Updated Mad Men 60s Style Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese sandwiches were a staple of lunches and light dinners in the 60s. They are fast and easy. It's something kids will eat—most of the time. Bread and cheese were almost always in the pantry, so it was a great go-to item in a pinch.

The recipe Mad Men's Betty Draper, or her "girl" Carla might have served Sally and Bobby was likely made with Rainbow bread, Miracle Whip, American cheese and Oleo. Not bad, but not enough flavor for me these days.
So tonight I was in the mood for a grilled cheese, with a twist. Oh, my gosh! I had no idea this sandwich would be soooo tasty!

Here's how I made it.
100% Whole Wheat Bread
Cranberry Honey Mustard
Provolone Cheese
Olive Oil

I bought the Cranberry Honey Mustard a few months ago for making homemade salad dressings. This was the first time I put it on a sandwich and it added the perfect zing to this simple grilled cheese sandwich. I will be using this a lot in the future.

First I put my old trusty iron griddle on the burner and turned the heat to medium. This old iron griddle—I think I got it at an estate sale—is about a foot square with shallow sides, ideal for turning sandwiches.

I started with a very generous layer of Cranberry Honey Mustard on two slices of bread. Then a double layer of sliced provolone. I slapped the sandwich together and sprayed the top piece of bread with olive oil and splashed the griddle with olive oil. I put the oiled side of the sandwich on the griddle and sprayed the top of the sandwich with more olive oil.

A few minutes later I cut it into eight little triangles and had eight little bites of creamy cheesy goodness with the sweet tart surprise of cranberry mustard.

Janz Catalina Mayo Turkey Sandwich

This blog has been dormant for a while, but it's time to restart.
I've been eating fast food for lunch way too often the past few months so my plan is to refocus on homemade food and save money while avoiding unnecessary calories.

Even though turkey is a fairly plain lunch meat, I dress up this sandwich with veggies and flavors that give it a lot of texture and zest.

Here it is.

• 2 slices 100% whole wheat bread, in a zipper bag
• Romaine lettuce, just enough for one sandwich, in a fold-top sandwich bag
• Small plastic container layered with the following:
• Deli sliced turkey
• Bread & butter pickles
• Very thin slivers of onions
• A few rounds of banana peppers
• Half a dozen grape tomatoes (it's all I had)
• Small jar of Janz Catalina Mayo

I usually make turkey sandwiches with mayo on the bread and a drizzle of Catalina Dressing on top of the tomatoes, but when I assembled this last night I decided to combine the Catalina and mayo to make the prep easier when I got to work. I put about a tablespoon of mayo in a small jar (I think it was a 4 ounce deli mustard jar) and stirred in Catalina dressing until it tasted just right. It’s about equal parts of each.

Viola! Janz Catalina Mayo. I don’t know why I never thought of this before. Added bonus: I don't have to put a diaper on my sandwich to keep the Catalina from dripping down my shirt, in my lap... or (Nooooo!) on my keyboard! :-)

I put everything—except the bread—in the fridge when I got to work. When I got a chance to eat (I think it was about 2:30) I smeared the bread with Janz Catalina Mayo, topped it with turkey, pickles, banana peppers, onions and lettuce. Usually tomato slices go on top of the pickles and peppers, but grape tomatoes don't make very big slices, so I popped them in my mouth while I put the sandwich together.

Presto! Crunchy sweet, hot, and tangy all add up to a great tasting sandwich.

Now that I think about it...

• Jalapeno slices
  
• A splash of Tabasco in Janz Catalina Mayo

What do you think? Anything else sound good on this?

Pastrami, Salami, Balsamic Sandwich

This hearty filling sandwich was for my 18-year-old son so I loaded it with a huge pile of pastrami, salami, red pepper, red onion and seasoned it with Janz and a couple of vinegars—it was good to the last bite.

I start by turning on the heat under my handy dandy iron griddle. I cut a seasme seed hoagie in half and laid it flat on the grill to toast.




While the griddle and hoagie heat up, slice a chunk of red pepper into thin slivers and cut a few slices off a fat red onion and separate the rings onto the griddle with the red pepper. When the bread is slightly toasted remove it from the griddle and throw on the pepper and onion. Give it a splash of extra virgin olive oil and use tongs to toss it all together with a substantial dose of Janz Seasoning Blend and some red wine vinegar.




When the veggies are tender add the salami and pastrami to the pile and add more seasoning and red wine vinegar. When the meat is warm and browing splatter with Balsamic Vinegar and toss the meat and veggies again. Put the hoagie on top of the pile of meat to warm.





To prepare the sandwich, take the bread off the griddle and put slices of provolone cheese on the bread while it's still warm. Use the tongs to place the onion and peppers on top of the cheese then pile on the meat and top with more onions and pepper. Grate mozzarella cheese on top of the pile.







Turns out, this sandwich was gigantic and there was no way to smash it into a biteable layer. So I put it back on the griddle.
I did my best to poke all the insides between the layers of bread and then pressed it with an iron bacon press. I first spritzed the press with oil to keep it from sticking. A iron skillet would also work for this.

There was a stray red pepper, but when it was done, but after I flipped the sandwich to brown it on both sides, you could get your mouth around it.

Cut the sandwich into half and serve it with a small bowl of balsamic vinegar for dipping.

Pretty tasty!

A Simple Turkey Sandwich

As you can see, I put lots of color in my sandwiches the same as with my salads. Here's what's in this one from the bottom:

• 100% whole wheat bread
• Mayo
• Deli sliced turkey
• Tomato slices
• Bread and butter pickles
• Avocado
• Spinach
• Provolone Cheese

I read somewhere that the key to not overeating at mealtime is to be sure to eat something that "satiates." Some taste that is "just what you wanted." For me in a Simple Sandwich it's usually pickles.

If I make a plain sandwich with meat and cheese, then I'll want to eat a bag of chips to go with it. But if I add all the trimmings: specifically tomatoes and pickles, then I usually won't crave chips too.

I start with a thin layer of meat so I can add a healthy pile of veggies. When I make a Simple Sandwich for my son, I'll double the amount of turkey, and add a layer of deli ham before I start the vegetables. I would use 2 slices of cheese, one on top and one on the bottom. Optional additions to this sandwich could be, in no particular order:

• Crispy Bacon
• Ham
  
• Spicy French or Catalina Salad Dressing
• Romaine or other lettuce
  
• Pimiento stuffed olives
• Thin slices of red onion
• Toasted bread
  

Yum!