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Now keep in mind I use the term po-boy for this recipe, and I will use it lightly. I say that only to the fact that this po-boy is not “dressed”, meaning, it is not slathered with mayonnaise and topped with tomatoes and thinly sliced lettuce.

As my wife was gone this past week, this was an opportunity for me to get my food on. As my kids were begging for me to make calamari, this was prime time to bring my clam chowder style sandwich into the spotlight, and wow, am I glad that I did.

Let’s get started.

(Makes One Sandwich)

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 lbs of clam strips, rinsed cleaned
• 1 cup of masa harina
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 russet potato, skin on, cut into bite size cubes
• 1/2 onion, cut paper thin (mandoline works well)
• Tabasco Hot Sauce
• 1/2 loaf day old Jimmy John’s bread, or good submarine roll
• Bechamel Sauce (see below)
• 4 cups of canola oil
• More salt to taste

Ingredients for Bechamel Sauce:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 cup of whole milk
• pinch of salt
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 bay leaf

To make the bechamel sauce, add the butter to a sauce pan and let it melt on medium heat. Once it starts to bubble, add in the flour, and begin to stir, incorporating the butter into the flour. It will form somewhat of a paste, but don’t worry. Your goal is to let the flour cook, stirring along the way, for about 3 minutes. Slowly add in the milk, and begin whisking, on medium heat, for about 5 minutes. Whisk the entire time. The flour will begin to thicken and make a nice cream sauce. Add in the salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Give a good stir, then remove from the heat.

To a medium pot, add in the canola oil, and bring it to a medium heat. Your goal is to get the oil to about 375 degrees.

To another pot add the cubed potatoes, and fill with just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until they are fork tender. Drain, and return the potatoes back to the pot.

During this time, prepare all of the ingredients as cooking the clams goes very fast, so you will want to be ready , keeping in mind that you will cook all of the clams in a few batches.

Let me pause here to give a good warning here. The goal is to make the sandwich. This is the ultimate goal. HOWEVER, when you remove the fried clams from the oil, and season with a bit of salt, YOU WILL TRY A FEW. Again, the goal is to make the sandwich. I will admit, that when I seasoned the first batch of clams and let them drain a bit on paper, and had that first bite, I was in heaven, and I began eating them like popcorn! So, if you can, stay focused!

To a bowl, add the buttermilk along with the egg, and give it a good mix.

To another bowl add the masa harina, flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, giving that a good mix.

Add a handful of the clams to the buttermilk mixture, and while using your hands, make sure there are no clumps. Get the buttermilk spread evenly on the clams. Let them sit in there for a couple of minutes.

When your oil is ready, with a slotted spoon, remove the clams, letting the buttermilk drain back into the buttermilk bowl, then add them to the flour mixture. Using one of your hands, begin tossing the clam strips all around, making sure they do not clump up, and that all of the flour mixture is evenly distributed onto the clams. If you can, separate them, shaking off access flour, and place them on a tray or plate.

Add them to the hot oil, and begin frying. These will go extremely fast, about 1-2 minutes. Once golden brown, remove them with a large slotted spoon, or spider if you have one, letting the oil drain back into the pot, and add them to a wire strainer lined with paper. Season with salt.

Repeat until all of the clams are cooked.

Now let’s build that sandwich! You still have clams left right?

Slice your bread, lengthwise, but not all of the way through.

To the bottom, add the cubed potatoes. Drizzle with the Tabasco sauce, all along the potatoes. Top the potatoes with a good layer of the sliced onions. Top the onions with a heaping mound of the fried clams, then drizzle the top of the clams with the bechamel sauce.

PLEASE NOTE: If the bechamel sauce cooled up on you, simply bring it back to the stove on medium heat, add a bit more milk, water, or stock, and continue whisking until it is warmed through and easy to drizzle all over the clams.

Pinch both sides of the sandwich, open wide, and dig in. Not only is this sandwich super fun to eat, but it is everything you could think about when eating a clam chowder, but in sandwich form! You get the creamy potatoes on the base, the subtle hint of onion because they are paper thin, and the crunchy and awesome flavor from the clams. Not only that but you get the wonderful creamy bechamel sauce to boot!

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(Serves 2)

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 6 thin slices of Gruyère cheese
• 8 thin slices of Black Forest Ham
• 1 cup of grated Gruyère cheese
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 4 slices of thick cut French sandwich loaf
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Begin by making the béchamel sauce. Get two saucepans, and heat one on a medium low heat, and the other on medium heat. To the pan on medium, low heat, add the milk, and let it get warm. To the other pan, add the two tablespoons of butter, and let it melt down and begin to bubble a bit. Add the flour to the butter, and mix it very well to incorporate the two. Continue whisking for about two minutes, being careful not to let the flour mixture brown. Slowly add in the warm milk, and continue whisking until you everything is nice and smooth. You will whisk this for about 8-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Add in the salt, nutmeg, and the parmesan cheese. Give a good mix, then remove it from the heat until it is ready to be used.

Next, get a large skillet going on the stove, and bring that to a medium heat. Butter four slices of the bread, and lay them into the skillet, butter side down. The goal here is to get them nice and golden brown, without burning them. As they begin to cook, add a tablespoon of butter to two pieces of the bread. Lay down three slices of Gruyère cheese on top of the mustard, then top each with four slices of the black forest ham. Let them continue cooking on the skillet, lifting to peak every couple of minutes, until the have reached that golden brown color, and have a crunchy exterior.

Now for the assembly.

Get your broiler going on 475 degrees.

Add the slices of toasted bread to a baking sheet. Place the toasted bread on top of the bread with the mustard, cheese, and ham. Now take the bechamel sauce and generously spread it all of the top of each sandwich. Take half a cup of the Gruyère cheese and add that to the top of the bechamel sauce.

Place this under the broiler until the cheese is nice and bubbly and everything is warmed through, roughly 4-6 minutes.

Remove the sandwiches from the broiler, and place on a serving plate. Dig in!

This one is super delicious and has not left my mind since I last made it. It has that sort of impact. Trust me.

A torta ahogada is a particular type of Mexican sandwich that is derived from Guadalajara, but can be found, or sought after in other Mexican cities. Typically, the sandwich can be fully submerged in a chili sauce made from chili de arbol, and depending on the the amount of chilies, the sauce can get rather spicy, very much how I like it. When you think of a fully submerged sandwich, you might think like I do, probably not the best way to eat a sandwich, so instead, I simply ladle on a bunch of the sauce in the interior, giving a better approach to eat the sandwich.

As the sauce has a bunch of ingredients, this sandwich is worth making and is great for a party. It is not only fun to make, but it is also a seriously great sandwich to eat.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients for the Carnitas: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 1/2 lbs of pork shoulder, cut into large cubes
• 1 orange, juiced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• water

Add these ingredients to a bowl, giving a good mix and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

During this time, begin making the sauce for the ahogada.

Ingredients for the Sauce:

• 20 chile de arbol, stems and seeds removed
• 1/2 cup of cider vinegar
• 3 Roma tomatoes, quartered, pulp removed
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 white onion, roughly chopped
• small pinch of ground cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, leaves and stems
• 1/2 cup of water

Place all of your ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth sauce. Feel free to strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer if you prefer to remove any of the solids. I prefer to leave some of the texture in the sauce. Set aside.

Ingredients for making the sandwich:

• Hard rolls, like an Italian hard roll or a French Batard (You want a hard exterior and a soft interior)
• Pickled red onions (for a quicker pickle, you can add sliced onions to orange juice, with a couple of bay leaves for about two hours)
• Avocado, sliced (optional)

To cook the carnitas, add the marinated pork and the marinade to a heavy pot. Pour in water to just cover the top of the pork. Cover, turn the heat on medium, then uncover in 2 hours. Turn up the heat and reduce all of the liquid, stirring along the way. Continue to cook the pork, getting the exterior a bit browned and crisp. Once the liquid is dissolved, turn off the heat, and poke a fork into it. The pork should fall apart. Resist to try the pork, as you might eat a lot of it!

To make the sandwich, slice your bread lengthwise, making a nice pocket. Do not slice all of the way through.

Stuff the carnitas into the pocket, and pour on the sauce. Top with pickled onions and dig in.

Three words. Nothing like it. Hope you enjoy.

Probably not the best name for this open-faced sandwich, but when you make it,  you will understand when it comes out from the broiler, hot and bubbly. The sandwich has been around since the 1920′s and was invented in Louisville, Kentucky at the Brown Hotel, a hotel which still exists to this day, as does the sandwich.

I have been wanting to make this sandwich for some time now, and with the passing Thanksgiving holiday, I figured this would be the prime opportunity to make the sandwich. Boy, am I ever glad that I did!

The sandwich is simple, yet divine. It is a sandwich unlike most other sandwiches, not just because it resides on thick Texas toast, or possibly the fact that it is smothered in a mornay sauce, but it also had the wonderful thick sliced tomatoes, and oh yeah, topped with smokey bacon!

Enough said. Let’s get started.

Serves 2

Ingredients for the Mornay Sauce:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
• 2 cups of heavy cream
• salt
• pepper
• 1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

Begin by melting the butter in a sauce pan. Once melted and it begins to bubble, add in the flour. Stir to mix all of the ingredients, and continue to stir for a few minutes, until you have a nice golden brown. Just be careful not to burn it. Slowly add in the cream, and begin whisking at a slow pace. Continue to whisk until the sauce begins to thicken and the flour mixture is nice and smooth.

Remove it from the heat, add in the cheese, the nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Set this aside.

Ingredients for the Hot Brown Sandwich:

• 4 slices of Texas toast bread, crusts trimmed
• 1 cup of roasted turkey
• 1 large tomato, cut into 1 inch slices
• 4 slices of cooked bacon
• Reserved bacon fat, optional
• Pecorino Romano Cheese, grated
• Flat leaf parsley, chopped, optional

Preheat your broiler to 450 degrees.

To an oven proof serving plate, add the slices of bread, and lightly brush with some of the bacon fat on both sides. Place into the broiler oven for a few minutes to lightly toast, then remove the plate from the oven.

Stack two slices of the bread onto individual, oven safe plates. I used a cast iron, fajita-style plate for this sandwich. To each sandwich, top with the roasted turkey, then two slices of tomato, then coat the sandwich with the mornay sauce. Sprinkle with some pecorino romano cheese. Place back into the broiler oven for about 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is really bubbly and begins to turn brown in some areas.

Remove from the oven, top each sandwich with two slices of bacon, and shower the sandwich with chopped parsley.

Cutting into this open faced sandwich is something beyond words. A bit rich from the cheese sauce, sure. But the combination of the bread that soaks up the mornay sauce, along with the subtle sweetness and acidity from the tomato, and then there is the warmed turkey with the bacon, and when all said and done, it is nothing but pure heaven in a bite.  So if you never get to Kentucky, at least you can make one of these Hot Brown sandwiches! Hope you enjoy.

A couple of years later I began doing a lot of cooking as I grew unhappy with the quality of food in Milwaukee. I’m no food snop, don’t get me wrong, but the quality of food and for the cost, I just knew I could make something taste better in my own home for half the cost. Crab rangoons became one of those items.

It was only last week when I made wonton soup for the family where I decided to surprise my wife with a batch of warm shrimp rangoons, not the fake crab. The shrimp added a slightly different texture to them, and in my opinion were better than imitation crab any day.  As I only made about twelve of the shrimp rangoons, I had plenty of cheese and shrimp mixture left, which led me to create this new grilled cheese sandwich.

Lets get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 lb of cooked shrimp, deveined, tails removed
• 1/2 cup of green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 2 slices of ciabatta bread, lightly buttered

Begin by adding the shrimp to a food processor, and pulse it a few times to break it up a little. Remove the shrimp from the processor and add it to a mixing bowl. Add in the green onions, sauces, pepper, and cream cheese, and fold until everything is nicely mixed.

Next, heat a skillet on medium heat. I like to use cast iron, and being mindful to watch the heat. Lightly butter one side of each slice of bread. Lay the slice of bread, butter side down, onto the skillet. Generously add the shrimp rangoon mixture, then top with the other slice of bread, butter side up.

Cook the sandwich on a medium to low heat, lifting a few minutes ahead into cooking to check your nice golden brown color. Once you have achieved your golden brown, carefully flip over, and cook on the other side, until you have a golden brown.

Now your sandwich is ready. To serve, slice in half on the diagonal and plate.

The result is this fantastically, creamy grilled cheese that reminds you not only of a great crab, or should I say shrimp rangoon, but also of that comforting grilled cheese.

So remember, if you are making crab, or shrimp rangoons in the near future, save a bit extra, and make yourself one of these shrimp rangoon grilled cheese sandwiches! Enjoy.

If you have never had Spanish chorizo, this is the perfect opportunity. It is unlike a Mexican chorizo, and this Spanish type is full of paprika and other spices, and has a bit of a spicy tone to it. A slight fat content makes this sausage perfect for sautéing and with the combination of a couple of simple vegetables will really get you thinking more about Spanish chorizo.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 Spanish sausage links, sliced about 1/2 inch thin
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced and diced, seeds removed
• 20 oz can of cannellini beans, drained
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1/2 loaf of rustic French bread, sliced and toasted

Begin by heating a pot on medium heat. Add in your sliced chorizo and cook for about 5-7 minutes. Depending on the amount of fat cooked off from the sausage, strain, but reserve about one tablespoon. Add in your onion and garlic, and give a good stir. Cook for another five minutes on medium heat.

Toss in your red bell peppers, cook for a few minutes until it begins to soften, then add in the white beans and chicken stock. Give this a good stir, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes.

During this time, place your bread under the broiler, and toast. When it is nice and toasted, rub a clove of garlic over the top, and set the bread aside.

When you are ready to serve, add the beans and chorizo mixture to a small bowl, and wedge some of the toasted bread into the dish.

The fun thing about this dish is not only its simplicity, as well as flavor, but also using the bread as one of your utensils. Hope you enjoy.

It was only a couple of weeks ago, on a usual weekend morning, where I wanted to make something unusual for the egg eaters in the family. As everyone was in their usual lazy morning routine, I was busy cutting round circles into the bread, seeing if anyone was watching. What they did not know is that I was about to rock their world with a simple, and unique breakfast.

Ingredients: (serves 1) [Print this Recipe]

• Sausage patty, cooked
• 1 slice of bread
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• Sriracha Sauce
• Maple Syrup

Begin by heating a skillet on medium heat. Butter both sides of the bread, and cut out the center. Place your bread, and cut out circle onto the skillet, and let it cook for a minute. Place the cooked sausage patty in the hole, add a nice squirt of the Sriracha sauce, then crack the egg on top of the hole. After a minute or so, lift an edge of the bread and once it is nice and golden, gently flip it over and begin cooking the other side. Depending on how you like your egg cooked will determine your cook time after the flip.

When you are ready to plate, remove the egg in the basket onto your plate, and drizzle with a bit more Sriracha sauce, and maple syrup.

The result is nothing but amazing. You get a bit of the spice from the sauce that is balanced out nicely with the sweet syrup. Not only that, but a nice surprise awaits in the middle. A nice sausage patty that is nice and crisp, along with the egg.  A bonus is using the cutout bread and sopping up any left over yolk, sauce, or syrup.  I’m not sure what could beat this breakfast!

My wife and kid loved the egg in the basket as well. I left out the Sriracha on theirs as they cannot handle much of the spice. Hope you enjoy!

What makes a Cuban sandwich so go is only to be said when you crunch your way into toasted, pressed sandwich. It might be the cheese, it could be the pickles, but I believe overall, it is the combination of all ingredients that make a Cuban sandwich so delicious. The Cuban sandwich is basically a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with a few extra ingredients, and cooked just a bit differently from a traditional grilled cheese. As the Cuban sandwich traditionally calls for Cuban bread (hard to find in the Milwaukee area), I used a day old loaf of bread from Jimmy Johns (48 cents) and it pressed and toasted really, really well. Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 loaf of Jimmy John’s bread, cut into 8″ slice (other options, french roll, or seedless hoagie)
• Sliced ham (I used Wisconsin’s finest Sunday boiled ham, thinly sliced)
• Slow roasted pork cooked in mojo (see below)
• Dill pickle slices
• 2 slices of Baby Swiss Cheese, per sandwich
• Mustard (optional)
• Butter

Ingredients for Pork:

• 3 lbs of pork shoulder
• 1 head of garlic, skins removed, smashed
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the pork, mix all of the ingredients, excluding the pork, in a bowl. Take a knife, and create large slits into the pork. Add the pork to a large, sealable plastic bag and dump the marinade into the bag. Massage the pork, seal, and let it marinate for at least four hours. When you are ready to cook, you can throw the pork, and marinade into a slow cooker, or roast in the oven until cooked.

Start by getting everything ready, and set it out on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Everything should be room temperature, and I mean everything. This allows everything to cook together nicely and get evenly cooked.

When you are ready, I recommend getting heavy cast iron skillets out if you have them. The goal is to create a heavy press, and cast iron not only heats really well, but it has the weight you are looking for to press the sandwich.

Build your sandwich by adding the pickles to the bottom layer, or if you want to use mustard, spread a light coating of mustard before adding the pickles, then top with roasted pork, ham, and top with cheese. Add about one tablespoon of butter to the skillet that is on medium-low heat. Take the sandwich and massage it into the butter. Take another tablespoon of butter and spread it on the top part of the bread. Lay another cast iron skillet on top of the sandwich, and carefully press down. If you do not have the second skillet, you could wrap aluminum foil around a brick, and use that as your press. Be creative, but find a clean, heavy pot or pan to lay on top of the sandwich.

Leave the sandwich alone for a few minutes, however monitor the heat. You definitely do not want to burn the bread, so lower the heat a bit if you are concerned. The goal of the sandwich is to build an amazing crust and have the cheese melt. After a few minutes, flip the sandwich over, add the skillet back to the top of the sandwich, give a little press, and cook another few minutes. The sandwich is done when the cheese is melted, and your crust is complete. You know the crust is complete when you tap on the sandwich and you get that sound. You’ll know the sound, and it is a beautiful one at that.

Take the sandwich, let it rest for a few minutes, then slice on a diagonal. The result is everything, and a bit more. The exterior is so wonderful, and biting into it you will know first hand why this sandwich is really great. It could be the combination of flavors, or it could be the balanced textures. Whatever it is, the Cuban sandwich is a must make, and what a better time to make one then today or tomorrow! Enjoy.

Ajvar is very simple to make. It is basically red bell peppers, eggplant, a bit of garlic and lemon, and just like that you have a wonderful, lightly spicy and fresh condiment.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants
• 3 large red bell peppers
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp paprika (optional)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup of olive oil

Simple ingredients. Begin by roasting the red bell peppers and the eggplants, either on a hot grill, or in the oven on high heat. The goal is blacken all of the skin on both the eggplants and the peppers. This process takes about 25 minutes. Once the skins are blackened, place them in a ziplock bag, or paper bag, and let them rest for about another 10 minutes. What happens when the vegetables are sealed in the bag, is that they begin to steam and allow you to easily remove the thicker skins on both vegetables.

Once the vegetables are slightly cooled, remove the skins off of all vegetables as well as their stems. Add the eggplant to a food processor. Before adding the red bell peppers, make sure you remove the seeds from them.

Next, toss in the remaining ingredients and begin pulsing the mixture down until it is nice and smooth. If you want more texture in your ajvar, by all means pulse it down to your desired consistency. Me? I like it nice and smooth.

Transfer this mixture to a large saucepan, and bring it to medium heat, covered, and cook for about one hour on a simmer. Let cool.

Once your ajvar is cooled, pour into storage containers, and when you are ready to eat, simply spread on bread such as naan, or heck, even some nice crostini. First bite, and you will understand how delicious this condiment is. The big question is why are we learning about how awesome ajvar is today?

Hope you enjoy.

As my wife is not a big fan of olives, I do my best to try and create something that I hope, just hope, that she might try, and really become to love the flavor of olives that I so much enjoy. So this new recipe is one that I decided to serve on a garlic crostini (yes, another new word for some) along with goat cheese that just had awesomeness written all over it. Lets get started.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of kalamata olives, pits removed
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 anchovy fillet
• 1/4 cup of flat leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Ingredients for the Crostini:

• 1 loaf of rustic French bread, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 cup of goat cheese, room temperature

Start by soaking the olives in cold water for about five minutes, then drain them.

Take all of your olive tapenade ingredients and add them to a blender or food processor and pulse them down until everything is finely chopped. Scrape out the tapenade and place into a small serving bowl.

Next, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Brush the olive oil onto each bread round. Place the bread onto a baking sheet and cook in the preheat oven until each round is a nice golden brown. Remove them from the oven. Rub the garlic clove gently onto each round.

To finish this off, smear a bit of the goat cheese onto the crostini and top with a bit of the olive tapenade. Repeat.

Take a bite. You should now find yourself in a place called “Flavortown”. The nice crunch of the crostini paired with the creaminess of the goat cheese and saltiness of the olive tapenade really just sets this one up for a success. Well, a success in my book, but my wife…. I still did not get her to try the olive tapenade. I had my second resort which was a pickled tomato, or just a simple crostini with a goat cheese smear. However you spread it, it is simple, and delicious. I hope you enjoy.