Get ready for some shameless self-endorsement. I created a sandwich so good I have to share it with you. And yes, you can try this at home.
Well, just like every year since the beginning of time, I got ready for the SSC Festival Glen production – in this case, the terrific Much Ado About Nothing – by pulling together choice goodies for an al fresco nosh under the redwoods. My assignment was to bring sandwiches. My companion Briony’s bit was to bring some tipple.
Nothing easier. And that’s because I had my new favorite jar of intensely berry-flavored preserves. Elizabethan (how appropriate, given the play don’t you think?) brand cranberry and strawberry preserves, so packed with flavor I could barely stand it, was just the ticket.
Okay. Here’s what I did. I got some slices of a very grainy, densely-textured wheat bread, and smeared one side with the preserves, and the other with a mixture of horseradish and mayo. I like one quarter horseradish, to three quarters mayo, but you can adjust to taste. Then I applied a few slices of natural turkey dusted with some of that ooh-la-la Italian sea salt with lavender.
Now – here’s the real secret to this tart, sweet, savory, salty picnic sandwich. Arugula! Brilliant, no? The peppery flavor of the arugula sort of pulled the whole thing together (like the rug in “The Big Liebowski.”)
Meanwhile, my Shakespeare companion had the good sense to purchase a bottle of ridiculously cheap ($6.99) Portuguese white wine, Aveleda “Vinho Verde” so low in alcohol that a baby could guzzle it down. 10.5% alcohol – amazing. The flavor was a bit like salty ginger ale, with a slight kick. We brought flea market stemware so we wouldn’t feel like total winos. It was altogether fab. You can actually do this at home. Ingredients available at Shoppers.
