Popeye’s Meets Chick-fil-A’s Fried Chicken Sandwich – Available Any Day, and All the Time

In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve never had a Popeye’s fried chicken sandwich, but since I’m so familiar with their work, I thought I could figured out a decent copycat version of their very hard to get sandwich anyway. Which I sort of did, as far as the taste of the chicken goes, but texturally, I ended up with something much closer to Chick-fil-A, which by the way, I’ve been to exactly once.

So, if you’re one of these people that enjoy Popeye’s and Chick-fil-A, this is going to be like eating at both places at the same time. The secret here, and there, is working in a little MSG into the marinade and breading. And by little, I mean a lot. Monosodium Glutamate is famous for its ability to make food taste better, which is certainly does, but it’s also what makes fast food so highly addictive.

Personally, I’ve very sensitive to this aspect of MSG consumption, and as soon as I finish eating fast food that’s laced with it, I’m already intensely craving more, which is why I don’t eat too much of it any more. It’s also why I don’t stock any MSG in my pantry. I don’t trust myself with it, which is why the occasional packet of salad dressing mix works so well for something like this.

As I mentioned in the video, you really want to do this with a smaller, flatter breast than the one I used. The meat to crunchy coating ratio should be more like 2 to 1, and not the 4 to 1 that I featured here. Which reminds me, even though I only did two, the amounts below should be enough for four fast-food-sized portions. Anyway, no matter how large your breasts, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

For 4 Fried Chicken Sandwiches:

For the chicken and marinade:

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons kosher salt

hot sauce to taste

1 tablespoon ranch dressing powder

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 5-6 ounces each

For the breading:

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 tablespoon ranch dressing powder

1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, for a spicy version

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons kosher salt

For the dip:

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup milk

For the rest:

canola oil for frying

4 soft hamburger buns, toasted with butter

dill pickle slices

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

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Baked Philly Cheesesteak Sliders – Go Giants!

The Philly Cheesesteak is a simple sandwich to make, as long as you’re making them in a restaurant. To make a proper one, you need a professional meat slicer, and a very hot flattop grill, which aren’t things most people have at home. 

That’s why I loved this baked slider method so much. It’s really close in taste and texture, plus, as I mentioned in the video, the small rolls make me feel like a big man.

I love the combo of provolone and cream cheese here, but if you’re a Cheese Wiz head, you can easily switch in some mild orange cheddar, and you’ll swear you’re at Pat’s. Of course, you could just skip the cream cheese, and actually use Cheese Whiz, but I really hope you don’t. 

Speaking of feeling like a giant, football season is upon us, and I can’t think of a better sandwich to make for your buddies coming over to watch the game. Especially if they’re from Philly, and don’t like the Giants, since you can share my theory with them. Regardless, I really do hope you give these baked Philly cheesesteak sliders a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 10 Baked Philly Cheesesteak Sliders:

10 mini sandwich rolls, or crusty not-sweet dinner rolls

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound top sirloin steak

salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne to taste

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup sliced, or chopped pickled peppers

1/2 cup soft cream cheese

1 1/2 cups provolone cheese for filling, plus at least 1 cup more for tops

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Note: Be sure to taste your filling for salt before stuffing rolls

- Bake at 425 F. for about 15 minutes.

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Firecracker Shrimp Roll with Crab Aioli - A Fourth of July Po'Boy

This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten a video idea from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, but it is the first time I can’t seem to figure out which restaurant it came from. I wasn’t paying close attention, and just caught the end of the segment, but I do know they didn’t call it a firecracker shrimp roll with crab aioli, but rather a shrimp po’boy with crab mayo; just in case that helps someone I.D. this.

I decided to do an extra spicy version, and give it a 4th of July-friendly name, but the soul of the sandwich is the same, and features an insanely great combination of hot, crunchy shrimp, and cold crabby mayo. This was one of the best things I’ve had in a long time, and that’s after eating it barely warm, which is not recommended. For best results, be sure to enjoy this just as soon as it’s safe to eat, in all its crunchy glory.

The amounts below will make four giant portions, which you could easily stretch into six, but I’m a big fan of the time-honored po’boy sandwich tradition of overfilling. I remember eating a fried oyster po’boy in New Orleans one time, and being almost full by the time I’d eaten enough off the top to close the bun. Good times. But no matter how generous you decide to be, I really do hope you give this amazing firecracker shrimp roll a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Firecracker Shrimp Rolls with Crab Aioli:

canola oil for pan frying

4 soft sandwich rolls, split and toasted

2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce

2 pounds raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp

For the soak:

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon chipotle pepper

2 teaspoons cayenne

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the breading:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup corn meal

2 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons kosher salt

For the crab aioli:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup lump crabmeat

2 cloves finely crushed garlic

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon freshly chopped tarragon

salt and cayenne to taste

Black & Blue Steak Burger – Wait Until the Guys Hear About This!

Chopping up perfectly good steaks to make burgers with is going to raise a few eyebrows, and that’s just one of the reasons to do it. The great taste and texture are a couple other ones, not to mention it’s always nice to know exactly what you’re eating. Besides, imagine the mileage your dad’s going to get out of the story about the time you hand-chopped a rib eye just to make him a burger for Father’s Day. That’s pure chatting with your buddies at the hardware store gold.

This will also work with cheaper cuts like chuck, or round, but there’s a certain luxuriousness starting out with meat that’s already tender before it’s even chopped. By the way, using premium cuts for burgers is nothing new, and steakhouses have been doing just that with their trimmings for decades, which reminds me, if you can find some extra flavorful dry-aged beef, this will be even more memorable.

Above and beyond the taste, as long as you’re using cuts with enough fat, hand chopping the meat to a course grind will produce a very tender burger. Most hamburger meat from the store is too finely ground, and horribly overworked, and by the time you form it into patties, it can’t help but be a little tough. That’s not a problem here. By using a sharp knife, and partially frozen meat, there will be little to no fat smearing, which is one of the things that makes for a chewy burger.

Feel free to use no cheese, or a different variety, but the sharp, slightly salty funkiness of the blue cheese really works perfectly here. And the glorious crust we get as our meat sears in that melted fat is a wonder to behold. Homemade buns will also add to the experience, and here’s the link for making your own, but even if you’re going to serve this on a store-bought bun, and really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients to make 4 normal, or 3 giant Black & Blue Steak Burgers:

3/4 pound fatty rib eye steak

3/4 pound top sirloin steak

2 ounces (about 1/2 cup not packed) crumbled blue cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

-Sear about 3 minutes per side in a dry, very hot cast iron pan set over medium-high heat.

For the red onions:

1 red onion, sliced

big pinch of salt

enough red wine vinegar to cover

- Combine ingredients and let sit in fridge overnight, or until the onions turn color and soften slightly.

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Boneless Baby Back Rib Sandwiches – Like a McRib, Only with Ribs

Yes, I’ve had a McRib sandwich, and no, I didn’t know it contained 70 ingredients, with baby back ribs not necessarily being one of them. I assumed they weren’t made from pristine pieces of succulent, heritage pork, but had no idea just how un-rib the McRib really was. Although, in fairness, the idea of a boneless baby back rib sandwich is brilliant, and for that I’ll tip my cap, and say thanks to a certain fast food franchise.

As it turns out, making a “real” one is quite easy to do, and the only real challenge was feeling around the edges of the racks after pulling out the bones, to check for any small bone fragments, and/or pieces of cartilage. Be sure to take your time, grab your reading glasses if you’re my age, and carefully examine every inch. Other than that, just be sure not to overcook the ribs in the oven, since falling apart meat will not be a lot of fun to grill.

I found 2 hours and 45 minutes to be perfect, but that will depend on the exact size of your baby backs. They can range from 1.5 to 3 pounds each, although most are around 2 pounds, like the ones seen here. As far as sauce goes, I’m a big fan of SFQ, and not just because it’s made by Michele and me, but also because it’s really good. Like I mentioned in the video, I usually mix up a different dry rub every time I do ribs, but I did list my basic recipe below, just in case you’re interested.

Above and beyond just any old cookout, I was thinking this would make a great Father’s Day menu item, or maybe you have a friend with a McRib fetish, and you want to blow their minds with what that particular Frankenfood is actually supposed to look and taste like. Either way, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

For 4 Boneless Baby Back Rib Sandwiches:

2 racks baby back pork ribs (not the larger St. Louis style)

1 cup barbecue sauce, or as needed

4 toasted sesame seed rolls (I used our famous hamburger bun recipe, and made 6 rectangles instead of 8 round buns)
1 cup coleslaw (I used our hot & sweet mustard slaw)

For the Dry Rub (this makes extra):

1/3 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

- Season racks generously with a dry rub. Wrap in foil, and roast at 325 F. for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Pull bones, refrigerate until cold, cut, sauce, and grill to finish.

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Coney Island Knishes – St. Patrick’s Day Leftovers Edition

One of my earliest “exotic” food experiences was eating potato knishes with my Dad when we’d visit Coney Island. There were the square variety, and we’d buy them from a hot dog cart, and since potatoes were my favorite food growing up, I was in heaven. I mean, mashed potatoes in a warm, flaky pastry? I’ll have two, please.

Back then they were still made with copious amounts of chicken fat, also know as “schmaltz,” which was the real secret behind their awesomeness, but you can make a perfectly fine version without that, especially if you have some leftover corned beef around. Regardless of how you fill these, the technique seen herein will work, and half the fun is trying new versions. As long as the base is mashed potato, spiked with onions fried in lots of fat, anything goes.

I think the baked version is the easiest, but if you feel so inclined, these can also be deep-fried, or pan-fried. No matter how you cook them, one of the keys is getting the dough nice and thin, so your finished product is mostly filling. Other than that, these are relatively simple to make, and the kind of snack that fills more than just an empty stomach, which is why I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 16 Knishes:

(Please Note: I only used half the dough in the video, and only made enough filling for 8 knishes, but the following ingredients will make 16 total)

For the dough:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup warm water

For the filling (might make extra):

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, quartered, and boiled in salted water until tender

1/2 cup melted butter, and/or rendered chicken fat

2 cups diced yellow onion

2 teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon fine salt), plus more to taste

freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste

8 ounces diced corned beef

1 cup finely chopped cooked cabbage

- Bake at 375 F. for about 40 minutes, or until golden-brown

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Meatball-Stuffed Garlic Bread Sliders – A Hole Lot of Awesome

I’ve wanted to do a video for baked cheeseburger sliders for a while now, but I’ve also been craving a meatball sub, so long story short, this is what I ended up with, and they were amazing. Above and beyond some decent ingredients, the real secret to these beauties is placing the meatball in through the top of the roll, versus splitting and stuffing in the traditional manner.

I can’t explain exactly why, but there’s something very special about these, and they really were a lot of fun to eat. Maybe it ‘s the symmetry, or center of gravity, but they just feel right in your hand. I’m not sure who invented this technique, but I first saw it on a blog called, Cooking for Keeps, so they get the credit for now.

Like I mention in the video, this easy procedure would lend itself to all kinds of variations, and I expect to see some great ones shared on social media soon. We’re getting close to the Super Bowl, and like I said before, it’s not about who wins the trophy, but rather who wins the snack table, and if you show up with these, that will be you. So, I really do hope you give these meatballs-stuffed garlic bread sliders a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 18 Meatball-Stuffed Garlic Bread Sliders:

18 dinner rolls (I used Hawaiian rolls, but will try regular less-sweet ones next time)

3 tablespoons butter infused with 3 or 4 cloves of crushed or minced garlic

1 pound grass-fed beef

1 diced yellow onion and a few cloves of garlic sautéed until soft in olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

1 large egg

1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs

1 cup grated fontina cheese, divided (big handful in the meatball mix, and the rest on top)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste

2 cups prepared tomato sauce

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for the top

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Juicy Lucy – So Jucy

No, that’s not a typo. Depending on whom you talk to, this cheese-stuffed burger is either called a “Juicy Lucy,” or a “Jucy Lucy.” That’s because two restaurants in Minneapolis claim to have invented it, and they spell it differently. The 5-8 Club goes with “Juicy,” while Matt's Bar saves a character and spells it, “Jucy.” Unless you end up on some kind of cheeseburger related trivia show, this is probably useless information, but hey, you never know. 

By the way, I’m not picking sides, but went with “Juicy,” simply to appease my spell-checker. No matter how you spell it, one thing is for sure; this isn’t just any old cheeseburger.

The cheese stuffing really does keep the meat juicier, and the mouthfeel is noticeably different that what you experience with a burger that has cheese melted over the top. However, for this to work you need to keep the cheese inside, which means making sure you thoroughly and thoughtfully press the edges of the two patties together.

Please note that the times I gave in the video may, or may not, be close to what you’ll need. There are so many variables such as fat content, meat temperature, pan temperature, cheese choice, and portion size, just to name a few. So, doing some testing before the big burger party is recommended. Best homework, ever! Above and beyond that, not much can go wrong, so I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Madame Cristo, I Presume

I was attempting to do a little twist on the venerable Croque Madame, by soaking the toast in a custard batter before frying, instead of topping it with the usual white sauce, but when I’d finished, I realized what I really had created was a Monte Cristo with a poached egg on top. These things will happen.

It was amazingly delicious, but I decided it wasn’t close enough to call a Croque Madame, which is when I turned to Twitter for help. This is never a good idea, but this time it totally worked out, as some dude who goes by the name, Zap Shakur (@zapshakur), suggested I go with “Madame Cristo,” and the rest is history.

If you’re just making one or two, feel free to poach your eggs right before the sandwiches are done, but for larger parties, you’ll want to check out this poached egg video, which shows a great make-ahead method for serving multiple poached eggs at the same time. This is exactly how it’s done in restaurants, where cooking to order would be virtually impossible.

If you are feeding a larger group, you can make your sandwiches ahead, and then just keep them in a warm oven, until you're ready to top with the poached eggs. But, whether you’re making this for two or twenty, I really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 Madame Cristos:

4 slices white bread, lightly toasted

8 thin slices of Gruyere, Swiss, Cheddar, Havarti, or any other melting cheese

4 ounces thinly sliced honey baked ham or similar meat product

2 tablespoons butter for pan frying

2 poached or fried eggs to top

chives to garnish

For the egg batter:

2 large eggs

5 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

pinch of nutmeg and cayenne

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

The “Hot Brown” – Kentucky’s Favorite Bourbon Absorbent

As I joked about in the intro, for something to be called a “Hot Brown,” and still become so wildly popular, is a true testament to just how amazingly delicious this really is. 

Invented at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, to help late night partygoers keep going, this hot turkey gratin may be my all-time favorite, fork and knife sandwich.

And for something that seems so decadent, I don’t actually find it to be all that heavy of a meal. Of course, that could be the bourbon talking. I guess you could use milk instead of cream to lighten this up, but unless you’re going to start eating these several times a week, I think you should stick to the original formula.

I’m sure this would be okay with some thickly sliced turkey from the deli, but roasting your own is pretty easy, and you can use the leftovers for a few less extravagant sandwiches. Either way, I really do hope you give this Kentucky classic a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for the sauce (enough for 4 small or 2 giant portions):

2 tablespoons salted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for grating on top

pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne to taste

For the turkey (enough for 4 portions):
1 teaspoon oil or butter to grease baking dish

2 pound boneless turkey breast

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon herbs de Provence, or other dried/fresh herbs of your choice

- Roast at 350 F. to an internal temp of 148 F.

For each Hot Brown:

2 pieces white bread, toasted

6 ounces roast turkey breast (3 thick slices)

3 slices of tomato

enough prepared cheese sauce to cover

grated Pecorino Romano for the top

paprika or cayenne for the top

2 slices bacon, precooked

chopped Italian parsley

- Finish under a low broiler, or in 475 F. oven until the sauce is bubbly and browned, and the bacon is cooked. To cheat, you can cook bacon crisp separately, and just top the finished dish, but I think it tastes better if you brown with the bacon on top.

American Gyros – Mystery Meat Demystified

If you’re from Greece, you’re probably pretty confused right now, and wondering why I’m calling this gyros. There, pork and chicken are used, in non-ground form, and as the meat turns slowly over a fire, the cooked, caramelized surface is shaved off into thin slices. 

It’s amazing stuff, but believe it or not, I prefer this Americanized “mystery meat” approach, which uses ground lamb and/or beef. The spices are similar, but the texture is totally different, and for me, more interesting. I can eat fresh, identifiable meat anytime, so when I’m in the mood for gyros, I want the stuff you can only get from certain street vendors. Of course, since the meat is ground, you’re taking their word for which specific animals made the ultimate sacrifice, which is why this stuff became affectionately known as “mystery meat.”

This style is perfect for making ahead of time. Once it’s chilled, and sliced, all you need to do is brown it in a pan, and find some flatbread to roll it up in. Preferably, that would be homemade Lebanese mountain bread, which I will attempt to show you in the near future. In the meantime, your favorite pita will do, just as long as you don’t forget to make some tzatziki. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 portions:

1 pound ground lamb

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon freshly minced rosemary

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 to 3 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste (you can cook a small piece to test)

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons bread crumb

- Cook at 350 F. for 45 minutes, or until an internal temp of 160 F.
-- Note: to make the pickled red onions, simply slice them about 1/8-inch thick, and cover with red wine vinegar for a few hours, or overnight. They will turn into the beautifully colored garnish seen herein.

The Cuban Sandwich – Hold the Mojo

I don’t do a lot of sandwich videos, which is a shame, since the blog posts are pretty easy to write. Anyway, as promised during the last bread video, here’s how I like to build a Cuban, or Cubano sandwich.

From the early, non-troll feedback, I hear we did a pretty good job, except apparently I was supposed to serve some mojo sauce as a condiment. We did a beef mojo, which would not be great in this, but I don’t think we’ve ever filmed the sauce. Consider it on the list.

Slices of citrus-roasted pork seem to be very common in the sandwich, but I prefer more of a pulled pork. I used our paper pork recipe, which was great, but carnitas, generously moistened with some of its own fat, would also work quite well. 

I've always assumed that day-old bread was perfect for grilled sandwiches, but I've heard that real Cubans are made on fresh bread, and that people who use stale are crazy. What say you? Regardless of how fresh your bread is, I really hope you give this Cuban sandwich a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

There are no amounts given, since you are the Mark of your Cuban, and fully capable of deciding how much “stuff” to use. Good luck!

Grilled Bacon Meatloaf Burgers – Building a Faster Meatloaf Sandwich

I love meatloaf, but not as much as I love meatloaf sandwiches. In fact, I’ll make a meatloaf just for the leftovers. I’ll fry the cold slice in a buttered pan until hot and crusty, and enjoy it on toast with ketchup. 

This is basically that, plus bacon, in burger form. What it lacks in loaf shape, it more than makes up for by being faster and easier. By the way, even though we’re grilling this in honor of Labor Day weekend, I actually think it’s better pan-fried. While I enjoy the smoky char the grill adds, I miss the crust you can only get on a really flat, really hot surface. I feel this way about burgers in general.

Also, if you cook this in a pan, you could deglaze, and spoon a little natural jus over the top. Either way, you’re looking at a delicious burger, and a nice change of pace from your usual cookout fare. I really hope you give these bacon meatloaf burgers a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Bacon Meatloaf Burgers:

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder                       

cayenne pepper to taste

pinch dried thyme

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 pound ground chuck (85% lean)

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

2/3 cup chopped cooked bacon

Baking Bacon for the Perfect BLT

If I had a dollar for every request I've received for a BLT video, I'd have enough money to buy a lot of bacon. I’ve never gotten around to doing one, mostly because do you really need a video to make a BLT? 

However, I have wanted to show this little trick for making bacon by baking; and it gave me the perfect opportunity to show off my vision of what the perfect bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich looks like.

I recommend using heavy-duty foil for this, as it’s a little easier to work with, but regular foil will do the job. Like I said in the video, as long as you create some kind of valleys for the fat to flow into, the technique will work as shown. The result is perfectly flat, perfectly crisp, yet still succulent strips.

Your cooking time is going to vary depending on how thick the bacon is, so I’d start peeking at about 15-20 minutes, and go from there. You can crowd the bacon more that I did, and it’s okay if it’s very slightly overlapping, since it will shrink as it cooks. Just check after about 10-15 minutes, and re-space the pieces if needed. I really hope you give this great bacon technique a try soon. Enjoy!

Bake bacon at 375 F. for 25-30 minutes, or until you reach your desired level of doneness.

Spring Vegetable Tartine with White Anchovies – Food Wishes and Little Fishes

It’s not unusual for me to borrow ideas from the various restaurants I visit, but they’re normally tweaked, altered, or otherwise adapted. This time, however, I just blatantly stole this spring vegetable tartine with white anchovies, as it. Why mess with perfection?

Yes, this spring vegetable tartine, featuring the awesomeness that is the white anchovy, was lifted almost verbatim from SHED, which is my current, “favorite place to eat.” If you’re ever anywhere near Healdsburg, CA (like within 500 miles), you simply must visit this amazing store/café/charcuterie/restaurant hybrid.

Now that I’ve offset some of my guilt for stealing this recipe with such a glowing recommendation, I can move on to this intensely tasty tartine. This would be incredibly delicious with just the aioli and vegetables, but when you add the “boquerones,” this goes from great sandwich, to memorable experience.

Even if you think you hate anchovies, which you really don’t, you may still love these, since they are so completely different. They are very mild in flavor, but still extremely savory. I was going to say they're a little bit like pickled herring, but that probably won’t help. Regardless, I hope you give this spring vegetable tartine a try very soon. Enjoy! 

Ingredients for 4 generous servings:

For the aioli:

1 or 2 garlic cloves, sliced

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

pinch of cayenne

The rest:

4 large thick slices day-old French bread, toasted

16 white anchovy fillets (aka boquerones)

* 2 cups thinly peeled, sliced, or shredded fresh vegetables, moistened with a splash of lemon juice, and drizzle of olive oil.

edible flowers, optional

* Carrots, fennel root, radishes, celery root, asparagus, artichoke hearts, peppers, endive, micro greens, and any/all kinds of sprouts would work beautifully here.