Potbelly...Magical Little Sandwiches...

I just got back from a wonderful weekend in the Washington DC area, seeing wonderful old friends, and most importantly, getting to eat my FAVORITE sandwich in...the...world!!

The Potbelly Sandwich Shop is amazing. Seriously. If you are lucky enough to live in the DC Metro area (including VA and MD), Texas, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan or Kentucky, I officially hate you. Well, not really, but I sure am jealous of you. Because that is the small, small region where Potbelly exists.

I seriously beg them every few months via their website to come up to NY - people would go nuts here.

I can't explain why these sandwiches are so magical. But ever since I had my first taste in DC, only about a year before I moved back north, I have been hooked. And I think everyone who has eaten Potbelly who I have talked to at least, proclaims their love for it shortly after I mention it. Hmmm...what is IN these sandwiches that make them so lovable?!?

They have a decent size menu, all made to order. My favorite is the Turkey Breast, or the TKY which is the same thing but in "skinny" mode, made with less bread, meat and cheese for less carbage and fat!

You pick your bread and the type of sandwich you want...they put the meats and cheeses on and send it through a little toasting thing. Then all of the toppings go on. I usually just get lettuce and maybe some onions or pickles. I used to get mayo, but I cut that out... and I don't like mustard. I REALLY wish they offered honey mustard, but not yet. Maybe one day!

After it is assembled, they cut it in half and wrap it up - the way they wrap it is great because you can use it sort of as a sandwich diaper and eat it so nothing falls out, or you can unwrap it and eat it the regular way. The sandwiches are the perfect temperature and I swear they melt in your mouth.

You can also get soups, salads, milkshakes, cookies and breakfast. All of the employees I have encountered in various stores are consistently friendly and seem happy.

I look forward to this treat whenever I can get it - I once asked my parents to bring me some home when they went to Maryland but they refused. :-( Thanks a lot!!

Hopefully one day my dream will come true and they will move north so I can have this more regularly. Until then, those of you who can, enjoy your Potbelly!! And those of you visiting any of the above mentioned states... find a Potbelly and try it!!

Steak n Cheese Sammies for Dinner!

My husband and I made an incredibly tasty steak n cheese sandwich for dinner the other night. Seriously, SO good. I would also make mini versions of this as appetizers for a party or an event!!

We bought organic sandwich steaks from the supermarket, as well as whole wheat kaiser rolls. All that was left was to build the perfect sandwich.

We had provolone cheese in the house...along with a bag of chopped up peppers and some onion.

First we sauteed the peppers and onions to soften them up, then moved them to a bowl.


In the same pan, we put the sandwich steaks in and sauteed those with a mix of the Peter Luger's steak sauce and Worcestershire sauce. (Use more BBQ sauce than Worcestershire).


Once the steaks were browned, we added the veggies back into the pan so they could mix with the steak and sauce.


Towards the end of the simmering, we threw the rolls in the oven with the provolone on it to toast the bread and melt the cheese.


The steak, peppers and onion combo topped the cheese and it was time for dinner!!

Yum!! Totally steak house worthy, in my opinion!!

Sunday Game Day SANDWICH! Turkey & Pepperoni Panini's!

Well, we're getting a blizzard today and wanted something warm to eat for lunch so I thought of breaking out our panini press, which we haven't used in quite some time.

The sandwich my husband and I created is perfect for hungry game day watchers - nice and filling! It's easy to make if you are tailgating and have a little grill - just wrap it in foil and throw it on the grill for 10 minutes.

Here are the ingredients we used:

Sliced deli turkey
American cheese
Turkey Pepperoni (you can use regular too, of course)
honey mustard (in my husband's case)
margarine
Rye bread

For our panini press, we have to put some margarine on the outsides of the bread, but I also spread some inside my sandwich. My husband used honey mustard on the inside of his.


Pepperoni went on one side of the sandwich, cheese on the other and turkey piled in the middle.



Into the panini press for a few minutes until golden brown - then dive into the gooey mess of goodness!!


We had sour pickles on the side too.

Delicious!! This one is a keeper here!!

Sunday Game Day Snack - Open Face Knish Sandwiches!

Today's Sunday Game Day Snack is a hearty one, and VERY delicious, as my husband and I just tested out. Open face knish sandwiches. YUM-MY!

My husband originally saw something like this concept on the Food Network and desperately wanted to try it. So today when I went food shopping, there were some knish's on sale and I plopped them in the cart.

We planned to use turkey and cheese on top of a sliced knish. You can definitely use any type of deli meat you enjoy, accompanied by any type of cheese or additional vegetables - the possibilities are endless!

The knish's we bought happened to be potato broccoli, mostly because those were the ones on sale and we didn't want to buy something that cost more since this was an experiment and we really don't eat knish's very often at home.

We also purchased some plain, thin-sliced deli turkey and light Swiss cheese (also thin-sliced).

We got home around 12:30 so just decided to go ahead and make these for the start of the 1 pm Jet game and eat a late lunch/early snack.

I sliced the knish in half so I had 2 "sandwich ends." Then I shredded some of the sliced turkey and put it on top of the potato filling, topped by a slice of Swiss cheese.


They baked about 20 minutes until the cheese started to get a slight golden color on top and the potato filling was hot.

The sandwich was yummy plain (as I ate it), and my husband decided to add some spicy mustard to his, which he also really enjoyed.

Since we ate them for lunch we each had two sides, but if we were using this as a snack we would have just split one. They are very easy to make, very filling and very tasty.

Happy Football Day!

Sandwiches!

I love sandwiches. This is a funny statement coming from a girl who, throughout elementary and middle school, ate the bread, cheese and meat all separate because I didn't like the breadcrumbs getting on everything. I don't know what I was thinking!!

My love for sandwiches started through my sleepaway camp, actually. There was a gas station down the road called Texaco and they had a small deli inside the store. It was a bunk treat to get Texaco sandwiches on any given day...usually it was because someone in your bunk had a birthday. (I was very lucky in the fact that the bunk I was put into had several July birthdays!) So anyway, at age 11, someone in my bunk had a birthday and Texaco was for lunch...I had to suck it up and get a sandwich.

Maybe it was being at camp for a few weeks with sub-par food, maybe Texaco put drugs in the ingredients, I don't know, but that sandwich was honestly the BEST sandwich I had ever eaten. And it was just turkey, cheese and lettuce!! And there my love for the sandwich grew. I looked forward to Texaco at camp so I could try new concoctions. I started ordering deli sandwiches with my dad when I was at home. My mom was relieved that I would finally bring a normal sandwich to school. Life was good.

It wasn't until college though, that I started experimenting more with what you can put on a sandwich and using different condiments. I never really was a mustard fan and avoided anything that the name. But now I openly use honey mustard and honey dijon mustard. Sometimes I use a smear of mayo. Sometimes I use hummus as the condiment! The possibilities are endless.

Now I really enjoy the days my husband and I make sandwiches for lunch because I get to be creative. In fact, I have come up with my "signature" sandwich that we always use as a fall-back.

Here is A's Signature Sandwich:

Hard Salami
Turkey Breast
lettuce
pepper slices - the red, orange or yellow peppers taste the best
feta cheese
swiss cheese
honey dijon
tomato

YUMMY! I like using whole wheat club rolls. First I use a few slices of the hard salami, followed by a little turkey. Lettuce and pepper slices come next, followed by just a few crumbles of feta cheese for a little zing of a taste. Swiss cheese is next (and tomato if you like them - I don't but my husband does). The honey dijon goes on the top piece of bread. There are times I will toast the roll or bread just for something a little extra.

Another sandwich I really enjoy making is the Thanksgiving Sandwich. Leftover carved pieces of turkey are placed in a roll or wrap along with stuffing and dried cranberries. Make sure it is heated for a really homey, hearty meal.

Of course, pickles accompany almost every sandwich that comes out of this house, and sour pickles are our favorite!

What is your favorite sandwich??