"campanile" news and stories

'Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book'
Recipes by Nancy Silverton with Teri Gelber
Photographs by Amy Neusinger
Clarkson Potter -- 2000
Buy it at Amazon

Nancy Silverton, co-owner of Los Angeles restaurants Campanile and La Brea Bakery, is devoted to the sandwich. With visions of red-checked tablecloths, illicit bottles of wine and prosciutto-stuffed baguettes dancing in our heads, this is a philosophy we can get behind. Her book is a compilation of greatest hits as well as those imported from famous shops like New York City's 'ino, with special sections on open-faced sammies, tea sandwiches, and even stacked cakes and cookies.

Takeaway tips: To skim the book is to take a class in "What Goes With What 101." Prosciutto di parma drapes seductively atop a poached egg and emerald-green asparagus in one open-faced creation and baked ricotta serves as a bed for luxe roast roma tomatoes and just-caramelized onions in another. It's the sort of book you can flip through while poking through the fridge to see what's left, salivating all the while.

Quality of pictures: Beautiful. Fancy sandwiches are now de rigeur, but one could argue that this book helped take them to a new level.

We tested: French Baguette with Butter and Prosciutto
It's a funny thing to throw a party around a sandwich, but that's happened more than once with this epic behemoth. Cut open a baguette, wind prosciutto through it and smear with Silverton's special scallion oil and imported butter. Cut into pieces. Wrap in hands. Bite. Don't tell guests what is in the sandwich. Watch them flip out. This three-types-of-fat sandwich may not be healthy, but in small doses, it will make new best friends out of total strangers.

Worth the investment: It's picnic season. Absolutely.

Campanile, the Los Angeles restaurant that Nancy Silverton owns with her chef husband, Mark Peel, is known not only for its dedication to high quality and seasonal ingredients, but for its themed dinners. Mondays are family night, where a set menu is served family style and Wednesday is the chef's tasting menu night. Thursday night is arguably the most popular night, though: grilled cheese night. It's a huge hit because everyone likes sandwiches and the concept seems simple, unfussy and delicious. Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book is based on the recipes that they serve at Campanile on Thursday nights.

I said "seems" above because the sandwich recipes are actually rather complicated. The components of each sandwich and the breads are fastidiously prepared before being put together, all taking as much time as Silverton feels is necessary to achieve the same results you would expect from any gourmet food. The result is comfort food that looks simple but is incredibly rich and complex in flavor.

Even if you don't want to invest the time into preparing the sandwiches at home, browsing through the book will definitely be inspiring and you'll probably have at least a few new ideas to spice up your everyday sandwiches. If not, just try to wait until you have a chance to drop by Campanile on a Thursday night.

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