Quite the variety of sandwiches. From the Frankensteined Cio Burnt Sandwich for the Super Bowl to the heart shaped Valentine Sandwich Number 2 to a soufflé sandwich, this week ran the gamut.
And this week I finally finished recipe testing for my upcoming cookbook. Man, that is a lot of sandwiches. Also, as a heads up, the cookbook isn’t going to be a “nothing but 10s” affair. That’s because almost none of the old sandwich recipes (with the exception of classics and international sandwiches in the book) earned a ten. But what I did was chose ones that ranked highly, tweaked them to improve them slightly, made sure they all had measurements. And of course, there are plus ups and recipe remixes. More on the book later. For now, let’s get to sandwiching!
Sunday, February 11, 2024
Cio Burnt Sandwich (future history?)
Super Bowl Sunday
Original rating: 9.5
Plus up: Mozzarella cheese, melted
Plussed up rating: 10
I was really flummoxed on what to do for Super Bowl Sunday. My approach last year wherein I made iconic sandwiches of the two cities represented wouldn’t work here. San Francisco has no iconic sandwich. But after chatting with my man Billy Z, I got inspired. He had planned on doing a char siu burnt ends sandwich he called The Bay. So I thought, what if we take an iconic dish from San Francisco, Cioppino, as well as an iconic ingredient from San Francisco, sourdough bread, and mash it up with the iconic burnt ends sandwich of Kansas City. The reason I thought this might work is that there is a decent amount of overlap between Cioppino and Kansas City BBQ sauce. Both have tomatoey elements, both have acidic elements, and both use onion and garlic in some form. The result was super tasty if I do say so myself. I’d love it someone else would give it a go (recipe linked above) just to verify but man, I’d make this again in a hot minute…well, I mean, it takes a lot longer than that since I have to smoke brisket but you get the idea. It was also funny to see folks get a little indignant that I didn’t mention Dutch Crunch Roll, Rice-A-Roni, and the Crab Salad Sandwich as if I said the only ingredients tied to San Francisco were Cioppino and sourdough bread. Apparently, the Crab Salad Sandwich is well known throughout the SF Bay Area but was something I’d never heard of nor knew anyone who had heard of it. And I’ve lived here for over 20 years. Go figure. Always something new to learn (but it still wouldn’t have beaten a Burnt Ends Sandwich, just sayin’).
In case you missed it:
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Reddit
Monday, February 12, 2024
Chicken Sandwich (1911)
Scientific Cooking
Original rating: 5
Plus up: Daybreak Seaweed Company’s Everyday Seasoning and bacon
Plussed up rating: 7.5
Not gonna lie, I was on the fence about this. Ham? Sure. Oyster sauce? Hmm, ok, yeah, why not? Doritos? Hang on a sec. When Dean wrote in with this I was wondering if he was trying to put one over on me. I had to use Nacho Cheese Doritos as we don’t have Extreme Cheese Doritos like they do in Australia. But lo and behold it worked. I do think it would be an even better combo swapping in hoisin sauce for the oyster sauce but yeah, tasted like a bbq ham sandwich of sorts. Which naturally calls for pickles. I opted for hot pickles from Grillo’s and was not disappointed.
In case you missed it:
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Reddit
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Cheese Sandwich (1900)
The Sandwich Book
Original rating: 5
Plus up: Chopped up nasturtium leave
Plussed up rating: 6
Another sandwich of old that has a misleading name. Sure, there was cheese. But there was also egg yolk, vinegar, mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, and oil. So yeah, the name was sandbagging us a bit. It was somewhat tasty if not a little rich and decidedly not a lunch sandwich. I thought about the grilled cheese treatment or scads of black pepper, both of which would have worked to contrast the richness and the tang. But instead opted to use some of the free herbs growing wild in our backyard - the peppery nasturtium leaves. Definitely provide the kind of plus up I was looking for.
In case you missed it:
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Reddit
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Valentine Sandwich Number 2 (1936)
1,001 Sandwiches
Original rating: 10
Plus up: none
What can I say? I loved this sandwich just the way it was. Sweet guava jelly with a rich, creamy, slightly tangy cream cheese and delicious unsweetened coconut was just a perfect tea sandwich/dessert sandwich combo. A lot of folks commented that they’d of toasted it or given it the grilled cheese treatment. As you know, I’m a fan of both approaches. But for this sandwich, I just really enjoyed the soft bread. Made it feel almost decadent.
In case you missed it:
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Reddit
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Egg Omelet Sandwich (1974)
Williams’ Sandwich Recipes
Original rating: 4.5
Plus up: Hickory smoked cheddar cheese
Plussed up rating: 5.5
I am amazed how some folks get a serious ick from seeing bread in a can. That or they comment about “Americans will put anything in a can.” Which, while true, ignores that fact that Boston Brown Bread was created by folks who came to America from England. Anywho, Boston Brown Bread is made with several different flours and sweetened with molasses. Not totally sure I’d of combined that with egg yolks but that’s just me. Given that both the bread and BBQ sauce is sweetened with molasses, Christine’s suggestion of plussing it up with pickles made sense. And it did improve the sandwich. Not enough that I’d make it again but enough that I finished it. So/ there’s that?
In case you missed it:
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Reddit
Friday, February 16, 2023
Banana Sandwich (1917)
Salads and Sandwiches
Original rating: 7
Plus up: Pumpkin pie spice mix
Plussed up rating: 8
That’s right, another tea/dessert sandwich in same week! Similar to the Valentine Sandwich Number 2 just a few days earlier, this had few ingredients. And just like the aforementioned sandwich, they came together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. Nutty ground peanuts with ripe sweet bananas punched up with a little sugar and lemon juice. It was delightful. Adding the warm spices of the pumpkin pie mix just made it that much better. Highly recommend.
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Reddit
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Sweet Beef Sandwich (1924)
New Butterick Cook Book School of Home Economics, Cornell University
Original rating: 6.5
Plus up: Hostess Hickory Sticks (affiliate link)
Plussed up rating: 7.5
It is not uncommon in the old recipe books to just have a page that lists out sandwich fillings but not provide names for them. Such was the case with this one. Sinc it consisted off finely chopped corned beef and mustard on Boston Brown Bread I went ahead and named it he Sweet Meat Sandwich. No regrets. The combo of the sharp mustard, corned beef, and sweet bread actually worked. Much in the same way a sandwich that has BBQ sauce on it would. Adding in the Hickory Sticks which my man Jon aka Sandwich Dad sent down from Canada, brought a little smoke flavor, saltiness, and texture which made it even better.
In case you missed it:
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Reddit
Phew! That was a week. As a subscriber I’ve decided to let you in on the sandwiches coming up next week. Sandwich with Cheese, Shrimps, and Mayonnaise (1962), Tunafish Sandwich (1924), Hunter’s Sandwich (Switzerland) (1917), Spalding Sandwich (1936), Roast Beef and Tomato Sandwich (1909), Apricot Horseradish Sandwich (1937), and the Egg Banjo (UK).
I should note that the Hunter’s Sandwich is not the massive “steaks in a loaf of bread” version that was going around on social media last year (though it, too, is on my to do list).
Thanks for following Sandwiches of History and for subscribing to this recap!
Have a great week!
Cheers!
Barry