Friday, May 15, 2009

Good Boy Sandwiches



When I was newly married I made my husband a brown bag lunch every day. It typically included a sandwich, chips, a beverage, and sometimes a little love note. One day, the honeymoon ended. I don't even remember what the argument was about, but I remember I was steaming mad. Fuming, I packed the lunch.

One of my husband's odd, favorite sandwiches is peanut butter and mayonnaise. I know. Ugh. But, if you put dill pickles in there, it's actually, strangely good. But I digress.



Angry though I was, I made the lunch. Peanut butter and mayonnaise. Heavy on the peanut butter. Whisper light on the mayonnaise. On dry bread. And a half a cup of juice. No chips.

He called me at lunchtime. I expected a repentant apology. No, he hadn't even noticed! So I pointed it out to him. Then he apologized. And now he knows the warning signs of an angry outburst on the horizon - dry bread with lots of peanut butter, little mayonnaise, and 1/2 a cup of juice. No chips.

This sandwich is kind of the antithesis of the "I'm pissed" sandwich. This is a "good boy, you deserve a biscuit sandwich." My daughter and I saw this on Everyday Food and knew we had to make this for our wonderful, deserving husbands. We call it - The Amazing Sandwich. Which it is. By some strange kitchen alchemy it takes 5 ingredients and transforms them into something, well, amazing!



Notes: I couldn't find round, crusty loaves of the right size. Obviously, I could have made them, but I didn't have the time. So I went to Great Harvest and bought two round loaves there. It wasn't till I got them home that I realized they weren't crusty. Plus they're a bit larger than one pounders. Working with smaller, one pound loaves will yield slightly smaller sandwich slices.

The recipe says this serves 8. Ha! We served 6 and had a loaf and a third leftover. You could easily halve this recipe if you don't need to feed a crowd.

Amazing Sandwich
- adapted from Everyday Food

2 round or oval loaves country bread (1 pound each),
1 jar (12 ounces) oil-packed roasted red peppers
12 ounces salami, thinly sliced
12 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced
2 bunches arugula, (about 6 ounces each), washed well and thick stems removed (about 10 cups)


1- Slice the tops off the bread, about 1/4 of the way down.

2- Scoop out the bread with your fingers, leaving a rind of about 1 inch of bread inside the crust, including the top. Save the scooped out bread to make bread crumbs.

3- Brush inside the loaves on the bottoms and inside the tops with oil from the roasted red peppers.

4- Dividing evenly, layer bottom bread halves with roasted peppers, salami, cheese, and arugula; top with remaining bread halves. You can alternate layers of the salami and cheese to make it more stripey looking. Really press the layers in firmly. When you put on the arugula, some might fall out. Just tuck it back in.

5- Wrap each loaf completely in plastic wrap securing the top to the bottom.

6- Lay wrapped sandwiches on a baking sheet. Position another baking sheet on top, and weight with heavy canned goods, a large skillet, or workout weights. Let stand for at least one hour, pressing down occasionally with hands. You can put the whole thing in the refrigerator and let it squash down overnight.

7- To serve, cut each sandwich in wedges.

28 comments:

Sean said...

For some reason I can hear Stephen Briggs reading your post.
Those sandwiches ARE amazing though. I was very glad and grateful I got to partake in them.

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary said...

My husband would die for that sandwich. Looks awesome!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Extra-ordinary story and sandwich. For a flash I thought that was a portobello!
What a great bun sandwich. This I want to try!
Good Girl!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Oh and really, he's a peanut butter mayo guy! Man after my heart.
Whisper light on the mayo, I'd have know you were really really bent.

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

That is DEFINITELY an amazing sandwich! My boyfriend would love this!

Jennifer Jo said...

A version of this was in our local paper this week, but they called it a "Brick Sandwich".

Question: How long will it stay fresh, without getting soggy?

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Sean - We were glad to have your help in working through it!

Lisa - Don't let your husband die for it - just make it!

My Kitchen In Half Cups - I'll make you a pb&m next time you're in town. Heavy on the mayo. :-)

How to Eat a Cupcake - If it's just the two of you, definitely cut it down to one loaf!

Mama JJ - We had leftovers for several days and sogginess wasn't a problem. Make sure the arugula is thoroughly dried before you use it, and you've got no "soggy" ingredients to soak into the bread.

Melinda said...

So easy! And it looks really good too.
I don't want to ever make you made at me. You might serve me PB and mayo. (yuck)

Unknown said...

fun story and wow what a dagwood sandwich! glad to have run across your great site
Happy Twirls

The Blonde Duck said...

That's so sweet you make your husband lunch! I made mine lunch when we first got married and he actually prefers to buy it--harumph!

I bet he'd eat it if I made this.

Unknown said...

That sandwich looks wonderful! I'd have to exercise some serious self-control if I got near it.

As far as the PB & mayo- we used Miracle Whip in my house!

Karen Baking Soda said...

So there *is* a peanutbutter mayo fanclub!
My god Lynn, do you really put all that on one sandwich? The bread is just there to hold it all together? I feel so Dutch! (We would feed our extended family for a week on the contents of the loaves...)
It's appealing though, need to try!

Anonymous said...

these look so big and thick, i don't think i could put my mouth around it! and cute story!

Astrid said...

Oh my god now this is a sandwich. Looks perfectly yummy!

grace said...

pb, mayo, and pickles? i shudder to think!
but this one, this is a terrific honkin' sandwich. not only does it look nifty, but i'm quite certain it'd taste delightful!

CookiePie said...

WOW - now THAT's a sandwich!!!

NKP said...

What an awesome sandwich! Fit for a king.
You have to love a recipe that starts with 3/4 a pound each of salami and cheese!

eatme_delicious said...

Wow that is one of the most awesome looking sandwiches I've seen!

Elyse said...

Wow, Lynn, this sandwich screams "good." I love the story about you and your husband's little argument. PB and Mayo is a combo I've never really thought about, but I may have to try it! Sorry I've been away from blogging/commenting for so long. I just finished up with my exams and am finally getting around to my google reader :) Everything looks delicious!

Brilynn said...

That sandwich is enormous! It looks amazing!

Katrina said...

That IS a good lookin' BIG sammie!

Jannett said...

Wow...that is some sandwich. It looks amazing.... :)

Maria said...

Nice sandwich! That could feed an army:)

Debbie said...

Whoa...that is a good looking sandwich!!! Peanut butter and mayo...oh my stomache is turning!

Peabody said...

Now that is a sandwich!

kickpleat said...

wow. wow. wow.

Caroline said...

Wow, that looks absolutely amazing. Wish I were eating it now!!!

RecipeGirl said...

I'm not so sure about your husband's favorite, but this one looks quite amazing!