it was a bourbon and rye tasting and they needed to eat everything with their hands. Who doesn’t want a sandwich. I bought the bread at Grandaisy on 72nd and Broadway because when you make a sandwich with excellent it changes the sandwich; every time I go in there I pretend I speak Italian. They roll their eyes when they see me coming.
I made a barbecue pork loin sandwich (fennel seed, sweet smoked paprika, cumin seed, clove, zest and juice of an orange, thyme sprigs, fresh garlic, balsamic, ketchup alla Dr. Oliver), a seared tri tip sandwich with slivers of shallot and a horseradish sour cream, an avocado, st. agur and watercress sandwich, a cheddar and tomato chutney (tomatoes only from a can of san marzano, fresh ginger, tons of garlic, parsley, coriander, sugar, vinegar cooked down until it glistens), and a chicken salad on a velvety foccaccia w/fresh thyme, homemade mayonnaise, lemon zest garlic, bit of balsamic, parsley and teeny weeny drizzle of olive oil.
On the side I did a platter of pickled shrimp garnished w/a dice of yellow pickled beets and parsley sprigs, a relish tray of olives, cornichon, carrot, celery, radish, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, haricot vert (steamed) asparagus (steamed) fresh fennel, and baby yukon potatoes boiled up and showered w/ a grey sea salt, fresh mint and a spill of beautiful olive oil.
For dessert I made brownies w/Droste cocoa and an orange sour cream cake brushed with a fresh orange juice syrup and topped w/a cream cheese/coco lopez icing.