My favorite weekday is …
… wait for it …
Sandwich Wednesday.
The Grill-Meister does dinner on Wednesdays, always a sandwich of some sort, which is why we call it Sandwich Wednesday.
The sandwich is often a panini.
The Grill-Meister prefers to take requests rather than dictating the menu, and it’s FUN to think of my heart’s desire (in the sandwich sense, at least) and place my order by mid-afternoon each Wednesday. He usually does a grocery store run after work on Wednesdays to pick up the necessaries, so I don’t have to stay within the limits of what’s available in the pantry and larder. I can pick up any cookbook from our collection and spend an enjoyable few minutes perusing the sandwich recipes to decide upon my request.
I take this responsibility very seriously. It’s an opportunity to explore new frontiers and recipes, or to just nestle into comfort food like a soft old blanket and ask for a time-tested favorite.
The Grill-Meister’s fulfillment of my requests have resulted in some lovely Wednesday dinners. I don’t always get the best pictures, and I haven’t been super-diligent about sharing it all, but rest assured, I’m a spoiled ‘lady of the manor’ every Wednesday, unless we’re traveling.
I support the Sandwich Wednesday traditions and protocols in every way I can (as you would, I’m sure). It started with the gift of the panini maker.
And cookbooks.
The latest cookbook to yield Sandwich Wednesday benefits is from Jeff Mauro, who we’ve been watching on the Food Network for a few years. He won a season of the TV Food Network Star as the Sandwich King, and the cookbook is called Come On Over.
I gave this cookbook to The Grill-Meister for Christmas of 2021, but we didn’t dive into the recipes until jsut a few weeks ago. Searching through the cookbook for my request, I found 7 sandwiches I really, really wanted to taste:
- BBQ Sliders with Candied Bacon
- Jalapeńo Popper Grilled Cheese
- The Juiciest Turkey Burgers Ever
- Mortadella and Fig Melt
- The Greatest American Patty Melt in the Country of All Time
- Greek Tacos (OK, not technically a ‘sandwich’, but our definition of sandwich for Sandwich Wednesday is ‘something in a bread-like something’)
- The Greatest Turkey Sub Ever
Until we make all 7 sandwiches, Come On Over holds the Position of Cookbook Prominence in our new kitchen. We need quick access to the recipes!
So far, we’ve made three of the 7. They were all fabulous.
The first was the Mortadella and Fig Melt. It had a tangy, salty-sweet allure that was perfect with a dollop of Dijon. It was quite a sophisticated-tasting sandwich, with some heft due to the generous amount of mortadella.
And them, on a day where I needed comfort food, I requested the Turkey Sub, known in the cookbook as The Greatest Turkey Sub Ever. It was muffaletta-like, without as many ingredients.
It lived up to its name! Just the right balance of savory, crunch and piquant-ness.
And when our Musical Millennial was here just last weekend, we had to have the Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese. The side dish is charred broccoli atop hollandaise sauce, in case you’re wondering.
The Grill-Meister translated the Jalapeño Popper sandwich into a panini. Being lovers of all things hot, our version left the seeds and ribs in the roasted fresh jalapeños, and it was an inferno flavor festival as we took each bite. I regret nothing.
I’ll keep you posted on the rest of the sandwiches from Come On Over, but here’s my review right here, right now – this cookbook is worth it.
© 2022, Glover Gardens
Reminder: this is a non-commercial blog, and any recommendations are strictly my opinion and not a paid advertisement.
A great idea – there are times when you can’t beat a sandwich!
So true! When was there ever a time that a grilled cheese didn’t make something better??