Bread & Butter Pickles Sandwich

Bread and butter pickles were seemingly invented in Illinois during the early 1920s; at least, the type of pickles so commonly known by that name in the United States since that time up to the present. These pickles are also often called "bread and butter chips." The thing is, pickled cucumbers have been around for a LONG TIME, somewhere around at least 3000 to 4000 years. 

 

Sandwiches made of bread and butter pickles were common during the tough economic years of the Great Depression, as the sandwiches were cheap to make for many folks, and the limited ingredients were often already on hand to many families or individuals. I usually buy bread and butter pickles in brine spiced with whole dried red chili peppers from one of the stands at Cleveland's West Side Market, where the vendor sells them as "Sweet & Spicy." 

While white sandwich bread is traditional, you can certainly use whole wheat bread, or even rye bread, but rye bread will alter the taste of your sandwich; so, if that's okay with you, go for it!

Ingredients (per sandwich):

two slices of bread

2 pats of butter (or margarine), softened for easy use

6 to 8 bread and butter pickle slices, laid out on a paper towel to absorb excess brine

Butter one side of each slice of bread well. This will help to "waterproof" the bread from the pickle brine and keep the sandwich from becoming mushy. Lay the pickle slices (chips) on top of one of the buttered slices of bread, top with the other buttered slice of bread, buttered slice down. 

 

 

1) Bread & Butter Pickles Sandwich ...  2) Butter the bread clear up to the sides ... 3) With a chili pepper

WORD HISTORY:

Plateau-This word is related to quite a number of words. It is distantly related, through Indo European, to the adjective "flat" (smooth, level), a Germanic derived word, but in this case, borrowed by English from its cousin, Old Norse, and "plateau" is closely related to the "plat" of "platform," a word borrowed from French, to "plate," also borrowed from French, which had it from Latin, which had it from Greek ("platter" is based on "plate," but it was borrowed from the French that developed in English after the Normans arrived), and to "plaza," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from Spanish. "Plateau" goes back to Indo European "plet(h)/plat," which had the notion of "to spread (out);" thus, adjectivally  "broad and flat." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "platys/platus," meaning "broad and flat, widespread," and this was borrowed by Latin as "plattus," mean "flattened, flat," which gave Old French the adjective "plat," meaning "flat," and which was used as a noun to mean "flat or level surface of something," the diminutive form of which was "platel," and this later gave French "plateau" ('-eau' is a French diminutive progression from Old French 'el' from Latin 'ellus," ("ella" is the feminine form), from the Indo European diminutive "elos/olos," and the meaning of "plateau" being "flat/level piece of land elevated on at least one side above the land around it." English borrowed the word between the middle to late 1700s (sources disagree). The verb was derived from the noun in the World War Two era, with the meaning (often in the past tense) "for a person, group of people or business to cease to expand in some field, but rather level off, seemingly without potential to go higher," as in, "The last couple of decades have seen soda pop sales plateau, and then decline."  

Canadian Bacon Grilled Cheese

Canadian bacon is the term used in American English for what other English speakers generally call "back bacon." Canadian bacon is from the lean pork loin on the back of the pig which is cured and usually smoked, making it taste very similar to ham (ham is from hind legs of pigs). American bacon is from the pork belly, with streaks of fat; and indeed, the term "streaky bacon" is used by some.

I often use a sourdough bread of mixed all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour, which is what I used when I took the pictures for this article. It is a little "sturdier" than regular sandwich bread, and it comes in loaves in which the slices are a bit longer (that is, taller) than regular sandwich bread.

You can most certainly adjust the amounts shown in the ingredients below, and naturally, the kind and size of the bread slices will determine the amounts needed.

 

Ingredients (per sandwich):

 

1 to 2 slices Canadian bacon (back bacon)

2 to 3 slices Cheddar cheese

2 or 3 pieces of pimento

1 or 2 slices tomato

2 pats of butter (1 for each slice of bread)

2 slices white or wheat bread, or mixed

pickle slices for garnish or to serve on the side

 

First, fry the Canadian bacon over medium heat (you will almost certainly need a little oil or butter to start). It's fine if you brown the Canadian bacon a little too. Remove the Canadian bacon to a plate momentarily and turn the heat to low. Butter one side of each bread slice with a pat of butter. Put one slice of bread, buttered side down, into the same skillet you used to fry the Canadian bacon. Add 2 slices of cheese, 1 or 2 slices of the Canadian bacon, a couple of small pieces of pimento, and 1 or 2 slices of tomato. Keep carefully checking the underside of the bread to see how toasted it is. Add the second slice of bread, buttered side up, to the top of the sandwich and press down with a spatula or turner. When the bottom slice of bread is browned, carefully flip the sandwich over and let that slice of bread toast, which "usually" takes less time. Slice the sandwiches across or diagonally and serve with some pickle slices on the side. A common accompaniment in the U.S. is a cup or bowl of tomato soup.  

 

 

  

 

With cream of tomato soup, a common American pairing ...

WORD HISTORY:
Fund-This word, distantly related to the English word "bottom" (a word from the Germanic roots of English), goes back to Indo European "bhundhm," which meant "base." This gave Latin "fundus" (the "bh" rendered in Latin as 'f'), which meant "bottom, base, foundation," and this gave French, a Latin-based language, "fond," which was borrowed by English in about 1675 with the meaning "a pool of money to be used for some purpose," which, by c. 1700, had expanded to "basic supply of money, often for establishment of business activities," and also later, "a business that manages money." The French spelling with the 'o' was replaced in English with the 'u' following the Latin of 'fundus." The term most certainly still has the "business" meaning, but it has broadened to include personal or family "business matters," as in, "home improvement fund," or "car repair fund," or "vacation fund," or "kids' college fund." The verb was derived from the noun in the 1660s or 1670s (I found conflicting dates), initially with the meaning "to have a supply of money to establish a business or to expand an existing business," but the verb broadened in meaning to, "have a sufficient amount of money to pay for something," and "to provide money to someone or some entity for some purpose;" that is, "to finance someone or something (to fund someone)."

Egg & Sausage Sandwich

This is a pretty quick and easy sandwich for breakfast, lunch or for a snack, and it's tasty.

 

As for oil, it will depend upon the type of sausage you use. If you use fatty sausage, you will likely only need a few drops of oil to get it started, and the sausage will then create its own "oil" to finish cooking it. If you use less fatty sausages, you will likely need a little more oil. Whatever you choose, when you finish cooking the sausage or sausages, you can pour off some of the oil/sausage grease to use to fry some potatoes, if you'd like. As for sausages, you certainly can use raw sausages if you have the extra time needed to cook them, but generally this recipe is for already cooked sausages like wieners or cooked bratwurst, so that frying them relatively briefly will brown them a little and heat them through. When I did the photos for this article, I used knockwurst (also spelled knackwurst). I used about 2/3 of a knockwurst per sandwich. I use extra large or jumbo eggs. Typically, I just use sandwich bread, but you could certainly use a little sturdier type of bread, if you'd like.  

 

Ingredients (per sandwich):

 

1/2 to 1 sausage, cut up

1 extra large or jumbo egg

1 tablespoon milk or water

1 slice Swiss cheese

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 pinch ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt (I actually use seasoned salt)

2 slices of bread

ketchup

(oil to fry the sausage and onions) 

It's best to have the ingredients ready to go before you actually start cooking and I crack the egg into a small bowl first and then mix in the milk, black pepper and salt, then set it aside until needed. To a small skillet over medium heat, add the amount of oil you think you'll need to fry the sausage and onions. Add the sausage pieces and onions and cook until the sausage pieces begin to brown, then flip them over to brown a little on the other side. Always mix the onion around to keep it from burning. After you flip the sausage pieces over, add the egg mixture, trying to evenly distribute it in amongst the sausage slices. Lower the heat to low and cover the skillet briefly to let the top of the egg mixture set. When the egg is set, lay the slice of Swiss cheese on top for just a few seconds, then remove the egg/sausage/cheese piece to the bread, add some ketchup and the other slice of bread. You're ready to eat. 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Entice (Enticement)-The ultimate origin of the main part of this word is unknown, but Latin had the noun "titio," meaning "torch, stick lit at one end, firebrand," which had the prefix "in" (from Indo European "en," meaning "in, into"); thus meaning, "to set in fire" (of course in English we say "set on fire," and "set afire," which does not seem to be said much today, but it was commonly heard when I was a kid). This passed to Latin-based Old French as the figurative "enticier," which meant "to excite, to stir excitement or anger, to incite," or as is sometimes said in American English, "to fire up (emotion)."^ English borrowed the word circa 1300, initially as "intice," with the spelling perhaps from Latin influence, with that same meaning, but also with the religious input of "to stir someone to sin," which helped to move the word to mean "to lure someone to do something by stirring their emotions" (bad intent is usually implied). The noun "enticement" was formed in French and it too was borrowed by English (about 1300) with the French meaning of, "the act of inciting someone to do something;" thus also, "instigation, incitement." 

 

^ I'm not sure if they also say that in England or in other parts of Britain, or in Australia.

A Bunch of Baloney (Sandwiches), Part Two

The recipes and names I've given for these sandwiches are mainly my own inventions. Mortadella is also called "Italian bologna/baloney" by some.

 

Here is the link to "Part One:" https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2022/07/a-bunch-of-baloney-sandwiches.html

Fried Baloney Plays the Blues:

 

2 slices white or whole wheat bread

2 slices fried baloney

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons thick blue cheese dressing

1 or 2 lettuce leaves

1 large tomato slice

bread and butter pickle slices

1 or 2 teaspoons oil for frying

Note: If you'd like to make your own blue cheese dressing, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/07/homemade-blue-cheese-dressing.html

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the baloney and brown it on both sides. Remove the meat to one slice of bread, add 1 or 2 lettuce leaves, a large slice of tomato and some bread and butter pickle slices (also called "chips" by some). Add the blue cheese dressing to the other slice of bread and top the sandwich with it.  

The Italian Leaning Tower Mortadella Sandwich 

 

Italian bread rolls

3 or 4 slices of mortadella (folded)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon oil for frying the mortadella

thick Italian dressing

tomato slices

2 provolone cheese slices 

green Italian olives (I use Castelvetrano), halved

chopped fresh basil leaves

 

Fold the mortadella pieces, heat the oil in a large skillet over low heat, lightly brown the meat on both sides, split the rolls, drizzle dressing over one part of roll, put the browned mortadella on the roll, add the provolone slices (I fold them too), add the tomato slices, add the olive halves and basil leaves. Drizzle on a little more Italian dressing before adding the top part of the roll. Easier to eat by cutting into sections (secure sections with toothpicks)  

 

 

 

 The French Riviera Fried Baloney Sandwich

 

sausage roll

2 or 3 slices baloney

1 teaspoon oil for frying the baloney

Niçoise olives, halved

red onion, chopped

lettuce, chopped

tomato, chopped

red bell pepper, cut into thin slices/strips

2 anchovy fillets

4 or 5 teaspoons store bought French or Country French dressing, homemade Country French dressing, 2 teaspoons for bottom roll, 2 or 3 teaspoons for the top roll  

(Note: to make homemade country French dressing, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/07/homemade-creamy-country-french-dressing.html  )

 

Heat the oil over low heat in a large skillet; fry the baloney until lightly browned on both sides. Split the roll, if it isn't already split, and spread 1 or 2 teaspoons of dressing on the bottom part of the roll. Add the baloney slices, then add the chopped red onion, chopped lettuce, chopped tomato, red bell pepper strips and lay the anchovy fillets on top. Add 2 or 3 teaspoons of the dressing to the top portion of the roll to top off the sandwich, which will require a little pressure, but be careful. 

 

 

 

Fried Baloney Breakfast Sandwich

 

2 slices toasted bread

1 or 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 

1 or 2 slices (depending upon thickness) fried baloney

1 fried egg

homes fries 

ketchup 

oil or butter for frying

Add some oil or butter to a skillet and fry the baloney until lightly browned on both sides. Remove the fried baloney to a plate. I used home fried potatoes I had already made and I only needed to heat them briefly. Remove the warmed potatoes to the plate with the baloney. Add more butter or oil (presumably it will be needed), then fry the egg. I leave the yolk runny (see photo below), but you can fry the egg until the yolk is totally cooked. Toast the bread slices, spread some mayonnaise on the bottom slice, add the baloney slices, add a layer of home fries, add some ketchup on top of the potatoes, add the egg (break the yolk and spread it around a bit, or you'll likely have yolk dripping all over you. Top with the other slice of toast.

Barbecuey Fried Baloney

 

2 slices white bread (or whole wheat)

2 or 3 slices baloney

1 teaspoon olive oil (vegetable oil, canola oil)

1 tablespoon butter

2 slices onion (tennis ball or baseball size onion, slices about 1/2 inch in thickness)

2 or 3 tablespoons of your favorite barbecue sauce

Heat oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cut the onion slices from the center of a tennis ball or baseball size onion, then cut the slices in half and separate these into half rings. Add the onion to the skillet and saute until "softening," then add the baloney slices and fry until the meat is lightly browned on both sides, and the onion is softened and browned. Remove the baloney to one slice of bread and add the barbecue sauce to the skillet with the onion and mix it in. Once heated, add the barbecue/onion mixture to the top of the baloney, top with the other bread slice and you're ready to eat. 

 

 

 

Spicy Barbecuey Fried Lebanon Baloney

 

round roll/bun

5 slices regular Lebanon baloney (or 2 or 3 somewhat thicker slices)

1 teaspoon oil (like peanut or vegetable oil)

1 tablespoon butter

2 slices onion, cut into half rings

1 clove garlic, minced

1 chili pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons barbecue sauce

1 or 2 tablespoons coleslaw  

 

Add butter and oil to a large skillet over low heat. Add the meat and fry it for a couple of minutes, turning the slices once or twice (it will shrink). The oil/butter in the skillet will be somewhat darkened. Add the onion half rings and saute them until softened and browned. When the onions are about one minute from being done, add the chopped chili pepper and minced garlic. Add some barbecue sauce to the bottom of the roll/bun, then place the meat on top of that (stack the slices on the round bun/roll), spoon the onion/garlic/chili pepper mixture into the meat, then drizzle on some barbecue sauce and then add the coleslaw followed by the top of the bun/roll. Don't push down too hard, but you'll need to add a little pressure. Have the napkins close by.   

Greek Inspired Fried Baloney Sandwich

 

pita bread

2 or 3 slices of baloney, folded

1 or 2 teaspoons olive oil for frying

2 teaspoons olive oil for sandwich

chopped lettuce 

chopped red onion (raw)

grape tomatoes halved or chopped tomatoes

kalamata olives, whole or halved

little brine from the olives

crumbled feta cheese 

tzatziki*

 

Heat 1 or 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. Lightly brown the folded meat on both sides. Cut the pita bread in half. Add the meat, then add whatever amounts of the various toppings, add a little sprinkle of olive brine, add some crumbled feta and then spoon on some tzatziki. 

 

* Tzatziki is sold in many supermarkets and shops, but to make your own, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/01/greek-tzatziki-turkish-cacik-sauce-dip.html   

 

 

WORD HISTORY: 

Bread-For a word for such an important substance, the origins of "bread" are uncertain, although there are some theories about it. One theory has it originating from Indo European "bhreuh," meaning "to boil;" thus also, "to seethe, to cook, to bubble." This would make it a relative of "brew," a word from the Germanic roots of English. Part of the idea behind the theory is that the yeast makes the dough "bubble." Another theory has "bread" going back to Indo European "bhreg," which meant "to break." The idea here is, some researchers believe the long, long ago in Old Germanic was "small piece of food, a fragment." The idea is that bread is typically broken into pieces when it is served/eaten (we even say "break bread" in English, generally giving the idea of sharing bread together), and it certainly crumbles (breaks) easily when dried. This would make it a relative of "break," a word from the Germanic roots of English. Still another has it coming from Indo European "bhreus," meaning "to crush or break up (into pieces)." This would make it related to "bruise," another word from the Germanic roots of English. There are likely other theories, but the thing is, there has never been a theory strong enough to garner the overwhelming support of researchers.    

 

What is known is, Old English had "bread," although it was not pronounced like the modern word, but rather it had a more prominent 'e' sound (bree) and a less emphasized 'ad' sound. It then did mean "piece of food, morsel, fragment," but also "bread," "perhaps" only in reference to "leavened bread." With bread being so important to human beings, eventually the word came to mean all types of the specific food made from a dough of some type of flour, typically baked, but also sometimes made in a skillet or other pan set onto a heat source. "Bread" gradually became the exclusive word used for this type of food, which by 1200 bumped the original word for this food, which was "loaf" (then spelled "hlaf"), to its meaning of "a mass portion of bread." Whatever the source of the word "bread," it came to English from Old Germanic (it had some various other spellings in the Middle Ages, like "breed" and "bred") and it is widespread in the Germanic languages: German has "Brot," Low German "Broot," West Frisian "brea," Dutch "brood," Danish and Norwegian "brød," Icelandic "brauð" (=brauth), Swedish "bröd."   

A Bunch of Baloney (Sandwiches)

When I was growing up in the 1950s, "baloney" sandwiches were common, including "fried baloney" sandwiches, which were a bit fancier than regular baloney sandwiches that were made from slices of baloney taken right from the refrigerator, or "icebox," as many people still called it back then. "Bologna" traces back to mortadella sausage from the northern Italian city of Bologna. It "seems" Germans took the Italian idea and made a similar sausage which was brought to America by German immigrants, and then Italian immigrants brought actual mortadella, and these were given "American" touches to become "bologna." By the 1920s and 1930s, sandwiches had become highly popular in the U.S., as they were quick and simple to make and they could be easily transported to jobs in bags or lunch boxes, and a common meat used was "baloney," the more typical Americanized pronunciation of "bologna." It wasn't fancy, but it wasn't expensive either, and that was important to every day American working people, and especially so when these "working people" didn't always have a steady job in the days of the Great Depression in the 1930s. It seems baloney was originally made from pork, but then also came beef, then chicken, then turkey, and even mixtures of meat products.

 

"A bunch of baloney" is a slang expression that means "a bunch of nonsense," and the expression seems to have developed in the 1920s in the U.S., in New York City, likely from the idea of baloney then being made from cheap cuts or remnants of meat, thus being of little worth, with nonsense seen the same way.
 

You can use beef baloney, or baloney made with chicken or turkey, if you don't eat pork.

My "Regular" Baloney Sandwich; totally simple:

2 slices white sandwich bread (you can certainly use whole wheat or multigrain bread)

1/2 to 1 tablespoon butter

2 slices baloney

thick ketchup, with more in reserve, if needed; okay, WHEN needed

Spread one slice of bread with butter. Place the 2 slices of baloney on either slice of bread, squeeze a "good" amount of thick ketchup onto the baloney, then place the other slice of bread on top of the ketchup covered baloney. Keep more ketchup nearby, and dip the sandwich into it before every bite. 

 

 

Is This the Typical Baloney Sandwich? 

 

Is this simple sandwich the "typical" baloney sandwich? There's really no way to prove or disprove it.

 

2 slices white bread

1 or 2 teaspoons mayonnaise

1 or 2 leaves of lettuce

2 or 3 slices of baloney

1 slice of American cheese

Spread one slice bread with mayonnaise, to the other slice of bread, add the lettuce, 2 or 3 slices of baloney and then top with the slice of cheese.

 

Variation: yellow or brown mustard supplements, or replaces, the mayonnaise, or try a good honey mustard on this sandwich (with no mayonnaise). 

"Regular" Fried Baloney Sandwich

 

You can cut slits around the edge of the baloney slices to help prevent curling of the meat when frying. 

 

2 slices white bread

2 to 3 slices baloney

1/2 tablespoon of butter

2 teaspoons mustard (more if you choose to put mustard on both slices of bread), or 2 teaspoons ketchup, or 2 teaspoons mayonnaise

1 pickle on the side, or 3 or 4 pickle slices

 

 

  

 

"Deluxe" Fried Baloney Sandwich

 

2 slices white bread

2 to 3 slices baloney

1/2 tablespoon butter (another 1/2 tablespoon butter, if needed)

1 slice Swiss cheese (or white or yellow American cheese)

1 or 2 slices onion, separated into rings

3 to 5 slices of bread 'n butter pickles (the slices are sometimes referred to as 'chips')

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

(optional) 2 teaspoons mustard or honey mustard

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, add the rings of onion and saute. Move the onion rings to the side of the skillet and add the baloney (add more butter, if needed). Fry the baloney on both sides until lightly browned. Keep mixing the onions around to brown them, as the baloney fries. Add the baloney to one slice of bread, top with the fried onions, then the pickles and then the Swiss cheese. Add mayonnaise to the top slice of bread, or if using mustard, spread the top slice with mustard first, then spread on the mayonnaise and add the bread to the top of the sandwich.

 

 

Fried Mortadella Sandwich

 

Mortadella is Italian bologna; actually, THE original bologna.

Ingredients (per sandwich):

2 slices bread (white, whole wheat or multigrain)

2 or 3 slices of mortadella

1 tablespoon butter + 1 teaspoon olive oil (or other oil of your choice)

1 or 2 slices of American cheese (or you can substitute white or yellow cheddar, or Colby)

2 to 3 teaspoons mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 or 3 tomato slices (I tend to use Roma tomatoes, which are usually smaller, so 3 slices)

3 or 4 pickle slices (dill or sweet and sour chips)

Spread the Dijon mustard onto one slice of bread, followed by the mayonnaise. Add the tomato slices, then turn to preparing the mortadella. Add the butter and oil to a skillet over low heat (the oil will help keep the butter from browning quickly). Add the mortadella; brown the meat on both sides, then add the cheese on top of the meat for only about 20 to 30 seconds. Put the mortadella/cheese on top of the tomato covered bread slice and then top the meat/cheese with the pickle slices, and cover with the other plain slice of bread. In the photos below, the bottom photo shows building the sandwich, then the second photo shows completing the sandwich. I didn't add the cheese to the mortadella in the skillet so that the meat could be seen. This is a really good sandwich. 

Mustard followed by mayonnaise, then tomato slices, then mortadella

Fried Onion & Garlic Baloney Sandwich

 

2 slices white bread

2 slices baloney

2 to 4 cloves of garlic, sliced or finely chopped

1 green onion, white and green, chopped

1/2 tablespoon butter 

ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise, your preference, or some combo (I used mayo and ketchup in the photos below)

 

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat then add the green onion and garlic; saute about one minute, then move the onion and garlic to the side of the skillet and add the baloney slices. Fry on both sides until lightly browned. If the onion and garlic begin getting too dark (especially the garlic, it will become bitter) remove from the skillet until the baloney is done. I put some mayonnaise on the bottom slice of bread, then I add the meat, followed by the green onion and garlic and then some ketchup.

  

  

WORD HISTORY:

Weasel-The ultimate origin of the noun "weasel" is difficult, but it "seems" to go back to Indo European "weys," with the notion "to flow, to melt, to run," and the extended noun form "weselos/wiselos," which was the name for the animal, and this gave Old Germanic "wisulon," which meant the same thing. This gave Old English "weosule" then "wesle," which then became "wesele," before the modern form. Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Wiesel," Low German "Wes(s)el," West Frisian and Dutch "wezel," Icelandic "vesla" (but it also has an unrelated word for the animal), Danish "væsel," Norwegian "vesle/væsel," Swedish "vessla."  

Cleveland Polish Boy Sandwich

This sausage sandwich was invented here in Cleveland in the World War Two era by Virgil Whitmore, who owned a barbecue restaurant on Cleveland's East Side. The idea was to put something of a typical grilled kielbasa lunch or dinner of grilled kielbasa, french fries, coleslaw and barbecue sauce all together on a bun. I suggest using hoagie rolls that you can split yourself, and then only cut about 2/3 of the way through the roll. If you can't grill the sausage, broil or fry it until it gets a little brown. This is a BIG sandwich and it is often identified as one of the foods folks should try when visiting Cleveland. It has been touted on national television as one of America's best sandwiches. The napkin industry loves it, because you'll need plenty of napkins. 

Ingredients (per each sandwich):

1 kielbasa (6 to 8 inches)

1 hotdog or hoagie bun

2 to 3 tablespoons coleslaw (not with lots of liquid)

1 "good" handful french fries

2 to 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce

Grill, broil or fry the kielbasa so that it has some brown color to it. Toast the bun lightly, add the ingredients however you choose, as some people like to add the coleslaw or french fries first, then lay the kielbasa on top of that, before adding the other ingredients. I generally put the kielbasa, then the coleslaw, then the french fries and top everything with the barbecue sauce.

 

On this day, I had the Polish Boy Sandwich along with some potato salad ...

WORD HISTORY:

Kielbasa-This word has an "uncertain" origin, so I am going to work backward on its history. In American English, "kielbasa" was first used in the early 20th Century, and in American English it generally means a Polish sausage with rather coarsely ground pork, beef, or a combination of the two, in a casing, and the sausage is seasoned somewhat with garlic and then smoked. Kielbasa often comes in a "U" shape, but it can also come looking more like a hotdog. American English borrowed the word from Polish "kiełbasa," which means "sausage," in general. Polish "likely" got the word from its parent, Old Slavic "kelbasa" (other Slavic languages have forms too), meaning "grilled/roasted meat." This "probably" came from Turkish "kulbasti," with the same meaning, but literally "pressed on the coals/ashes," but transliterated Hebrew "kolbasar," a general term for "meat," is also a possible candidate.    

Chicken Salad

You can use store or restaurant bought rotisserie or grilled chicken, or cook some chicken yourself in the oven, on the grill, under the broiler, or boiled.

The cayenne pepper won't scorch your mouth, and I have really hot cayenne, but the chicken salad was not hot at all.

 

Ingredients (4 to 6 servings):

 

1 pound boneless cooked chicken, chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons very finely chopped onion (red or white)

2 tablespoons finely chopped sweet pickle (or dill pickle, if you prefer)

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 good pinch cayenne pepper

1/4 cup pecans, toasted (buy toasted or toast them yourself)

whole wheat or white bread

 

 In a cup or a bowl, add the mayonnaise, yogurt, buttermilk, garlic powder and honey; mix together very well (whisk or I sometimes use a stick blender), set it aside briefly. In a bowl, add the chicken, finely chopped onion, finely chopped sweet pickle (or dill pickle, if using), celery salt, ground black pepper and pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix these ingredients into the chicken, it doesn't have to be perfect, as next, add the mayo/yogurt dressing, and mix further to completely coat all of the chicken. Add the pecans and just fold them through the salad. Serve on whole wheat or white bread. 

 

 Chicken salad on whole wheat bread with a few pecan pieces to top it off ...

Full chicken salad sandwich on whole wheat ...

,

WORD HISTORY:

Copious-This word is related to "opulent" and to "copy," words borrowed from French, but with heavy reinforcement by Latin, to "opus" and to "optimum," words borrowed from Latin. "Copious" is really a prefixed word and a suffixed word, with the prefix going back to Indo European "kom" which meant, "beside, near, together," and this gave Latin both "con" and "com," with the idea of "together, with," and the "com-" and "con-" forms sometimes were reduced to "co-." The main part of "copious" goes back to Indo European "op," which had the notion of "perform work, to make or produce;" thus also, "to have the force; that is, the ability to do." This gave Latin "ops," which meant "resources;" thus also, "wealth." With the prefix this produced the Latin noun "copia," meaning "plentiful supply, riches, resources," and this produced the adjective "copiosus,"^ which meant "plentiful, abundant." English borrowed the word in the mid 1300s from Latin.

 

^ The suffix "osus" was used in Latin to convey the notion of the word "having much, being full of, well supplied with, being inclined toward."   

English French Fries Sandwich: Chip Butty

This sandwich originated in England, but it is not uncommon in other parts of Britain and Ireland. "Chip" comes from the name of the fried potato pieces,* and "butty" comes from the butter slathered over the bread slices. The word "chips" should not be confused with the American word used in reference to very thin slices of potato that are fried (sometimes baked) until crisp, and which are then called "potato chips," as these are called "(potato) crisps" in Britain. You can use bread or rolls for the sandwich, and you can toast the bread a little, which will cut down on sogginess, as a chip butty is likely to require a good number of napkins. You can fry your own potatoes (some prefer to bake them), or you can buy some french fries, steak fries or chips to take home from a restaurant (then keep them in a warm oven, like 225F, until you are ready to place them into the sandwiches), although this may cause your personal invitation to Buckingham Palace to be canceled, IF you have one). You can top the sandwich with ketchup, or you can add some mayonnaise and some chopped herbs like rosemary, thyme or parsley, or you can add British brown sauce, which is very similar to some types of American steak sauce,** or you can give the sandwich a dose of some malt vinegar.

Ingredients (per sandwich): 

2 slices of bread or a split bread roll

butter

potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, cut into slices about 3 inches long and 1/2 inch thick

salt

Let the butter soften somewhat to make it easy to spread. For each sandwich, butter one side of two slices of bread (or the inside parts of a split bread roll) with a good amount of butter. Fry or bake the potato pieces (then salt them to taste, but I use salted butter, so you can skip lots of extra salt if you so choose), or keep restaurant fries/chips warm in the oven until right before you put them into the sandwiches. Put a double layer of warm/hot fries/chips onto the bread or roll. If using a topping, top with ketchup or mayonnaise and herbs or brown sauce or steak sauce or malt vinegar, then place the other slice of bread on top (or close the bread roll) and press down a bit to secure the sandwich. The heat from the potatoes will begin to melt the butter, coating the potatoes in yummy, buttery delight. Have plenty of napkins handy.   

 

* British "chips" are not necessarily the same as American french fries, which are often a thinner cut of potato, sometimes referred to as "shoestring fries," although I'm not certain what the guideline is for the shoestring terminology, if there even is a guideline. British "chips" and American "steak fries" are more similar. The term "chips" of the British usage is not completely unheard of in the U.S., especially in reference to "fish and chips," as some American restaurants market this common combo under that name, while many use "fish and fries," or "fish and french fries."   

** To my knowledge (I know, that's a low standard), there is no mandatory list of ingredients for "steak sauce," but when I hear the term used, I think of "A-1 Steak Sauce," long a popular brand in the U.S., and which is now marketed as "A-1 Sauce," which can trace its roots to the 1800s in England; thus, its similarity to British brown sauce.  

WORD HISTORY:

Bare-This word goes back to Indo European "bhosos," which meant "barefoot, unshod, uncovered." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "bazaz" meaning "naked, uncovered," which gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "bær" meaning "naked, not hidden."^ This then became "bar," before the ending 'e' was added to show the interior vowel was long. Some Germanic relatives also use forms to mean "pure;" often applied to "immediately usable money;" that is, "cash." The verb form was "likely" from the adjective and was "barian" in Old English, and meant, "to make bare, to uncover." Note: Some people believe there was an Old Germanic verb form that was passed down in various forms to its descendants and that's possible. Relatives of "bare" in the other Germanic languages: German has "bar," in modern times Low German uses forms in compounds for "barefoot" as "barft," "boorfoot" and "barfs" (Low German is not a standard language, but rather a number of dialects), and for "cash," as "Boorgeld," Dutch has "baar" ("seemingly" not used much, but used in reference to "cash" (baar geld) and to "gold ingots" (pure gold), Frisian once had "ber," but it apparently no longer uses a form of the word, Danish has "bar," Norwegian has "bar," Icelandic has "ber," Swedish (not standard, dialects only) has "bär."  

 

^ The change of 'z' to 'r' is called "rhotacism," and it was common in Germanic, although for whatever reason, some Germanic dialects did not always follow suit.   

Savory Grilled Fontina Cheese Sandwich

Fontina is a cheese that originated in the Aosta Valley in northwestern Italy. Although similar types of cheeses with the name "Fontina" have come to be produced in other countries, including in the U.S., the cheese from Italy is designated as "Fontina val d'Aosta," and it is a protected product that offers consumers the assurance that the cheese is from the designated region of Italy and produced with traditional ingredients and procedures. It is a mild cheese and it melts easily.   

 

Ingredients (per sandwich):

 

2 slices fontina cheese

2 slices bread, not too thick

1 medium garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use, for the bread slices and to prepare the garlic and olives

3 to 5 olives (depending upon size), sliced 

1/2 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped (or you can use some crumbled dried rosemary)

 

Heat 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil in a small skillet over low heat. Add the minced garlic, sliced olives and chopped rosemary and saute for about 30 to 45 seconds (keep shaking the skillet). In another skillet large enough to accommodate the sandwich, heat 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add 2 slices of fontina cheese to one of the slices of bread and place the bread slice right into the hot oil. Move the bread to coat the bottom with the oil. Now spoon the garlic-olive-rosemary mixture onto the cheese and smooth it out. Put another 1/2 teaspoon olive oil onto the other slice of bread and spread it out. When the cheese shows signs of melting, put the other slice of bread in place, press down lightly, and then turn the sandwich over and let the other side brown. Both sides should be nicely browned.

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Spleen-This word for one of the organs of the abdominal area goes back to an Indo European form like "splelgh/splengh," which meant "milt/slpeen." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "splḗn," with the same meaning. This was borrowed by Latin as "splen" and was taken by Latin-based Old French as "esplen." English borrowed the word circa 1300, initially as "splene/spleene" and it gradually began to replace the native English word "milt" as the name for the organ, but then "milt" saw a shift in meaning to "male fish reproductive fluid." The spleen was long believed to be the organ of anger and bad temperament; thus, the expression, "vent your spleen;" that is, "erupt in anger, or let out anger about something."