Monday, March 16, 2009

Sweet potato salad with green tomato pickle relish

This is supposed to be about the sweet potato salad, but I really want to talk about the sandwich. Is it even okay to blog about a sandwich when I didn't bake the bread or cure my own charcuterie? Is that allowed?

We paid a visit to the Berlin Inn the other night, to grab an early dinner and a sturdy mug of chest hair-inducing, dark German beer (a bock is my favorite way to drink bread). We were truly raring for it, but then decided to go ahead and stop into Edelweiss for some things while we were in the neighborhood. I've been having exigent (nigh monthly) cravings for the odd meat product (I literally stared at the olive loaf for ten minutes before talking myself out of it). My Grandma Laverne used to serve me olive loaf or Braunschweiger and mayo (or sometimes the Fleishman's/Hellman's sandwich spread) on white bread when I was a small child, and I still get the congenital jones for this stuff.

We came home that night with a 1/4 lb. each of Jagdwurst (a spicy beef and pork sausage that resembles a firm liverwurst with larger meat bits) and Sülze (a vinegary/mustard seed-y headcheese made with beef tongue). We got a half pound of cooked beef salami too (Scott isn't as "German" as I am for the cured meats). Tonight, I really just wanted a sandwich for dinner. I toasted some Bavarian rye and smeared it with homemade sandwich spread (mayo mixed with minced green tomato/shallot pickle), some spicy brown mustard, greenleaf lettuce, a few slices of sharp cheddar and layers of cured meats.

The potato salad was really a basic thing: cubed, steamed (not boiled) sweet potato, minced celery, minced red bell pepper and onion (sauteed lightly with some minced bacon so it wouldn't overpower), chopped green tomato pickle, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper and a little chopped parsley. The sweet potato didn't cloy; rather, it stood up nicely to the spanky pickle and fatty bacon/mayo dressing.

Delightful with potato chips and a cold Weltenburger Kloster Asam Bock (it's awesome).

18 comments:

Rev. Danno said...

Eurotrashical!
I would love that for lunch or even diner. This has made the top five foods on yer blog.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I agree with the reverend. I would never have thought to make sweet potato salad but it would work:D

Syd said...

All of that stuff is totally foreign to me. Kind of ironic, given that my mother's maiden name is Schwarzauer. Still, I don't recall any German food from that side of the family. I feel cheated.

Brooke said...

I love how you devoted an entire sentence at the very end to the sweet potato salad. I wanna hear more about that, cuz honestly, head cheese and beef tongue don't do much for me.

The sammich spread sounds good though.

Brittany said...

god, Brooke is such a pussy when it comes to meat. Remind me to slap her. In a loving way.

I honestly think people would be more open to it if they just didn't call it "head cheese"- which is some tasty eats.

I think I've been married to a German long enough for the deep rooted cravings for the fare of The Fatherland to rub off. Cause it's 8 am and I want this sandwich for brek.

Dewi said...

That green tomato pickle relish sounds so tempting Heather. Actually the whole meal sounds tempting.
Cheers,
elra

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

Sweet potato salad is a great idea. I love the flavors you chose to dress it with. I like sweet potatoes to go against something sour/salty rather than just make them sweeter.

cookiecrumb said...

Cool! You made summer picnic food with winter flavors.

(When I was little, we called Braunschweiger sandwiches "soft meat sandwiches.)

The Spiteful Chef said...

I just want the cooked salami. I'm a meat-pussy like Brooke. I did procure and cook a beef cheek once, and that was veeeery adventurous for me.

Anyway, if you assembled it, you can say it's yours. No charcuterie-ing involved.

bb said...

Mmmm...potato salad AND potato chips. Nicely done! I think Edelweiss is maybe the most under-appreciated food source in town. It's so blessedly not-trendy. How can you not be mesmerized by all that meat-tastic temptation!

Anonymous said...

Um you said sweet potato salad, and it was a done deal. WE'RE MAKING THAT!

Anonymous said...

How lucky you are that you have someplace to pick up all those lovely German wursts,

Heather said...

yum! that potato salad sounds delicious, as does the green tomato relish.

Anonymous said...

That's a question I keep asking myself. I could post so many sandwich recipes but baking the bread itself or making the fillings from scratch takes quite a bit of time.

MrOrph said...

I love that salad! Never thought of using sweet potatoes in that manner. I guess I have to pickle some tomatoes this coming season, huh?

Not much for head cheese or tongue though.

Lo said...

I love me some good Germanic meats. This looks like the perfect sammich for a weeknight. And the sweet potato salad ain't half bad either.

You can make your own dang bread next time.

glamah16 said...

Yummm. You make me miss all that German suausage, meat and stuff.

Ulla said...

that potato salad looks so good:)