Sandwiches III – Not Actually About Beaches or the Occult

Banana and Mayonnaise

Sliced bananas and mayonnaise on bread are a great combination. No-one believes me. And yet it is wonderfully, deliciously true.

BLT

Bacon can be gotten from the grill station in Upper; then just fill it out at the sandwich station and you’re home free. Well, except for paying for your food.

Bacon
Lettuce
Tomato
Mayonnaise (this is one time you actually want a lot of mayonnaise)

Spread the bread with mayonnaise and top with the B, the L, and the T. Mmm. Bacon.

Grilled PB&J

It is exactly what it sounds like: PB&J grilled on a panini press. (An alternate method follows the recipe below.) I am an unabashed evangelist for this sandwich. I have recommended it to everyone from my friends to prospective students, and without fail, this is what happens:

1. Surprise / mild disgust
2. Willingness to try it
3. This is the best thing ever, thank you.

Chum’s offers it for $2 (I think), but for $2.50 (I think) you can get the after-school special: Grilled PB&J and a glass of milk. It is a good deal.  But you don’t have to go to the coffeehouse: upper Usdan also carries sandwiches, and has a panini press. I think you can take it from there.

Note: The dining hall sandwiches are made with grape jelly, but I encourage you, if making it at home, to try different types of nut butters and jellies. Cashew butter and almond butter are the only two I can think of off the top of my head, but there are innumerable jams: strawberry, rhubarb, cherry, peach, raspberry, blood orange…

Alternate method:
If you don’t have a panini press or George Foreman grill-type deal, you can also make this sandwich using a regular PB&J, a skillet, PAM, and a brick wrapped in foil. You don’t have to use the brick (any weighty object like a saucepan will work), but it makes the sandwich roughly three times more awesome. Do wrap it in foil, though: most bricks aren’t that clean.

Heat the skillet until it is very hot and spray with PAM. Place the whole sandwich in the skillet and place the brick (!) on top. When it’s melted, the peanut butter will turn gooey. Enjoy!

Sandwiches II

As always, use whatever bread you prefer. In the dining hall, I prefer whole wheat or sourdough (though the sourdough slices are fairly small).

Tuna with Pepperjack Cheese

Tuna salad
Pepperjack cheese
Sliced onions
Hot pepper salsa

Spread the tuna on the bread. Top with cheese, onions, and salsa. Grill until the cheese is melted.

Mango Chicken Sandwich

Chicken (from the grill station; ask them to cut it up for you)
Mango chutney (the grill again; they think it’s a condiment, but for us, it’s a spread)
Cherry Tomatoes (from either the grill or the salad bar)
Pepper (use the packets)
A big roll from the sandwich station (sometimes people let you cut if you tell them you’re just getting bread)

BEFORE paying, spread the chutney on the bread along with cut-up chicken and tomatoes. If you don’t, you get billed for “Grocery” (the bread), salad (the tomatoes) and an entree (the chicken). It’s a lot less expensive my way.

The Epstein Traditional

Marshmallow Fluff
Peanut butter
A banana, sliced

Spread one of the slices of bread with fluff, then peanut butter and top with banana. Put on the other piece of bread and toast. Courtesy one of the Epsteins.
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via FoxyTunes

Sandwiches

The New York Times recently had an article on grilled cheese sandwiches, and I started wondering how I can make better sandwiches here in college. Like most colleges, mine has a sandwich bar. Though their selection is fairly standard (chicken/ham/roast beef etc, yellow mustard, honey mustard, mayo etc.), we can spice it up with a little ingenuity. Everything here is available at my college’s sandwich bar with the exception of bacon, which you can get at the hamburger station. Parts in [brackets] are optional but recommended.

Bacon, Turkey, and Tomato with Peanut-Raisin Cream Cheese
(Adapted from The Sophisticated Sandwich by Janet Hazen; most of the recipes in the book aren’t feasible in college without some dedicated preparation)
2 slices bread [French bread if you can get it]
3 pieces bacon, fried
enough cream cheese to cover the bread (available at the salad bar)
1 Tbsp [crushed] peanuts (available at the salad bar)
1 Tbsp raisins (available at the salad bar)

Combine the cream cheese, peanuts, and raisins in a bowl.
Spread the cream cheese on the bread and top with bacon.
Enjoy!

Tuna Melt
tuna salad
tomato slices
3 or 4 slices cheddar cheese

Spread the bread with tuna, top with tomato slices and cheddar cheese and grill in a sandwich press until the cheese is melted.

Cæsar Chicken Veggie Wrap
lettuce
cucumber slices
tomato slices (or cherry tomatoes)
cubed, cooked chicken breast
cæsar dressing
a wrap (the tortilla things)

Arrange the vegetables and chicken in the wrap and drizzle with cæsar dressing. Roll up and enjoy.

Note: The sandwich at the top is a chicken sandwich on whole wheat bread with pesto and gouda cheese. It’s definitely doable at college, if you have a food processor for the pesto, but for the record I made that one at home.