the ‘wichcraft trials

About a month ago, my good friend Dave Barcelona asked me if I wanted a copy of Tom Colicchio’s new book `Wichcraft. I was familar with the name, making a point of dining at one of the locations when I visited Las Vegas a few years ago. Of course I said yes, I’d love one. Fast forward to last week when Dave was in town visiting and handed me the book in the Williams-Sonoma parking lot. Seeing who Tom made the book out to made me laugh and Dave’s wife Jessica told me how hard Tom laughed when she told him I dressed up as (Top Chef winner) Hung for Halloween.

I love food and appreciate it in all its forms. I will not lie and say I am the biggest sandwich afficionado. I will say however, that I thnk there are many sorry excuses for sandwiches out there. You know what I am talking about. You may have had one today at your company catered lunch. It probably was some soggy bread, generic cold cuts, and labeled simply “Italian.”  The difference between a well-crafted sandwich and one that has thrown together is like night and day.

When I dove into `Wichcraft I knew it was something I would keep out so I could refer to it, rather than only take out occasionally. Not only are there multiple categories of sandwiches (everything from breakfast to dessert) but also sections discussing sandwich architecture and even a reference section full of recipes for pickles, roasted onions, and jams. That very day, I went out and bought ingredients and made the BLT with Avocado you see above. In the days that followed, I must have made it a dozen more times, making slight tweaks along the way. I changed the order of the ingredients as to not make the bread soggy. I also added some cheese and while that did not stay true to the recipe, it did not hurt it.  In fact, it made it extra yummy.

My goal is to make every sandwich in the book. I know the idea is not original and of course not as difficult as some books others have tackled, but challenging nonetheless.  I want to stay true to the techniques and flavors that Tom and Sisha have presented. Is this possible? Probably not. There will be times where I’ll be forced to stray and other times where I simply will make mistakes. Regardless, I promise you, I’ll try my best.

So, if you like sandwiches, bookmark this site or subscribe to the RSS feed. I’ll take you on a sandwich making journey and you’ll see classics as well as new `wiches that you may end up liking and adding to your repertoire.  Look for posts filled with picture and sometimes video, honest reviews of the technique and recipes, and guest contributors to change things up a bit.

Welcome to The `Wichcraft Trials.