Sandwiches

Apple Dill Tuna Salad

October 1, 2014 by mollygilbert520 2 Comments

I’m on my way to New York! Like, as we speak. I’m tip-tap-typing to you on an airplane, from seat 10D (which is in an exit row! Holler extra legroom), many thousands of feet above ground. Three cheers for you, Technology!

I’m making the trip back east from Seattle to do a few last-minute wedding things, (including dress fitting, eeeek!), and I get to catch up with some family and friends, to boot. And assuming that pesky little dress fitting doesn’t get in the way, I anticipate enjoying a bagel (from Russ & Daughters), a slice of pizza (from pretty much anywhere), and a doughnut (from Dough) during my visit. Or maybe a paleta from La Newyorkina on the High Line. Or some Big Gay Ice Cream. Ooh! The chicken at Barbuto. I want that. Or! A Momofuku pork bun and cornflake cookie? Yes, definitely that.

…Shoot. I’m going to need more time.

I always love visiting New York City. Having lived in the city for three years (during and after culinary school), I know my way around and, now that I no longer live here, find things I once found irksome (the crowds, the smell, the rush, the buskers, the Subway, etc.) to be positively charming. Yes I WILL throw some money your way, person rapping on the F train! OF COURSE I will walk behind you at a glacial pace, clueless tourist! Since I don’t actually live here anymore and don’t have to deal with these issues on a regular basis, I can chuckle at the rat scurrying near that pile of garbage bags, or roll my eyes indulgently at the guy taking up a whole row of seats on the (crowded) A train. I really do heart NY.

I realize that none of this has anything to do with tuna salad. Except for the obvious connection between The Big Apple and (The Big) Apple Dill Tuna Salad. So basically they have everything to do with each other, is what I’m saying. Are you a tuna salad person? I love tuna melts. I go open face, usually with a mess of sharp cheddar. This tuna salad with apple and dill is excellent in that capacity. It’s a little herby, with just enough sweetness and tang.

It makes a great lunch or quick dinner, when you don’t feel like doing all that much, effort-wise, in the way of lunch or dinner. I wish I had brought some on the airplane with me, but I didn’t because I like to think that I’m a considerate human. A considerate human, on her way to New York! See you soon, Big Apple.

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Classic BLTs

September 4, 2014 by mollygilbert520 12 Comments

Summer’s not over! Stop it with that. Put your Halloween-candy away, Mr. Drug Store. See these tomatoes? SUMMER TOMATOES.

Make no mistake, Fall is my favorite season, but I’m not rush rush rushing to get there. I don’t want a pumpkin-spice latte just yet, thank you. Pumpkin-spice lattes mean heavy sweaters and the end of peach season and oh, yeah – that little October wedding thing. Nooooot ready for that (I need to find shoes first, and also probably write some vows. …Details).

I’m hanging on to peaches and tomatoes as long as I can, and as long as the calendar says it’s still summer (we’ve got a whole 19 days left until the first day of Fall!), I’m making a damn BLT for dinner. (With peaches, I make grilled cheese sandwiches.)

The trick to this BLT recipe (if you can really have a “recipe” for bacon, lettuce & tomato sandwiches) is cooking the bacon on a wire rack set over a sheet pan in the oven (holler, sheet pans!). Have you done this before? It’s the only way I make bacon, these days. Oven-baking frees up our hands to do other things (like get into the mayonnaise and shop for shoes online), and eliminates the inevitable bacon grease splatter burn of the stove-top method.

Get into this BLT! Summer’s still hot! …

Open-Faced Summer Sandwiches

July 12, 2013 by mollygilbert520 11 Comments

Summatime! We’re in the thick of it. It’s a little foggy here in San Francisco, but that doesn’t stop us from taking part in the rituals of the season. We eat peaches. We drink cold wine. We wear maxi dresses with alarming frequency.

No matter where you live, there are certain things that make summer feel more like summer — let’s make a list, shall we?

1. Trips! Road and bike and plane. For me, Summer is trips to Gramma’s house by the beach in Montauk, NY. A long way from California, but well worth it for the chance to eat fried clams, swing in the fraying hammock and watch your niece refuse to show her tiny face in the big girl pool.

2. Books. Maybe it’s because of the trips and the beaches, but I always find more time to read in summer. My two current favorites are: Where’d You Go Bernadette, by Maria Semple, and This Is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper. Summer reading!

3. Fruit-filled pies, homemade popsicles and real vanilla soft serve with extra sprinkles. I know that this is actually three things and not one, but this is my list and I do what I want. Incidentally, I want ice cream.

4. Camping! …No I’m totally kidding. I haven’t been camping since I was 13. I like s’mores, though.

5. Sandwiches. When the heat of summer beats at your neck (and the sweat starts to drip in places that don’t like to be sweaty), sandwiches become the best kind of meal. They keep your kitchen cool and your face full of summer’s best produce. There’s the classic tomato sandwich, of course, the merits of which have been discussed by many an enthusiastic blogger, but I recently came across this post by Williams Sonoma on the best way to build a sandwich, and my mind started to go places. I realized that, in summertime, there are so many ways a sandwich can go!

It comes down to a few things: Sturdy, toasted bread; good cheese; ripe fruit, and a fancy finish (some flaky salt or pink peppercorns, for example). I decided to go open-faced, and let the summer fruit shine bright.

Strawberry and burrata. Ham, cheddar and plums. Ricotta and raspberry! Sandwiches don’t really need recipes, I know. These little guys are just jumping off points for you and your favorite summer flavors. So this weekend, check out your local farmer’s market, pour yourself a glass of something cold and bubbly and get into summer. With sandwiches.

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Grilled Cheddar, Peach & Arugula

September 28, 2012 by mollygilbert520 7 Comments

Let’s get right to the point here: you don’t need me to give you a recipe for grilled cheese. You also don’t need an extra thick coffee milkshake, but wouldn’t your day be better if you had one right now? Sometimes we want things that we don’t need. Like milkshakes and pie cutters shaped like acorns and recipes for grilled cheese.

I had this for lunch two days in a row. We’ve been lucky enough to still have some peaches at the farmer’s market (slim pickings, but I’m holding on to peach season with white knuckles), though I imagine this would be just as delicious with pears or apples, or even sweet plums.

And if you’re looking for a comfy tomato soup recipe to round this whole thing out, I’d suggest a hearty bowlful of Moroccan-spiced tomato soup. Yum.

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Cool Tomato Sandwich

June 20, 2012 by mollygilbert520 6 Comments

Happy first day of real summer! Rumor has it you east coasters are hot today. Damn hot. Real hot. Sticky, drippy, lung-crushing hot.

So, basically, hot.

It’s a perfectly breezy 74 degrees here in San Francisco, but I’m not just going to go telling you that. I mean, why would I? To make you jealous? Encourage you to shake your sweaty fist at me? That wouldn’t be nice, no sir. Instead, I’m going to tell you how to master the art of the sandwich of summer sandwiches, that coolest of hot-weather cool, the classic: tomato sandwich.

It’s really quite simple. The principles of this sandwich are fourfold:

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