Weenie Sandwiches and Other Quick Fixes

About author / Josh Gunn

Bachelor chef; southern cooking; mixologist; university professor. Josh's recipes will delight (and sometimes terrify) you.

Well, I know this week we have a fool's holiday, but I have resisted the temptation to post one of the most disgusting things I've ever made (eggplant with chocolate and green olives—truly nasty). I got to worrying, however, that someone would be foolish enough to make it, which would lead to hate mail.

And lets just face it: I don't like hate mail.

My mailbox, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with this week's topic, which is on QUICK FOOD. So I'm gonna move on with it: let's call "quick food" the alternative to the slow food movement (which is just another excuse to take your time shopping at a fancy, overpriced organic grocery store, right?). Quick food is food that you make to fill your gullet so you can get on with other things, like packing (I'm leaving town again). Now, personally I like to take my time cooking; in fact, I think taking your time is the key to good cooking. However--and perhaps owing to my genetic heritage--I do have a hankerin' for the speedy meal every now and again.

One of my favorite speedy meals is to fry two pieces of baloney with cheese in the middle. I then serve this up with horseradish sauce. It's high protein and relatively low in fat (especially if you buy the low-fat versions of the cheese and baloney). Another favorite is eggs, and I like to make omelets quite a bit (see my recipe here). My father's favorite quick meal is instant grits with a fried egg on top; it's not bad, and it is speedy. I remember once as a kid my father had to cook dinner, and he just boiled some weenies, cut them lengthwise, and then dressed them with ketchup and two slices of bread. We called this a "Weenie Sandwich," which I don't much care for, but it is quick and the name sounds pretty funny. Don't offer a "Weenie Sandwich" to strangers, you hear?

This week's featured recipe, however, is from Janet Scott, my mentor's daughter. Janet reads the column and told my advisor to send me this "quick food" recipe, which, I admit, is both quick and delicious. If you have enough bread and beans, I reckon you could feed the whole neighborhood in about an hour. Oh yeah, and it's also CHEAP and QUICK. Hmm. I smell the theme of a bad western movie . . . .

Serves/Makes: 1

• 1 slice bread
• 1 slice American cheese
• 2 tablespoons canned beans (kidney beans work well, but pick your favorite)
• 2 slices bacon