A twist on sandwiches for school
When it comes to lunch sandwiches, children are creatures of habit. But it's the rare child who doesn't crave a little variation now and then. The hidebound peanut-butter partisan might accept apple butter in place of grape jelly. The turkey devotee might appreciate a slice of avocado. The tuna exponent might go for a wrap instead of a traditional sandwich.
For the start of school 2010, we sought sandwich-shaking-up advice from three Long Island, N.Y., lunch-making parents who also are professional chefs.
Turkey is the go-to sandwich meat in Lauren Chattman's Sag Harbor kitchen. A former pastry chef, Chattman is the author of many cookbooks including "Cake Keeper Cakes" (Taunton, $17.95), "Panini Express" (Taunton, $18.95) and the upcoming "Cookie Swap!" (Workman, $14.95). Chattman's two daughters, Eve, 11 and Rose, 15, bring their lunch to school every day, and that means that their mother "is making sandwiches every morning."
"What's great about turkey," Chattman said, "is that it's so bland, it pairs well with other things," particularly cheese or another, saltier meat.
While she usually does not cook her own turkey, Chattman insists that it be roasted in the store she buys it from. "Otherwise it has this slimy texture," she said, "and doesn't seem entirely like meat."
It's all about peanut butter when Mitch SuDock makes sandwiches for his 9-year-old daughter Jessica, a 4th-grader at Solomon Schechter in Jericho. "And let's get one thing straight," said the chef-owner of Bistro M in Glen Head, "it has to be crunchy peanut butter."
Jessica isn't a huge fan of whole-wheat bread, but SuDock has had great success with sandwiches made with white whole wheat bread. ("White" wheat has a lighter taste than conventional wheat and thus whole-wheat bread made from it tastes very similar to regular white bread. Trader Joe's, Pepperidge Farm and Arnold all make such a loaf.)
He also recently introduced Jessica to Nutella, the hazelnut-chocolate spread that is a lunchtime favorite in Europe, and Nutella-based sandwiches have become a special treat.
It's not surprising that tuna is a popular sandwich filling at the home of Michael Meehan, chef at the Smithtown seafood restaurant H2O. Not only is dad a fish-o-phile, but it's one protein that his food-allergy-prone wife and red-meat-avoiding daughter, Heather, 16, will eat. (Sons John Henry, 10, and Jesse, 6, eat pretty much everything.)
Meehan looks for tuna that is labeled "dolphin safe," which means that a third party has ensured that the tuna producer followed established practices for avoiding harming dolphins while fishing for tuna. "Chunk light" is his tuna of choice.
3 to 5 slices roast turkey2 slices whole-wheat bread1 to 2 tablespoons cranberry preserves (shelved with jams and jellies) or cranberry saucePlace turkey on a slice of bread. Top with cranberry preserves and then another slice of bread.
Focaccia roll or panino rollLettuce or baby spinach3 to 5 slices roast turkey1 to 2 slices Genoa salami or 3 to 4 slices pepperoniVinaigrette or Italian dressingSplit the roll and top one half with greens. Add sliced turkey, a little salami or pepperoni and then drizzle with the dressing. Top with second half of roll.
5-ounce can of tuna1 to 2 tablespoons finely minced celery1 to 2 tablespoons mayonnaise1 teaspoon Dijon mustard4 slices whole-grain breadCherry peppers, thinly slicedCombine well-drained tuna with celery, mayonnaise and mustard. Spread on whole-grain bread then top with thinly sliced cherry peppers.
2 to 3 tablespoons hummus1 whole-wheat tortillaThinly sliced cucumber, about 2 inches worthRoasted red pepper, cut into strips½ a 5-ounce canned of tunaSpread hummus over the center of the tortilla, top with cucumber, pepper strips, then well-drained tuna. Fold opposite sides of the tortilla over to partially cover the filling, then roll up wrap.
2 to 3 tablespoons peanut butter2 slices white whole wheat bread1 to 2 tablespoons honey1 banana, thinly slicedSpread peanut butter on one slice of bread, honey on the other. Cover the honeyed slice with thinly sliced banana and then top with peanut-buttered slice.
2 slices raisin bread2 to 3 tablespoons peanut butter1 to 2 tablespoons apple butter2 to 3 tablespoons granola (optional)Spread one slice of raisin bread with peanut butter, another with apple butter. If desired, sprinkle some granola on the apple butter, then close the sandwich.
2 to 3 tablespoons Nutella2 slices whole-grain nut breadMini marshmallowsSpread Nutella on one slice of bread then cover with mini marshmallows. Place this and a second slice of bread in the toaster oven until the marshmallows begin to brown. Place second slice of bread on top of the first and eat immediately, or cool down and pack for lunch.
5-ounce can of tuna2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oilFresh lemon juice1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill4 slices cracked wheat breadDrain tuna very well, then mix with olive oil. Add lemon juice to taste and then fresh dill. Spread on bread.
