I think my sandwich-making experiments started when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I made my mom a peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwich. I have no idea why I thought this would be a good idea. But I brought it to her fresh from the kitchen, all proud to have made a sandwich by myself. I watched her as she took a bite. One bite. And then she gave me her honest opinion of my efforts, as gently as possible so as not to break my little heart or turn me from the sandwich-making talents which she doubtlessly recognized right then and there. Yes, my mother knew at that moment that she shared her household with a sandwich artist. And hey, as with drawing, making a sandwich of your own design may not yield perfection the first few times. My mom knew this, and that is why she said, "Well, I like peanut butter, and I like pickles, but I don't like them both together," giving me a small dose of positive criticism.
I also remember that day as the day I realized for the first time that some toppings simply don't go together. And for the record, I tried the sandwich myself, and decided there was wisdom in my mother's words.
Nevertheless, I do think of PB as THE versatile sandwich topping because it can go with so many different things. I will explore a select few. Have you ever tried peanut butter with honey, instead of jelly or jam? It's a much sweeter sandwich than PBJ, sweet and salty. The flavor of honey doesn't cover the taste of the peanut butter quite as much as does jelly or jam. I hear adding bananas to the mix also tastes good, but I have yet to try that myself. When I do, rest assured I will document the experience. What I HAVE tried is peanut butter and banana. Now THAT is a good sandwich! I usually have mine either cold or with toasted bread, not grilled, because the melted PB&Banana combination is just too messy for me, even though it tastes great. I have a thing about messy sandwiches; they bug me.
Another good sandwich is peanut butter and thinly-sliced apple. It adds a nice, sweet crunch to the sandwich. I have not yet tried this toasted, just cold, but I imagine toasted would be really good because it would add some really strong crunch to your crisp apple slices. Peanut butter and apple butter is also really good; it's like PBJ, with apple butter in place of jam/jelly.
Peanut butter and sour cream is also great as a sandwich. Of course, to enjoy that, you might need to have a very developed taste for sour cream. In fact, you might have to already LOVE sour cream, on anything. But it's another favorite of mine. Salty, tangy, a little sour, and very creamy in texture.
Let's talk breading for a moment. PBJ is great as a tortilla-wrap. The tortilla, of course, is very thin, so the PBJ flavor is quite prominent and very flavorful, especially the jam. It's much more noticeable than it is on regular bread, so you may want to use jam less if you aren't as fond of jam as you are of peanut butter. PB&Honey also tastes great as a tortilla wrap; again, much more prominent flavors, and much sweeter with the honey in place of jam. A couple other great breading ideas are English muffins, and pita bread.
One last note: I never use crunchy peanut butter, ever. I just don't like it. So I have NO idea whether or not any of the above combos would work with crunchy. I'll leave that to your discretion. Sample with caution.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Cheese!
I finally have cheese! Oh, happiness! Why is this so happy? Well, aside from the fact that I formerly had no sandwich toppings except for peanut butter and jelly, I can now make grilled or broiled or plain cheese sandwiches. Have you ever had a sandwich with mustard and a plain slice of cold, Colby-Jack cheese? I tell you, it is so good. A bit tangy with the mustard; you need a lot to get the taste if the cheese is of a dominant flavor, like Colby-Jack or mild cheddar, but the mustard and cheese really complement each other. Mayo would be good on it too, but not too much, or the cheese will slip. But the flavor really contrasts with the cheese for a whole new sandwich flavor; a little sweeter and kind of fresh.
A somewhat stranger sandwich, though, is an old favorite of mine: peanut-butter and jelly, and cheese. I recommend Colby-Jack or mild cheddar because they are slightly more dominant, but not overpowering. (What kind of flavor does cheese have, anyway? Sweet? Starchy? I'm not sure what to call it; if you know, just tell me.) I don't recommend American cheese, because of the texture more than anything else. I mean, it tastes good, but it'd be like having a piece of rubber in your PBJ. Don't get me wrong, I love American cheese, but let's face it - it's meant to be eaten on grilled cheese, or un-melted but with lots of meat. Or plain. But that's not sandwich-related, so we'll not go there.
Anyway, PBJ&C. Use Colby-Jack or mild cheddar, because their starchiness/tangy-ness/whatever you want to call that flavor, goes really nicely with the salty, starchy peanut butter. I mean they really bring out the flavor in each other, and the texture is just right: sticky and a little bit chewy. As for the jam or jelly, I used strawberry jam. I would have preferred grape jelly, because I'm not very fond of strawberry anyway, and the cheese flavor kind of clashed with it. Forget about what they do in Disney/Pixar's(?) Ratatouille. Cheese and strawberries really don't mix well, at least not in my opinion. Strawberry is much too sweet. The flavors just clash. I strongly recommend using Concord grape jelly because it's a much subtler sweetness and of a different flavor and texture altogether. In fact, I recommend jelly in place of jam for this type of sandwich, period. Grape goes with the cheese flavor like cheese goes with wine. That's the best way I can explain it. They accentuate each other, and neither flavor is canceled out. The grape jelly's rather pungent but subtle sweetness brings out the tangy-ness in the cheese, and the cheese offsets, but does not overshadow, the jelly. You're probably wondering at this point how many times I can say the same thing. If you are, that's good, because it probably means you understand what I'm saying. PBJ&C - tasty!
A somewhat stranger sandwich, though, is an old favorite of mine: peanut-butter and jelly, and cheese. I recommend Colby-Jack or mild cheddar because they are slightly more dominant, but not overpowering. (What kind of flavor does cheese have, anyway? Sweet? Starchy? I'm not sure what to call it; if you know, just tell me.) I don't recommend American cheese, because of the texture more than anything else. I mean, it tastes good, but it'd be like having a piece of rubber in your PBJ. Don't get me wrong, I love American cheese, but let's face it - it's meant to be eaten on grilled cheese, or un-melted but with lots of meat. Or plain. But that's not sandwich-related, so we'll not go there.
Anyway, PBJ&C. Use Colby-Jack or mild cheddar, because their starchiness/tangy-ness/whatever you want to call that flavor, goes really nicely with the salty, starchy peanut butter. I mean they really bring out the flavor in each other, and the texture is just right: sticky and a little bit chewy. As for the jam or jelly, I used strawberry jam. I would have preferred grape jelly, because I'm not very fond of strawberry anyway, and the cheese flavor kind of clashed with it. Forget about what they do in Disney/Pixar's(?) Ratatouille. Cheese and strawberries really don't mix well, at least not in my opinion. Strawberry is much too sweet. The flavors just clash. I strongly recommend using Concord grape jelly because it's a much subtler sweetness and of a different flavor and texture altogether. In fact, I recommend jelly in place of jam for this type of sandwich, period. Grape goes with the cheese flavor like cheese goes with wine. That's the best way I can explain it. They accentuate each other, and neither flavor is canceled out. The grape jelly's rather pungent but subtle sweetness brings out the tangy-ness in the cheese, and the cheese offsets, but does not overshadow, the jelly. You're probably wondering at this point how many times I can say the same thing. If you are, that's good, because it probably means you understand what I'm saying. PBJ&C - tasty!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
My Sandwich Philosophy
It is my personal belief that there is no one in the world who has not, in some way, shape, or form, eaten a sandwich. Don't believe me? I'll prove it to you: cheese and crackers. Who hasn't tried or at least heard of that? Well, if you think about it for just a moment, you will find that essentially it is nothing less than an open-face, cheese sandwich on flat-bread. Why do I say that? Ask yourself, What is a sandwich? Let's break it down to the main ingredient: bread. All a food really needs in order to be considered a sandwich is bread. Now, bread may not be your usual flour-and-yeast product. It could be cornbread, rice cakes, tortillas, chips, crackers, cookies. Ever had a taco? Sandwich! Ever had bread and butter? Sandwich! Ever spread a little bit of peanut butter on your rice cake? Sandwich! Now maybe you understand why I say there is no one on earth who has never tasted some kind of sandwich.
Now that I've opened your eyes to the many different forms a sandwich may have, we can take a look at how to make the best kind. Just like in life, when it comes to making sandwiches, everyone has a philosophy which he or she will follow. Mine is simple, and I follow it as best as I can: take any and all the food that you love and place it between 2 slices of bread. No, this is not my definition of a sandwich, just my idea of how to make the best kind. As a follow-up to this philosophy, I will say that there are only 2 kinds of sandwich: meat, and non meat. Of course, that doesn't mean that some sandwiches may only have meat and others only vegetables or other non-animal products; it just means that one should use common sense when putting together a sandwich. Would you put peanut butter on your toasted ham-and-cheese? Even I probably would not. There are some foods that go together, some foods that simply shouldn't, and others that go with everything and anything. Like sour cream. (Please note: I love sour cream and will eat it by the spoonful. I will add it to ANYthing. So, where I put down sour cream as a sandwich topping, you may have sauerkraut, or tomato paste. It's only a matter of taste and preference.)
To conclude this post, I will simply say this: Making a sandwich is simple. Making a GOOD sandwich is not so simple. There are factors you must consider in your choice of breading, toppings, and condiments. These I will explore in later posts. If this is the first entry you are reading (which I sincerely hope it is, not only because it IS the first entry, but also because it sets the tone for all posts to follow), I hope you have come away with the knowledge that my purpose is simply to share with YOU my love of making sandwiches, and, in the process, to maybe even improve your skills in the art of sandwich-making.
-Riina
Now that I've opened your eyes to the many different forms a sandwich may have, we can take a look at how to make the best kind. Just like in life, when it comes to making sandwiches, everyone has a philosophy which he or she will follow. Mine is simple, and I follow it as best as I can: take any and all the food that you love and place it between 2 slices of bread. No, this is not my definition of a sandwich, just my idea of how to make the best kind. As a follow-up to this philosophy, I will say that there are only 2 kinds of sandwich: meat, and non meat. Of course, that doesn't mean that some sandwiches may only have meat and others only vegetables or other non-animal products; it just means that one should use common sense when putting together a sandwich. Would you put peanut butter on your toasted ham-and-cheese? Even I probably would not. There are some foods that go together, some foods that simply shouldn't, and others that go with everything and anything. Like sour cream. (Please note: I love sour cream and will eat it by the spoonful. I will add it to ANYthing. So, where I put down sour cream as a sandwich topping, you may have sauerkraut, or tomato paste. It's only a matter of taste and preference.)
To conclude this post, I will simply say this: Making a sandwich is simple. Making a GOOD sandwich is not so simple. There are factors you must consider in your choice of breading, toppings, and condiments. These I will explore in later posts. If this is the first entry you are reading (which I sincerely hope it is, not only because it IS the first entry, but also because it sets the tone for all posts to follow), I hope you have come away with the knowledge that my purpose is simply to share with YOU my love of making sandwiches, and, in the process, to maybe even improve your skills in the art of sandwich-making.
-Riina
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