Sandwich Risk/Reward Analysis: Part One of a Many-Part Series?

Sandwiches are the perfect lunch food. Quick, simple, and easy to eat when busy, there's really no matching the convenience and tastiness of a sandwich. However, not all is well in the land of bread and honey. While you can often be sure of the quality of ingredients you put into your own sandwich, it's a little harder to predict what sort of quality you'll run into when ordering from a restaurant, or when having a sandwich provided by a friend.

The discussion arose when my man and I were talking about vegetables we did and did not like in certain circumstances. I brought up the tomato, which I like in most dishes but will pass on in salads and sandwiches; the reason being that when you get a good tomato in one of those situations, there's not much it adds to the flavor picture. A good tomato can't save a bad sandwich. However, a bad tomato can ruin a sandwich that's excellent in all other aspects, bringing a soggy and unpleasant texture to the mouth and a tart, acidic flavor to the tongue. And so the idea for a risk/reward analysis for sandwich innards was born, from this talk of vegetables. We would determine the "risk" factor of each potential sandwich ingredient and build the perfect sandwich from the results of the data gathered.

Totally nerdy, I know, but I figured if anyone's going to appreciate it, it'd be this crowd. We'll start with veggies, since that's where the conversation started.

We'll only discuss commonly used veggies here, since more exotic ingredients are a little harder to get a consensus agreement on. Risk and Reward are judged on a 0 to 5 scale, 0 meaning no risk/reward and 5 being the most risk/reward possible. An explanation of how we achieved these numbers will follow each rating. As the analysis project is a work-in-progress, these numbers are open to debate in the comments section, and results may be edited upon the revelation of further data. Your input is welcomed and encouraged.

Risk is defined here as how probable it is that the ingredient may be bad. For instance, a preserved food such as pickles has a lower risk value of a fresh food like a tomato. While a pickle will almost always have the same sort of flavor, there is a wide range of quality in tomatoes.

When we talk about Reward below, we are referring to how much benefit an ingredient can really bring a sandwich when said ingredient is at its best. How much better is the sandwich for the inclusion of the ingredient? The higher the number, the more significant the contribution to the flavor and texture of the sandwich.

Please also keep in mind that the risk/reward is analyzed from a perspective of actually enjoying the ingredient - if you don't like something, it's always going to have 0 reward for you and is therefore not going to be included on your ideal sandwich.

Alfalfa Sprouts
Risk: 1
Reward: 2
They're probably the least common item on this list, but they occur often enough to gain a spot among the others. Generally, if a place has Alfalfa Sprouts available, they're going to be pretty good. It's hard to find bad Alfalfa Sprouts in a restaurant environ. However, with that in mind, there's not much they bring to the flavor of a sandwich. Texture wise they add a small crunch and an interesting texture. So while the risk is low, so's the reward.

Avocado
Risk: 5
Reward: 4
Avocado's a very fragile fruit, and often once it's shipped to wherever it's going it's bruised and not very tasty. Even in California, poor preparation of avocado can lead to it getting mushy and disgusting. It's hard to find good avocado, but when it's at its best, it bring a lot of flavor and a smooth texture to your sandwich. Is it worth the risk? Only if you really trust the provider of the sandwich to not give you some mushy Avo.

Bell Pepper
Risk: 0
Reward: 3
I asked around, and of the people that like bell peppers, not a one of them can ever remember having a bad bell pepper in their sandwich. Bell pepper is a sturdy vegetable that holds up pretty well to shipment and storage. It's nice and crisp and adds a mild flavor to the sandwich that can act as a good counter to your meat choice.

Cucumber
Risk: 2
Reward: 2
Cucumber is another strong vegetable, though it sometimes runs the risk of having a mushy core. It has a mild, cool flavor and while its crunch is texturally pleasing in a sandwich, it doesn't bring too much to a sandwich aside from that.

Eggplant
Risk: 3
Reward: 4
Eggplant can suffer pretty badly in preparation, and often serves as a meat replacement in vegetarian sandwiches. That being said, when it's properly prepared, it can be a mighty tasty addition to your sandwich.

Lettuce
Risk: 3
Reward: 2
At its worst, lettuce can be a soggy, limp venture. Sadly, there's a moderate possibility of this occurring. The rewards you get for lettuce aren't much, just a bit of crunch to your sandwich if it's not bad lettuce. That being said, it is your most common source of said vegetable crunch and is probably the most widely available vegetable for sandwiches, so it is likely you will have no other options if seeking that texture in your sandwich at many restaurants.

Mushroom
Risk: 3
Reward: 4
Mushrooms suffer from the same problems as eggplants in sandwiches. Problems in storage and transport play a greater part than preparation with mushrooms, but you can get some mighty fine mushrooms one they're in your sandwich. As with eggplants, the larger varieties of mushroom make a good meat substitute in vegetarian sandwiches.

Onions (cooked)
Risk: 1
Reward: 5
It's hard to go wrong with cooked onions. They bring a strong, delicious flavor to any sandwich they play a part of, and are a real shining star. Caramelized onions are to veggies what bacon is to meat.

Onions (raw)
Risk: 0
Reward: 2
The good news about raw onions is that it's nearly impossible to get bad raw onions. The bad news is that for all their crunch and strong flavor, they just don't shine as much as the cooked version. They can add a good flavor to a sandwich, but they can't help a bad sandwich the way cooked onions can.

Pickles
Risk: 1
Reward: 3
They're pickles - you pretty much always know what a pickle is going to taste like. Like uncooked onions, though, they can't quite salvage a bad sandwich. A truly superior pickle can add a pretty good taste and crunch, though, and so they rate higher on rewards.

Tomato
Risk: 4
Reward: 2
Tomatoes are very fragile, and are often damaged in transport and storage. In addition, they don't hold up very well once sliced. Because of this, there is a very high likelihood that the tomato you get in your sandwich is not going to be very good. In addition, a good tomato brings very little to a sandwich on its own. Not recommended in most sandwiches.
Continued...

Mom's Metloaf

I adore meatloaf. I think it's tasty, awesome and has great leftover potential - and leftovers are even easier than cooking! Man, there's nothing like a nice warm meatloaf sandwich when you're too lazy to cook. Mmmm. It's totally not vegetarian friendly, but that's why Astrani has her meatless recipe blog. This recipe comes from my mom's kitchen with some minor modifications by yours truly. Thanks for teaching me to make meatloaf, ma!

Meatloaf is good alongside a nice starchy side, like pasta, rice or potatoes. Hobo Potatoes and Mashed Potatoes go great with them. If you're watching your carb intake, greens are also awesome with meatloaf.

Mom's Meatloaf

Serves: 4-5 people, leftovers highly probable
Active Cook time: ~15-20 minutes
Inactive Cook time: ~1 1/2 hours
Difficulty: Super Easy

Hardware
-Loaf Pan (9"x5"x3" pan - I got mine in the kitchen gadget aisle of the grocery store)
-Large Mixing Bowl
-Knife/Cutting Board
-Powder-free latex gloves, a clean plastic bag, or a long-handled fork
-Oven
-Rubber Spatula
-Meat Thermometer, Instant-Read Thermometer, or Cook'd Right Sensors (see end of recipe)

Foodstuffs
-1 lb lean ground beef
-1/2 lb Italian sausage
-1/2 cup bread crumbs (Italian seasoned bread crumbs are best, but any will do)
-1 slice white, potato, or sourdough bread
-1 egg
-1 can petite diced tomatoes, mostly drained of juices
-1/2 large yellow or brown onion
-2 to 3 garlic cloves
-2 tsp Italian Seasoning
-2 tsp mustard
-salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Dice the onion into small pieces and mince the garlic as fine as possible. Cut open the Italian sausage's casing and empty the meat into mixing bowl with beef, bread crumbs, tomatoes, onions, garlic, egg, seasoning, mustard and salt/pepper. Crumble the piece of bread into the bowl. Mix using a fork, or gloved/covered hand. If you are especially brave, you can use your clean bare hands to mix everything together. Just make sure you don't get any under your nails, ick. Anyways, mix everything together until it's well combined, then use the rubber spatula to move the mix into your loaf pan.

Let cook for about an hour and a half to two hours, checking for done-ness at around an hour and 15 minutes. Use your thermometer to check the internal temperature of your meat in the middle. 160 Farenheit means it's done. Personally, I use Cook'd Right Hamburger Sensors to check if my meatloaf is done. It's a plastic stick you poke in the middle of the meatloaf with a tip that changes to bright red when the correct temperature is reached. I found a place to buy them online, but I just got mine in the grocery store.

The first time you check to see if it's done, you'll probably notice a lot of liquid in the pan. Feel free to drain this off if you don't want your meatloaf's structural integrity compromised. Leaving the liquid in will result in a moister but far less sturdy loaf.

Variations
If you want to cut back on the amount of red meat in your diet, you can use 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb ground turkey instead of a whole pound of beef. This will result in a drier loaf, so you may not want to drain the fat if you like it nice and moist. You can also substitute the Italian sausage with ground pork if you'd like, but you'll want to add more seasoning, salt and pepper to counter the loss of the sausage.

Continued...

Kitchen Chatter: Lore LOL

I've long pondered posting my thoughts on the game somewhere, but I don't think I could post frequently enough to make a regular thing of it. So I plan on chattering about it here occasionally, when the mood strikes me. If you're not a fan of talk about the game itself, feel free to skip this post - there's no recipe contained within.

That being said, today I'd like to talk a bit about people's complaints about the lore of the game. Now, I'm a lore and RP junkie, and I've had some harsh thoughts for Chris Metzen in the past. However, I've done some thinking, and I believe that maybe people have been a little too harsh on the guy.

For those of you who are not aware, one of the main reasons Metzen's gotten flak is because of the Draenei. Now, the Draenei are Eredar who have decided against siding with Sargeras and his demons, choosing instead to follow the Light and be down with the Naaru. The problem with this is that prior to BC's announcement, it was said that Sargeras had been good until the pure evil of the Eredar had driven him mad and turned him into the corrupted demon we know today.

Bit of retconning, yes? Well, imagine you're in Metzen's shoes. They're planning for Burning Crusade, and they've decided they want to add two more races. Blood Elves are the logical first choice for a new race, but who can they add to the Alliance side? They need a race that has a unique look that is not a neutral faction. And let's face it - Pandaren and Goblins are both very neutral races. So sometimes, the lore behind the game needs to change a bit to accommodate the game itself.

We can't really know exactly what went on behind the scenes at Blizzard HQ. Perhaps marketing was pushing for more races to be added to the game, and so put pressure on Metzen to come up with something. And for those of you who say that he shouldn't have changed the story just for being pressured by his bosses, let me ask you a question: Do you like money? Would you like having a job coming up with story for a video game? Would you do something to put said job and lots of money in jeopardy?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Metzen at his heart is a fantasy nerd like the rest of us - it shows in his interviews and the influences he draws on in the WoW story. Of course he wouldn't want to lose his job over something like that - because if they fired him there are thousands of nerds like us who'd line up to try to take his place. I think he knows this and is trying the best he can to keep the company happy while keeping the fans happy. I'm not super happy with the change in story either, but I'm not going to hate on Metzen for it anymore - he's just doing his job.

What many people seem to forget about WoW is that it's a game first and a story second. They're not selling a book, they're selling a game. And when the game needs some changes or additions critical to keeping the game healthy, sometimes the story suffers. I believe that the Draenei Shaman and Blood Elf Paladin were essential to balancing out the game. Before BC, any changes to Paladin or Shaman were seen as favoring one faction over the other when they were just trying to balance out gameplay. The story may have been altered badly, but the game itself was changed for the better. Even though I'm a pretty hardcore RPer and I hate to see changes in the story, I think this is for the best. I'd rather have a game that is well-designed with a weaker story than a game that isn't any fun to play with a great story - because in the end, we're here to play the game.
Continued...

Hobo Potatoes

I'm super sorry for not updating for a while. I've been working on going back to school, so I've sort of neglected some of my other hobbies. However, I'll make it up to you with a very tasty, versatile recipe!

Just before we moved out of California, my man took me to a little restaurant called the Harbor House Cafe. It's a little 24-hour diner type establishment serving up all kinds of delicious foods. It's one of those places where the menu is intimidatingly huge. One thing, however, caught my eye. "Hobo Potatoes," I read aloud, "What in the hell are Hobo Potatoes?"

Hobo Potatoes are a sort of home fries, but instead of just potatoes they include onions, mushrooms and bell peppers. Along with a side of sausage, they were perfect. I cut up the sausages and mixed it in with the potatoes. The awesome thing about Hobo Potatoes is that they can be a breakfast by themselves, or make a tasty side dish to another dish. They're super simple to make, and damned tasty to boot. You can also eat them for dinner, if you're the sort who loves breakfasty foods for dinner. Follow the jump for the recipe...

Hobo Potatoes
Serves: 2 people if served as a main dish, 4-6 if used as a side.
Cook time: ~20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Hardware
-Large Frying Pan
-Knife/Cutting Board
-Tinfoil
-Turner/Spatula
-Fork
-Peeler (maybe)

Foodstuffs
-1 to 1 1/2 pounds potatoes. Any type'll do, but red potatoes are my favorite for this.
-1/2 pound breakfast sausage
-1 medium onion
-1 bell pepper, any color. I think red looks nice in this dish.
-1/4 pound small mushrooms
-Olive oil (about 1-2 tablespoons)
-salt/pepper
-1/4 tsp paprika
-optional: Cheese, eggs, bacon. See variations section after recipe.

Wash and dice your potatoes into no bigger that 1/2 inch cubes. If you don't think your potatoes have tasty skins, peel them before dicing. Meanwhile, it's time to cook up your sausage. Breakfast sausage can either be purchased as links or in a tube as just the breakfast meat, I believe the idea there is to cook them up as sausage patties. If your sausage is the link variety, you must liberate it from its casing before proceeding - you just want the meat here. Crumble up the meat into little chunks, and cook it up in the pan. Brown the outside of the pieces, then remove from the pan, leaving the fat in the pan.

As you're cooking up the sausage, wash and cut up your other veggies. Remove the outer layers of onion and dice that up roughly. To cut up the bell pepper, remove the top and pull out the center. Split it in half, and remove the seeds. Then split each half into quarters down the width. Cut each quarter into little strips or dice, whichever you prefer. Wash and slice up your mushrooms, quartering the larger pieces.

After you take out the sausage, you may not have that much fat left in your pan - this is OK. Add olive oil until you've got a thin coating of fat/oil on the bottom of your pan. Add the potatoes, onions and bell peppers, sprinkle with the paprika and salt/pepper to taste then cover with tinfoil. Allow to cook for 10 minutes or so, checking their done-ness with a fork. Once the fork is able to spear the potatoes easily, remove the foil and add the sausage back to the pan. Allow to fry up and let the potatoes get a bit of a crispy outside, about 5 minutes or so. Serve and consume!

Variations:
-To make this dish vegetarian/vegan friendly, forgo the sausage and just fry up the veggies in olive oil.
-To make this dish extra tasty, cook up some bacon in the pan before you start making this dish, then evacuate the bacon to a plate with some paper towels. You will not need to add olive oil after removing the sausage from the pan if you do this.
-You can also add cheese or scrambled eggs into the mix, as I've known some people to do, but I like to keep the dish a little simpler.

Continued...