Tasty and Creative Sandwiches! 3 Delicious Recipes Guaranteed to Wow Your Crowd

No matter the season, day, or even time, and no matter what precisely we’re craving, that craving can be satisfied with a sandwich. Not only one of the easiest meals to make and eat, but sandwiches also offer an opportunity to creatively combine foods and textures in delicious ways.

“If the ingredients are stackable with a flour/bread component (yes, including tortillas and cookies), and if it can be eaten out of your hands (or sometimes with a fork and knife), it’s a sandwich in my (literal) book,” says Owen Han, author of the new cookbook Stacked. Try one of these mouthwatering picks tonight!

3 Recipes to Try on the Grill This Fall: Burgers, Pizza, Pizookie

Pork Belly Burnt Ends Banh Mi

(Serves 6)

2 tbsp. light brown sugar
2 tbsp. five-spice
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. sea salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 1⁄2 lbs. pork belly, trimmed, cubed
4 oblong rolls
1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
1 jalapeño, sliced into thin rounds
1⁄2 seedless cucumber, cut into thin rounds
2 scallions, sliced
Pickled veggies
Fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 300°F. Mix first 5 ingredients. Sprinkle over pork. Spread in a 9 × 13″ metal baking pan. Cover tightly with foil.
2. Bake 1 1⁄4 hrs. Remove foil, stir and turn oven to 350°F. Bake 30 min. Drain in a colander and toss with sauce*. Bake 15 min.
3. Spread rolls with 2 tbsp. mayo. Add pork and sauce, a few slices of jalapeño and cucumber and some scallions, pickles and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

*For sauce: Mix 1⁄2 cup soy sauce, 1⁄4 cup hoisin sauce, 1⁄4 cup honey, 2 tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil, 1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger and 3 minced garlic cloves.

PER SERVING: 497 cal, 25g protein, 37g carbs, 3g fiber, 12g sugar, 27g fat.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

(Serves 4)

2 large, skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1⁄4 cup flour
1 tsp. fine sea salt
1⁄2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. canola oil
1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1⁄4 cup hot sauce
1 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1⁄2 tsp. garlic powder
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
4 soft rolls, lightly toasted

Directions:

1. Pound chicken to 1⁄2″ thick. Slice into strips. Sprinkle with flour, salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high, cook chicken in oil 5 min.
3. Melt butter in a small pan over medium. Add next 4 ingredients. Bring to a simmer. Pour over chicken.
4. Mix celery, 2 tbsp. blue cheese dressing*. Spread rolls with dressing. Add chicken and celery. Serve.

*For dressing: Mix 1⁄2 cup mayo, 1⁄4 cup cream cheese, 3 tbsp. buttermilk, 1⁄2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1⁄4 tsp. garlic powder, 1⁄4 tsp. onion powder and 1⁄2 cup blue cheese. Blitz with an immersion blender to combine.

PER SERVING: 851 cal, 22g protein, 47g carbs, 3g fiber, 6g sugar, 65g fat.

Ma’s Shrimp Toast

(Serves 4)

8 oz. shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 celery rib, minced
1 scallion, minced
2 tbsp. minced water chestnuts
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 egg white, beaten
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. soy sauce
4 slices day-old white bread
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Directions:

1. Mince shrimp to a paste. Add to a bowl with next 8 ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap; chill 15 min.
2. Trim bread crusts. Divide mixture among bread slices. Cut diagonally in half to make 2 triangles per slice.
3. Heat oven to 200°F. Place a wire rack in a sheet pan. Pour oil into a large, deep skillet 1⁄2″ up sides. Heat over high. Add triangles, shrimp side down; cook 2 min. Flip; cook 1 min. Place on wire rack and keep warm in oven.
4. Arrange toasts on a platter and drizzle with spicy Asian mayo*. Sprinkle with scallions, if desired, and serve.

*For spicy mayo: Mix 1⁄2 cup mayo, 2 tbsp. gochujang and 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil.

PER SERVING: 388 cal, 17g protein, 27g carbs, 2g fiber, 7g sugar, 23g fat.