Introduction to Sandwiches, with Roast Beef and Cheese

Sandwiches might seem like a topic unworthy of devoting a post to, but you better believe I will be posting sandwich after sandwich on here because making sandwiches is a passion of mine.  Sandwich making really is a passion of mine, and there is much more to it than simply putting meat and cheese between two slices of bread.  Once you understand some of the basic sandwich making techniques it's just a question of trying different ingredient combinations or borrowing ideas from the menus of sandwich shops.  I did a presentation and sandwich tasting at work once, and I'm recycling some of that material in what follows here.  

Dagwood Bumstead

Rabbi Hillel the Elder was said to have invented the first sandwich around 2,000 years ago, when he pressed lamb and bitter herbs together between matzo bread.  The centuries that followed saw little advancement in sandwich technology.  The open-faced sandwich was common long before the name "sandwich" existed, and the bread served as more of a placemat or a sponge than a part of the entree.  When the meal was over the bread would usually be fed to the animals or beggars.  So how did the modern sandwich come into existence?  It is said that during a game of cribbage, the 4th Earl of Sandwich ordered meat between two pieces of bread to keep his fingers from getting greasy from the meat.  When others saw this they ordered "the same as Sandwich," and the name stuck.  The modern sandwich has come to mean something completely different in the United States.  The comic strip "Blondie" takes some of the credit, with Dagwood Bumstead's gigantic sandwich creations.  Nowadays the sandwich is a staple of lunches across the United States, for schoolchildren and adults alike.  The sandwich I'm making today is one to be eaten in the comfort of one's home, because there are different techniques that come into play when making a sandwich for later consumption.  

Some ingredients for a roast beef and cheese sandwich

Today I am making roast beef with American cheese and Boar's Head horseradish sauce.  This is one of the most frequently eaten sandwiches in my house because we both love horseradish.  Boar's Head makes a good horseradish sauce, not too spicy but enough to let you know it's there.  Of course everyone experiences spice differently, and if you don't like horseradish or wasabi I would use it sparingly.  Russian dressing is great on a roast beef sandwich if you don't like spicy, or mix half Russian dressing and half mayonnaise.  I'm using bulkie rolls, and this time I picked up potato rolls by mistake.  Their flavor isn't very far from that of white bread, and they have more protein and nutrients.  Land O'Lakes white American cheese is my favorite for most sandwiches, so I usually have a supply on hand, but provolone goes well with this sandwich too.  I have iceberg lettuce, which adds little nutrition to the sandwich but gives it a nice crunch when you eat it.  I used to frequent a sandwich shop that had roast beef, provolone, baby spinach, and Russian dressing on the menu.  Another had roasted red peppers and mayo, also delicious.  

Trim the corners of the cheese so it won't drip

Lucas getting ready to make his move

I begin by melting the cheese and toasting the bun in the toaster oven.  My toaster oven has two positions for the rack; I start with it in the higher position.  I put the top and bottom of the bun in with a slice of cheese on the top half of the bun.  I trim the corners of the slice of cheese so none drips onto the bottom of the toaster oven, which can shorten the life of the toaster oven quickly.  If the cheese drips onto the bottom coil of the oven it may catch fire or get smoky and set off the fire alarm.  It's important to keep the toaster oven clean, and the best way to do that is to prevent a mess from beginning.  In the higher position the cheese is right up close to the heating coil so it melts a little.

A good example of folded meat

While the cheese is melting I prepare the meat and lettuce for the sandwich and put the cold ingredients back into the refrigerator.  I wash and spin enough lettuce to give the sandwich at least two layers of lettuce.  My cats don't always agree about which human food they like, but they both agree that sandwich meat and cheese are delicious.  I use about 2 1/2 slices of meat for the average sandwich, and today is no exception.  When I was younger I worked in a sandwich shop, and it was there that I learned the importance of folding the meat.  For a sandwich with lots of meat like this it adds texture and makes the sandwich look even bigger than it is.  The process is hard to describe, but you want to keep the meat evenly distributed through the sandwich while giving it that ribboned, layered effect.  I leave the top of the bun with cheese in the still-warm toaster oven until I need it later.

One slice

Two and a half slices of roast beef

Two Slices

Some would put the bottom of the sandwich in the toaster at this point to take the chill off of the roast beef, but this can dry out the meat and ruin the sandwich.  At this point I remove the top of the bun from the toaster and add the lettuce and condiment.  The order that the ingredients go into the sandwich is very important, but I don't have any fun acronyms because it's not that complicated.  Think about what ingredients should be heated in the toaster oven and which should not and plan accordingly.  Many delicious sandwich condiments taste funny when warmed and putting lettuce in a toaster borders on negligence.  It's simple; begin with the ingredients to be warmed or toasted and add increasingly temperature-sensitive items as you get closer to finished.  Lettuce and sauce are almost always last.

With horseradish sauce

I made this sandwich for my wife, and she didn't want the lettuce.  Or to wait long enough for me to take a picture of the finished sandwich before she ate it.  But sometimes we get caught up in the glitz and glamour of making sandwiches and forget that it's supposed to be about eating lunch.

This particular sandwich was roast beef with cheese and horseradish sauce.  I covered some techniques like melting the cheese and toasting the buns in a toaster oven, layering the meat, and the order of ingredients.  You can tell from the list of ingredients that substitutions can and should be made based on what's in the fridge; that's how new sandwiches are discovered.  Who knows, someday they may name a sandwich after you!  Dare I to dream?  

The Perfect Grilled Cheese

The grilled cheese might seem like too simple a dish to write about, but there is an art to making one  right.  And this is the perfect grilled cheese.  What makes this the perfect grilled cheese is butter toasting the bread in the pan.  I have explored many of the ways to make a grilled cheese; I've done it with a toaster oven, panini maker, George Foreman grill, and any other reasonable way to try and make a grilled cheese.  I've tried using a slot toaster then putting the cheese on and hoping the heat will be enough to melt it.  That way doesn't work.

The Perfect Grilled Cheese

2 slices Texas toast bread (or white bread of your choice) frozen if possible
2 slices Land o'Lakes white American cheese
1 tbsp unsalted butter

Fun additions and accompaniments like:
Ham
Tomato
Bacon
Cream of tomato soup

This is the perfect grilled cheese and it's also the messiest way to make a grilled cheese, but worth it.  I'm using Trader Joe's Texas Toast bread, which is basically thick white bread with little nutritional value.  I've had grilled cheeses with wheat bread before, and wheat or multigrain bread can bring out the flavor in some cheeses, but the grilled cheese is junk food and should be made with white bread.  You can substitute whatever your favorite nutritionally void white bread if you like.  There are undoubtedly many different cheeses that one could use to make a good grilled cheese sandwich, but this is America and we use Land o'Lakes white American cheese.  It is important to butter the bread before toasting in the pan, and I used 1/2 a tablespoon of butter for each slice of bread.  For my wife's sandwich I added two slices of ham; other common additions include bacon or tomato.  This method also works well with hot dog buns to make a killer cheese dog.

Butter the bread before it defrosts

I've made these before and looked at the stick of butter wondering how much I used; it's easy to go overboard when buttering the bread.  Since my wife and I don't eat an entire loaf of sliced bread before it molds, we always freeze our bread after the first day or two.  So normally I would take four slices of bread out of the freezer 30 minutes or so before making grilled cheeses.  Then when the time comes to butter the bread, the hard butter rips up the top layer of the bread and ruins it.  Here's the trick: butter the bread before defrosting it.  I cut a tablespoon of butter, then cut that in half and butter each side of bread.  The only tricky thing is remembering to keep the buttered sides facing out when the bread goes in the pan.  The frozen bread doesn't get torn up and you get nice even coverage.

Building the sandwich in the pan

I build the sandwich right in the pan.  First slice of bread goes in, butter side down.  Then add two slices of American cheese, being careful to keep it in the center of the bread.  If the cheese sticks out over the edges of the bread, trim the cheese so it doesn't stick out.  You don't want the cheese to melt out the sides of the sandwich to burn in the pan.  It's also important to use two slices of cheese at the most.  If you use more you run the risk of spilling the melted cheese in the course of flipping the sandwich.  Two slices of cheese seems to be the perfect amount for the standard sliced bread size.

About to flip for the first time, see how thick the bread still is

I keep the heat right around medium and turn it up and down as needs dictate.  If the heat is too low you won't get the nice golden brown on the outside of the sandwich.  If the heat is too high you'll toast the outside without melting the cheese at the center.  It's best to start at a lower temperature (I set the burner to 4 out of 9) and turn it up if it takes too long.  It can be difficult to flip the sandwich using a spatula if the cheese hasn't melted yet; the sandwich doesn't have anything to keep it together until the cheese melts.  Hold the sandwich together as you flip it until you see that it's stuck together.  As it's toasting, press down with the spatula from time to time.  The bread compresses and it helps the heat get to the center.

This side looks done

My wife wanted grilled cheese with ham, so for her sandwich I added two slices of ham.  If I were making myself a ham sandwich I would use twice as much ham, but this is a grilled ham and cheese so the grilled cheese needs as much attention as the ham.  The ham goes at the center of the sandwich with a slice of cheese on either side before the bread on the outside.

Building a grilled ham and cheese 

Only two slices of ham

This recipe is high on the list of reasons why I could never be vegan. We warmed up Trader Joe's Creamy Tomato Soup and dunked the sandwiches in.  This is the definition of comfort food.

Ready to eat