Today the Sunday Funday group is looking at sandwiches. Thanks to Stacy of Food Lust People Love, Sue of Palatable Pastime, Rebekah of Making Miracles, and Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for coordinating this low-stress group.
This week, Wendy is hosting. She wrote: "August is National Sandwich Month. It is also the perfect time for a picnic with family and friends. Share your favorite sandwich with us whether for a picnic or for eating in with a knife and fork." Here's the line-up...
- Chicken Bacon Pressed Picnic Sandwiches by Making Miracles
- Club Sandwich by Amy's Cooking Adventures
- Falafel Pita Sandwich by Mayuri's Jikoni
- French Dip Sandwich au Jus (Slow Cooker) by Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Grilled Kielbasa Sandwiches by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Homemade Muffuletta by Food Lust People Love
- Is it, Or Isn't It a Sandwich? and a DIY Grilled Cheese Bar by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Submarine Bites with Sub Sauce by Palatable Pastime
- Zucchini and Carrot Vegetable Sandwich by Cook with Renu
No Consensus!
And just this summer, D levied an accusation against me that I have denied them the American culinary experience of eating sandwiches. It's not true. But I humored them and we went on A Sandwich Mission and a Summer Picnic.
So, I'm offering some food for thought and asking: Is it, or isn't it, a sandwich? I posted the photo at the top, asking if hot dogs were sandwiches. Chuckling at the comments because the lack of consensus exactly mirrored the discussion around our table.
- Laurel: No lol
- Otis: Hmmmmm
- Kevin: Absolutely
- Wendy W: No
- Wendy K: Yep
- Kathy: Yes, stuff between bread.
- Sara: Maybe????
- Kevin: The ingredients check out, but the dimensions do not.
- Kera: No
- Lisa: Nope
- Imogen: Yes — bread + filling + spread
Two foodie friends had more detailed responses. Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles mused: Hmmm...I know that a sandwich is anything between
bread, but I feel the vessel makes for different variations that must be given
their own category. Buns for instance...hot dogs, hamburgers, sliders...I
suppose they are all sandwiches, but they are unique enough to deserve their
own titles.
And Sue of Palatable Pastime shared: In my mind, a sandwich is when you use bread to clasp a
food and eat that food along with the bread, but not simply dipping bread as a
scoop (as you might with things like hummus or certain African stews with pita
or injera). Sort of like using bread in lieu of a fork. So that makes a hot dog
a sandwich.
As for me, being a lover of words and language precision, I have always asserted that meat and fillings can be sandwiched (verb) between bread without being a sandwich (noun).
So, where do you fall on the sandwich debate? Are things such as hot dogs and hamburgers considered sandwiches? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Recipe Links
DIY Grilled Cheese Bar
First, grilled cheese is not all about the cheese. You think that grilled cheese is about the cheese and that's certainly important, but there are a lot of elements needed to inspire grilled cheese creativity. And, yes, I did actually buy that cheese (pictured above) because it had my name on it!
As I wrote: I like to inspire creativity in my food bars. So I provide a variety of ingredients for guests! At this DIY Grilled Cheese Bar, I gave them everything from nasturium blossoms to prosciutto and radish flowers to dandelion pesto. I pickled onions, made blackberry jam, and crisped sage leaves.
I offered six different kinds of cheese and four different kinds of bread.
Here are some grilled cheese basics to get you started...
Choose a hardy bread. Breads with dense crumb stand up better on the grill.
Use thin slices of cheese in multiple layers. While thick slices of cheese are great to grab off the cutting board, thinner slices melt more easily.
It's all about the extras. Well, it’s a balance, I suppose. But lots of extras add personality and intrigue to the sandwiches. Just make sure that there is a balance of extras plus cheese so that it all melts together into gooey deliciousness.
To cook the sandwiches, keep your heat low and melt slowly. Turning up the heat too high results in burnt bread and unmelted cheese. And no one wants that! What do you put in your grilled cheese sandwiches?
That's a wrap for our Sunday Funday sandwich fest. Next weekend, we'll be sharing recipes that include beer as August 8th is National Beer Day. Rebekah will be leading that discussion. Stay tuned...
My favorite grilled cheese is a caprese, with pesto, mozzarella and tomato. My next favorite is Cheddar, onion and tomato. Fun post Cam.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds delicious!
DeleteYou'll definitely have to listen to the debate between John Hodgeman and Dan Pashman. Hysterical.
ReplyDeleteYep. I have that on my to-do list...in my spare time. LOL. No, I do want to hear that.
DeleteCall them what you will - these all look tasty (though I'm on team "no" for the hot dog!)
ReplyDeleteMe, too.
DeleteAnything between two breads whether slices or buns or whatever, is a sandwich to me. As long as you don't need cutlery to enjoy the hearty meal. And grilled cheese sandwich, my favourite especially with mushroom and melted gooey stringy cheese.
ReplyDeleteGrilled cheese with mushrooms sound amazing!
DeleteLove this exploration of sandwiches - and it proves the point of just how versatile they are, and how everyone has their own version of what makes it a sandwich, and what they like on it! Melted cheese on bread is ALWAYS a good place to start!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting and reading.
DeleteI can imagine the taste of this sandwich. I cannot eat hard cheese as is, but grilling is definitely a good idea. Would love to try.
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ReplyDelete