Another Request

By: 
Keith Bryant
 I did a catering job a couple of weeks ago and was asked how the sandwiches were made, so I thought I would share this article again.
 As I have often commented on the origins of names for food dishes, it still amazes me where people come up with the off the wall names for culinary treats. 
 Often it has some tie to the person that created it or something about the region where it was created. I have found when researching food names that it was meant as a joke and just stuck. No matter where the name comes from it is always interesting to find the origin if you can.
 Jambalaya was derived from the name of a French dish, jambalaia, which also contains rice, chicken, vegetables, and spices. 
 An alternate theory behind the dish’s tag: it comes from the Atakapa Native American tribe’s phrase “Sham, pal ha! Ya!”, which translates as, “Be full, not skinny! Eat up!” 
 Whatever is in the stew’s name, Jambalaya made with sausage, shrimp, and spicy seasoning is one of the Louisiana Creole culture’s most popular dishes.
 We give food names that sometimes make them seem more appealing. You never really hear anyone say let’s go buy some cow for the grill. Bacon is never referred to as pig belly. You get the point, but we also name the parts to make them more appealing. 
 One of my favorite hidden meaning food is chit’lins. This dish, made from the small intestines of a hog, is deep fried and served with hot sauce. Its name comes from Medieval England, where the dish was eaten by the very poor and called chitterlings.
 Another Southern dish that is popular is called Hoppin Johns. This country dish is made from black-eyed peas and rice and is believed to have originated in slave communities. Its name supposedly comes from the Haitian Creole term for black-eyed peas, pois pigeons. 
 Today the dish is often served with bacon and chopped onion, and it’s a favorite on New Year’s Day, when it’s said to bring prosperity and luck to the eater.
 Even though we in the United States are creative with our culinary terms, it is hard to compete with the British for off the wall food names. 
 Bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes), toad in a hole (sausage baked on top of puff pastry), and bubbles and squeak (dish made with leftover potatoes and cabbage from the way that any juices quickly bubble off and the cabbage really does make a squeaking noise as it touches the hot metal of the pan). 
 This week I credit the weird sounding dish from my nephew’s wife Natalie in Georgia. 
 We were at a funeral a couple of months ago and she told me about this recipe. This would be perfect for a New Year’s eve party.
Ingredients
1 package (12 coung) of King’s Hawaiian Rolls
½-1 lb. ham deli meat
Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
½ cup butter, melted
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. mustard
2 tbsp. brown sugar
dash of onion powder
Directions: 
 Cut each roll in half, lengthwise and place bottom halves on the bottom of a baking pan. (I cut the whole package at once and not each separately)
 Layer bottom half with ham slices and cheese and place the top half back on.
 In a bowl, mix together the butter, Worcestershire, mustard, brown sugar and onion powder. Pour sauce over sandwiches, drenching each one. Cover tightly and marinade anywhere from 4-24 hours. Overnight works best!
 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes uncovered,or until cheese is melted and bun tops are a bit golden.

 

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