 Sandwiches & Pizza

What is a sandwich?  It is a filling between slices of bread.  It’s origins go back as far as some 2,000 years ago.  Jewish people use to chopped apples, nuts and other symbolic ingredients, during Passover, between two pieces of un- leavened bread.  The name came from John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich.

What is a Sandwich ?  It can be a simple combination, quickly assembled for lunches or picnics.  It can be an elaborate main dish that is prepared in an oven and eaten with a knife and fork.  It is as nutritious as the foods that go into it.

Basic Sandwiches  Consists of two slices of bread with a filling in between  Is always served cold  The inside is often thinly coated with a fat-based spread  Butter, margarine, mayo, or cream cheese  This adds flavor and keeps moist fillings from soaking into the bread.  Also helps hold filling in place.

Guidelines for making a Sandwich  Start with firm bread  Whole wheat bread, multigrain, rye, and sourdough  Hard rolls, bagels, English muffins, and sandwich buns and rolls.  If using soft breads, choose a firm filling.  Soften butter, margarine, or cream cheese to room temperature before using.

 Put filling on one slice of the bread only.  Use several thin slices of meat or cheese rather than 1 thick for easier slicing and eating.  Soft, chunky fillings like egg salad spread thinly just to edge of bread.  Add condiments just before eating or serving  Added to early they may make the bread soggy  Use a sharp, serrated knife to cut to prevent smashing or tearing of sandwich.

 Foods for fillings  Cold cuts  Tuna, shrimp, or egg salad  Cheeses  Cooked or raw vegetables  Baked tofu  leftovers

Club Sandwich  Expanded basic sandwich made with 3 slices of toasted bread and 2 layers of different fillings.  Classic club has mayo, lettuce, tomato, bacon, and turkey  But you can mix and match ingredients  Secure layers with 4 toothpicks placed in the 4 corners cut in half or quarters.

Open-Face Sandwich  One slice of bread and a topping  Any filling can be used, but bread has to be firm enough to support it.

Heros  A very large sandwich made on a loaf of Italian or French bread or a large hard roll.  They are layered with an assortment of thinly sliced, cooked, and cured meats and cheeses and seasoned with onions, peppers, mushrooms, and olives.  Spread is usually mayo or salad dressing.  Depending on where you live a  Hoagie, sub, grinder, poor boy, or muffeletta.  Fillings: meatballs, corned beef and pastrami, or fried shrimp.  Some improve with “aging.”

Wraps  Oldest and most popular breads are flat.  Sandwiches made by rolling and wrapping a filling in flatbread are descriptively called wraps or rollups.  Have been known for thousands of years, from the Mediterranean to Mexico.

Pita  Originated in the Middle East  Round, leavened flatbread that can be used to make a rollup.  Forms a pocket when split, also known as pocket bread.  Different sizes and types, including whole wheat.

 Falafel – Favorite Middle astern filling for pita.  Small, deep-fried patties made from highly seasoned, ground garbanzo beans.  Gyro – Greek specialty made with minced roasted lamb, grilled onions, sweet peppers, and a cucumber-yogurt sauce, all wrapped in a pita.

 Lahvosh – Armenian flatbread is larger and thinner than pita.  Available crisp or soft and in various flavors, such as spinach.  Soft used for wraps and pockets.

 Tortillas – Mexican staple, thin, round, unleavened flatbread made with either corn or wheat flour and baked on a griddle.  It is the base for several different sandwiches.  Burrito – tortilla rolled around a filling.  Taco – tortilla folded in half  Fajitas – made with grilled meat or poultry that is rolled up in a warm tortilla and served with other foods to mix in.