Tag: family traditions

The Art of ‘WichCraft, Pt 4: The Leftover Sandwich

I had to grin and bear it many times out of hunger and respect, because I knew what the alternative was…Deviled ham from the little can wrapped in paper with a little devil on it, just typing it makes my mouth salty and cringy.

“Life is good when you have a good sandwich.” – Keanu Reeves

I have no memory of life without sandwiches. As you must know by now, I have fond memories of food. Food was always an integral part of celebrations, holidays, and casual gatherings, just to name a few. Perhaps that association helped fuel my passion that eventually became what it is today. It’s not unlike my love for coffee; it goes beyond the final product itself. It has as much to do with what having a cup of coffee has meant over the years. Everything that has been shared and experienced over a simple hot beverage has contributed to the memories and fondness of coffee. There has also been so much shared over a meal in my life. Meals from simple to complex, have been a catalyst for so much life to happen.

Coffee, cookies, and a sandwich; one of the three always seem to be offered upon a visit. To my parents, my grandparents, or just about anyone, I can always be assured one of the three. I sure do miss my Grandma and her cookies, but today is about sandwiches. She could make a good sandwich, but hers were not always my favorite, I must admit. Simply because she didn’t always have the proper meat or filling for my taste. Besides, she buttered the inside, I always thought that was weird. She always had liverwurst, for which I just didn’t have a taste for as a kid.

I had to grin and bear it many times out of hunger and respect, because I knew what the alternative was…Deviled ham from the little can wrapped in paper with a little devil on it, just typing it makes my mouth salty and cringy.  That was another thing I didn’t have much of a taste for in my younger years.

I really wasn’t a fan of any meat in a can as a kid, tuna, chicken,  especially Spam! What was a treat, however, was when she was willing to make me grilled cheese. I wasn’t really a grilled cheese fan either, but my Grandma’s were the best. My guess is her secret was she probably buttered both sides of the bread. For that, the butter worked! 

I know what you are thinking; how can I even write about sandwiches when I’m not a fan of grilled cheese? Here’s the real kicker; I wasn’t much of a bread fan either! So, how then can I even discuss sandwiches? Yes, I was a bit of a picky eater, my favorite growing up was PB&J on Wonderbread. And yes, of course, I dipped it in milk! How else could I prevent the Wonderbread from turning into a paste-like substance that stuck to the roof of my mouth? Anyone from my generation knows exactly what I am talking about, and might have used a pry bar to remove said substance from the roof of their mouth on an occasion or two.. The bread that was as white as its bag, adorned with all the blue, red, and yellow dots was truly a wonder. Whether it was really bread or a wonder of science is still up for debate.

That said, my palate evolved over time. From simple to complex, as did my sandwich makings and cravings. The one I bespoke in the opening part set the stage for what was to come for me and sandwiches. For I truly believe that a sandwich is the original comfort food. That just might have to do with all the memories that come as a side to a couple slices of bread filled with whatever your imagination can conceive. It is a true creative culinary process that begins with a blank canvas that can take you just about anywhere you want to go. That is truly the beauty and essence of sandwiches and the art of ‘wichcraft…There are so many options and so little rules; the possibilities are endless, but what they create are memories that last a lifetime.

I am sitting in my new underground office as I update this one week from Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving with all the food, friends, and family. It is one of my favorite meals of the year, but what I love even more is the leftover sandwich. The Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich, yes it’s so good it needs to be bolded and capitalized. All credit for my love and ability to create a great leftover sandwich goes to my Dad. Just for this one sandwich there are endless options. The full works with every leftover from the fridge on the bread? Or simple with just turkey, mayo, lettuce, and tomato? Cold or hot? Toasted or not? My favorite version is hot. All I need is lightly toasted bread with mayo, a fried stuffing patty, warmed turkey, hot gravy, hot sauce, and to make this one of the greatest sandwiches of all time – a fried egg! Quite possibly one of the greatest lessons I learned from my dad. 

Give it  a try this year, trust me, you’ll thank me. Make sure you have the right hot sauce for it, My favorite is my Voodoo Fire or Ghosts of War or La Victoria’s orange sauce.Talk Soon,
Kevin
@coldfire_kev
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kevin@coldfirecoffee.com

The Art of ‘WichCraft, Pt.3: Family Traditions

I grew up with a pretty close family that spent holidays and special occasions together. The meal and the food served was always very central to any occasion.

“I once went to a restaurant and ordered a chicken salad sandwich and an egg salad sandwich to see which would come first.” – Fuad Alakbarov, Exodus 

Let me return to a more current history, and of course,  sandwiches. If you recall from part 1, three of my most vivid memories from childhood involve food. I do have more than three vivid memories from childhood, and not all involve food, but many do.

Why is that? Is it because of the multiple senses involved that strengthen the memory? Is it the emotions attached to the events occurring when consuming the food? Is it the people that are there when the food is consumed, adding to the intensity of the shared experience? Or perhaps it is that I am just that obsessed with food?  If it is the latter, I would ask how I acquired this obsession? When did I acquire it? Maybe it is simply a combination of it all. Whatever the case, cause, and origin, I have a deep love for food, and those that I share it with make it even better.

So, let me take you back a bit in time. I grew up with a pretty close family that spent holidays and special occasions together. The meal and the food served was always very central to any occasion. From the Easter ham to the Thanksgiving family stuffing, to the Christmas Eve Seafood to the Corned Beef & Cabbage on St Patrick’s Day. For the most part, these meals were the same every year. They were traditional. Some of the traditions  started before my time and were passed through the generations. Others were started by my generation. To this day we still have the meal on many holidays and our kids now share the love, and obsession, of the holiday menu. The meals that changed annually were typically Easter & Christmas Day, which in itself became a tradition.

Let me not forget about the birthday dinners. As a child it was always about “what do you want for your birthday”, “what do you want to do?” That evolved into “what do you want for your birthday dinner”? The birthday celebrant was given the privilege to choose the menu to be cooked for them on the Sunday Dinner closest to their birthday. 

Sunday dinners, another long-standing tradition, provide enough memories to fill a hefty book. The food, the family, and the friends – what fond memories.

Many of the friends and family are no longer with us but the memories remain, as fond as ever. My great Uncle John, who would join us Sundays after Tata Ann passed away. My Uncle Dave with his eyebrows, cigars, financial advice, and Roquefort Steak. Uncle Gary with his jokes, infectious laughter, and shenanigans. Grandma and Grandpa Janich with his stories and her artichoke dip.  The list goes on as my parent’s home was an open, safe place for all to join. Anyone could enter and join us as there was always an open seat with the guarantee of a warm meal and a hot cup of coffee, and maybe a little something sweet.

I simply can’t express the love, the gratitude, the flavors, the aromas, the tradition, and the history that the meals and those people created for me.

This has to be the reason I love food and love to create it and share it with others even more. Our home has become the host, the place where most celebrations take place, Sunday dinners continue, where there is always an open, and most importantly, where the traditions continue to live and grow.

What does this have to do with sandwiches? I am afraid I have rambled on for too long so I’ll have to explain next time. 

Talk Soon,
Kevin
@coldfire_kev
@coldfire.coffee
@coldfire_hotsauce
kevin@coldfirecoffee.com

The Art of ‘Wichcraft, Part 1: Love at First Bite

“Tell the cook of this restaurant with my compliments that these are the very worst sandwiches in the whole world, and that, when I ask for a watercress sandwich, I do not mean a loaf with a field in the middle of it.” – Oscar Wilde

Banging, clanging, banter, and laughter…
The sounds carrying down the hall…
Followed by the brilliant aroma of something cooking.
I awake to sounds and smells, confused by the darkness.
I roll out of bed and tip toe down the hall…
Sleep maintains its grip on me, is this a dream?
The sizzles reverberate like an echo from an amp set to 11…
The laughter, louder and louder as the hallway ends.
I round the corner and peek…
“Hey kiddo, want a bite?”

What a fond and familiar scene, my dad and his younger brother, my Uncle Gary…Laughing and eating at the table in the middle of the night. Masters of the midnight snack with laughter so contagious, if only it could be packaged & sold. Yes! I want a bite and how I long to awaken once again to those two in the middle of the night.

How pivotal was that midnight bite in the course of my life I really don’t know. That was more than four decades ago but that might have been the start of it all. It was crunchy, it was messy, it was spicy, and it was absolutely delicious. It might have been the best thing I had eaten in my short life at that time. Was it simply that all things taste better late at night? Or was it the fact that my dad had mastered the craft? Which craft do you ask? The art ‘wichcraft.

In the spirit of full disclosure, similar events have taken place multiple times. So, the exact sandwich of this night escapes me but I can say this… EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT!

The lightly toasted bread had the perfect crunch and provided stability for its precious cargo. A light coating of mayo & mustard to compliment the meat,perfectly fried bologna. That alone might have proved enough for most, but not for my dad. No, there were crisp dill pickle slices, a thin slice of cheese, slightly melted and…a fried egg?! OH MY! Served on a little plate with potato chips and a bottle of hot sauce. It. Was. On

There are three vivid food memories I have from childhood, this being one. One of the others also involved my dad – he would make me soft boiled eggs for breakfast and serve them in what I thought were little candle holders.He would crack the top off and give me butter, worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce – yum! The other was eating lunch at My Aunt Doris’s home in Berkley, CA (my great, great aunt might I add). She made the most amazing cheesy, open faced sandwiches…yes sandwiches again… They were simply amazing. One visit she let me help her and I learned how to make them. They weren’t the first thing I learned to make, scrambled eggs were, but sandwiches became my “thing” – my first “thing” that I can recall. They became a favorite midnight snack over the years; a real treat was making a sandwich inspired by one of these memories.

Starting to see a theme? Sandwiches, eggs, and hot sauce? I’ll dive deeper later but for now it is all about sandwiches. They are one the simplest yet most complex forms of food. I know what you’re thinking, just hear me out. Anyone can make a sandwich right? Right. Everyone can make a sandwich, but not everyone can make a good sandwich. In my experience, very few can make a perfect sandwich, and there is nothing worse than a bad sandwich. There is simply no excuse for a bad sandwich!

I learned quite a few things from my dad over the years. One of the most important is that laughter is the best medicine. My Dad and Uncle Gary sure knew how to have a good laugh. Boy, was it contagious! Another related to my theme here is that hot sauce elevates just about any meal. And of course, a fried egg makes just about anything better, especially left overs.

The making of a perfect sandwich is truly an art:the art of ‘Wich Craft. My dad mastered that art and passed it on to me. Stay tuned for more on my love of sandwiches, cooking, eggs, and hot sauce in this multi-part series. But, first, I will take you on a little journey into the history of sandwiches.

Talk Soon,
Kevin
@coldfire_kev
@coldfire.coffee
@coldfire_hotsauce
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kevin@coldfirecoffee.com