Turkey O’Toole-like Sandwich

My husband and I used to love going to Bennigan’s restaurant before they closed down.  We always got a Turkey O’Toole sandwich when we went there.  After a few years of not being able to get one of our favorite sandwiches, I decided I wanted to give making one a try.  The first time I made this sandwich, the roll recipe was very complicated and took two days and an empty freezer, two things I rarely have available.  It was not very fun to make the rolls, so it took me about 3 years to give this another try.

Before trying again, I did a thorough search of the internet until I found a few different recipes for soft pretzels.  I mixed a few different recipes together and came up with this one.  This is not the simplest recipe on my blog, but the end result is well worth the work.  I may actually use the pretzel recipe to make regular soft pretzels and freeze them  to eat as snacks when we want them.

These pretzel rolls freeze well, as long as you do not add the salt to them until right before you use them.  Also, I divided the dough into 4 part this time, the rolls were huge, I placed an Altoids container next to the rolls so you can see how big they are.  I suggest breaking the dough into 6 parts, or even smaller and make appetizer sized Turkey O’Toole’s for a gathering.

Pretzel Roll Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 – 115 *F)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast- quick rise kind works great
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• Oil spray (for bowl)
• 10 c water
• 2/3 c baking soda
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt or Coarse Kosher Salt

Directions for making rolls:

1. Combine warm water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top.
2. Allow to sit for 1-2 minutes then whisk until the mixture begins to foam.
3. Add the flour and butter
4. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined
5. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl
6. Remove the dough from the bowl, and place in clean bowl that is sprayed with oil
7. Spray the top of the dough with oil.
8. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size
9. Preheat the oven to 450 *F.
10. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside
11. Bring 10 c of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan
12. On a clean surface, spray oil
13. Separate dough into 4-6 sections (I did 4 this time and the rolls are HUGE)
14. Roll out the dough into a “snake”- or long rope
15. Spiral the long rope into the shape of a roll- or a circle (like a cinnamon roll shape)
16. Place onto the parchment-lined sheet
17. When water is boiling, place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds
18. Remove each from the water using a large flat spatula, or something else that you might have that doesn’t collect water and is as big as the roll you are putting in the water (the dough puffs and cooks a bit, but it is still soft and you don’t want the spiral to break apart)
19. Return to the cookie sheet, brush the top of each pretzel with a mixture of beaten egg yolk and water
20. If you are freezing either all or some of them for later use- DO NOT put salt on roll- just skip the salt step
21. If you are using them now, sprinkle with the pretzel salt or Coarse Salt
22. Bake until dark golden brown in color, about 12 to 14 minutes. (They do puff even more so do not place them too close together on the tray before cooking)
23. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving or freezing
24. If frozen- thaw out roll when you want to use it- mix egg and water together again, brush with egg mixture, and put salt on top
25. lace in oven about heated to about 350*F, cook until dry- but do not burn

                     

 

Ingredients for sandwich:

• Roll already w/ salt on top
• Turkey from the deli, lunchmeat- probably more than 1 lb, it depends on how many rolls, how big they are, and how thick you want the meat
• Honey mustard
• Mayo
• Swiss cheese, either in slices or grated

Directions to make sandwich:

1. Heat up oven to 350 *F
2. Smear honey mustard and mayo on both the top and bottom of the roll (depends how much of each you really like)
3. Place cheese on bottom of roll
4. Place turkey on roll- as much as you want
5. Place cheese on top
6. Leave open and place in oven
7. Cook until heated and cheese is melted
8. Serve warm
9. Enjoy!

Turkey O’Toole-like Sandwich

Read Full Post »

Beef on Weck (A Western New York Staple)

If you’ve read my “about me” section you’d know my husband and I are from Buffalo, NY.  Buffalo, NY is known for

Beef on Weck and a Loganberry- pure Buffalo goodness- yum!

only a few things; snow- lots of it, OJ Simpson- we no longer claim him though, and food, most notably, wings.  What most people who visit never usually have is one of our signature sandwiches, a beef on weck, which is AMAZING!  It is a WNY take on a roast beef sandwich that is salty and has a nice extra spice to it from the caraway seeds.  It is not at all “hot”- the caraway seeds are a taste I can’t really describe, but I promise you, they are good.

As a displaced Buffalonian, this is the best I can get, and they are quite good, but, if you are ever in WNY and want a real beef on weck here are my two favorite places:

http://swistons.com/ – they are super good.  Located in Tonawada, NY right on the Erie Canal, just take a leisurely boat ride up the canal and dock outside.   They have free popcorn!

http://www.gohoneys.com/Niagara_Falls.html – Honey’s- great buffalo style food!  It is also our favorite place for wings!  Spicy Garlic Parmesan and Spicy Cajun wings- our two favorite flavors.  They also have great medium sauce.  Located in Amherst and Niagara Falls.

(PS- I took tons of pictures this time!)

Ingredients:

• Kaiser Rolls from bakery (I usually buy 6 at a time- but this recipe will make at least 12)
• Roast beef (sliced thin from the Deli at grocery store)
• 1 packet of Au Jus (powder- near gravy packet section in grocery store) or 2-3 cans of Au jus (Campbell’s brand)
• Kosher Salt (coarse) or sea salt
• Caraway seeds- in spices section
• 1tbs corn starch
• 1 cup water plus water for Au jus

Directions:

1. Heat oven to *350
2. Mix Au jus according to package directions- keep warm

1. Bring to a boil ½ cup of water
2. Mix 1 tbs corn starch into warm- not hot- water- it will instantly dissolve and the water will be cloudy
3. Add the starch mixture to the boiling water
4. Keep stirring it until the liquid is thick enough to coat the spoon- it will still be thin enough to pour
5. Be careful- it can boil over fast!
6. When the corn starch is ready- spread on top of each roll using a pastry brush
7. Sprinkle ½ tsp of salt and ½ tsp of caraway seeds on top of each roll
8. Place in oven and bake until dry- about 15-20 minutes
9. Remove from oven and let cool
10. Slice rolls
11. Place as many pieces of Roast beef into the hot Au jus as you want for each sandwich
12. Leave in Au jus for about 30 second to 1 minute
13. Remove using tongs and place on a cut roll
14. Repeat for each sandwich
15. Some people like to drench their rolls with Au jus and make them soggy, others like them dry, while still others will dip theirs in a bowl of Au jus on the side.  It is up to you!
16. In Buffalo a lot of people top their wecks with Horseradish- we call it horsey sauce- I personally don’t like horseradish, it ruins the sandwich for me.
17.  Serve with a side of fries or a cup of chili -when in season :)!

NOTE:  If you are not going to be eating all the rolls in a day or two- only make a few and stack in plastic containers- the salt melts off in a bag in the refrigerator and you can’t freeze the rolls w/ the salt on them- it all melts off when they thaw!

Beef on Weck

Read Full Post »