Breaded Fish Sandwich with Homemade Dressing

As I have said before, Charlie loves sandwiches, and consequently, I spend quite a bit of time trying new sandwiches - either by a new recipe or by making up my own recipe.  One day I decided to make a breaded fish sandwich, and it was a big hit.

Gently toasted bread, flaky delicious white fish, sliced fresh vegetables and a delicious homemade dressing.... tasty.  

The only problem was that it was a little hard to take a bite out of it! 

Pain de Mie

I am so excited about this new pan I just got!  It is called a Pullman Loaf Pan, and I found it on Amazon for $25 (normally $45).  The pan is an "commercial grade, heavy gauge loaf pan with cover; 13 x 4 x 4 inches."  The point of it is that it makes perfectly square loaves of bread - obviously making it ideal for baking squared bread loaves, such as the French loaf pain de mie, and brioche. 

I used the pain de mie recipe that accompanied the loaf pan, which is a King Arthur Flour recipe.  But what is pain de mie, you might ask?

Let us look to Wikepedia:

"Pain de mie is a type of sliced, packaged bread "Le pain" in French means "bread" or "loaf of bread", and "la mie" refers specifically to the soft part of bread, called the crumb. In English, pain de mie is most similar to pullman loaf or regular sandwich bread. This bread has sugar in it, which makes it sweeter than most French breads, though even with the sugar, pain de mie is still not as sweet as most American breads. This bread is usually used for making sandwiches or for toasting.  It can be baked in a sealed pan, which prevent crust from forming. If not baked in a sealed pan, the crust can be cut off (as done in factories before packaging). Pain de mie is sold in rounded or rectangular shapes.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain_de_mie"


Isn't it beautiful?





So here I am with the pain de mie dough made, getting ready to put it into the Pullman pan. 

The dough is rolled and the edges crimped, and now it is time to rise.

I cover the pan with plastic wrap, and set it in a warm spot to rise until it is just below the top edge of the pan (don't put the lid on it yet).

Now, about 50 minutes later (though this number will vary depending on the conditions in your kitchen), I am ready to gently slide the lid in place.  I spray a little spray grease on the bottom side of the lid.

and gently slide it in place.  You can see it is just barely brushing the top of the loaf - try to work very carefully so you don't cause your dough to fall. 

Now, let the pain sit in a warm place again for about 10 minutes, while you preheat your oven.  During this time, you want your dough to continue to rise, so it fills the corners of the top of the pan.  After about 10 minutes, bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes.  At this time, carefully remove the lid and bake an additional 20 minutes. 

Enjoy your square pain de mie!  Hint: it is great for sandwiches, toast, bread puddings, and makes incredible french toast. 

Pain de Mie 

(adapted from a King Arthur Flour recipe; the original recipe made a loaf of bread that was a bit too dry, so I have adapted it to suit our tastes. )

• 1 cup milk
• 2/3 cup water
• 8 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
• 3 tablespoons potato flour starch
• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast

Manual Method: In a large bowl, combine the milk, water, butter, salt and sugar. Add the dried milk, flours and yeast, stirring till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 5 to 8 minutes, or until it's smooth and supple. Because of the relatively high fat content of this dough, it's a real pleasure to work with. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Mixer Method: Combine the ingredients as above, using a flat beater paddle or beaters, then switch to the dough hook(s) and knead for 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Bread Machine Method: Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your machine, program the machine for Manual or Dough, and press Start. When the cycle is finished, remove the dough and proceed as follows.

Lightly grease a 13 x 4-inch pain de mie or pullman pan. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, shape it into a 13-inch log, and fit it into the pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until it's just below the lip of the pan, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen (it may rise even more slowly in a cool kitchen; don't worry, this long rise will give it great flavor).

Remove the plastic, and carefully place the cover on the pan, let it rest an additional 10 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake the bread for 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, carefully remove the lid, and return the bread to the oven to bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until it tests done; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will register 190°F. Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 loaf.

Ham Salad

I was in the mood for ham salad for lunch a few days ago.  As I was organizing the freezer, I noticed there was some frozen ham tucked away.  I happily pulled it out to thaw, and the next morning was off and running on my quest for a tasty ham salad sandwich. 


I always make my ham salad in the food processor.  So, I cleaned and chunked the ham and plopped in in my food processor bowl.  Then, pulsed it just a few times to start breaking up the large chunks. 

Then, add some roughly chopped celery and onions. 

 

And then add some mayonnaise - oh, no!  At this point I just realized I am out of mayo.  Hmmm, what else to use?  I found some interesting looking salad dressings in the fridge, and ended up putting a dollop of asiago peppercorn, ranch and light honey mustard dressings in the food processor bowl.  I also added a few grinds of some freshly ground black pepper and a few pickles. 

Then pulse until the mixture is at a good consistency and tasted the mixture.  It wasn't quite right.  As I looked in the refrigerator and the cupboards, the mirin caught my eye. 

I added about a teaspoon to the ham salad, stirred it in and tasted it again.  Perfect! 

Ah, now, time to eat!  I served the ham salad on a bun with some fresh spinach.  It was delicious. 

Ham Salad

• leftover ham chunks, about 2 cups worth
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 3 - 4 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• squirt asiago peppercorn dressing
• squirt ranch dressing
• squirt honey mustard dressing
• dash salt
• 4 baby pickles
• 1 or 1 tablespoons pickle juice
• about 1 teaspoon mirin

Pulse ham chunks in food processor slightly.  Add remaining ingredients, pulse a few more times until the mixture has a 'ham-salad' texture.  Try it.  Too dry?  Add a little more of one of the dressings.  Need a little more spice?  add some more pepper.  Need a bit of sweetener? - add a hint more mirin.    

Let chill for an hour or two if possible.  Serve on buns with lettuce, spinach and/or tomato slices if desired!

Meatball Sandwich (or Sub)

After we have a meal of Spaghetti and Meatballs, I can't resist one of my favorite sandwiches for lunch the next day: A Meatball Sandwich. 

Slightly toasted bread, moist, saucy meatballs in marinara and a nice slice of melted provolone cheese over the top.  Deliciousness!

Meatball Sandwich

• sub roll or bun
• marinara sauce
• meatballs
• 1 slice provolone cheese

Warm meatballs in marinara sauce.  Toast bread.  Place meatballs and sauce on bottom, and top with slice of provolone cheese.  Top with other piece of bread.  If the cheese doesn't melt enough, pop in the microwave for a few seconds.  So quick and easy!

Peanut Butter Molasses Sandwich

For lunch today, I was really in the mood for molasses.  Strange?  I thought so too.  So I ended up creating this sandwich: slightly toasted bread, a layer of crunchy peanut butter, a 1/4 slice of bacon, and about a tablespoon of molasses drizzled over the whole thing.  The molasses was so sweet and the bacon and peanut butter just a little bit salty, with a satisfying crunch from the crunchy peanut butter.  It was so delicious - and easy to make!

Do you like to eat molasses? 

                      

Beef Po' Boys

Charlie loves sandwiches. In fact, I would go as far as to say that sandwiches are one of his favorite meals. Because of this, I am constantly looking for tasty new sandwich recipes. I've heard of "Po' Boys," but have never tried one.  I know there are many different recipes, ingredients and ways to make a Po' Boy, and that flexibility was partially what made the sandwich so appealing to me.

Just as an FYI: a Po' Boy is a traditional sandwich from Louisiana.  They generally consist of a good quality bread, some sort of meat (sometimes with gravy), and in general are topped with mayo, lettuce, pickles and tomatoes.  

The other day, we got our latest issue of "Cooks Country" and included was a Po' Boy Sandwich recipe that looked delicious. I modified their recipe to suit our tastes and what we had on hand, and the results were well worth the effort.  

The process was a little time consuming. I brined a beef chuck roast for about 8 hours, then slow roasted it in a pan of gravy for about 4 hours. After pulling it out of the oven, I let the meat rest for a little while before shredding it and adding it back to the gravy.

To assemble the sandwich: slightly toasted Italian sub rolls, the delicious, fork-tender beef mixed with gravy, topped with sliced provolone cheese, a large slice of fresh garden-ripe tomato, and pickles. I know it sounds weird - but it was so delicious.