attention and care to a basic recipe that it deserves.

2 slices sour cream bread — sliced a scant 3/8" thick
3 tbsp salted butter — at room temperature
sharp cheddar cheese — sliced about 3/16th-inch thick

Butter both slices of bread on one side. Place one slice, buttered-side down, in a cold cast iron skillet. Arrange cheese on top. Top with the other slice of bread. Turn heat on to medium low.

The heat is critical. The goal is that the side of the sandwich in contact with the skillet should turn a perfect golden brown just as the cheese begins to liquefy. You will see the butter on the top slice of bread beginning to melt into the bread. This phase can take 10 - 12 minutes.

Now flip the sandwich and continue cooking until the other side is golden brown. This will be fairly quick — three to four minutes.

Add a couple of slices of tomato on the side and a glass of cold milk and you have a meal the gods would envy. The sandwich is a combination of simple ingredients (bread, butter, and cheese), complex flavor(tangy, sharp, yeasty, and salty), and, perhaps above everything else, elegant texture (crisp, creamy, and chewy).

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Kitchen Math

This



Plus, this



Equals this



Roast Beef Panini

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Roast Pork Sandwich

Magical Sandwich



For the most part I'm a fairly laid-back guy — calm and collected with a light Southern drawl (actually, an Appalachian mountain drawl). Not real excitable. At both meetings and parties I spend more time observing than talking. And so it sometimes surprises people when I get off on one of my passions, because I do have passions.

I can rant for hours on software quality and the value of proper software testing. The same when it comes to software design. And don't get me started on the importance of editors for producing quality written work — this blog really suffers from not having a second pair of eyes approve each post before it goes online.

My friend, Kitchen Mage, calls me "Pig, Sandwich Boy," reflecting my passion for pork, sandwiches, and pork sandwiches.

I have culinary passions too. My friend, Kitchen Mage, calls me "Pig, Sandwich Boy," reflecting my passion for pork, sandwiches, and pork sandwiches. Get me started on a food passion and I'll go a mile-a-minute, my words spilling over each other like ping-pong balls cascading down a stair-well. Witness this podcast on NPR.

One would think that having just completed an article on sandwiches that I'd be sandwiched out, but in fact I was inspired to come up with something new. So I bought a pork sirloin roast.

I cut slits in the roast and stuffed them with slivers of garlic and fresh rosemary leaves and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Then I browned the roast in a skillet before slow-roasting it at 225F to medium. I knew going in that the strong garlic/rosemary flavors would make selecting other ingredients for a sandwich tough, but I like a challenge.

I selected Kaiser rolls for the bread, picking up a package at Fresh Market (the local equivalent of Whole Foods). I wanted the thin but crackly crust and dry, spongy crumb of a good Kaiser roll. The first sandwich was the roll with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard for condiments, provolone cheese, lettuce, and sliced tomatoes. In short, nothing out of the ordinary but I wanted a base line.

The cheese was completely wrong. I'd had smoked cheddar in the back of my head, but although smoked cheese seemed like a good bet, cheddar didn't and neither did smoked swiss. Rummaging through the cheese case at the market I found some sliced smoked gouda. Milder and more creamy than cheddar or swiss I figured it was worth a try. Bingo!

The tomato and lettuce didn't really contribute anything either. So I dumped them and went with very thin (1/8-inch) slices of red onion. The sweetness of the onion was a perfect foil to the garlic slivers.

Sandwich two was better, but still not there. Not enough cheese and the condiments weren't working. For sandwich three I pan-roasted some cloves of garlic, pureed them and added them to the mayo, then I stirred in some whole grain mustard. This too was a winner. I now had the right bread, the right cheese, the right condiment, and the right veggie. But something was still needed. Thinking back over the sandwiches I'd recently written about I suddenly had it. I'd quick-pickled some daikon for the bhan mi and that combination of slightly spicy/hot, sweet, and tart would be perfect on this sandwich. It was. Over the top.

I think, in honor of my friend, I'll call this a Kitchen Mage.

Kitchen Mage Sandwich
Makes 1

6 oz garlic/rosemary roasted pork (recipe here)
Kaiser roll
Garlic/mustard mayonnaise (see below)
Red onion — sliced 1/8" thick
Smoked gouda — 1/4" thick, at room temperature
Pickled daikon (see below)

The pork should be sliced very thin, the more flesh exposed to air the better the flavor.

Kaiser rolls tend to be thick, so I cut out a center slice to reduce the amount of bread.

Spread both halves of the roll lightly with the garlic/mustard/mayo. Layer on remaining ingredients.

Garlic/Mustard Mayonnaise

4 large garlic cloves
1/4 c mayonnaise
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp whole-seed Dijon mustard

Roast whole, unpeeled garlic cloves in a small skillet over medium heat until soft — about 15 minutes. Turn garlic frequently to avoid burning. Peel garlic and puree garlic in a mini food processor, add remaining ingredients and pulse several times to blend.

Pickled Daikon

1/4 c rice vinegar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c daikon strips

Whisk together vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved.

Peel 3 inches of daikon, then use peeler to make strips of daikon. Soak in vinegar solution for at least 30 minutes. Drain before using.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | sandwich | pork

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Kitchen Window: The Art of Sandwich Making

In theory, a perfectly balanced meal includes some protein, but not too much; a vegetable or two; some fruit and a carbohydrate. Such a meal also should balance tastes — savory, a little sour or bitter maybe, perhaps some sweet and salt — and textures, from chewy to succulent to crisp. Let's go a step further and propose that this meal also can conveniently be eaten while playing cards.

Read the complete article at Kitchen Window.

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Lamb Burgers

Stuffed to Perfection



This is grilling season and, so, I taught a class on hamburgers the other night. The class was roughly based on this article I wrote for NPR's Kitchen Window last year. The topic may not sound worthy of a class, but as in all cooking there are issues of combining and maximizing flavors, food safety, techniques, and other bits and pieces that apply not just to burgers but to cooking in general. It was a good class and enjoyed by all.

It almost goes without saying that when I teach a class I enjoy the compliments I receive on both my cooking and on my overall knowledge of cooking. When someone asked about eating rare hamburgers I was able to explain the issues of level of heat, duration of heat, and the heat-resistance of the most common biological contaminants. Such explanations engender confidence in the students — at least that's what the forms they fill out at the end of each class say.

Serve these in pita rounds, they're really juicy and you won't want to lose a drop.

Among the burgers I offered was a lamb burger stuffed with blue cheese and mint. The recipe that produced this result was an adaptation of a stuffed roast leg of lamb recipe that I sometimes fix on special occasions. The combination of blue cheese and fresh mint with lamb is a major winner. And if you like the burgers, try the roast this Easter for a more elegant take.

Stuffed Lamb Burgers
Serves 4.

1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
4 ounces blue cheese (I recommend Point Reyes if you can find it) — at room temperature
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt

Divide the cheese into 4 pieces and form each into a 2-inch round.

Thoroughly combine remaining ingredients in a bowl. Divide the lamb into 4 portions and flatten into patties about 5 inches in diameter. Place a piece of cheese in the center and fold the edges of the patty up over the cheese, pressing to seal. You should end up with a patty that's about 4 inches in diameter and 3/4 of an inch high. Place patties on a baking sheet or plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour to allow burgers to set up.

Grill over medium heat for 5 - 6 minutes per side.

Serve these in pita rounds, they're really juicy and you won't want to lose a drop. And if you're curious about the other recipes check out the Kitchen Window article.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | lamb | lamb burger | sandwich

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The Deadly Reuben

The Deadly Reuben



Ed Levine isn't the only foodie trying to lose weight. As he notes in this post referring to an NY Times article, even Mario Batali is trying to lose weight. Me? Been there, done that, eventually and inevitably outgrew the new slimmer t-shirt.

Around 1988 I decided I simply was a short, balding, fat guy and quit worrying about it. I was never going to be slim for long. I had engaged in a number of highly successful diets, but always gained the weight back. So screw it. And when I finally said screw it, I not only eliminated the anxiety, but lost 10 pounds. I was still a short, balding, fat guy but 10 pounds lighter. And for the next decade and a half I hovered within 10 pounds, plus and minus, of that weight.

Frankly, I'm probably engaged in a Quixote-esc battle.

Then, two years ago I decided to lose weight again. Admittedly my weight had gone up significantly from the set-point it had hovered around, but still the diet was a mistake. I proceeded to lose 75 pounds in about six months and got down to what the weight police say I should weigh. I relaxed. I now weigh more than I ever have. I would have been better off happily remaining a short, fat, balding guy. Eventually I would have returned to my set point.

So I'm trying to find that equilibrium I once had, it's like a word on the tip of my tongue, but I haven't recaptured that state of mind yet. In the meantime, out of pure evilness and because I needed a new project this year, I'm attempting to kill Ed Levine by posting sandwiches.

This is not your ordinary Reuben.

I made the bread. I made the corned beef (from raw brisket). I made the sauerkraut. I even made the 1000 Island dressing (although I confess to using commercial mayo, ketchup, and relish in it).

Frankly, I'm probably engaged in a Quixote-esc battle. Would Levine go to the trouble of making a Reuben completely from scratch? I suspect not. He'd buy the bread, maybe use a commercial corned beef, certainly not wait three weeks for the kraut to ferment. Hell, Levine lives in New York, he'd just head for the nearest deli. But that sandwich wouldn't be nearly as good as this one was.

Technorati: Food | essay | kevin d weeks | seriously good | reuben | sandwich

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Teriyaki Turkey Burgers

Seriously Healthy



A few months back I wrote an article on burgers for NPR's Kitchen Window and the editor, Bonny North, balked when I wanted to include my Bacon/Parmesan Pork Burger because it seemed so gratuitously high in fat and calories. She was partially correct, it is high in fat and calories, but not gratuitously — that's purely a side-effect of producing an extraordinarily flavorful meat patty.

I offered a compromise: If I could keep the pork burger I'd develop a turkey burger to balance it out. That task proved more difficult than I'd anticipated. In my world "healthy" is never a substitute for "good."

"Viola," I had a low-fat, low-cal burger with plenty of flavor

I began with plain ground turkey to which I added an egg for binding because I knew before I started it would be inclined to fall apart. Even with salt and pepper it was bland and dry. I decided to move on to ingredients that emulated roast turkey by adding cornbread crumbs for additional binding, sage, and other typical turkey dinner seasonings. No joy. Edible, but by no means seriously good. Tweaking didn't help.

I tried a couple of other ideas that were equally bad and then remembered a dish I make for clients on occasion — teriyaki-marinated turkey breasts. I'd already learned with my Marinated Greek Burgers that actually marinating the meat and then grinding it didn't work. So I adjusted the marinade ingredients to make a seasoning to mix into the ground turkey. It was still a tad dry, so I added some zucchini for additional moisture, and, "viola," I had a low-fat, low-cal burger with plenty of flavor. I found that onion rolls made a great bun (to keep the amount of bread reasonable I sliced out the middle third of the roll and saved it to make croutons).

Teriyaki Turkey Burger
Serves 4.

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1/4 cup grated zucchini
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons frozen orange juice concentrate, melted
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons five-spice powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 egg

Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Form into 4 patties about 1/2-inch thick. Place patties on a baking sheet or plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour to allow burgers to set so they'll hold together while cooking.

Cook in a non-stick pan over medium high heat.

Note: Even with the bread crumbs and egg for binding, these burgers tend to fall apart on a grill, so I recommend cooking them in a non-stick pan with a little bit of oil.

I'd still pick a Bacon/Parmesan Pork Burger, Greek Burger, or Lamb Burger Stuffed with Blue Cheese over this one if given a choice, but it's not bad at all, in fact it's actually good. But seriously good, according to my tastes, it's not.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | burger | sandwich | turkey

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Kill Ed Levine

Death by Sandwich



As a rule I don't make New Year's Resolutions, but that's me. If a foolish promise turns you on then fine. But as I sat down this evening to eat supper I happened to think of Ed Levine and his resolution to lose weight this year and found myself overcome with contrariness. "Bullshit!" I thought, and "la te da."

I've long harbored a grudge against Serious Eats. How dare they? I started publishing Seriously Good in 2003 and then this little upstart blog comes along and steals my good name? Sorta. Kinda. It's just not right that Serious Eats has a number of amusing writers working in concert to steal the word "serious" from me. And it seems to me that Ed Levine is behind it all. I don’t know if that's true — but I don't care. I'm holding him responsible.

It was a sandwich that prompted this psychic break — a simple grilled cheese sandwich. Simple yes, but by no means plebian. This sandwich began with a locally-baked Pan de Mie which provided an important sweet note. The cheese was Kraft Extra-sharp Cheddar, which I think is a perfect grilled cheese, smooth and tangy when melted and also unexceptual — leaving room for other flavors. Then I added paper-thin slices of pork confit, not enough to overpower the cheese or bread, simply a deep background note of pork and spice. Lastly I grilled the sandwich in duck fat -- making the flavor all sparkly. (I wish the photo showed the cheese, but the bread sucked it up like a sponge.) A small bowl of clam chowder on the side wound up the meal.

So, over the next 12 months I will tempt Mister Ed Levine with sandwiches. Sandwiches he, the fancy New Yorker, can’t possibly duplicate or, if he does, will be bad for his health. I, too, am risking my health in this culinary Russian Roulette, but I'm confident that I will prevail and at the end of 2008 we will see that Ed Levine really isn't that serious about eating — or sandwiches.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | sandwich | grilled cheese | ed levine

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Kitchen Window: Building a Better Burger

Burgers are the ultimate American food. Not those stale, thin, tasteless patties found on every corner in every city. No, the true burger is thick, full of flavor, the meat just ground, the buns fresh.

A great burger offers simple but powerful flavors. It's hot and easy to chew, and the juices drip down your chin, sending an atavistic memory of primal feasts racing through your nerves.

You can read the complete article at NPR's Kitchen Window.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin weeks | seriously good | kitchen window | burgers | sandwiches

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Mortadella Sandwich

Bourdain Bites



I'm not a regular watcher of Tony Bourdain's No Reservations. I think Bourdain's a better writer than TV host, and his show is agonizingly predictable: he eats some weird stuff, talks about how great all the native people are, gets drunk, eats some more weird stuff, and talks again about how great the natives are. Most of what he eats can only be found in Tahiti or Outer Mongolia so trying it myself isn't even an option.

Nevertheless, sometimes I do watch it, usually in reruns on the weekend, and a week or so ago he was in Sao Paulo. He spent most of his time with some pretty young women, which was a nice change from the toothless peasants he usually hangs out with (not that I object to toothless peasants, they just aren't much fun to watch — at least compared to pretty young women) and he ate a Mortadella sandwich. Now this was something I could try.

He spent most of his time with some pretty young women, which was a nice change from the toothless peasants he usually hangs out with.

Mortadella is a form of bologna, a cooked emulsified meat sausage. But comparing Mortadella to ordinary American bologna is like comparing a minute steak with a filet mignon. The sausage is typically about 8 inches in diameter and contains large pockets of fat, whole pepper corns, and pistachios strewn through it. It's seriously good eating.

So I did a little research and although I couldn't find much information on the Sao Paulo sandwich I found enough to gather that the Mortadella is usually grilled and the preferred cheese is provolone. I didn't find any information on condiments or the bread used, although one picture I found showed what appeared to be a long bun with cheese baked on top.

I've eaten Mortadella sandwiches before, but it never occurred to me to grill the sausage so I headed out to the local Fresh Market and bought some Mortadella, provolone, and buns. Then I pulled out my grill pan (the only thing I have that largest enough to cook to slices of Mortadella at once) and heated it up.

Two minutes later I had a sandwich that beat the hell out of those fried bologna sandwiches my friends' mothers made when I was visiting. But although good, it's not in the same class as a mufaletta, cubano, or even a Litton hamburger. On the other hand, it's a hell of a lot easier to make.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin weeks | seriously good | mortadella | sandwich | Sao Paulo | Brazil

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Gyros

Across the Sea



I think it was in 1971 that I drove, with one of my father's students, from Cairo to Alexandria. We were taking my family's VW minivan to Alexandria to load on a boat for the journey to Greece. The plan was for me to accompany the van to Greece while the rest of my family flew to Athens. I've no idea why I was going with the van, and in a recent conversation, neither do my parents. Apparently it seemed like a good thing to do at the time.

We do remember that the student was with me to handle language issues (I didn’t speak Arabic, a notoriously difficult language for Westerners) and probably also to keep me from doing anything terminally stupid. At any rate, we apparently arrived in Alexandria and got the van loaded without incident. I don't particularly recall the drive so I was either stoned (not likely), sleeping, or being a stupid mindless teenager. The latter gets my vote. But I do remember the boat journey.

The sun was already hot in June, but the breeze was cool, the smell of the sea innervating, and the water a blue so intense it made your teeth hurt.

The boat hauled freight, passengers were very much a sideline. I had a berth in steerage. It was a cabin about nine feet wide with six bunks in it, three per side. That was it. The head was down a passageway and was the sort of place one visited only when one's bowels were near the bursting point. There was no toilet, only a hole in the deck one squatted or stood over. Hitting the hole was apparently optional.

Steerage was not a pleasant place. Especially once we were out in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and some folks started getting sea-sick.

I was lucky, I had a few qualms the first day but nothing serious and was fine thereafter. And the weather was magnificent (more luck) so I stayed on the top deck. The sun was already hot in June, but the breeze was cool, the smell of the sea innervating, and the water a blue so intense it made your teeth hurt.

A half dozen or so of us quickly formed a clique and played cards, mainly Spades, for most of the trip. There was a middle-aged Greek guy with a quick smile and no teeth, a couple of young Danes traveling together who shared my berth, and a couple of others I don’t recall except as splashes of color. We'd sit in the mess playing cards, drinking beer, and smoking. When someone got tired they'd wander outside to stretch and breath and someone else would take their place.

And so we proceeded for three days from Alexandria, Egypt to Piraeus, Greece where I met my family and we offloaded the van.

We had dinner in Piraeus and to begin ordered a plate of fried calamari, the first I'd ever had and they were extraordinarily good, like eating candy. We polished off a huge platter and ordered a second one.

The next day we did the tourist thing and stopped in a taverna for lunch where I ate my first gyro — another amazing food experience and one I've tried on occasion to recreate here at home. Last week I came very close, close enough that I'm willing to publish the recipe, an honor none of my previous efforts earned. The texture isn't quite right, but that's a minor issue.

Gyros
Serves 4.

Meat mixture:
1 lb ground lamb
1/4 c minced red onion
2 cloves garlic — minced
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Tzaztiki:
1 c Greek-style yogurt
2 cloves garlic — crushed
1 8-inch cucumber — peeled, seeded, and finely diced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
Sandwich:
4 rounds of flat bread or pita.
lettuce
tomato — seeded and diced

Tzaziki:
If you can't find Greek yogurt, use ordinary yogurt but remove excess liquid from it by dumping it in a sieve lined with cheesecloth and letting it drain over a bowl for 4 hours.

Add remaining tzatziki ingredients, mix, and chill for an hour or so.

Meat mixture:
Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a bowl. Divide into four equal portions and shape into oblong patties about 3" wide, 6" long, 1/2" thick. Refrigerate for an hour.

Sandwich:
Grill patties over a hot fire for 3 - 4 minutes per side. Spread tzatziki sauce down the center of a flat bread round, add a lettuce leaf, add some diced tomato. Add the patty, fold the bread over the lamb, and enjoy. Note: wrapping in foil helps hold things together.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin weeks | seriously good | gyros | greece | sandwich | greek

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Reuben Braid

Waiter! There's Something in My Bread!



We have been amazed at the response to A Year in Bread, the blog Farmgirl Susan, kitchenMage, and I started a month ago. We seem to have tapped into a deeply pent-up desire to learn how to make bread — witnessed by the number of comments each post generates. But it's not just newbies to the bread world, old hands at the baking game are also logging on and offering their thoughts, insights, and tips. I confess that the three of us feel like proud parents.

About the time it started up, I got a press release on About Professional Baking: The Essentials by Gail Sokol. The timing was propitious so I asked them to send me a review copy (albeit with no promise to review it, or that the review would be positive if I did). The PR agency decided to take a chance and sent me a copy.

Note: this is not the review I didn't promise to write. Instead, as I paged through the book I found a recipe for something called a Reuben Braid that captivated me. It consisted of rye bread dough, rolled out, and then folded over the standard Reuben sandwich ingredients. This I had to try. Then Andrew at Spittoon Extra announced that the next "Waiter, there's something in my..." would be about bread. Clearly the planets were aligned and a couple of days ago I made it.

It's good. Not great, the buttery crunchiness of a properly grilled Reuben is impossible to beat, but this would be a great sandwich at some sort of sporting event party such as the Superbowl. It's easy to make and one sandwich will feed six big appetites. Making two of them wouldn't be much harder.

I may yet review the book, and my impressions of it are fairly positive so far, but I need to make another two or three recipes first. In the meantime, here's the Reuben recipe.

Rueben Braid
Adapted from About Professional Baking.

Bread:
2 1/4 c warm water
3 tbsp olive oil
22 oz (4 1/2 c) bread flour
5 oz (1 c) rye flour
1 3/4 tsp instant yeast
2 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Filling:
1/3 c mayonnaise
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp finely minced onion
2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
8 oz thinly sliced corned beef
4 oz sliced Swiss cheese
1 c well-drained sauerkraut
Egg Wash:
1 egg
1 tbsp milk

In a medium bowl mix together 18 ounces of the bread flour, all the rye flour, and the yeast.

Combine water and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, run the mixer at low and gradually add flour mixture until blended. Switch to dough hook and continue mixing, adding up to another 4 ounces of the bread flour until a soft dough forms. Cover the bowl and allow to rest for 10 minutes, then uncover, add salt, and knead at medium speed to incorporate salt. Continue kneading for a total of about 6 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead a few more times. The dough should be smooth and elastic, but not sticky. Form into a ball.

Clean and dry the mixing bowl. Spray lightly with cooking spray, set the dough in the bowl, seam-side down, and lightly spray with cooking spray. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in bulk — about 1 hour. Heat oven to 375F.

Punch the dough down, re-cover the bowl, and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Turn a half sheet pan upside down and coat the bottom with cooking spray. Turn dough out onto pan and roll out to a 15 x 10 inch rectangle.

Mix together the mayonnaise, ketchup, onion, and relish. Spread on dough lengthwise leaving 2.5 inches uncovered. Layer dressing with corned beef, cheese, and sauerkraut. Using kitchen shears, cut uncovered edges into 3/4 x 1 inch wide strips. Fold edges over the filling and braid together the strips. Slide bread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Mix together egg and milk and brush on bread. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until nicely browned.

Technorati: Food | recipe | bread | reuben | sandwich | baking

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Welsh Rabbit (Rarebit)

Phoney Coney



When I was around 10 my family visited Colonial Williamsburg. I only remember one thing from that trip: My first taste of Welsh Rabbit (aka rarebit). It was at Chowning's Tavern (somehow I remembered that as well) and I adored it. Smooth unctuous cheddar with a hint of spiciness served on crisp toast and contrasted with the bright acid flavor of tomato. Seriously good stuff.

When I lived in northern Virginia a few years ago I made another visit to Williamsburg and again had rarebit at Chowning's. To my complete surprise, the intervening 40 years (and the multitude of rarebits I had made) hadn't affected my memory of the way that first experience tasted at all.

However, in the intervening years I'd developed a recipe of my own and it remains my favorite.

Welsh Rabbit

12 oz sharp cheddar cheese — shredded
1/2 c beer — ideally something with a lot of hops
1 tbsp ground mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp butter

Melt butter in a heavy sauce pan over low heat. Add cheese a small handful at a time and stir until melted, adding a bit of beer as needed to keep the mixture sauce-like Once all the cheese is melted and you like the consistency, whisk in remaining ingredients.

Note: Depending on the cheese and your preferred consistency you may not need all the beer or may need a bit more. Serves 4.

Traditionally rabbit is served on toast, which is good, but my favorite bread for rabbit is homemade English muffins.

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