We all live in a turkey submarine

As I verified today, a small slice makes a perfect breakfast.

My mom deserves all the credit for this post.  When we go to a tailgate or picnic or cottage on Lake Michigan, she'll often make one of these great big submarine sandwiches.  Made on a large loaf of French or Italian bread, they sit in the fridge overnight, wrapped tightly in plastic, so that all of the flavors can blend together and the sammich can "become one."  Instead of the hassle of making a bunch of individual sandwiches, you just slice this one up and serve.  It's easy and so good.  Somehow, the overnight sit softens up the bread, melds the flavors, and makes this bad bay so much more delicious than it would be assembled & eaten straightaway.  And it lasts for several days, so you can just slice off portions and eat as the hunger grabs you (if you're me, that translates to often).  I love having things prepared and ready-to-eat.  That's why I like to spend Sunday afternoons cooking, making big batches of salads, soups, etc for lunches the next week; cutting up veggies to keep in the fridge as snacks; puttering around and keeping myself busy with food...

That said, you do have to avoid a few potential pitfalls.  First, you gotta keep the veggies to a minimum (this should make you happy, Aunt L!!!) because they have a tendency to make the bread soggy.  And you need to be mindful to use a fairly sturdy loaf, otherwise you're going to have an unappetizingly gummy loaf on your hands the next day.  Also, I try not to stuff them too much, because you don't want "backsliding" to be an issue (a term coined by Serious Eats/A Hamburger Today to describe the unpleasant phenomenon of having sandwich contents shoot out the back end when you bite into the front).

Check out the innards.  I think they call this the "money shot."

Otherwise, you can experiment and layer it on to your heart's content.  I've used supermarket and bakery bread to equal success (supermarket bread's less crusty crust might even be preferable--see "backsliding" above), and any variety of meats and cheeses.  For the add-ons, try onions (give them a 5-minute bath in ice water or red wine vinegar to mild them down, if you're not a red onion fan), olives, giardinara, sliced peppers, cucumbers--just not anything watery like tomatoes or that will get unpleasantly wilted like lettuce.

A few weeks back I made up a classic American version, and yesterday I used the remainder of my D'Amato's loaf to make a spicy turkey sub, complete with my favorite sauce of all time.  Recipes for all three after the jump...

another angle of my pretty baby

Spicy Turkey Submarine
12" segment of French bread, split horizontally and partially hollowed out, if desired
8-12 slices deli turkey
3-4 slices muenster cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 small poblano pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/3 cup Spicy Southwestern sauce (see below)

Spread both cut sides of bread with the spicy sauce.  On the bottom half, layer half the turkey, half the cheese (rip into pieces to fit), half the onions, and half the peppers; repeat with remaining ingredients and top with the top half of bread.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate, at least several hours and up to several days.  Slice into portions and serve as needed.

American Deli Submarine
12" segment of French bread, split horizontally and partially hollowed out, if desired
6 slices deli turkey
6 slices deli ham
8 slices hard salami
3-4 slices provolone cheese
1/4 cup very thinly sliced red onion
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp chopped giardinara, if desired
3 Tbsp coarse-ground mustard

Spread both cut sides of bread with mustard.  On the bottom half, layer half the turkey, half the ham, half the salami, half the cheese (rip into pieces to fit), half the onions, and half the giardinara; repeat with remaining ingredients and top with the top half of bread.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate, at least several hours and up to several days.  Slice into portions and serve as needed.


Spicy Southwestern Sauce
1/4 cup low-fat mayo
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 garlic clove, minced and ground to a paste with a pinch of salt
juice of 1/2 a lime
S&P

Mix all together and season to taste.  Soooooo good---like the Southwest Sauce at subway, or the dipping sauce that comes with onion blossoms.....mmmm.....