Malcolm's Fourth Annual Birthday Sandwich

      Malcolm had a birthday last Saturday, and that means sandwich time!  Every year around his birthday I invent him a surprise sandwich.  Last year, I made Malcolm a salmon sandwich with caramelized red onions and a delicious ten-ingredient mayonnaise.    

   
      This year, I found a use for my new cast-iron skillet, and made a steak sandwich.  I could have cooked the steak a little less, it wasn't as medium-rare as I was shooting for, but it came out tasty anyway.

Malcolm's 4th Annual Birthday Sandwich

      The sandwich was composed of roasted garlic mayonaisse, sliced steak, arugula, roasted red peppers, red onions, cucumbers, and goat cheese.  At the bottom of the post I have step-by-step assembly instructions if you're interested.  

 

     True to form, the rest of the "picnic" consisted of grapefruit Izzes (which required an entire second trip to Whole Foods), delicious cocktails, Whole Foods spicy olives, chips, and deviled eggs. Somehow this has become the tradition.

Here's the birthday boy and the spread!

Beautiful new egg platter from Crate and Barrel!  I gave it to myself as a Christmas present

     M liked his sandwich very much.  I'm glad, because he had a rough day teaching; he needed a pick-me-up.  

Here's the test.  Does he like it?  He says: "Mmmmhmmm".  Success!

      Whew!  Another birthday handled successfully.  I've done an Italian chicken sandwich, an open-faced stuffed portobella mushroom sandwich, a salmon sandwich, and now a Greek inspired steak sandwich.  What do you think should come next year?   

~Assembly Instructions Follow~  

Step 1: Spread Mayonnaise on the bottom and goat cheese on the top.
Step 2: Add arugula.

Step 3: Add steak

Step 4: Add cucumbers

Step 5: Red onions and marinated red peppers
Step 6: Enjoy!

Salmon Sandwich with Special Ten Ingredient Mayonnaise

You might remember this picnic I made Malcolm for his birthday:  When I showed it to you the first time, I also told you I would show you how to make this special birthday sandwich.  It's taken me a while, but here it is:



First Step: Go shopping for your ingredients!  I tried to go organic for the produce and fish elements of the meal, partially because I can only afford it for specials and partially because it tastes better that way.  Proably.

 

You Will Need:

For Preparing the Salmon:
salmon fillet of whatever size you like, skin on
olive oil
thyme
salt
pepper

For the Sandwich:
thinly sliced, hard-crusted wheat bread
arugula
half a red onion
Optional:
tomatoes, avocados

For the Special 10-Ingredient Mayonnaise:
1-mayonnaise
2-olive oil
3-lemon juice
4-Braun's spicy mustard
5-freshly chopped basil leaves
6-freshly chopped dill
7-the juice from a caper jar
8-salt
9-pepper
10-love*

* Please don't ask the cashier where to find/how to pay for love.  You have been warned.

Second Step: Take your salmon fillet and rub it with salt, pepper, about a tablespoon of olive oil, and some sprigs of fresh thyme.  (Which you should grow on your balcony/porch/front stoop.)  Then bake in the oven at 475 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.  This intense but brief heat really helps keep the moisture and flavor in the fish. 

Third Step: Take a fork and flake the yummy cooked salmon off the skin; it should come right off.

Fourth Step: Wash the arugula, snap off the over-long stems and leave it in a cup of water so it can be extra crunchy.

Fifth Step: sautee your red onions so they get a little sweet, a little more potent.

Sixth Step: Make your Special 10 Ingredient Mayo.  The mayo is made by mixing approximately:
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon of spicy mustard
1/4 tablespoon chopped dill
3/4 tablespoon chopped basil
2 teaspoons juice from the caper jar
salt to taste
pepper to taste
love to taste- And yes, I am just THAT cheesy. 
... but really, you should just add these ingredients in a combination that pleases you.  I didn't really measure while I mixed it up.

Seventh Step: Assemble ingredients and admire them.

Eighth & Ninth Step: Toast your wheat bread and spread it with special 10-ingredient mayonnaise.

Eleventh Step: Create a bed of arugula.

Twelfth Step: Add an inspiring layer of your flaked salmon.

Thirteenth Step: Add your lovely cooked/slightly blackened/sauteed red onions.

Optional Step: Add tomatoes or avocados if you feel like it:

Fourteenth (or Fifteenth) Step: Add final piece bread and cut in half. Admire. Possibly admire through your camera's viewfinder like I did.

Final Step: Give your boyfriend his sandwich.  Yay!  Remember to eat a sandwich yourself, silly, you've worked hard!

Happy Birthday Malcolm!

Yesterday M turned 26!  We have this tradition on his birthdays where, in lieu of me buying a present he probably won't use, I make M a picnic-style lunch or dinner featuring a sandwich I "invent". 

Here's the "picnic" I set up yesterday.  Finally, an opportunity to put the sun room to good use!  Lovin' that spring sunshine!

And here, my friends, is this year's sandwich!  I plan on doing a more detailed blog post later about all the ingredients/process.

Devilled eggs are also very important.  He says mine are the only type he's ever liked.

The total spread:

M liked his sandwich a lot!

For dessert we made peanut butter "sandwich" cookies.  So many sandwiches, I'm so very clever (snort)!  Here I am mixing the filling.  M even helped spread the filling in between the two cookie layers. 

I also enjoy how this picture hints at the complete mess I made out of the kitchen during this process.

M enjoyed taking pictures of me for this part.  Artsy shot!

I made M blow out a candle sitting on top of his tower of birthday cookies.  He may have thought I was being silly.  I also may have made him do it twice- once for real, and once for pictures. 

 

I think it's pretty swell that Malcolm was born 26 years ago.  I like that he's on this planet.  I especially like that he's not 2,000 miles away from me anymore.  It is so very nice to be close to the person you love.    Happy Birthday Silly Muffin!