After Thanksgiving Special

Just because I didn’t write about it immediately does not mean I didn’t eat a sandwich after thanksgiving

Oh goodness, heavens no!
I had myself an amazing after thanksgiving day sandwich!

While the world was going crazy and fighting over DVDs and TVs, I was fighting my own little battle at home
Was it wrong of me to hide my intended sandwich ingredients in the back of the fridge?
Perhaps, but it made my sandwich oh-so-much better!

This year’s after Thanksgiving spread was much more sparse than previous years, so I’m left wondering if we ate more on T-day or if we made less food
If the fit of my jeans are any sort of indication, we ate more

Regardless of the shortage, I still had my favorite ingredients for my sandwich
I like to start with toasted, buttered homemade white bread

This year, my dad tried to pull a fast one and used frozen loaves of breads
While looks may be deceiving, upon first bite I knew I was chewing an imposter
We baked fresh, homemade bread later that evening, and what a difference that made in my late night sandwich snack

After you’ve got your slices slathered, I lay the slices side by side and build each side of the sandwich separately
It doesn’t make a difference in the sandwich flavor, but it does set you up for open-faced sandwiches should you build too high

In one corner we’ve got garlic mashed redskin potatoes and in the other we’ve got sausage stuffing

The stuffing is absolutely key to the sandwich
Not only does the mushy goodness provide a food glue to bind everything together, but the stuffing itself is full of flavors like celery, onions, sausage, and a hint of pumpernickel bread. I believe the sausage and pumpernickel are imperative to a good stuffing, but I’m certainly not knockin’ yo’ momma’s

Load your turkey on top and if you’re lucky, which I was not, drizzle gravy over the mess



Pop it in the stove for some warming, or the microwave if you’re impatient like me, slice, and devour



I wish I had enough leftovers for more than one sandwich, but alas, that was not meant to be
“Leftover” sandwiches are great, but nothing compares to the after Thanksgiving special

What are you thankful for?

In my world of budget meals with the occasional sandwich splurge, “real” food is something to look forward to, and if you’re really lucky, someone will send you home packing with leftovers

I enjoy Thanksgiving dinner just as much as the next overeater, but what I’m truly thankful for is the leftovers. All through my Thanksgiving meal, as I’m stuffing my face and expanding my waistband, I’m also surveying the land looking for possible Thanksgiving feast survivors

Although my family always makes at least three times as much food than is really necessary, I was left with only a few survivors this year.

So, while all of you crazies are out for the best after Thanksgiving Day sales, I’ll be constructing an after Thanksgiving Day sandwich to envy

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

For the last year and a half, I've been passing this beacon of delicious hope, yet never ventured in

Now, half a town away, I decided to try the Onion Roll Deli
How sad I am that I never sampled the sandwiches before, especially when it was a mere block away from my old abode.

My dinner date and tonight’s sandwich financier and I walked in to the snug shop with visions of deli meats in our heads, not knowing what to expect

There were at least five sandwiches on the menu I wanted to try, but the superbly quick service prompted me to choose the SUPER SANDWICH with turkey, melted Swiss, Russian dressing and coleslaw, accompanied by a half order of fries.

My company chose the deli sub containing ham, turkey, Swiss, and tomato.

Huge sandwiches on fresh onion rolls arrived shortly after our fry appetizer (you really should save room for the main event)

One bite of my stacked turkey with cheese and coleslaw had sauce running down my hands; it was magical.
I love when sandwiches are so full of meat and cheese you have to bite so big you wonder if your jaw can handle it, and I love it even more when the bites are messy
I tried my best to savor every second of my toasty warm sandwich, but I still feel like I was wolfing
Half was all I could handle in one sitting, but I think I’m going to midnight snack the other half


As for the other sandwich, well, it too was delicious, but I’m unable to tell much about it because I was only allowed one bite!
The ham and turkey nearly melted together with the cheese, and the sauce was almost reminiscent of pastrami, although I’m fairly certain that was missing from the mix
Equally messy, the Deli Sub was a thing of wonder that I’ll definitely have to get the next time I go back to the Onion Roll Deli


Although next time, I think I'm going to have to order one of each sandwich so I can bask in Onion Roll Deli glory

Grilled Cheese is the Bee's Knees!

Today I felt like an ooey-gooey grilled cheese for breakfast, but instead threw together the ingredients for a fabulous, age 2 and up *, sandwich

My lunch bag consisted of a loaf of freshly sliced pumpernickel bread, butter, and deli delicious Monterey jack and pepper jack cheese

I set this sandwich up like I always set up grilled cheeses:
Slathered the butter on each slice of bread with probably too much butter
Stacked one buttered slice on top of the other buttered slice
Stacked two pieces of Monterey jack and two pieces of pepper jack on the unbuttered top of the pile
Threw on another piece of Monterey jack for good measure

Now, the difference between a homemade grilled cheese and an office grilled cheese is the grilling
As it turn out, our office only has a toaster oven, so I guess what I really made was toasted cheese

I learned a few things about office grilled cheeses… here are my sandwich tips from today’s lunch:

1. If you’re using a toaster oven, do NOT butter the outside of the sandwich. While the flavor is still mighty fine, the bread will remain soggy and you’ll end up with probably too much butter on your fingers. Butter the inside of the slices to ensure the buttery flavor without the buttery mess.

2. Don’t overwhelm your sandwich with pepper jack cheese. While I did enjoy the sinus relieving effects of the pepper, I probably would have been good with only one slice to my overload of Monterey.

3. Don’t be afraid to mix cheeses. I’m wondering how the sandwich would have turned out had I also brought my mozzarella and asiago shredded cheese. Just think: Monterey jack, pepper jack, mozzarella, AND asiago on one sandwich! I believe I just decided what’s for dinner…

4. Unless you’re a better person than me and plan on sharing, do not bring a full loaf or full bags of cheeses to the office. They will not be there at the end of the day.

5. If using a toaster oven to make your sandwich, maybe still butter the outside of the slices because that sandwich was a lot of fun to eat.

Sadly, I ate my sandwich surrounded by a pile of papers and a busy email inbox at my desk, but I highly recommend you take some time out to really appreciate your grilled cheese sandwich.


*Correct me if children younger than 2 can handle grilled cheese

I call it the “Road kill Dog”

To celebrate Halloween I finally decided to test an idea I’ve had for a while

If bologna tastes like hot dogs as it is (I think it’s the paprika) then what would happen if I grilled a piece of bologna like I might grill a hot dog? On my Panini press, of course.

If you grill a piece of bologna, you get a road kill dog
The grill marks look like tire treads if you have an imagination
Load your dead dog with blood and guts, or ketchup, mustard and relish, and you’ve got one tasty open-faced hot-dog

I laid my corpse on a piece of white bread because that’s all my roommate had, but I think it’d be much tastier on a dry, crusty, onion roll

Unless you have the same childish eating habits I do, you may want to keep this culinary disaster tucked away until you’re either in the company of children or celebrating Halloween




*Photos not available... it wasn't pretty*

What have YOU been eating?

Sandwiches
Just not a lot of them this month

I have a great idea (which could totally suck in reality) for a Halloween sandwich
...you know, for the kids...

The Grocery List:
The Bologna with a name
Ketchup
Mustard?
Relish?
Dill Pickles
Sandwich bread (I'll know it when I see it)

The tools:
Grill or panini press, in my case


Think you know what I'm up to?

Check yourself before you Wreck yourself

Usually (read: always) I’m all about free food, especially when the free food is sandwiches
Today, however, I discovered I must say “NO” to a particular free food sammie: The Wreck from Potbelly’s

As previously discussed, I prefer the sandwiches from local, mom and pop type establishments, but not really a food snob, I’ll dabble in the chain gang of mass produced munchables

I’ve never had an issue with Potbelly’s before, but then again, I usually (twice to be exact) order the chicken salad salad so I guess I never knew much about their sandwiches

My workplace had me order a variety of sandwiches for training that’s taking place today, and as a perk, I get first dibs at the sandwich tray.
*Note: I think dibs is less perk and more due to my love of sandwiches
I chose THE WRECK

It sounded very unhealthy and very delicious with its promise of salami, roast beef, turkey, ham, and Swiss tucked into warm wheat bread

Doesn’t that make your mouth water?
Tell your mouth to knock it off

My sandwich came as a few layers of meat slapped on a piece of bread with entirely too much mayo. I couldn’t even taste the rainbow of meats; the mayo, lettuce, and tomato were surprisingly overwhelming.

The only bite I vaguely remember tasting was that of the Swiss.
That was nice.

I’m not going to let one bad tomato kill the vine, but I probably won’t be going to Potbelly’s for a long time… unless there’s another free food day, because even if it sucks, it’s still free food.