VentureWeb's 2011 Toasty Off
Well, it came and went but for those of us here at Venture HQ, it most definitely won't be forgotten! What was supposed to be our quarterly in house competition—we know, a little ambitious—has landed happily as a yearly event, and an event it is.
For the last couple of weeks the banter around the office has included the typical bad mouthing that goes hand in hand with any mildly competitive person, especially when those involved include former residents of the 'lands' down under (Oz and NZ), England (confident, witty Englishman at that) and a tough as nails West Coast born and bread Canuck, that's game on!
But alas, as per usual when it comes to the team here at VentureWeb, when it's time to get down to it, actions speak louder than words, bringing me back to our 2011 Toasty Off Contest. The entire team has a positive outlook and even when it comes to a fierce competition such as this, we are each incredibly supportive of each other—with a little bad mouthing still thrown in for good measure—and see the benefits of this competitive nature, drive and support come to fruition, this time in the form of delicious toasted sanga's (that's grilled sandwiches for most).
It's always interesting to see and most importantly taste, what the Venture team has come up with for a sandwich and this year certainly did not let anyone down. With tasty ingredients going from BBQ grilled red peppers and Black forest ham fusions through to all out South Asian delicacies, the competition was as savage as my appetite! With a description like South Asian delicacy it really isn't too difficult to tell which toasty won—that's right, Gillian blew the house down with her lovely Butter Chicken Flyby, a 'sandwich' that contained chicken, rice, cream cheese, and a mix of indian herbs and spices on a lovely slab of Nan bread—and it worked in the grill! The fact that Gill blew the house down does not reflect poorly on the competition, as everyone's sanga was exceptional! It just—to put it in the words of Star Trek—went where no man had gone before. Congratulations Gill, you've outdone yourself!
Lucky for you readers, due to a couple of requests we have included our recipes for these delightful sanga's, so that you may try them for yourselves in the comfort of your own homes, or workplace. Who knows, perhaps this will become a national, no, worldwide phenomenon—be sure to fire up your twitter account an tweet the hash #toastyoff2011 if you delve into this realm.
2011 Toasty Off Sandwich Recipes
Gills Sandwich – 'Butter Chicken Flyby'
- Cream Cheese
- Tomatoes
- Basmati Rice
- Cilantro
- Butter Chicken
- Red Peppers (Capsicum)
Spread thin layer of cream cheese on whole naan (garlic flavour). Add thin layers of: fresh, diced seeded tomatoes, cooked basmati rice, chopped cilantro and a more generous layer of warm, sliced butter chicken (prepared ahead). Fold over, sprinkle naan with water, and grill.
Garnish with red peppers (or capsicum, as some folks call it) and more cilantro and serve with extra butter chicken sauce for dipping.
AJ's Sandwich – 'Faux':
- Sundried Tomatoes
- Artichoke Hearts
- Turkey
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Goats Cheese (spreadable)
- Sourdough Bread
Slice up the sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts, place on base layer of sandwich then drizzle some balsamic vinegar over them. Grab some of the turkey (not too much) and place on top of the artichokes. Now spread the goats cheese on the top piece, place on top of sandwich. Grill till golden brown, slice and enjoy!
Olly's Sandwich – 'Extra Foods Special':
- Run to Extra Foods
- Buy first things that come to mind/hand
- Assemble ingredients (Cheesy bread, Mayo, Brie, Calebrese Salami, Sweet Chili Sauce) in traditional sandwich manner: bread on the outside
- Toast
- Consume
Jim's Sandwich 'The Easy Sunday Toastie':
- Cream Cheese
- Salami
- Harvatti Cheese
- Roasted Red Peppers
- White Mushrooms
- On Brown Multigrain
1. Layer ingredients in Sandwhich and then toast in toastie maker. 2. Eat
Julie's Sandwich 'From the Fridge':
- Roasted Red Pepper (Red Pepper roasted on the BBQ, left to cool in a paper bag and then the skin is pulled off)
- Black Forest Ham
- Havarti Cheese
- Small amount of Mayonnaise
- Cibatta Buns
