Here’s a thing about boating: when you are underway {motoring}, the sailors are ALWAYS hungry, I mean almost ALWAYS. I don’t know why it is. The boat motion? They’re bored? The salt air? After years of serving as a Galley Wench I can now actually sense the “hunger vibe” just as it begins to build {usually around the time that the breakfast dishes are being finished}. As soon as I feel that vibe, I’ve learned that rather than try to ignore it or shun it, it’s best to just get back to the galley to try to whip up something substantial before the vibration gets too strong and there’s a total mutiny on board.
But if I’m going to move down into my dark little galley, {dark, but charming, I actually like the galley, despite the lack of views from there} I want to make it worth my while. Because, {here’s where the confession part comes in} as much as I truly desire to feed my darling deckhands a healthy, delicious lunch; I also know that if I feed them something more substantial, something that will really fill them up, it will buy me a little time to ~s~n~e~a~k~ off to an unpopulated corner where I can write, read, study or daydream for just a little while longer, until the next hunger~cane hits.
An item that works well in this situation, that is relatively easy to prepare, serve and eat is what I call a “Dagwood sandwich”. The term “Dagwood” is in reference to the character Dagwood Bumstead in the comic strip Blondie. Dagwood was famous for making enormous sandwiches stacked with layers of cold cuts, cheeses, vegetables, and breads all secured with a toothpick.
I usually go for an open~faced style sandwich, layered high; sort of a fork and finger affair. I try to combine ingredients to give diners a tantalizing variety of tastes and textures, so they feel like they’ve had more than just a sandwich, they’ve had a meal. A multi~layered course such as this can usually calm that hunger vibe down for at least an hour or two at sea or on shore. Of course, the possible combinations are endless, but here’s one that I made the other day that has been getting rave reviews from my crew.
An important element to a well-built sandwich is something “pickled”, something that will give it a flavorful, crunchy, salty, vinegary punch. To achieve this, I made sort of a “fresh” pickle by thinly slicing a peeled cucumber, and blending it with chopped garlic, green onion, parsley, basil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. I let this mix sit as I made the rest of the meal, allowing the flavors to meld.
The foundation of any good sandwich is the bread. It may not look very attractive in the photo below, but this is an extraordinary bread we’ve been enjoying lately call the Peace Bomb. The Peace Bomb is a hearty, grainy sprouted wheat baguette. It may sound like it’s too healthy to be good, but it is truly delicious, in fact it is so flavorful, nutty, chewy and tender that it’s tasty straight from the bag. There is also a great story behind this sensation. The fellow who makes it, Dave, had taken some tough turns in life. But, after a few stints in prison, he found a way to turn things around and is now trying to make the world a better place “one loaf of bread at a time”. It’s a great story and a great bread. Good job, Dave!
I sliced the baguette in half lengthwise and pan toasted it in butter to give the cut edge a nice caramelized crust. This crust added rich buttery flavor and also gave the sandwich an additional “crunch” sensation.
After smearing on a thin layer of pesto I layered on slices of mozzarella, which slightly melted into the warm toasted bread.
Next, a layer of fresh leaf lettuce, and then torn ribbons of earthy, salty prosciutto ham.
My apologies for the photo quality, I took these with my iphone in my dark little galley {if they had seen me reach for my camera, they’d have known I was up to something other than cooking down there;}.
But I snuck up to the salon for a quick sunshine shot of the next layer, tomato halves; halved slices are easier to eat than full slices.
Finally, I layered on the “pickled” cucumbers, spooning the remaining sauce over the tomatoes, and lettuce for added flavor.
When I brought the sandwich up to the bridge, each sailor cut off a hearty section and it did keep them busy and satisfied for quite awhile.
Oooops, I’ve been discovered, must get back to the galley!
But first, I want to know, what is your favorite sandwich??
oh, and one more thing…..
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“Be the change you want to see in the World” Mahatma Gandhi
~Peace Bomb packaging
Emily you have this down I can see; with your hungry deck hands and Captain!! very smart!
All the Best!
Karena
2013 Designer Series
This sandwich looks scrumptious! I hope you had a great day out on your boat!