Halloumi with lettuce and tomato, spiced lamb burgers and the Scuttlebutt

It's time to make, and eat, some seriously good sandwiches.

View in browser|nytimes.com June 21, 2024 Jake Marsiglia and Costa Damaskos's halloumi, arugula and tomato sandwiches, adapted by Alexa Weibel and Christina Morales. Nico Schinco for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Time to eat some seriously good sandwiches By Sam Sifton Good morning. What's your favorite store-bought sandwich? In New York, I'm partial to the hot roast beef from Defonte's in Brooklyn, the Carmine's Special at Del Fiore's in Patchogue and the Reuben with coleslaw at the Country Store in Orient. I've gone straight from the airport in New Orleans to Parkway for a fried oyster po' boy, and from LAX to Langer's for pastrami. You ever had the bánh mì at Saigon Sandwich House, in Lowell, Mass.? Or the turkey sub at Urban Greens in Anchorage? You should put those on your list. Sandwiches tell stories of the delicious, stories we should hear and repeat. This week my colleagues assembled a table full of them — 57 sandwiches that define New York City — and this weekend I want to make a few at home. First up, the halloumi, arugula and tomato sandwich (above) from Baby Blues Luncheonette in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's Jake Marsiglia's Grecian ode to the B.L.T., with the bacon swapped out for cheese, and the iceberg for a lemony arugula salad cut through with red onions. Featured Recipe Halloumi, Arugula and Tomato Sandwiches View Recipe → That's lunch on Saturday, to be followed with a home-built version of the spicy cumin lamb burger from Xi'an Famous Foods for dinner, on an English muffin. Then, after a fine breakfast of pancakes and berries with cream on Sunday morning, I'll put together a Scuttlebutt sandwich for lunch, off the instructions of Caroline Fidanza, who served it at her restaurant Saltie for years: hard-boiled egg, pickled beets and carrots, capers, herbs, feta and pimentón-spiked mayonnaise on focaccia. Oh, wow. And for dinner on Sunday night? Not another sandwich. Instead, I'll deconstruct one, with a freestyle meal of BBQ shrimp and a loaf of bread to tear apart and drag through the sauce, alongside a mound of cold shredded iceberg lettuce dressed ever so slightly with oil and red wine vinegar. That's excellent eating, particularly if you don't peel the shrimp but cook them whole and ask your guests to eat with their fingers, voraciously, over a tablecloth of newspaper. There are many thousands more recipes to cook this weekend waiting for you on New York Times Cooking. You do, yes, need a subscription to read them. Subscriptions are important. They support our work and allow it to continue. Please, if you haven't already, would you consider subscribing today? Thank you. And should you find yourself crosswise with the technology? Sing out for help. We're at cookingcare@nytimes.com. Someone will get back to you. Or, if you'd like to speak to a manager, you can write to me: foodeditor@nytimes.com. I can't respond to every letter. But I read every one I get. Now, it's nothing to do with panini or grilled cheese, but I'm just starting Ann Powers's biography of Joni Mitchell, "Traveling," and I think maybe you ought to join me. Glass eels in Maine. That's a big money fishery and a hell of a story for Paige Williams in The New Yorker this week. Gill Partington has a fascinating review of a book about large-scale literary forgery in The London Review of Books, "a propulsive if unlikely thriller, whose plot hinges on typographical minutiae and sherry parties." Read that! Finally, here's a new Jelly Roll track, "I Am Not Okay." Still: "We're all gonna be alright." Listen to that while you're sandwiching and I will see you on Sunday. IN THIS NEWSLETTER Nico Schinco for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Spicy Cumin Lamb Burgers Recipe from Jason Wang and David Shi Adapted by Christina Morales and Alexa Weibel 40 minutes (or about 2 hours if making the bread) Makes 4 sandwiches Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Everyday Pancakes By Mark Bittman 20 minutes Makes 4 to 6 servings Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi. Berries and Cream By Yossy Arefi 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes macerating Makes 4 generous servings  Nico Schinco for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Scuttlebutt Recipe from Caroline Fidanza and Rebecca Collerton Adapted by Sara Bonisteel 2 hours (plus 1 day, if making pickled beets) Makes 4 sandwiches  Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (photography and styling) Focaccia Recipe from Caroline Fidanza Adapted by Amelia Nierenberg 30 minutes, plus resting and rising Makes One 9-by-13-inch pan David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. BBQ Shrimp By Sam Sifton Sign up for the Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter Fresh dinner ideas for busy people who want something great to eat, with NYT Cooking recipes sent to you weekly. Get it in your inbox Sign up for The Veggie newsletter Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties. Get it in your inbox Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Cooking from The New York Times. To stop receiving Cooking, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to NYT CookingGet the NYT Cooking app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018