A Sandwich I Would Marry: Bánh Mì

Kansans are odd folk. It's a hushed oddness -- but an oddness nonetheless. Being a lifelong Kansan, I'm qualified and within my bounds to make this comment. However, I suggest you visit Kansas and form your own opinion.

If you want a front-row seat to observe some of these quiet eccentricities, invite a few native Kansans over for dinner. I don't recommend going into this blindly. You need to know that Kansans don't like to have their taste buds assaulted. To ensure that you don't overwhelm their palates, keep the following in mind:

1. Don't serve dinner after 6:30 p.m. According to my grandfather, dinner around 5:30 is ideal. I don't know the logic behind this reasoning, but I do know that Kansans (myself included) get testy if dinner is served after 7:00.



2. When seasoning food, just stick with salt and pepper. Don't try to sneak in ginger, fennel, rosemary, or anything a Kansan might consider exotic.



3. Don't serve anything with a funny sounding name. Kansans' taste buds get skittish around things like hummus, jicama, and tabbouleh.
   



4. If you serve cheese as an appetizer, make sure it's yellow. If you stick with one of Kraft's Cracker Barrel selections, guests will be impressed.



5. If you prepare a salad, don't mix greens. Stick simply with an iceberg lettuce. Don't add nuts to salads or feta cheese. Serve a variety of dressings on the side, but be sure you have Ott's Original Dressing on hand. (Revision: It's Dorothy Lynch Dressing I'm thinking of, not Ott's. Thank you Nella from Peckerwood Gravy Company for remind me.)
   



6. Be prepared to talk about the weather. Even if you don't own a rain gauge, be prepared to announce daily precipitation amounts received over the past decade. I'm not exaggerating.
   


7. Serve potatoes with the meal, preferably mashed with gravy or scalloped. We also like our tators fried.
   


8. Kansans like casserolse. Any casserole with a cream of mushroom base will satisfy most Kansans.
   

Of course, Kansans will eat whatever you serve because we're also polite folk, but we'll talk about how odd the meal was on our drive home, and you wouldn't want that. Would you?

Now if you're an individual who likes to shake things up and you don't mind guests talking on the drive home about the strange meal you served them, I'm going to share a recipe that breaks many of the above rules. It's a little Vietnamese sandwich called the Bánh Mì, and it's one of the best things I've eaten this year.

Allow me to say this again: It's one of the best things I've eaten this year.

This sandwich will satisfy every corner of your palate. I challenge all of my readers to make it this weekend and report back to me. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Visit the White on Rice Couple's companion website The Battle of the Bánh Mì and get the complete lowdown on this sandwich.

1. Follow their recipe for the marinade and preparing the meat, and don't be afraid of the fish sauce.

1. Buy or bake some good bread. They suggest a nice, crusty French loaf. I prepared my sandwich with day-old loaves from Jimmy John's. An 18-inch loaf can be purchased for 45 cents. I'm in the process of finding a recipe to replicate Jimmy John's bread or the French loaves you see used for Po-Boys down in N'Awlins.

1. Prepare the following to dress the sandwich:

• sprigs of cilantro


• thinly slice red onions


• thinly sliced cucumbers


• pickled carrots and daikon radish: Be a native Kansan, I was apprehensive about this ingredient, but this makes the sandwich. Like the fish sauce, it's a bit stinky, but roll with it.
  


• mayo


• Sriracha: This spicy Asian ketchup is essential for the sandwich.

Over the past few weeks, I've prepared this sandwich about six times. Once I even used chicken in place of the pork, and it yielded great results. When I'm not preparing the sandwich, I'm thinking about it. This is the power a good sandwich holds over me. The voodoo of a good sandwich.

Anyway, get out there and get you Bánh Mì on this weekend.

Umami,
muddywaters

P.S. I survived prom decorating, and tonight I'll take my five-year-old daughter to prom. Her enthusiasm will glide me through the evening.

Grandma Ryan's Sloppy Joes

In beer commercials single guys seem to encounter a never-ending string of beautiful, buxom, scantily clad blondes with Ms. America smiles who like to frolic in hot tubs. The music pulses, the good times roll, and life is glamorous. While being a single guy had its thrills for me, it was far from being a party at the Playboy Mansion. During my bachelor years, my inner gourmet was drowning in a sea of beer, and my path to culinary enlightenment was blocked by microwaveable meals, bar food, and recipes spotlighting ground beef. A culinary highlight during this bleak period in my life might involve browning some hamburger and combining it with a can of Manwich. I could sometimes go a week eating leftover Sloppy Joes.

Needless to say I don't miss that life. Gone are the cans of Manwich, and when I make Sloppy Joes today, they're made from scratch, using a recipe our household received from our dear friend Mary Ryan. I know there are some culinary snobs out there who scoff at the notion of this sandwich. Just give it a try. I think, you'll find the tang of the mustard, vinegar, and the hint of cloves to your liking. If this recipe doesn't make one of the best Sloppy Joes you've ever tried, leave your name & address, and I'll mail you a can of Manwich.

Grandma Ryan's Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown the beef and drain excess grease. Set aside.
2. Saute onions and green peppers until soft.
3. Add beef to the onions and green peppers.
   
4. Mix remaining ingredients together and add to the meat.
5. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

Eat your vegetables,
muddywaters

PS. . . I do miss the stereo speakers I had during my bachelor years, but that's about it.

Blue Cheese Dressing

I'm trying to get back into the routine of blogging, so I thought I'd start by taking a baby step.

Last night I picked up a loaf of ciabatta at Wheatfields, pulled a sirloin steak from the freezer, and prepared myself a grilled steak sandwich. I simply seasoned the steak with salt and coarse ground pepper, and grilled it medium rare. However, the bread along with a blue cheese spread made this sandwich special. The following is the recipe I used for the blue cheese dressing:

Blue Cheese Dressing

• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• Tabasco sauce
• 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Preparation:

1. Whisk together everything but the Tabasco and blue cheese.
2. Spice it to your liking with some Tabasco.
3. Gentle stir in the cheese.
4. Cover and refrigerate. It will keep for two weeks.

Note: If you want to use it as a salad dressing, thin it with some milk.

This sandwich was inspired by the Peppercorn Steak Sandwich at Ingredient, one of my favorite Lawrence restaurants. Next time I might take this sandwich a step further with caramelized onions and some smoked bacon with the blue cheese dressing.

Take care,
muddywaters

If Van Gogh Painted a Sandwich: Chicken-and Brie Sandwich

When this blog begins generating millions, I’m going to commission an artist to paint portraits of my favorite sandwiches. I’ve always felt that there needed to be more works of art celebrating the beauty of a great sandwich. Somewhere there’s an artists who can do for sandwiches what C.M. Coolidge did for dogs playing poker. I’m serious about this – I never joke when it comes to a good sammie.

For me a great sandwich is all about the perfect combination of ingredients that complement without overshadowing. It’s a delicate balance that isn’t easy to achieve, but a few sandwiches rise to the occasion. The Chicken and Brie Sandwich with Roasted Tomatoes from Cooking Light deserves to be in the Sandwich Hall of Fame. I can’t think of a more satisfying spring lunch.

Chicken-and-Brie Sandwich with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Picture from Cooking Light

• 1 teaspoon olive oil


• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (about 1 pound)


• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar


• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme


• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt


• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper


• 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise


• 1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard


• 1 garlic clove, minced


• 1 (16-ounce) loaf French bread, cut in half horizontally


• 3 ounces Brie cheese, sliced


• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)


• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil


• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar


• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt


• 2 cups fresh spinach

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°.


2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes; cook 4 minutes, stirring once. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Sprinkle tomatoes with thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Wrap handle of pan with foil; bake at 300° for 15 minutes. Keep warm.


3. Combine mayonnaise, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over top half of bread loaf. Spoon tomatoes evenly over bottom half of loaf. Arrange Brie over tomatoes; top with chicken.


4. Combine 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add spinach, tossing gently to coat.


5. Top chicken with spinach mixture; replace top half of bread. Cut loaf into 6 pieces. Yield: 6 servings

CALORIES 440 (25% from fat); FAT 12.3g (sat 4.2g,mono 4.9g,poly 1.9g); PROTEIN 34.3g; CHOLESTEROL 78mg; CALCIUM 119mg; SODIUM 826mg; FIBER 3.9g; IRON 3.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 46.7g Cooking Light, JUNE 2001