Sandwiches - Retro Food For Modern Times

Category: Sandwiches

24
Jul
2022

Taste Testing Reuben Sandwiches

categories: Sandwiches, United States of America, World Cooking

A little while ago, we were talking about sandwiches and one of my readers said that her favourite sandwich was a Reuben. I had to confess that I had never eaten one. I was not even 100% sure what the ingredients for a Reuben were! However, for it to be someone’s favourite, and a discerning person (after all, they are a reader of this fine blog) at that, I was sure that it would be a pretty good sandwich. So, I decided to make one!

The History of The Reuben

First things first though. Why is a Reuben called a Reuben? There are a few versions of this story but the one we are going with is that the Reuben was invented in the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha Nebraska when a gentleman called Reuben Kulakofsky asked for a sandwich with corned beef and sauerkraut during one of his weekly poker games. The cook added some Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing and encased the lot in between some slices of rye bread. The sandwich became popular locally when it was added to the lunch menu at the Blackstone. It became popular nationally after winning the National Sandwich Idea Contest in 1956.

The Rick Reuben – 8/10

My first attempt at this classic American sandwich was a recipe from the classic but not at all American Rick Stein. Why? I was reading his wonderful book Rick Stein at Home when I got the idea for this challenge. Rick suggests using salt beef in his recipe. I used pastrami in mine. I’m not sure I have ever seen salt beef in my local deli.

This was delicious. I LOVED this sandwich! BUT it was lacking something. Every picture I had seen of a Reuben had a bright orange dressing and the Rick version of the dressing consisted mostly of white ingredients It did have some tabasco but I would have had to put in a whole bottle of tabasco to achieve the vivid orange I have seen in pictures. And that is a step too far even for a chilli lover like me! As a result, I felt I was missing the true Reuben experience on this one.

The Toasted Reuben – 8.5/10

My second attempt at a Reuben was a toasted version which came from the May 2022 issue of the Australian Women’s Weekly Cooking Magazine which I bought around the same time as I was reading the Rick Stein book. Coincidence that both contained a recipe for a Reuben? I think not.

This one used pastrami and the addition of Sriracha into the sauce gave me the orange colour I was craving. I also liked the splash of Worcestershire sauce in the dressing on this one. And it was toasted. so the cheese got all melty and delicious.

Now, the recipe below was intended to be made in a pie-maker. I do not have one of these so I made it as an ordinary sandwich.

The Bought Reuben – 9.5/10

So far, I was pretty happy with both Rebens that I had made. However, never having eaten one I had no point of comparison. How would my homemade version stack up against a Reuben made by a professional? So, one lunchtime I popped into a cafe in the CBD that specialises in American-style sandwiches and bought one of their Reubens. The Bowery to Williamsburg Reuben won on the slow-cooked brisket pastrami. That was sensational. Also even though I bought posh sauerkraut instead of the reg supermarket stuff, the B2W sauerkraut had a funk that was both delicious and disturbing. The cafe is a good 20 minutes walk from my office and as I was short on time I ordered my Reuben to go. As I was walking back I began to smell something not entirely pleasant wafting about me. I soon realised the odour was from the very funky sauerkraut and, thankfully not from me! This was delicious!!!! Bright orange dressing, swiss cheese and a pickle on top completed the deal but that brisket pastrami? Heavenly! BTW, The first photo in this post is the B2W Reuben.

My Reubens tasted pretty similar to the one from Bowery to Williamsburg. The difference really was in the quality of their meat. It was warm, it was smoky and tender in the middle and a little bit crunchy on the ends. It was sooo good.

You may be wondering why I only rated it a 9.5 when it was so good? Well, it cost a very hefty $17 dollars which is a LOT, even if t was huge! I had half of it for lunch that day and took the rest home for dinner! I’m both glad and somewhat relieved that Bowery to Willamsburg is quite the trek for me. I could easily become addicted to their Reuben which would not be great for my bank balance. Having said that, I might pop in there this week because writing about their Reuben is making me really want one!

Have a wonderful week everyone!

23
Jan
2022

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans – Cucumber Sandwiches

categories: Dining With The Dame, Sandwiches, Stand Alone

Hello crime readers and food lovers! Today we are raising our pinky fingers and taking delicate bites from a classic item of British high tea, cucumber sandwiches. Our book of choice is a standalone Christie novel, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? Published in 1934, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans came after an amazing run of novels – Murder on the Orient Express and Three Act Tagedy (both also published in 1934), Lord Edgware Dies (1933) and Peril At End House (1932). And…well…for my mind, it is not in the same calibre as any of these. There is also not a great deal of food mentioned within its pages. Generic references to cocktail parties, breakfast and afternoon teas abound. There is even a reference to a sausage and beer party which sounds like heaps of fun. But not many specific mentions of food. So, for my menu, I have taken the liberty of choosing an item that I hope was served at least one of those any afternoon teas, cucumber sandwiches!

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans – The Plot

Bobby James is playing golf near his home in Marchbolt, Wales. As a sudden fog descends Bobby hears a man cry out. Worried that he may have hit someone with his last shot, Bobby goes to investigate and finds a man lying close to death on a ledge below a cliff. The man gains consciousness long enough to utter the words “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” before dying. This sets Bobby and his friend / romantic interest Lady Frances (Frankie) Derwent on a series of adventures that could cost them their lives.

We have:

Sisters behaving suspiciously
Beer poisoned with morphia
Staged car accidents
Morphine addicts (aka drug fiends! in 1934 parlance)
Dodgy doctors
Supposed suicides
Kidnapping
Poisoned coffee
Wicked wives
And a romantic ending for Bobby and Frankie.

Bobby and Frankie are both very likeable characters and well written. So it is not the absence of Poirot or Marple which makes this book not one of my favourites. In fact, the tv adaptation I watched shoehorned Marple into it which to my mind, made the story even worse!. For me, this is just not a compelling plot. I think what didn’t work for me was that I LOVE trying to solve the mysteries and the mystery of Evans and why they weren’t asked is almost impossible to solve. There was some fun along the way though so this is still worth a read even if, to my mind, it was not as good as some of its predecessors.

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans – The Covers

This was called The Boomerang Clue on its American release hence the varied titles. The modern 1920’s stylised look with Bobby and Frankie on the train. is my favourite. What is yours?

The Recipe – Cucumber Sandwiches

I used this recipe from The Spruce Eats but I cut my sandwiches into fingers and not triangles. And I buttered one side of the bread so there was only cream cheese on one side.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Why Didn’t They Ask Evans

Fried Fish
Coffee (Multiple mentions)
Sandwiches (a packet)
Beer (Poisoned with Morphia)
Cocktail Party & Cocktails (several mentions
Beer and Sausage Party
Port
Tea (several mentions)
Afternoon tea (several mentions)
Bacon and Eggs (It wouldn’t be a Christie without it)
Breakfast
Toast (two mentions)

Have you read Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? Am I being too harsh in saying it is one of the worst Christies to date? I would love to hear from people who love this novel to tell me I’m wrong…And from people like me who think it is just a bit meh.

Beer and sausage party? Who’s in?

Death in the Clouds will be our read for February and, despite some OMG moments of blatant racism, is to my mind a much better story. We’ll delve into that in February.

Happy reading and eating!

28
Nov
2021

The BLT – An American Classic?

categories: Bacon, Classic Recipes, Sandwiches, United States of America

I was very surprised recently to learn that what I thought was a quintessentially American sandwich was actually British in origin!!! Taste Atlas says that the BLT first appeared in British cookbooks in the 1920’s but that it only gained popularity in the U.S.A in the post-war period. It further surprised me to learn that the BLT was, in 2019 ranked as the UK’s favourite sandwich but only came in 6th in the United States!

I guess though, for anyone who is new to Earth…first, hi, welcome, glad you found me! Second, BLT stands for bacon, lettuce, tomato being the three key ingredients of this sandwich.

I LOVE a BLT and it’s avocado-ey cousin the BLAT.

I was hoping to find a classic BLT in the American chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery. Not that I need an excuse to make one. However, I was simultaneously delighted and horrified to see their idea of a BLT. Here’s their recipe:

The GHWC BLT – The Pros

You will notice that Good Housekeeping calls it a Bacon, Tomato and Lettuce Sandwich. Which if you look at my picture above is actually my preferred way of layering. I don’t understand why you would go to the bother of getting nice bread and toasting it, only to have the tomato making it all soggy and gross half way through eating it.

My preferred version – from the top-down: toasted bread, bacon, tomato, lettuce mayo, toasted bread. So, thank you Good Housekeeping for getting the order correct!

An potato chips and pickles on the side are always a good idea!

I am ambivalent about whether or not you have a double or single decker BLT. I do think though that the second piece of bread requires either another condiment or another dab of mayonnaise. My preferred option is some Dijon Mustard.

I made my BLT on holiday and we only had some very hefty olive sourdough which normally would not be my choice for a BLT. This was a very heavy bread so double decking my sandwich was not an option – the bread would have overpowered everything. (The olives did make a tasty, if not traditional, alternative!).

The GHWC BLT – The Con

In the words of Amy Winehouse, what kind of fuckery is this?

Who puts processed cheese on their BLT?

You may as well just take a dump on it.

A little bit of Brie, some vintage cheddar? I”m here for it.

Processed cheese?

A Few BLT Questions For You

Do you love a BLT? Or do you prefer a BTL?

Double or Single Decker?

What’s your preferred bread?

Iceberg or fancy lettuce?

What degree of crisp of the bacon? I like my bacon so crisp it is snappable!

Mustard?

Avocado?

Other additions? (If you say processed cheese, you’re dead to me)

Is the BLT the best sandwich ever? Or only the 6th best?

If not your number one, what is better?

Leave your answers in the comments!!!

Have a great week!

05
Sep
2021

The Mystery of American Sardine Toasts

categories: 1960's recipes, Daily News, Fish, Sandwiches, Sardines

A recipe from The Daily News Cookbook called American Sardine Toasts caught my eye recently. Without wanting to labour the point too much, we Melbourrnians recently spent our 200th (non-consecutive) day in lockdown which means I have now been working from home for around 18 months. I have also recently been working all the hours so my need for quick and easy meals, be they work from home lunches or speedy suppers when I am too tired to cook has become paramount.

And this could well be the recipe that gets me through! Oh, and Uber Eats, but you’re not here to hear me talk about my local Thai!

In case you are wondering what an American Sardine Toast is? It’s kind of a tuna melt but with sardines.

As soon as I read the recipe, I constructed a narrative in my head which went a little like this. Someone in what was then Ceylon had travelled to America and had a tuna melt. They had then brought the concept back home – except maybe 1960’s Ceylon did not have access to canned tuna so they used what they had – sardines! And no doubt the local newspaper, The Daily News, was keen to publish a recipe from the country that epitomised all things new and bright and shiny and voila the recipe for American Sardine Toasts or as they call it, Sardine Toasts, American came into being

Except….DJ….cue the X Files Spooky Music.

The Mystery

According to writer Warren Bobrow, the tuna melt was invented in 1965 in Charleston, South Carolina. But the recipe for American Sardine Toasts appears in my mum’s 1964 edition of the Daily News Cookery Book! There’s definitely something fishy about that!

So if not based on the tuna melt, what is this recipe based on? What makes it an American Sardine Toast instead of just a regular sardine toast?

I even wondered if I was reading the name incorrectly. Instead of the Sardine Toasts being American was it that the sardines came from America? So not American (Sardine Toasts) but (American Sardine) Toasts? The actual name Sardine Toasts, American would indicate the former but who knows with this book! Sadly the American provenance of these toasts has been lost to history.

Luckily for us, the actual recipe has not and these hit the spot of being quick, easy and delicious and so will go on heavy

The Recipes

Yes, recipes! I took the OG recipe and modernised it to make it easier for WFH lunches. It also works well as a light supper too.

Here’s the original:

And here’s my version:

American Sardine Toasts

Print Recipe

A quick and easy alternative to a tuna melt!

Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

Scale

2 slices of toast

Butter

1 can of sardines in tomato sauce

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

80g grated cheddar cheese

I tbsp finely chopped parsley

Salt and pepper

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Lightly butter the pieces of toast

Place 2 sardines on each piece of toast, making sure you get some of the tomato sauce from the can as well.

Sprinkle some chopped onion on top of the sardines.

Sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Place under a grill (180C) for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the top.

Cut each piece of toast in two.

Eat immediately!

Have a great week!

17
Aug
2020

Welsh Rarebit- Dining with The Dame 6

categories: Bread, Cheese, Dining With The Dame, Grilled Cheese, Poirot, Vegetarian

Hello crime readers and food lovers! The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which is Christie number 6 has a special memory for me because this was one of the books we had oin the bookshelf when I was growing up. This was probably one of the first Christie books I ever read!. It was also the book that made Christie’s name as a writer for the innovative twist at the end. It has been recognised, many times, as one of the best and/or most influential crime novels ever written. Never mind the accolades though, it also, beautifully and comically features one of my own favourite foods – a Welsh Rarebit!

One of the few good things working from home for the last… Good Lord five months now…. is that I can whip up a Welsh rarebit for lunch whenever I choose. Turns out I choose to do so quite frequently! It’s tasty, filling, perfect with a bowl of soup, a salad, or just on its own! Of course, I ‘ am not alone in loving a bit o’ Welsh Rarebit!

The normally curmudgeonly Martin Lampen claims

Cheese on toast, its Welsh Rarebit to those in the know. It’s the perfect British rainy day lunchtime snack – quick, cheap, easy to prepare….it’s a national icon”

– The Knickerbocker Glory Years

Albert Jack, however, draws attention to the rather origin of its name by calling it

” the most insulting way to serve cheese on toast”

This is because the English thought it would be funny to mock the Welsh by insinuating that they were too poor to have proper meat and so had to have cheese instead!

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd- The Plot

James Sheppard is the local doctor in Kings Abbot. He lives with his sister Caroline who knows all the gossip and scandal in the town and who is currently interested in finding out all about the “foreign” gentleman who has moved in next door.

A wealthy widow in the town has committed suicide by drinking veronal. Her fiance, Roger Ackroyd, is in a state of agitation because the day before Mrs Ferrars (the widow) confessed to him that she murdered her first husband. She also told him that someone knew she had done it and was blackmailing her.

That night, Roger Ackroyd is stabbed to death in his study by persons unknown…

Turns out the foreign gentleman next door is no other than Hercule Poirot who has moved to Kings Abbot to grow marrows in his retirement. (BTW, Kings Abbott is a real place and it looks absolutely GORGEOUS!)

Anyhoo, no one is getting away with stabbing people to death in the neck on Poirot’s watch. What follows are:

Mysterious phonecalls
Strangers lurking in the bushes
Chairs suspiciously out of place
Stolen money
Secret Marriages
And of course, Poirot using his little grey cells to solve the crime and out the murderer!
There is also a bit of slapstick when Dr. Sheppard gets hit over the head with one of Poirot’s marrows. I mean it’s not as good as this classic from the Amazing Race. But in terms of people getting forcefully hit with produce, it’s up there! Also, who knew I was keeping that list?

The Covers

Only three covers this time – the one from my childhood, the one I read which was a graphic novel! And my favourite of them all – I mean is it just me or does Roger look hot in that third one?

The Recipe – Welsh Rarebit

I need to set the scene a bit on this one. Dr. Sheppard invites Poirot round for lunch. However, there were only two chops available for the lunch table. In order to save face, Caroline Sheppard pretends to be a vegetarian and lunches on a Welsh Rarebit.

‘With magnificent mendacity, [she] explained to Poirot that … she adhered strictly to a vegetarian diet. She descanted ecstatically on the delights of nut cutlets (which I am quite sure she has never tasted) and ate a Welsh rarebit with gusto and frequent cutting remarks as to the dangers of ‘flesh’ foods.’

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie

The Recipe for Welsh Rarebit I used comes from Cookery The Australian Way which was my high school home economics cookbook! As you can see from the state of the page, this has been used a LOT! I have tried other recipes for Welsh Rarebit but this is the one I have returned to time and time again for the last…hmmm…lets not count the years since I was in high school!

Other Food Mentioned in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Stay safe friends and have a great week!