I am quite sure you really do not need a recipe for a sandwich…but all of us get into ruts with what we eat. Next time you walk through the aisles of your Trader Joe’s, mix it up and think of new things to use to make a quick simple meal. Start with the bread; pick out something new, something other than the standard baguette or French bread. Look around, there is ciabatta, focaccia, brioche, and all sorts of things to try!

Then go to the produce area and pick out a bag of greens you haven’t tried before. While in produce; snag a couple of heirloom tomatoes, an avocado, a cucumber, or an Asian pear. Go down that lovely long aisle that is full of olives, sun-dried tomatoes, tapenade, mustards, olives, pickled this and that, and various flavored mayo jars, and grab a few things new to you.

Then head over to the coolers and pick out one of the dozens of cheeses you haven’t tried or had in a while; Fontina, smoked Gouda, Manchego, mozzarella-prosciutto cheese roll, TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar, goat cheese, or just a nice sharp cheddar. Next to the cheeses are all sorts of sliced meats, although, with all the flavors you have in your basket by now, you don’t really need meat for a great sandwich!

Be sure and grab a nice bottle of wine or two and a package of pasta (you’re going to need that to make a second meal with all the odds and end you are sure to have left, after making sandwiches!). And stroll down the freezer section, pick up a package of those handy cubes of frozen minced garlic and other convenient cooked and frozen items (such as the chicken strips used for this particular sandwich). Once you are finished filling your cart, go stand in the long lines of other satisfied shoppers and be ready to pull out your reusable bags to help the cashier bag up your groceries. It brings me to the brink of insanity when I watch the guy or gal in front of me just standing there – uselessly!!!

The quantities for the sandwich below are not the amounts needed for the sandwich, but instead the quantity as it is sold at Trader Joe’s. Tomorrow, we will use the extra stuff to make pasta… if you want to be prepared to make it be sure you have on hand – or pick up – a package of spaghetti, Parmesan cheese, a mozzarella-prosciutto cheese roll, and a fresh head of garlic along with your sandwich fixings.

[Read more →]