ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 3, 1996 TAG: 9607030002
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
A trend on the rise in some restaurants is sandwich bars, piled high with a wide and colorful variety of breads and sandwich fixings.
It's easy to create the same type of bar at home for a fun, unusual and nutrition-packed meal your diners will love.
Even the fussiest of eaters will find plenty to like among the breads, fillings, taste and texture "accents" and condiments you spread out on the counter top, buffet or table. Incorporate a theme and you can entertain dinner guests in a flash.
Build from a base of bread; it makes the sandwich. Bread is packed with complex carbohydrates that supply the body with energy. All breads - white, wheat and specialty - supply iron, fiber and B vitamins to help your body process the energy from food, and almost all are low in fat. Besides adding versatility and convenience to your sandwich bar, every standard slice of bread counts as one of the 6 to 11 daily grain servings recommended in the USDA's Food Guide Pyramid.
Base your sandwich bar on two or three different breads. Storing breads and keeping them fresh is simpler when you limit the number of choices. (Also, kids will take longer to decide if faced with a lot of bread choices.)
Start with a bread that you know many people will enjoy, such as sandwich white or Italian bread. Next, choose a whole-grain bread, possibly one without kernels or seeds if you're feeding children, who may not like coarser, grainier breads, or people with delicate digestive systems. The third bread can be a specialty bread that is matched to your fillings. Rye or marble rye go well with a deli-type sandwich bar topped with sliced meats, while pumpernickel is a good base for cheeses or tuna salad. Serve raisin or cinnamon bread along with sweet fillings. To add a kid-friendly touch, offer hot dog or hamburger buns, toast one or more breads or cut the bread ahead of time with a cookie cutter. (Bread trimmings can be dried and ground into bread crumbs.)
Choose up to three fillings that can be mixed and matched with each other and with the breads you've selected. Figure on about two or three ounces of filling per sandwich - approximately three average slices of turkey, lean roast beef, ham or cheese, or 1/3 cup of tuna, chicken or seafood salad.
Many traditional sandwich fillings, such as luncheon meats, mayonnaise-dressed salads, peanut butter or cheeses, are high in fat. To trim fat while saving flavor, select turkey breast, lower-fat turkey cold cuts, reduced-fat cheese, lean ham or beef or fat-free bologna and other luncheon meats. Make tuna and other salads with reduced-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, or use plain yogurt instead. Try mixing peanut butter with part-skim ricotta cheese for a lighter, lower-fat spread.
Counterbalance higher-fat and lower-fat selections. If your sandwich bar includes sliced roasted turkey breast or lean luncheon meat, you could also include regular cheese.
Fruit and vegetable "accents" add flavor and flair to any sandwich bar. Offer lettuce, tomato, pickles, sliced onions and other sandwich standards. Rethinking the vegetables can reinvent a sandwich's taste. For example, to add a peppery, mustard flavor, instead of iceberg use arugula, watercress, spinach or dandelion greens paired with mild Boston or Bibb lettuces. Sun-ripened cherry tomatoes add sweet flavor. Or, for an extra tangy taste, marinate tomatoes in vinaigrette or Italian dressing overnight.
For kids, offer bananas sliced lengthwise for a "banana split sandwich" completed with peanut butter spread and jelly. Or have fun with sliced apples, kiwifruit or pears, raisins, chopped dried apricots, halved seedless grapes, sliced jicama, sliced radishes or carrot curls.
Match condiments to the bread and fillings. For a savory touch, serve mustard, catsup, salsa or reduced-fat salad dressing. Neutral condiments can include reduced-fat spreads like margarine and mayonnaise. Jam, fruit butters, honey or fruit salsa are sweet favorites. For an ethnic twist, try hummus and cucumber-yogurt dressing. Spice things up by adding chili powder or curry to the mayonnaise. Use mayonnaise and mustard combined.
To receive free recipes for several world-famous sandwiches, send your name and address on a 3x5 index card to French's Deli Brown Mustard Booklet, P.O. Box 6807, Young America, Minn. 55558-6807. For some new wrinkles on bacon, lettuce and tomatoes, send your name and address to Oscar Mayer Consumer Center, Bacon Booklet, P.O. Box 7188, Madison, Wis. 53707.
When it comes to making sandwiches, Michael McLaughlin can give Dagwood a run for his money!
In McLaughlin's latest book, ``The Little Book of Big Sandwiches'' (Chronicle, $14.95), there are 60 delicious recipes for jumbo-sized sandwiches.
In the book's introductory chapter, McLaughlin says good sandwiches don't always get the respect they deserve. However, he continues that although a "slab of cold meatloaf slapped between two slices of white bread and eaten by the midnight light of the refrigerator may sometimes be just the culinary ticket, other occasions and other hungers call for more substantial and inventive fare.''
The recipes demonstrate that having someone over for just a sandwich can indeed showcase your culinary prowess. For example, McLaughlin's Pesto Chicken Sandwiches with Roasted Red Peppers and Fontina are easy to prepare, yet sophisticated enough for company. Many of the ingredients in this open-faced sandwich can also be used in other recipes.
McLaughlin designed Proustian Sloppy Joes to taste like his mother's version. You might prefer to reduce or eliminate the amount of oil called for and cook the onions along with the meat for a version that is a little less greasy.
Any of the following recipes brings a new meaning to ``just a sandwich.'' Serve them with a mixed green salad.
- FOOD EDITOR ALMENA HUGHES, BARBARA ALBRIGHT OF AP SPECIAL FEATURES OSCAR MAYER BACON AND THE WHEAT FOODS COUNCIL CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY
Recipes for:
PESTO CHICKEN SANDWICHES WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS AND FONTINA
PROUSTIAN SLOPPY JOES
OVEN-BAKED EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA HEROES
COBB SANDWICH
BETTER FOR YOU BLT
FLAG CAKE
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Variety is the key when it comes to sandwich making.by CNBcolor.