Special of the Day: Effortless Entertaining with Gourmet Sandwich Buffets

30 Jul Special of the Day: Effortless Entertaining with Gourmet Sandwich Buffets

The Meadowlark Country Club’s annual Member-Guest Golf Tournament, the Lark, is surely a summer highlight for us, as it brings a few of my brother Tyler’s best friends flocking from afar for a fun-filled long weekend of festivities.

There’s never a dull moment when Sugar and Bird and Dean and Holly are in town, and Tyler is kind enough to include us in the enjoyable line-up of outings.

With the derby on the docket for Friday evening, Holly suggested a casual dinner people could help themselves to before we set off in golf carts to enjoy the sporting event on the course. We arrived at Tyler’s just as oh-so-spunky Holly was unloading the feast. In a matter of minutes, she effortlessly set out a do-it-yourself gourmet sandwich buffet of thinly sliced grilled marinated flank steak, dressed arugula, sliced Havarti, sirachi aioli, sourdough bread and Greek pasta. Having grilled and sliced the marinated flank steak, made the aioli and cooked the pasta ahead of time, it took very little time for her to dress the arugula, brown the butter and set everything out for sandwich-making. What a fantastic way to feed a crowd before a summer event!

Inspired by Holly’s genius idea, I returned to the kitchen last week to create my own variation on her theme: a spicy sausage, grilled chicken and bell pepper gourmet sandwich buffet with browned butter pasta on the side. The beauty of a make-ahead do-it-yourself gourmet sandwich buffet is that you have all of your bases covered (protein, vegetables, starch) and none of the components need to be served piping hot.

With thanks to Holly, I give you this week’s Special of the Day: Effortless Entertaining with Gourmet Sandwich Buffets and recipes for Holly’s Spectacular Steak Sandwich Buffet and Grilled Spicy Sausage, Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwich Buffet. Enjoy!

Holly’s Spectacular Steak Sandwich Buffet

Recipes by Holly Slaughter

(serves about 10)

Marinated Grilled Flank Steak:

1 flank steak

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup balsamic vinegar (or more, to cover flank steak)

Siracha Aioli:

1 cup real mayonnaise

Siracha sauce, to taste

1 package baby arugula

3 tbsp. olive oil (just enough to lightly coat)

¼ tsp. Kosher salt

1 package spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions

½ cup butter

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat barbecue grill to 350 degrees.

Season flank steak on both sides with salt and pepper. Place steak in large plastic sealable bag. Cover with balsamic. Marinate for 20 minutes only.

Remove flank steak and cook, turning halfway through cooking, on preheated grill to desired degree of doneness.

Remove steak from grill and let rest briefly.

Use a sharp knife to thinly slice flank steak into strips.

Transfer to a large rectangular aluminum container with lid.

Whisk together siracha sauce and mayonnaise until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to serve:

Melt butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Watch carefully and continue cooking just until it begins to brown. Remove from heat. Pour browned butter over cooked pasta and toss to incorporate. When slightly cooled, add parmesan cheese and toss to combine.

Toss arugula with olive oil and salt.

Set out Holly’s Spectacular Steak Sandwich Buffet ingredients:

Grilled marinated flank steak

Siracha aioli

Dressed arugula

Sliced Havarti

Thinly sliced sourdough bread

Greek pasta

And let guests assemble their own sandwiches.

Grilled Spicy Sausage, Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwich Buffet

Recipes and food photography by Sydne George

(serves four to six)

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

½ sweet onion, sliced into thin rings

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 small orange bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

4 andouille sausages

12 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked according to package instructions

½ cup butter

½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

½ cup real mayonnaise

¼ tsp. salt

1 clove garlic, minced

In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, heat olive oil until hot. Add onions and cook until softened. Add peppers and sauté briefly. Do not overcook.

Preheat barbecue grill to 350 degrees.

Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Cook chicken breasts on preheated grill, just until they release easily, about 5 minutes, turn and cook other side for an additional 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Grill Andouille sausages while chicken is cooking, turning halfway though and watching to prevent overcooking.

Remove chicken and Andouille sausages from grill and let rest.

Use a sharp knife to thinly slice grilled chicken breasts and sausages for sandwiches.

Whisk together mayonnaise, garlic and salt until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to serve:

Melt butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Watch carefully and continue cooking just until it begins to brown. Remove from heat. Pour browned butter over cooked pasta and toss to incorporate. When slightly cooled, add parmesan cheese and toss to combine.

Set out Grilled Spicy Sausage, Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwich Buffet ingredients:

Grilled chicken slices

Grilled Andouille sausage slices

Garlic aioli

Sautéed sweet onions and bell pepper

Sliced pepper jack cheese

Thinly sliced garlic sourdough bread

Browned butter angel hair pasta

Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

And let guests assemble their own sandwiches.

Enjoy!

Sydne George is a food journalist specializing in recipe development, food writing and food photography. She can be reached at sydnegeorge@hotmail.com . Sydne’s recipes from “Special of the day” are archived at http://sydnegeorge.com/blog/.