Sorta/kinda Penn Station Artichoke Sub

Living in Atlanta, I am approximately 250 miles too far away from any Penn Station Sub shop to quench my occasional, yet burning thirst for a Penn Station Artichoke-mushroom sub. In its absence, I have decided to use my own intelligence that existed before this world to SUB-stitute my all-time favorite sammich (Get it? SUB-stitute?!?) with a version of my own concoction.

And like my own special brand of humor, not everyone will appreciate this sub. I realize that feelings run pretty deep and strong in this family about certain elements of this sub. You know who you are, mushroom (gasp!) and artichoke (the humanity!) haters. My best advice is to take a sip of Hater-ade, and try this sub out, substituting anything you hate with something you love (like onions, for example.) I realize this would probably change the cardinal essence of this sub, but I accept our diversity of taste buds.....

Let the Subbing BEGIN!

You'll need:

some type of sub roll
mayo (don't you dare put that miracle whip on there)
(Ok, if you must.......)
mushrooms, sliced up
artichoke hearts (I prefer these unmarinated)
mozzarella cheese
garlic, minced
balsamic vinegar, olive oil


Here's what I did:

1. Heat up the olive oil, toss in garlic, artichoke hearts, mushroom and let it slosh around a bit in the pan till tender.

2. Splash on some balsamic vinegar. We always put the vinegar on our food when we're at Penn Station, so if the vinegar did anything in its brief existence, its smell made me feel like the sub was going to taste like the real thing.

3. Spread some mayo on a sub roll you've already sliced open

4. Slop the arti-harsh/mush-death mixture on top of the open slices, spread the motz on top and let it brown a bit under your oven's (or toaster oven's) broil setting. (Open-faced)

5. Season to taste with salt or oregano or gold flakes or Parmesan cheese. If only I had that Parmesan, life would be different....I'd be living in New York with Hank already, I'd have wings that would pop out of my fingertips on command, it wouldn't be 90 degrees for 4 days straight already.........

...........................................

Enjoy the sub, Hatchamealers! Even more importantly, let me know if anyone out there ever does try this sammich, and how it goes and any advice you might have if you've ever tasted the real thing.

M2D2, at your service.

Saturday Sandwiches

SATURDAY SAMMICHES!



We love them long time.

The making of these sandwiches is not for the faint of heart. It is a very complex operation. I'd rate the difficulty level up there with...grilled cheese. Which is pretty much of what it's a glorified version. This is called sarcasm, folks. Hank and I tend to make it on Saturday afternoons, hence the name. We stole it from PioneerWomanCooks, shifted some elements around, gave it a new name and WHAM! :

Suddenly, it's ours. Here's what you need:

Bread (I suggest wheat so your brain doesn't rot, but other criminally insane types like it with rye. I can't understand why, but they like it with rye. I think I would die.)

2 types of cheese, one white, one orange-yellow, any combination you can invent. Mozzarella and sharp cheddar, or colby jack and munester. Whatever you have.

Whole green chiles Not nearly as good if you use diced. Please heed this advice. The life of your sammich depends on it.

Tomato Slices We usually leave these out because the sandwich tends to get so messy, but if you have skills, you can pull it off.

Dijon Mustard and Mayonnaise, butter. A skillet pan. An oven range. Heat or fire. Nerves of steel.

So:

Mix equal parts mayo to dijon mustard. Spread a thin layer of this goop on one side of each slice of bread. Lick some off your fingers when no one's looking.

Put a slice or two of one type of cheese on top of this, a slice or two of green chiles on top of that, a slice of tomato on top of that--I think you can see where this is going. Pretty much, go ahead and pile everything that should be on that sandwich on there, butter the outsides of the breads, and cook it in a pan on a stove with pretty low heat. You want it to cook slow and low so the heat can get in and melt all the cheese without burning the bread.

Flip, Cook a little more, cut in half, eat.

It's a sassy little grilled cheese.

monte cubano sandwiches

This hearty little sammich has been in heavy rotation lately at the hank & marissa homestead. Also in heavy rotation is the Anthony Bourdain No Reservations Cleveland episode. Has anyone seen that one? It's like chicken soup for the Missing Cleveland In all its Crustiness Soul. But I digress...

Monte Cubano
courtesy of Gourmet magazine
serves 1

2 slices firm bread (nothing like specific instructions, eh? We've used sourdough)
1 to 2 tsp mustard
4 or 5 dill pickle rounds
2 slices ham
2 slices turkey
2 thin slices Swiss (I've used Muenster or Havarti, Hank stays true to the Swiss)
1/2 garlic clove
1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 large egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp butter (Pam sprayed on the pan is great, too)

-Spread 1 slice of bread with mustard and top with pickles, meats, cheese. Mince and mash garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt, then mix with mayo. Spread on remaining slice of bread and assemble sandwich.
-Beat together egg, milk, and a little bit of salt and pepper, then soak sandwich in egg mixture.
-Melt butter in skillet over med-low heat. Cook sandwich, uncovered , until underside is well browned, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook remaining side, covered, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. remove from heat and let stand, covered, 1 minute.

Eat it, love it, eat it again. Think of how much you love me for posting this recipe.

...and Hank, for finding it.

M