“I’m hungry. Can someone please help me? Please. This is serious. I haven’t eaten since early this morning. Please.” The plea came from a diminutive man I had just rushed passed on 8th Avenue in New York City. He was wearing a grey cap pulled down over his forehead and held a tattered white plastic shopping bag. It was 12:30 a.m. A hard March wind was blowing through Chelsea and everyone who passed this pleading man, was hurrying to someplace warm, including me.
I had just eaten at one of my favorite joints Casa Mono. I started with the pulpo with fennel and grapefruit and followed with the dorada with artichokes and langostinos (the langoustine tail meat was a bit mushy but still flavorful.) My belly was full and I still had the glow of a quarto of solid Spanish red.
For a reason I still do not know, after getting a few steps past this man, who was all but invisible to passers-by, I stopped and waited for him to catch up. When I offered a dollar bill to him, he said, “No man, didn’t you hear, I’m hungry. This is no joke. I don’t want money. I’m just very hungry.” “Really, no bullshit?” I said.
Sandwiches
The Perfect Sandwich
A Breakfast Recipe
My mother stayed with us during her recent visit from back east. She
emerged early each day from the back bedroom in need of coffee. In the
kitchen she would find me up to my elbows in three-grain biscuit dough
or in the midst of mixing a large oven baked pancake, or perhaps
dropping oatmeal scones onto a cookie sheet. I was always in the midst
of something made from scratch, time consuming and terrifically messy.
A ritual that was met with a quizzical look and her quiet reproach, as if I couldn’t hear her say, “Nu? Whats wrong with frozen waffles?” My childhood breakfasts came straight out of a box from the freezer in the cold mid-western kitchen where I grew up. My mother taught in downtown Detroit, and early morning school days were mostly about getting up and getting out. Yet, somewhere in between the up and out part, I remember a breakfast ritual that my mother and I shared, just her and I, before she left for work.
Butter-Almond-Crusted Fish Sandwiches
I love a good fish sandwich and it has been a while since I've had one. I came across this recipe using tilapia, a firm, forgiving and inexpensive fish. I loved the idea of piling coleslaw over the fish and using pulverized almonds as part of the crust, making it somewhat reminiscent of sole almondine.
The sandwich was crispy, sophisticated, fun and not to mention budget-friendly. It's a great addition to regular dinners around here. When we get home from working in the vineyard we are starving and this will hit the spot quite nicely without feeling like a heavy meal.
The fish remained juicy within its crust and the splash of lemon was the perfect finish. You can use any type of bread, toasting it or throwing it on the grill pan gives the sandwich a good textural contrast.
Try it out when you have some time.
Artisanal Grilled Cheese Sandwich
I recently gave a studio tour to 40+ photograph students from Long Beach City College. For the past few years I’ve been a proud member of the advisory committee for the photography department, and it tickles me to no end to meet with the students.
This year’s group was particularly bright and full of insight, asking tons of valuable questions that ran the gamut from studio management and self-promotion to the logistics of photographing food. I made sure to have the books we’ve shot on the table for the students to see, and later someone asked me about The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches It was at this point that I admitted, like I always do when people ask, that I actually took one or more bites of every single sandwich from this book.
Yes, you read that right. I tasted every single sandwich. Because this was actually work, I’ve prepared a highly scientific flow chart to show you the studio’s exact process.
La Sandwich Perdu
The preeminent sandwich of my lifetime, could be found just three
blocks from my parents' house. Several years ago the sub-shop
inexplicably shutdown. I was devastated.
I roamed the San
Fernando Valley in search of something that could take it's place. I'd
find the right pickles (chopped dill), but the seasoning would be off.
I'd find the right seasoning, but the bread would be off (thick sesame
roll.)
I found good sandwiches, but never my sandwich. In high school I introduced a friend, to the sandwich. He shared the
same yearning for Turkey Breast, Pickles, Onions, Provolone, Oil, Salt
& Pepper (hold the Tomatoes.)
Using "Web 2.0 skills" he asked if anyone knew where to find a spot-on
replica of this sandwich.
Within an hour, he got a response. A user claimed that the sandwich existed somewhere in the depths of the West Valley.
Skepticism arose from deep inside my belly.
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