So you might think that I love Tom Colicchio because of Top Chef, but that's not it. I mean, yes, I watch Top Chef, and have all sorts of opinions about it, but the reason I became a Colicchio fan wasn't the show.
It was the sandwich.
A goat cheese sandwich, to be precise. Goat cheese with avocado, celery, watercress, and walnut pesto on multigrain bread. I first bit into it in a shopping center in San Francisco while doing some last-minute Christmas shopping with, and for, my husband's family. We'd been running around, changing time zones, I wasn't sure when I was going to eat again, and I knew there was a 'wichcraft location in San Francisco and when I stumbled upon it I knew I had to take advantage, so...
cue the angels singing, if the angels were to sing about goat cheese. Which I imagine they do.
Fast-forward to two years later, when my husband was spending the summer as an investment banker in New York City, and I was making the trip up from Philly every weekend, touring around New York and getting comfortable in the city and familiarizing myself with what it had to offer.
And despite the joy of the mozzarepas at the street fairs, and the olive oil gelato at Otto, and the pork belly buns at Momofuku Ssam Bar, I still found that one of the best things New York had to offer was... the 'wichcraft goat cheese sandwich.
So as soon as the cookbook came out, and that recipe was in it, I was in.
Getting it signed by Chef Colicchio in person was just the icing on the cake, to mix culinary metaphors.
Also, I find it funny, or silly, or something, that they sell several of the 'wichcraft condiments at Williams-Sonoma. The balsamic caramelized onions definitely, and, I think, the green olive tapenade.
Oh, right, and tomato relish. Anyway, each of these jars is $14. The cookbook, which contains instructions for making all of them, is $27.50. It's a teach-a-man-to-fish situation. Onions are cheap, dude.
It's going to take me a while to get around to actually making most of these recipes, but in the meantime, I can tell you this -- if you make it to 'wichcraft, or you want to know where to start from in the cookbook, here are some of the best sandwiches:
And I don't know if they've actually ever had the roasted pumpkin with mozzarella and hazelnut brown butter sandwich on the menu yet, but when they do -- ahhhhh.
No, I didn't get my picture taken with him... I wasn't looking my best and the only thing I could think of as I got closer and closer to the front of the line was the whole "Christmas Story" scene with the "a football?" and "you'll shoot your eye out, kid" and "ho ho ho", plus I was having a conversation with the store chef, whose technique classes I've been going to for a couple years now, about the robiola in the panini they were handing out, and so I tucked the camera away and handed over the book and muttered "Hi chef" and had a very short conversation about my name, and called it good.
And it was good.
So it's a cookbook of 'nummy sammiches? I could go for that.
I wasn't going to get the Tom Douglas cookbook after my Seattle visit, but just couldn't help myself. There were too many combinations at his restaurants that were simply delicious, and I want to see if I can capture some of that.
Posted by: tracey | June 19, 2009 at 12:04 PM