Cheese, meats bread's perfect partners
When the day turns gloomy, gooey American slices on buttery white bread come to the rescue. When the kids hunger for dinner and the chicken's not defrosted, smoky ham and Monterey Jack meld together on toasty planks of wheat bread. When company comes, fontina melts into pesto-smeared focaccia for an easy appetizer.
We Americans sure do love our grilled cheese in all its glorious forms, so much so in this month's Saveur magazine writer Francine Prose says we eat an estimated 2 billion of the sandwiches a year.
That number could climb even higher if we get serious about celebrating April as National Grilled Cheese Month. I'm up for it! You?
Before you grab a spatula to make the Creamy, Cheesy and Smoky Croissant (pictured) from cheese maven Laura Werlin's new book “Grilled Cheese, Please!”, consider Werlin's tips for achieving the perfect sandwich:
• Grate cheese for faster, more even melting.
• Use salted butter for best flavor and butter the bread, not the pan.
• Grill sandwiches slowly over medium heat.
• Cover the sandwich during cooking to lock in heat for more even, faster melting.
• Press down on the sandwich with a spatula to ensure a crisp bread. Flip and repeat.
Savoring sandwiches: Grilled cheese, of course, isn't the only celebrated sandwich. Reubens, Cubanos, chicken salad and a host of others get time in the spotlight as Saveur presents The Sandwich Issue, available on newsstands now.
The magazine covers 90 “handheld meals from around the globe” making stops for hoagies in Philadelphia, bahn mi in Vietnam, man'oushe in Beirut and Italian beef in the Windy City.
Short, crisp articles and top-notch photography also pay homage to sandwich building blocks of bread and meat and its faithful companions including soda and chips.
This is one issue I won't be tossing in the recycling bin any time soon.
At the market: That same edition of Saveur details how to make your own deli meat, and while that could be a fun exercise if I had the time, I'd rather head to the deli counter and pick up some Creminelli salami for my next panini.
The Salt Lake City purveyor of all-natural Italian meats recently introduced its line of slicing salami to the area. It's available only in a handful of shops right now and will be expanding distribution in September. (Plug your ZIP code into the store finder at creminelli.com to find the closest outlet.)
Before I sampled some of the Creminelli meats, prosciutto and mortadella were the extent of my Italian deli experience. Now that I've tasted the robust, garlicky sopressa and the fennel-infused finocchiona I'm hungry for more.
Center of the plate: Sometimes you want a salad to complement your sandwich or soup, and sometimes you want it to be a meal in itself. When you want the latter, look for inspiration in the pages of Patricia Wells' new “Salad as a Meal” (William Morrow, $34.99).
In her latest book, this American in Paris (and Provence) shares tips for putting together a salad-friendly pantry (spiced grapes, red-hot salt) and composing classic and modern salads. She also offers ideas for what to serve when you want to nosh on a little something with your salad.
This is no vegetarian tome. Included in the pages are recipes for such protein-packed plates as Poached Turkey Breast Salad with Lemon, Capers, Cornichons and Mint and Warm Asian Shrimp Salad with Kaffir Lime Dust.
Many of the recipes in the book were beautifully captured by Chicago-based photographer Jeff Kauck at Wells' home in Provence.
Wells has crossed the ocean to promote this book (her 12th) and stops in Chicago this weekend. You can catch up with her at a book signing from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 17, at The Spice House, 1512 N. Wells St., Chicago.
She's also the guest of honor at a luncheon at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, at Froggy's French Cafe, 306 Green Bay Road, Highwood. The lunch costs $35; books will be available for purchase. Make your reservation at (847) 234-4420.
• Contact Food Editor Deborah Pankey at food@dailyherald.com. Friend Deb Pankey Daily Herald at facebook.com.