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[i heart food]

Jeff Mauro's new show "Sandwich King" premiers Sunday, August 21, at 11:30 EST.

Courtesy foodnetwork.com:

Craving a famous Chicago Italian Beef sandwich but don't have a deli slicer? Jeff Mauro has the perfect solution in his potroast-style Chicago Italian Beef, complete with sautéed sweet peppers and his own Hot Giardiniera. Still hungry? Jeff Mauro's Mortadella and Fig Focaccianini are pressed panini taken to the next level with pillowy, rich focaccia.

Recipes for this episode are:

Chicago Italian Beef (Pot Roast Style)
Mortadella and Fig Focaccianini
Homemade Hot Giardiniera

Get ready for sammiches!

And, I see he is already making up words a la RayRay - Focaccianini?? It's a panini. On Focaccia. But still a panini.

[Nannav]

Time will tell if he is "All Sammiches All the Time" depending on how true he is to the real definition of a sandwich.

[Mlle Poilane]

Oh boy, Jeff has hit the big time now! Thanks for the heads up, I Heart Food. I'll record the show in case I miss it. Jeff was one of my several favorites, so I wish him good luck. I'm sure he's hoping for good ratings.

[chessiegal]

From Dictionary.com

sand·wich   /ˈsændwɪtʃ, ˈsæn-/ Show Spelled
[sand-wich, san-]
–noun
1. two or more slices of bread or the like with a layer of meat, fish, cheese, etc., between each pair.
2. open sandwich.
3. something resembling or suggesting a sandwich, as something in horizontal layers: a plywood sandwich

Bold added by me.

I hope he sticks with the third definition, because that's what I would like to see. The 2 slices of bread is too limiting.

Edited by chessiegal, Aug 17, 2011 @ 9:09 PM.

[i heart food]

No problem Mlle Poilane! He was one of my favorites, too, after Whitney, so I'm excited to see what he does. I think there are a lot of things he can do with this show. Like the posters were saying on the FNS site, sammiches can include wraps, lettuce wraps, pitas, gyros, tacos and maybe even burritos, IMO. Plus, he's kinda cute and I like his name. My dad's name is Jeff, my hubby's best friend is named Jeff, and one of my best good friend's name is Jeff (it gets a little confusing!). He has a good name. :)

Plus, I noticed he is including a recipe for his garnish, the giardiniera. So I think he will have a lot of room with this POV. I'm thinking that people might be turned off of his show because they'll be thinking "I'm not making a pot roast just to put it in a sammich!" However, I think maybe his line of thinking is, here's a great recipe for pot roast. And look! Here's how you can make it into a great sammich! I love sandwiches, but for some reason I can never think of anything other than lunchmeat, mayo and mustard. So I'm looking for some good ideas so I can bring lunch to work and not have to spend oodles of money in the hospital crapeteria. Today my lunch cost $9! And what did I get? A pulled pork SAMMICH! Bwah! (Plus a couple side and a drink....and Oreos....)

3. something resembling or suggesting a sandwich, as something in horizontal layers: a plywood sandwich

hahaha! What the heck is a plywood sandwich?? Maybe that will be episode #2!

Go Jeff!


Edited because I took forever to reply and saw the plywood definition after I posted. :)

Edited by i heart food, Aug 17, 2011 @ 9:18 PM.

[lillybee]

It looks like they gave him Aunt Sandy's spot.

[orchidgal]

It looks like they gave him Aunt Sandy's spot.

And the angels of satire wept.

[cissyboo]

Having just read the recipes, I have an issue-when I make sandwiches, it's because I don't have time to make anything else. If I have the four hours the Italian beef recipe calls for to cook the roast (turning every 1/2 hour!), I have the time to make something other than sandwiches. From this first show, his POV does not appear to be quick and easy meals.
Oh, and the use of his full name twice in the episode description bugs. Unless I missed something, and his name is JeffMauro Smith.

[WhyTheFace]

Having just read the recipes, I have an issue-when I make sandwiches, it's because I don't have time to make anything else. If I have the four hours the Italian beef recipe calls for to cook the roast (turning every 1/2 hour!), I have the time to make something other than sandwiches

I couldn't have said it any better myself. I just don't understand it, I love a good sandwich but why the heck am I going to spend 2-3 hours on it when I could make a full course meal in half that time that tastes just as good if not better?

Sandwiches have always been popular due to being convenient and mostly simple to prepare. If he is intending to over complicate the process I don't see how that's going to be a good thing or very popular.

Even if he wants to give someone a good pot roast recipe to make into sandwiches, who doesn't already know how to make a left over roast sandwich? Or turkey or chicken or fish sandwich? Reusing leftovers to make incredible next day sandwiches has been a past time for the longest time, what can he really do that no one else hasn't already thought of or doesn't know how to do already?

I just don't see the relevance to his show, I think trying to make a show solely about how to make a good sandwich is way too limiting, and I think he is going to end up as other mid-lining winners have before him, without much of an audience, last year's winner Arti being the latest example.

[orchidgal]

Since I make almost everything from scratch, I have no problem with spending the time required to make a really good sandwich. I learned a long time ago that taking shortcuts in a recipe results in an inferior product and am more than willing to spend the time and effort in the kitchen to get a terrific product. And given that some of these recipes call for a lot of inactive time (i.e. marinating time or roasting time), I really don't see the problem. It's not as if one is standing over a hot stove and constantly stirring the pot in figure-eight motions, lest the recipe be ruined.

[WhyTheFace]

I have no problem with spending the time required to make a really good sandwich

But what does that have to do with sticking a roast in the oven for 4 hours? All he is doing is basically telling people his take on recipes that people often make anyway for a full lunch or dinner but saying hey, did you know you can make a sandwich with it too?

Yes, they do know they can make a sandwich because most do make sandwiches with delicious slow roasted meats and have been since spits over fireplaces. Sandwiches really aren't that complicated, they just require the right execution and quality products, so time really isn't relevant in that case to me.

In my opinion his concept is not only not original it's rather silly to me. What can he really do to make making sandwiches interesting or unique that hasn't been done already? He can come up with new recipes maybe on how to flavor the bread or meat or condiments, but again there's nothing new there either and most of the shows on Foodnetwork make sandwiches all the time so how is he going to stand out? Other than with his nervousness?

I would have thought, if he was truly trying to get noticed, he would have come up with the concept of how to take common sandwich flavors, elevate them and make them into brand new dishes that could be eaten for lunch or dinner instead of a mere sandwich.

[orchidgal]

I have no problem with spending the time required to make a really good sandwich

But what does that have to do with sticking a roast in the oven for 4 hours? All he is doing is basically telling people his take on recipes that people often make anyway for a full lunch or dinner but saying hey, did you know you can make a sandwich with it too?

Then go ahead and just make the pot roast if that is your desire. As someone posted upthread, no one is going to come to your house and wag their finger at you for deviating from the recipe. I think the true beauty in Jeff's recipes is that one can look at old recipes in new ways: I can make a sandwich out of this? I personally don't care for pot roast, but make it dutifully for my dear husband. He is not a sandwich person, but I would gladly make almost anything into a sandwich. So I can see how this can work.

This being said, Jeff was not my favorite contestant of the competition, so I have no hidden agenda in defending his point of view.

[WhyTheFace]

I thought his point was to make sandwiches? Which is what I am talking about. I believe his concept is flawed because so far all I see is him speaking the same old common sense that many have before him, and done so with much more originality and imagination. I do not care about the recipes, I am saying he is doing nothing new either with them or the idea of making a good sandwich.

As far as I see it, he basically is starting off with nothing of interest to care about and I don't see how he is going to make a show about sandwiches work since everyone and their uncle on FN makes every kind of sandwich under the sun already. They show how to turn leftovers into sandwiches, they show how to come up with new ideas for sandwiches, and they advice on the quality of ingredients as well, so what makes his show necessary?

[InnerCanuck]

I think I'd be more interested in a hybrid show - making sandwiches out of leftovers (after T'giving, say), making "meal" sandwiches by starting with cooking a pot roast or whatever, and making component parts from scratch. Yes, you'd end up with a baking show some of the time, but why not show how to make some really easy bread?

Perhaps nut butters or even regular butter. (There was some food-related show I saw in the past few years which had a bit from a chef here in the Bay Area who put cream into his stand mixer, got distracted & left it running too long and came back to butter. He was astonished - he'd never seen butter made before or considered how it was done. I was astonished he didn't know about it...) Unusual chips. Sweet and savory preserves/jams/jellies. He's on the way with the homemade giardiniera, so perhaps they've considered these options?

If he comes up with a hollowed out loaf of sourdough filled with seafood, butter, and white wine, I'll know he stole it from Jacques Pepin & the Julia & Jacques show...

[WhyTheFace]

InnerCanuck, I like your ideas, but from the looks of the premise of the show I don't think Jeff either has the skill or ability to pull off half of those options, especially making his own bread. Now perhaps I am wrong and he is more qualified than he showed while on the show, but if that Jeff is the same Jeff that is making this show, I fear nothing of that caliber is possible. For now.

[larapu2000]

If I'm making a sandwich for a quick lunch, then I think this concept is a little silly. But if I'm having a Monday Night Football get together, or friends over for Game Night, or hell, putting together a fun picnic for my parents or family, I think the concept is pretty useful, as it would be great to have some new ideas for handheld food (when your guests aren't sitting at the dinner table), and I would gladly throw myself into a few hours of prep for my friends' taste delight. I could see why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, the same could be said for Giada and the bazillion ways to make macaroni, or Ina and her infinite chicken reportoire. (I love me some Ina, though)

[DuckyinKy]

His accent is really thick isn't it?

This is twice now I've watched him cook where my husband and teenage sons asked me to make what he was making. First the pork chop sandwich, now the beef sandwich. I make pot roast all the time, next time I'll just get the sub buns and try it at least once.

That crispy vegetable mixture in canola oil looked delicious, I will make that for sure. My grandmother used to make something like that but it was served on the side.

I did get tired of the promos with him standing, squating or whatever saying "Welcome to my kingdom...." Kinda hokey.

There was no favorite for me this year on NFNS but I'll probably watch him to see what he fixes next.

[Baysu]

Just watched his show. He certainly was very comfortable in front of the camera. But I feel like the resaurant got as much airtime if not more as he had. Was that necessary ? Making a roast for the sole purpose of making sandwiches is ok if you are feeding a crowd, but not for just a couple of sandwiches. Leftover roast I guess could be used up that way. I liked the mortadella / cheese panini with the fig spread. But why call it some cutsy name. Call it what it is, a panini or a grilled sandwich. I doubt I would go through the trouble of making that fig spread for myself , I would just use fig preserve. Love Mortadella, so that is my kind of sandwich. Overall not bad, I will watch his next show.

[mushypeas]

But why call it some cutsy name.

Because this is Food Network, who think its viewers have the collective IQ of a bag of rocks? I just saw Hungry Girl show me how to make a grilled cheese...

Jeff has a nice personality, but I could never sit through another show that is simply about sandwiches. And I would never spend several hours constructing one.

[Nannav]

Jeff seemed comfortable on camera. The beef sandwich was a lot of work for a sandwich IMO. I would have probably just eaten the roast by itself. He say he was using "Italian seasoning" on it though. Sounds kind of like one of Sandra Lee's seasonings. A pre-mixed dried store bought seasoning that he did not explain what it was comprised of.

The panini was store bought bread, store bought meat, and store bought cheese cooked as a panini. Yes, he did make the spread for it, but the rest was not really cooking. I want to go look at the actually recipe on FN and see how they wrote it up.

[givre]

Tom Colicchio does very well with Craftwork which is exclusively sandwiches and I saw some kind of new gourmet sandwich only place being built in a prime location here in Hollywood.

I don't know if I would spend hours constructing a sandwich but I certainly wouldn't mind interesting ways to use food. I had some left over chicken and discovered a killer fairly easy way to use it in a Vietnamese inspired sandwich.

Many of the sandwiches he made on air really could have been used as a meal like the braciole - and often it's just as easy to make more so long as one has ideas on how the stuff can be used. Similarly the eggplant as well as a few others which I don't recall. And of course there is also salads and soups which he also used.

Many busy people who want to cook at home do rely on the cook once and then have food for another purpose to use for another dinner as well as lunches.

I think the idea is probably much more promotable in terms of cookbooks; promotional appearances than Suzy's Mexican food. Not that I have anything against Mexican food but I do think the market is probably over-saturated with Mexican food. If I wanted to cook Mexican, I would have any number of options for recipes - sandwiches - which includes stuff like tacos, Chinese, Indian, burgers, sausages etc - not so much.

[Baysu]

The panini was store bought bread, store bought meat, and store bought cheese cooked as a panini. Yes, he did make the spread for it, but the rest was not really cooking. I want to go look at the actually recipe on FN and see how they wrote it up.

I am surprised that he didn't use a panini press. Surely the FN can afford a panini press for him. A bacon press really is not the same, there is no way a bacon press can grill a sandwich and it comes out as thin as his sandwich did, not without putting a lot of pressure on that bacon press. Yet, he came across as if he couldn't afford a panini press. We all know he didn't have to buy his own cookware.
For the preperation of the vegetable mix he took a page from another FN chef, here is how I do it and then we got to see some unknown person making the mix. Sound familiar ?

[angelita100]

The panini was store bought bread, store bought meat, and store bought cheese cooked as a panini. Yes, he did make the spread for it, but the rest was not really cooking. I want to go look at the actually recipe on FN and see how they wrote it up.

Yep he didn't make anything. The thing I was most interested in was the bread and he bought that. It's a sandwich. I didn't learn anything that I thought I'd run out and do. Who doesn't make sandwiches with leftover meat. Who doesn't already do some version of peppers and onions or a giardiniera . Fig spread? no thanks. I don't think it was a bad show but with football season coming and his time slot I don't see myself watching it and it's not worth it to tape for later. Also the "seasonin" and the "moister" and everything was buttery.... I don't know, he bugged a little.

[ellyd]

A pre-mixed dried store bought seasoning that he did not explain what it was comprised of.

There's no need to explain. That seasoning is a great asset to the kitchen. I don't use fresh herbs and the blend is just what it says it is. Dried parsley, oregano, basil and a variety of other herbs with no salt or odd filler ingredients added. Nothing wrong or Sandra Lee-ish about it at all.

[Baysu]

I use McCormick Italian Seasoning mix. It has what you would think an italian seasoning mix should have , Marjoram, Thyme, Rosmary, Savory, Sage, Oregano and Basil. I saw nothing wrong with him using that.

[Nannav]

Oh I use the Italian seasoning too and certainly see nothing wrong with it. That's what it's made for. I just thought it would have been helpful to explain what is in the mix. I like to see all hosts held to the same standards so if some get raked over the coals for using using pre-mixed seasoning packets/jars, I like to see it mentioned for them all.

[ellyd]

I understand Nannav. Like Rachael always says her mix of steak seasoning has coriander, pepper, etc., and your mix may vary.

Sorry if I came off sounding snarky!

[WhyTheFace]

The panini was store bought bread, store bought meat, and store bought cheese cooked as a panini. Yes, he did make the spread for it, but the rest was not really cooking

I think if Jeff knew how to make his own bread he would have shown that on the show. It isn't hard to bake bread, certainly not the chore so many cooks and chefs try to make it out to be but I don't think he knows how or would dare come up with his own recipe. No one on the FN really has ever ventured into bread making territory come to think of it, except Alton Brown and maybe one or two others?

But the bread will probably always be store bought, and most viewers probably only eat store bought so he won't get dinged for that. And there is no way he is going to try to make his own cheese. That's more the Cooking Channel's speed and even then it takes so much time and effort, people aren't happy his roast takes 4 hours, who is really going to get a cheese curd press or curdle fresh milk?

Like I said earlier all Jeff can do really is give recipes on how to cook the different meats or make up the different condiments or spreads for the sandwiches. There isn't much else he is capable of doing without chasing away his audience. People want to make sandwiches, not turn into Wolf Gang Puck's sous chef.

I could see why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, the same could be said for Giada and the bazillion ways to make macaroni, or Ina and her infinite chicken reportoire

I have to disagree with this because to me they have shows based on a certain concept, not a single dish, like Jeff has. Yes Giada makes a heck of a lot of pasta, but she also can make homemade pasta, she also can make dessert, side dishes, etc. Her shows aren't based on one single type of dish, even if she makes many of the same dishes. And the same goes for Ina. Ina is about entertainment so her show does showcase many different dishes perfect for dinner parities. She isn't just cooking chicken every single episode.

Jeff is all about sandwiches, that's the core of his show and to me that falls more into the category of a 5 Ingredient meal or Melissa's show 10 dollar dinners, the concept to me is way too compact and there isn't enough wiggle room for them to do as much as they could with their idea. Now granted those two shows seem to have a good fan base anyway so Jeff may get lucky after all.

[gunnerlove]

I'm making Anne Burrell's Pasta Bolognese today. I am using store bought ground round, store bought tomato paste, store bought onions, carrots, celery and garlic. I'm cooking it all in my store bought pan, and I'm serving it over store bought pasta, smothered in store bought parmesan. Even though it's been simmering for four hours, I'm glad to know that I'm not really cooking.

To make me even weirder, I have spent many Sunday afternoons baking a flavored pot roast, just to make awesome hoagies with homemade soups. I also marathon cook on Sundays and use a whole ton of that food to feed the family for the rest of the week.

Jeff's show makes perfect sense to me and I will use his ideas, even if they don't end up between bread.

Kudos to Jeff, he had a great first show, and I really enjoyed it.

[msstaceyu]

I really enjoyed the show. I thought he did a good job and the first sandwich looked good, although I wouldn't dip the entire sandwich in the juice (maybe break off a piece of the bread). With the accent, he reminded me of Vince Vaughn from Wedding Crashers.