Thursday, April 21, 2011

Throwing Down with Bobby Flay at Hellmann's Club Sandwich

No, it wasn't actually a throwdown, but this is as close as I'm ever going to get. Here's a little video recap of my Hellmann's Club Sandwich experience, where I joined eight other food bloggers for a private sandwich-making demonstration by the one and only, Bobby Flay.

Getting advice on how to make a sandwich from a star chef like Bobby Flay may seem like a little bit of overkill; kind of like having Michael Phelps help you with your treading water skills, but as the Iron Chef told us in his intro, making a great sandwich is not as easy as it looks.

In addition to some great adaptations to three classic sandwiches, he also showed off a couple neat twists, like adding mayonnaise to the olive relish for an extra creamy muffaletta, and replacing the traditional sauerkraut in the Rueben with fresh coleslaw.

My favorite trick was something that I'll be demonstrating in an upcoming Club Sandwich post, regarding a very cool way to slice a sandwich. It's basically cutting the sandwich at an angle and on a bias, but it will but much easier to show than explain.

Other key sandwich making commandments include spreading your mayo and other condiments on both slices of bread; and being sure to cover the entire slice all the way to the edges. By the way, if you happen have any secret sandwich making tips or tricks of your own, don't be holding out on us.

After the demo, we got to create our own signature sandwich, and as you'll see in the video, I was very happy with how mine came out. I really think the "Mitzeflaywich" could become a bona fide sandwich sensation. Not only is it delicious and easy to make, but the name is super catchy! 

Stay tuned for upcoming posts dedicated to helping you build your perfect sandwich. Speaking of which, be sure to head over to the Hellmann's website to enter the Build Your Perfect Sandwich Sweepstakes where you can win a $5,000 grocery gift card.

Disclosure: This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in Hellmann’s Club Sandwich Program. I'd like to thank Bobby Flay and Hellmann's for such a fun and informative trip to New York City, and for making this post and video possible. 

I hope you enjoy the video!



For more great sandwich-making tips and tricks check out these links from my fellow Hellmann's Club Sandwich members: Amanda Bottoms Kevin and Amanda, Shaina Olmanson of Food For My Family, Katja Presnal of Skimbaco Lifestyle Caryn Bailey of Rockin’Mama, Liz Latham of Hoosier Homemade, Kim Vetrano of She Scribes, Sarah Caron of Sarah’s Cucina Bella, and Daniel Garcia of Consumer Queen.

20 comments:

Dr EEEEEEE said...

Mitzeflay..wich.

I see what you did there!

Emerald_Mara85 said...

Wow, lots of fun you have!

If you don't mind me asking...
What did you do on the other 2 days?

Unknown said...

I like the Food Wishes format a lot more than the throw down.

Elizabeth @ Saffron Lane said...

What a fun experience! And, I have to disagree, The Mitzeflaywich has potential...

Ravenous Couple said...

what a great experience it must have been...how can we be a part of that club? :)

Chef John said...

Thanks all!

If it were up to me you would be! ;-)

Anonymous said...

A question about your sandwich: why would cucumbers be bitter?

Anonymous said...

Was it "La Venue" or "Le Venue"? With an assortment of Jewish-, Cuban-, and Italian/New-Orlean-inspired sandwiches, I was curious about the ethnic flavor of the establishment itself.

I liked the saxophone ending. I didn't know you played. Did you bring the outfit from San Francisco?

Jim

Asian Malaysian said...

Spidey playing the sax! Genius!

Old Bok said...

I prefer butter to lite mayonnaise. Not as healthy perhaps but more delicious.

Anonymous said...

mayonnaise a lot of mayonnaise in this post...>.>

blogagog said...

You said the cucumbers were bitter. What did you mean, exactly? I've never heard of a bitter cucumber. Is this a common thing? Are they ALL bitter?

Thanks.

Chef John said...

Not unpleasant bitter, just that bitter is the dominate flavor component especially if you leave on the skin.

Anonymous said...

You can make a better sandwich than Bobby flay any day!!! You the best chef John!

Shaina said...

It was great meeting you, John!

Chef John said...

Likewise!! Great meeting you. See you on the blogs!

Daveyboy said...

Very interesting stuff, Makes my Botulism Burger and Bacteria Bap look rather pale in comparison.

Anonymous said...

Spiderman playing a sax? Didn't see that one comming. But you got to meet Bobby Flay, that is so cool!

Chris said...

When I think of sandwich expertise I can't help but think of Douglas Adam's book "Mostly Harmless" for some reason.

Glad you had a good time and thanks for sharing your experience with the rest of us.

Longhairbear said...

Hi, I am new to your blog, and You Tube, but just saw the club sandwich vid.
I worked in a place in the mid 70's that hired a guy who used to own a diner to set up a club sandwich station in the dining room for lunch.
He had every type of toasted bread to choose from, the basic bacon, lettuce , tomato layer, and everything from a burger to tuna salad as the main ingredient. All types of cold cuts, chicken, turkey, and egg salads, fried cod, fried eggs, cheeses etc. All slathered with Hellman's of course. Unless he did a reuben club. with Thousand Island dressing. It was only for one season, but everyone remembers the concoctions he was asked to do.