Bravo, excellent, awesome, two thumbs up. Great show. Thank you for getting it right, Food Network Star judges. And in your FACE, everybody who said that a sandwich show would be boring!
The format of The Sandwich King is entertaining and engaging. Jeff doesn’t just cook. This episode, we went with him to Johnnie’s Beef, where he originally discovered the sandwich that inspired today’s creation. We met owner Frank, who “lets us see where the magical beef happens.” Lol. And later in the show, we were treated to a second sandwich. Two for one! The juxtaposition was clever: one sandwich takes four hours, and the other takes ten minutes, appealing not only to those with plenty of time to cook but also those who want to be in and out of the kitchen fast.
This episode’s subjects: a Chicago beef sandwich and a mortadella fig focaccianini. Nice. I’m a vegetarian, but none of my family or friends are, so I will forever be in need of carnivore-friendly recipes. (Plus, with some tweaking, I bet I could make a vegetarian version of the Chicago beef using my fave meat substitute: seitan.)
The Chicago features a roast braised in red wine and beef stock with Italian seasoning and thyme, green bell peppers roasted with oil and granulated garlic, onions, fresh garlic cloves, and a homemade hot giardineria topping made with carrots, red bell pepper, cauliflower, celery, cerano peppers, all on a French roll. The giardineria intrigued me. I’d never heard of it, so I made a note to google it later — but then Jeff walked viewers through how to make it from scratch. Excellent. “I think my peppers are perfectly done.” Jeff said, taking the green bell peppers out of the oven. “Oh, perf!” he enthused, and I chuckled. “Perf”? I have a new word. Mmmmm: my mouth watered a bit when he dunked the sandwich in the au jus and took a bite.
Random: the split-screen effect is cool.
The mortadella fig focaccianini is “a beautiful hybrid between a focaccia sandwich and a panini sandwich.” (Lol—someone was taking notes during the Rachel Ray episode of Food Network Star, when Vic Vegas made The LaChanga: a hybrid between a lasagna and a chimichanga.) The focaccianini features fontanella cheese and mortadella meat between slices of focaiccia bread slathered with a fig spread made with dried figs reconstituted in water, sugar, and balsamic vinegar. I’m personally not at all a fan of sweet + salty, but I’m totally picturing focaccianinis cut into fourths on sandwich platters for guests at my next party. And I loved the tip on what to do if you don’t have a panini press. Because I don’t have a panini press.
Advice: it’s best if you record The Sandwich King so that you can rewind it, because, as with most cooking shows, sometimes the ingredient list comes fast and furious, and you’re liable to miss something. And now, if I may, some guest star ideas: Guy Fieri, of course. I have a sneaking suspicion that a Guy-Jeff pairing would result in nonstop LOLs. And some fave contestants from the last season of FNS! I want to see Susie and Jeff make something deliciously Mexican, Vic and Jeff make a yummy hybrid with a funny name, and Justin B. make the scrumptiously complex sandwich while Jeff makes the delectably easy sandwich.
I heart Jeff, and I heart The Sandwich King. This show is … perf.
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