Here are two quick, scrumptious hot sandwiches, both made with beef, both kid-friendly. Not only do hot sandwiches taste wonderful, they also have the tremendous advantage of providing your protein and your starch – and often a vegetable, too – in one neat (or not so neat) package.
SANDWICH STEAKS WITH BLACKENED ONIONS
Sandwich steaks, which are thin slices cut from the bottom round, are very lean and can be tough unless seared very fast in a hot pan. To toast the rolls, slice in half, place on a baking sheet, and place under a hot broiler until lightly browned. Serve potato salad or chips and sliced tomatoes with this quickly made supper sandwich.
Serves 4
4 tablespoons butter
2 large onions, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1½ pounds sandwich steaks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons light olive oil
1 cup red wine
4 Portuguese rolls, split and lightly toasted
About 2 cups arugula or watercress
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large heavy skillet. Add the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened and deep golden brown, with some slices charred almost black, 15 to 20 minutes.
Stir in the thyme. Remove the onions to a bowl, and do not wash the skillet.
The steaks should be about 1/8-inch thick. If they are thicker, place between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with the bottom of a small pan to flatten.
Season steaks generously with salt and pepper. Cut into smaller pieces if they are too large for the rolls.
You’ll need to cook the meat in 2 batches. Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil to the now empty skillet and heat over high heat. Add half the steaks, making sure not to crowd the pan, and cook for about 1 minute per side; remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining butter, oil and steaks.
Add wine to the again empty skillet, bring to a boil, and cook over medium-high heat about 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits, or fond, that cling to the pan.
Divvy the onions up among the 4 sandwiches, spreading them on both sides of the toasted rolls.
Arrange the steaks over onions, pour the reduced wine over the meat and top with arugula.
Serve the sandwiches open faced, to be eaten with a knife and fork, or close the sandwiches and slice in half to eat out of hand.
REAL SLOPPY JOES
Culinary dictionaries can’t seem to track down the source of the “Joe” in the name, but the “sloppy” part is obvious. Topped with crunchy lettuce, the sandwich makes a delicious meal. The choice of roll is up to you – some people prefer a soft hamburger roll that melds nicely with the sauce, others a hard or Kaiser-type roll, which (with luck) remains more or less intact through the meal.
Serves 4, allowing enough for 2 sandwiches each
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ pounds ground beef (preferably 85 percent lean)
1 large onion, chopped
Half a large green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1½ teaspoons dried thyme
¼ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cider or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon liquid hot pepper sauce such as Tabasco
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 rolls, split, buttered and lightly toasted
½ cup thinly sliced scallions
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the ground meat, onion, green pepper and garlic and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the meat loses its pink color and the vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Spoon off and discard any excess fat.
Add the tomato sauce, ½ cup water and thyme. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the mixture uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire and hot pepper sauce and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more until the sauce has thickened to a spoonable consistency. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. (You can make the filling up to 2 days ahead or you can freeze it.)
Spoon the sauce onto the bottom halves of the rolls, sprinkle with scallions, top with lettuce and the top half of the rolls.
Brooke Dojny is author or co-author of more than a dozen cookbooks. She lives on the Blue Hill peninsula, and can be contacted via Facebook at:
facebook.com/brookedojny
Send questions/comments to the editors.
