Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book: The Best Sandwiches Ever--From Thursday Nights at Campanile: A Cookbook

I love cooking, in a real serious aficionado kind of way. A few months ago, I became obsessed with sandwiches and I bought this book . At first when I got it, I started reading it and became a little "are you out of your mind" but then decided to give it a chance. I made the Fried oyster sandwiches, the monte cristo, the remoulade sauce and bagna cauda (relatively easy recipes) and WOW, I was hooked. I guess my problem at first was that I supposed I was buying a Subway or Quizons do it at home book but was I wrong. These sandwiches are top of the notch gourmet food for a refined and balanced eating experience. Atention to detail is essential and most of the recipes require a lot of pre preparation beforehand for the final assembly (culprit to my initial drawback). The desserts are dazzling (I tried the Not Nutterbutter cookies and the Blums Crunch cake) and I hold this book now amongst my most treasured ones. If you love fine food, don't mind slaving a little for a worth while dazzling finale, buy this book, it will change your outlook on sandwiches forever.........

I picked up this book because I have baked from Nancy's La Brea Bread Book before and I love her attention to detail. But what sold me was the recipe that the book fell open to: "Not Nutter Butters". When I read that this was her take on a Girl Scout Cookie that the entire family loves, I just had to check it out.The cookie was everything I hoped for and even more work than I expected. But worth every hour of it. Now onto "Almost Oreos" for the chocolate lovers in the clan.Oh, and the sandwiches....simply amazing! Nancy has done it again.

I just got this book today, and I think it is just superb. I didn't get a chance to look through it thoroughly, but I am already excited just by looking at some of the pictures. They all look so scrumptous. I am really looking forward to this one in particular with "Ham & Creamed Spinach & Leeks". I'm quite inspired by Nancy Silverston's introduction. She explains how she got so into sandwiches when she visited Italy. Just know one thing, this is not a typical sandwich book. I would describe it as high-end, gourmet, and highly likeable by all kind of book. The book is hardcovered, and it seems too pretty for me to bring in my kitchen with me. I am going to try to make at least 1 sandwich every 1-2 weekends. (I'm a busy gal) Great buy for it's price! I suggest you buy if you are interested in investing in a classy, well put together recipe book, not to mention, beautiful pictures. I just love it!!!

Nancy Silverton belongs to a select group of elite American artisanal bread bakers whose work makes me regret that most of this clan is located in New York or California. Even my local megamart seems to draw a blank when I ask them for brioche.I believe the quality of this book far exceeds it's ability to provide very good recipes for sandwiches.First, it will clearly arouse a greater interest in buying or even baking at home the types of high quality breads this book recommends. I'm not suggesting everyone start making Pane Toscana, but, acquiring the skill needed to make a simple country bread on a regular basis will bring with it an enormous joie de vivre. For the simplest Italian technique, see the bread making exercize in the volume `Jamie's Kitchen' by Jamie Oliver. For more elaborate results, you can start with the bread recipes in the back of this volume or in Nancy's `Bread from the La Brea Bakery'. I cite the Jamie Oliver source because Silverton makes no bones about the fact that her recipes are advanced. Simple breads can be very easy. Artisanal breads require a level of commitment to the task far beyond what is required to make cupcakes or cookies.Second, the book fills in a big hole in the epicure's repertoire. For those of us who have cultivated an interest in food to enrich our lives by avoiding at all possible the overly expensive or overly processed products of American food industries, this provides a means of enjoying all the virtues of sandwiches with the bonus of a new reason to enjoy some of the world's great cheeses and some of the garden's great greens. What is the use of coveting a wedge of Italian Fontina without a preparation in which to fully enjoy it. And, not just any preparation, but one which is reasonably quick and easy to prepare.Lunch and poker snacks need never again be devoid of character.