The Lunch Box Sandwich Makeover

lunch boxVacation is over. Fall is here and all over America, kids are schlepping to their bus stops with crinkled brown lunch bags packed into overstuffed backpacks.

And what is in those lunch bags? In many, the classic lunch box fare is most likely included: peanut butter and jelly, tuna salad, egg salad, turkey and cheese, cheese and crackers,  fruit chews and  animal crackers just to name a few.

Likely, due to an unrelenting recession, American workers are starting to pack their own lunches to save a buck.

From Suzie Orman, Dave Ramsey, Clark Howard, these prophets of “pinching a penny” have been preaching  to America that packing your own lunch or making your own gourmet coffee is a sage strategy for digging your way out of your financial hole.

If you are one of those penny pinchers, you may know of only one way to pack a lunch. Many of us revert back to the menus of our childhood lunchboxes.

As you unpack your smooshed peanut butter and jelly sandwich or the turkey sandwich with wilted lettuce and soggy bread, you stare off and dream of the crunchy, fresh baked rolls at your favorite lunch haunt slathered with that magical mystery spread.

So where did this love affair for bread and a savory filling begin?

Consider the first sandwiches.  In the Middle Ages, stale bread was used as a plate so the bread could soak up the grease and juices from the meal stacked on top.

As the medieval munchers finished the fillings piled high on their rustic sandwiches – or “trenchers” as they were called back then–the left over bread was either fed to a dog or given to the poor.

As you can imagine, over time, bread became much more than a grease trap. Bread making became an artisan trade.

So as you sit in your cubical, unpack your pathetic lunch bag and you watch your co-workers departing  for lunch to indulge in a $10 gourmet sandwich, be assured, there is hope to bring life back to your lunch bag.

A delicious sandwich all starts with the sandwich spread and really good bread. You can never fail with a good French baguette. And for the spread, bottled mayonnaise just won’t cut it.

Try the included aioli recipe, which is basically a fancy French mayonnaise. It tastes fresher than the aging glop found on the dusty supermarket shelves.

With this spread, you can add various flavors throughout the week.  Keep the components separate so you can mix and match as you like. You can even use these spreads for dinner to top your baked fish or grilled chicken.

Roast Turkey, Roasted Red Peppers with Pesto Aioli:

½ French Baguette
6 ounces sliced turkey breast
Three to four slices of fresh mozzarella
Three to four slices of roasted red pepper
Two tablespoons of pesto (recipe below)
Two tablespoons of aioli (recipe below)
Mix the aioli and pesto together and spread on the bread

Assemble the ingredients onto the baguette and add lettuce and tomato if you like.

Basic Aioli Recipe:

2 egg yolks
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of white-wine vinegar
About 1 cup olive oil
Dash of kosher salt
Dash of fresh ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Blend all ingredients except the olive oil, salt and pepper in food processor or blender. As the processor is running, add the olive oil in a slow and steady stream to emulsify the aioli.  Season the aioli with salt and pepper to taste. Store in a Tupperware container in the fridge.

Pesto:

2 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Juice of half a lemon
Zest of half a lemon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend till smooth.

Roast Beef with Caramelized Vinegar Onions and Chimichurri Aioli:

6 ounces of roast beef
¼ cup caramelized onions
Two to three slices of Havarti
2 tablespoons of chimichurri sauce (recipe below)
2 tablespoons of aioli
Mix the chimichurri sauce and aioli together
Baguette

In saucepan, cook half an onion in a splash of balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a splash of olive oil till caramelized.  Spread the chimichurri aioli on the baguette and then the rest of the ingredients.

Chimichurri:

1 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley
1 cup (packed) fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup olive oil

Blend all ingredients in a blender and store in a Tupperware container. Great on grilled beef, fish or chicken.

–Shelly Connors

Find more of Shelly’s work here.

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