Pear, Pecan & Goat Cheese Sandwich

Day 30 - "Things are changing, my lifes gone pecans"

I wanted to make sure that I included a sandwich that consisted of some ingredients that I would have never put together and that I wouldn't have ever eaten growing up. So I created a creamy and crunchy sandwich. It only seems fitting that my sandwich includes a creamy cheese and a nut because as I look back at my 30 days of sandwiches they are frequently mentioned with nothing but delight.

Today's sandwich was on lightly toasted honey wheat bread with thinly sliced pear, goat cheese, and toasted pecans.  For an impromptu sandwich it came together so nicely. The creamy cheese with the sweet, crispy pear and nutty crunchy pecans,a wonderful dessert or snack sandwich. I will definitely be trying this one again!

Sausage Crossaintwich (Burger King)

Day 29 - "Lovin' you is more than just a dream come true"

As a kid I used to love the BK crossaintwich over every other breakfast food, including the Egg McMufiin (although I still had my share). I used to save up all of my change so that I could have one in the morning before heading to school. I can still remember my Mom handing over two handfuls of change to the person at the register. I haven't had one in probably ten years but bringing that smell into my car again brought all of those delicious memories back.

The flaky crossaint with the layers of egg, sausauge, and melted cheese served along side tator tot hashbrowns. Yum. I even had a certain way that I ate it so that I was always ensured a perfect last bite --the early foodie in me. I would eat it around the part of the crossaint where there was uncovered cheese so that the final bite would have a piece of each ingredient. Oh the joys of food! =)

Calzone (I love N.Y. Pizza)

Day 28 - "Real G's stuff pockets with cheese like calzones"

Pizza + Sandwich = Calzone.  I've probably had about ten calzones in my life but have thoroughly enjoyed them all.  I don't think I had my first one until I was a senior in high school! As a kid, my brother and I would order a stuffed crust pizza and divide the pizza between pizza and stuffed crust. I loved the crust! So naturally the calzone and I were meant to meet.

Today's calzone included ricotta, mozzarella cheese, spinach, and sausage in a soft dough covered with parsley and garlic. I like that with a calzone you have the tomato sauce separate so that you can add as much as you'd like. I'm pretty much sold on anything Italian-American...cheese =)

Cheddar Cheese & Branston Pickle

Day 27 - "Reasons to be cheerful"

Yet again another sandwich that I've never tried. I heard about this sandwich when asking friends about their favorites, this one came from a Welsh friend. Her other favorite was Brie and grapes. These are both sandwich pairings that I had never tried before and I learned that sandwiches like this probably originated in the UK from something called the 'Ploughman's lunch'.

I had never tried Branston pickle before and when I went to find it at the supermarket I had to go to the ethnic section. It's made of diced vegetables like carrots, onions, swede, cauliflower, and gerkin pickled in a sauce mixed with vinegar, tomato, apple, dates and several spices. It tastes a little sweet and spicy, but when combined with the cheddar cheese it tastes surprisingly well! I hesitated with this sandwich because of the strong smell of vinegar in the Branston pickle but I was pleasantly surprised by how the flavors tasted when combined with the cheese and bread.  Just another reason that no sandwich will go untasted.

Moist Maker

Day 26 - "Knock, knock. Who's there? Ross Gellar's lunch. Ross Gellar's lunch who" Ross Gellar's lunch, please don't take me, okay?"

Ever since watching Friends and learning about this sandwich I have always wanted to try it. So simple, moist and delicious. Today I decided to make it for the first time and it was spectacular!

The key is obviously in the extra slice of bread that has been soaked it gravy. I soaked it for about 20 minutes before I put the sandwich together. To assemble (from bottom to top) I layed a slice of Italian five grain bread, a few slices of turkey, the gravy soaked slice, and then some cranberry sauce followed by the top slice of bread. The combination of flavors is exquisite! The salty turkey and gravy with the cranberry just works so well together. It's a little messy because the moist slice does slide around a little so I think next time I'll try cutting it. But nevertheless it's a great sandwich.

Turkey Sub (Subway)

Day 25 - "Five dollar foot long"

There was no way I was going to go 30 days of eating sandwiches and not include one of my sandwich staples. I have definitely eaten several hundred subway sandwiches but this is the one that I tend to favor.

It all starts with Italian, herb and cheese bread...this is freshly baked soft bread (not your Publix sub bread) little mayo, drop of mustard, turkey, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, salt and pepper. Sometimes I pair it with some baked chips or sunchips while other times I go for the gooey barely cooked cookies which are awesome.

Chili Cheese Dog

Day 24 - "Dog still hot like Oscar Meyer"

I contemplated buying a hot dog from somewhere but I don't have a go to hot dog place. I don't eat them that often and when I do it's usually at a barbeque. So I decided to go old school and make them at home the same way I had them growing up. When I used to have regular hot dogs my grandmother would usually buy the ones with the cheese in the center and when she bought the regular ones she would cut them in half and melt the cheese in. So needless to say I have become accustomed to some cheese with my hot dog. Not to say that I won't also eat it with some ketchup and mustard because I love that simplicity. Sometimes condiments make the food.

In Miami there is a great hot dog place called Arbetter and I believe that after having a fantastic chili cheese dog there I was inspired to start making them myself at home. I was around 11 or 12 years old so everything is pretty much just heat and add but when it all comes together it is perfection. One can of hormel chili, one jar of tostito cheese sauce, hot dogs, hot dog buns, and tator tots. Heat everything up on the stove or microwave and put it all together. Well worth the mess! I had cheese and chili all over the place tonight and it was delicious!

Nina's Creamy Sandwich

Day 23 - "Man, you hungry have this sandwich"

The inspiration for this merry month of sandwiches. I made this sandwich one morning to have for lunch at work but from the time I made it up until I ate it I was ready to devour it! I went to clock out and told my friend working at the desk about how delicious my sandwich was going to be and all about my love of sandwiches. She responded by telling me that I should write a book/blog about sandwich recipes = history.

This sandwich can be made on any bread with laughing cow spreadable cheese on each side of the sandwich bread (I chose garlic & herb this time).  Starting from the bottom, I usually have cheese (they change depending on what I have in the fridge, this time colby jack), honey roasted turkey, more cheese (cheddar), a combination of spinach and spring mix, tomatoes, and a little pepper. It's perfectly creamy, fresh, and well balanced.

BBQ Pork Sandwich

Day 22 - "I had a barbeque stain on my white shirt"

Today I had a BBQ pork sandwich. I thought about cooking the pork myself but I don't have a slow cooker or the time to cook it the right way. So I totally cheated and bought the pork already cooked at Publix, simmerin in delicious juices all day. As soon as I got home I mixed it with some Sweet Baby Rays honey barbeque sauce. This sauce is divine! My brother suggested that I add coleslaw to the top and I had every intention of doing so but they didn't have any ready made at the supermarket and I was too excited to eat to drive somewhere in search of coleslaw --which I don't even remember if I like or not.

So this became a classic BBQ sandwich. I ate it on some Italian plus five grain bread and paired it with some carrots which I actually just shoveled in my mouth, they didn't give me any real satisfaction just distracted me from the good stuff.

BLT Pita (Pita Pit)

Day 21 - "I'm cookin' MCs like a pound of bacon"

The way I feel when I see/smell bacon always reminds me of Homer Simpson drooling, that guy just gets it! The only person that seems to love bacon more than him has got to be my brother. Going to breakfast buffets as a kid I remember him coming back to the table with a mound full of bacon on his plate and always eating it with such gusto. I remember once it was only bacon. I'm not that hard core but I am a bacon lover.

I love how food is just stuffed into pitas. At pita pit it seems like you can get any kind of food smashed into one. Any 'sandwich' that can be eaten with one hand gets a high five from me (hey, I've got a free hand!) The BLT pita was great because of the star, they fried up 8 pieces of bacon for me so it was not only a good amount of meat but also fresh. The only thing I would have liked was some kind of sauce. The bites that only included lettuce and pita were a little dry so I added ranch from home and that did the trick! Yum-my!

*I thought about cutting the pita to showcase the bacon but then there was the chance of major spillage, no way.

Peanut butter & Nutella

Day 20 - "My blood type's Nutella"

2012 is the year of Nutella! I'd often heard about this nutty chocolatey spread but had never tried it. My parents didn't buy it growing up and as an adult I knew once I finally tried it that it would quickly work its way as a staple in my diet. Last month I tried it and since then I've tried all the combinations that others have suggested. Nutella with ice cream, toast, alone, with peanut butter...oh sweet peanut butter. Nutella is easily peanut butters mistress to jelly. Delightful!

I eat this sandwich in such an odd way. I like to eat the crust off first then cut the sandwich into squares. The bread to filling ratio is perfection. I like to pair it with a cool glass of milk and a smile --don't care how cheesy it sounds, this is a fact people.

Mediterranean Veggie (Panera)

Day 19 - "Mediterranean looks like aspirin  tonight."

In the mood for something with a little hummus tonight. I didn't grow up eating hummus, it's something I didn't start eating until I was in college. One day a friend offered me plain hummus with some Stacy's Simply Naked Parmesan Garlic Herb pita chips and I was instantly hooked. From then on I was dipping everything in hummus, chips, pretzels, veggies, etc. So tonight while at Panera I decided to try the Mediterranean veggie, I'd never had it before but I was pretty much sold at hummus.

The sandwich included zesty Peppadew piquant peppers, feta cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro jalepeno hummus on tomato basil bread. I thought it was alright, probably not something I'll order again though. Safe to say that this is not one of Panera's specialties.  But they quickly won me back over with the duet cookie I had for dessert...choc-o-late =)

*I love everything else I've ever had at Panera --soup, mac & cheese, paninis, salad, sandwiches, and ah yes the bakery.

Tasty Turkey (Einstein Bros)

Day 18 - "Aye cream cheese and a bagel, have a glass of milk and an eggo"

I like any kind of bagel and every kind of cream cheese I've ever tried. And I recently heard that there is a chocolate cream cheese! I think it is just best if I don't buy this and end up eating it out of the container. It seems like it would taste like chocolate cheesecake, I can only imagine the creamy chocolatey heaven.

Today I had a tasty turkey which comes on an Asiago and cheese bagel with onion and chive schmear, turkey, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and sprouts. Delightful. The crunchy cucmber with the turkey and cream cheese on the cheesy bread was just...tasty! I didn't pair it with anything but I did have a chocolate chip spider pretzel cookie that my kids had made, great way to end any meal!

Meatball Sub (Piesanos)

Day 17 - "On top of...warm bread...all covered with cheese"

Mmmeatballs with cheese. I don't think I have ever had a great meatball sub until today. It's not something that I have very often and the last one I had was probably from subway. Not to knock subway in ANY way because I love some Italian herb and cheese bread with pretty much anything inside but these meatballs made all the difference.

The sub included 5 meatballs (each 3-4 inches big) mixed with marianra sauce, covered with mozzarella cheese and all in a warm sub baguette. It got a little messy with meatballs and sauce everywhere and I think that added to the overall sandwich enjoyment. The sub was served with french fries which I'm not sure I would have paired together but I will never turn down a fry. I had never had anything from Piesanos other than pizza before today but that's changing now, good stuff today!And they have all these other warm subs like chicken philly and chicken italia which I'm excited to try.

Tuna Melt

Day 16 - "We get jams to make a tuna melt"

Time for something creamy. I wanted to have a sandwich with fish, hence the tuna melt. I'm someone that likes my tuna to be chilled when I eat it but I do like the occasional tuna melt.  I mean it's basically a grilled cheese sandwich and tuna salad all in some toasty bread...yum.  I don't love mayonnaise (unless it's something I'm used to having with it, ex. Burger King chicken sandwich) so when I make tuna I usually combine it with something like cream cheese or one of the laughing cow cheeses. If you haven't done this you need to try it! It adds extra flavor, it's creamy, and 35 calories.

Tonight I combined the tuna with a garlic and herb cheese wedge, a shallot, some parsley, pepper, and sharp cheddar cheese. I heated it in a pan with a little bit of butter and it was perfection.  I paired my tuna melt tonight with some carrots but I'm not set on this pairing, it's just what I had around.

Orange Cranberry Club (McAlisters)

Day 15 - "Nine eleven Porsche same color as cranberry sauce"

Another club! A little different then the one that I had from the Swamp, that was more savory with the chicken and avocado while this had a sweet kick. It's all about the sauce...orange cranberry sauce. I thought the combination of the sauce with mayo in the sandwich was divine but that said I would have liked some more on my sandwich.

The sandwich included quality ingredients and you could taste it! Butterball smoked turkey, Black forest ham, applewood smoked bacon, sharp cheddar and swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, orange cranberry sauce and lite mayo on harvest wheat bread.  And of course the classic sandwich side pickle which I have really come to love. Good rec! I'm going to try to make my own orange cranberry sauce!

Chicken Quesadilla (Moe's Southwest Grill)

Day 14 -"No lease ‘cause it’s paid fo, stack chips with my queso"

The Mexican grilled cheese sandwich. I love cheese so anyway that it's packaged is going to make me happy.Whether it's between bread, a wrap, tortilla, my hands...I really like quesadilla's because it's another 'sandwich' that involves the melted cheese stretching effect which I have admired since the first kraft singles commercial I saw it in/first mozzarella stick I had. I also like how it's cut into wedges because it's so much easier to eat then something like a taco or a sub.

I chose to get my quesadilla from Moe's today because it's affordable and I could get the chips and queso. I got my quesadilla filled with cheese, chicken, black beans and then added sour cream, salsa, and guacamole. Delectable!