NFL Sandwich

Yesterday, Adam did the impossible.

The man created vegetarian "meat"ball subs. We're talking the REAL deal. Homemade hoagie buns, fresh marinara sauce, a healthy dose of bean-ball action, and a sprinkling of Mozzarella. Basically, it was an NFL-Football-Player-Turned-Vegetarian kind of sandwich.

And after waking up from my food coma, all googly-eyed and giddy, I knew I had to share this brilliant blip on the culinary radar with you.

I know what you're thinking: I'm a walking contradiction. I'm a vegetarian...creating and eating a mock-up of a meatball sub. Ah, but I subscribe to the vege-head lifestyle for many reasons...none of which include a loss of cravings for sloppy, gooey, NFL-gameday-type sandwiches that cause my heart to skip a beat.

Perhaps the best part of this sandwich was the homemade bread. As you know, Adam is quite the bread-making man in our house. While his weekly loaves may come out of the bread machine, today he kneaded and pounded his way by hand to fresh whole wheat hoagie buns. Holy moly, were they ever perfect! My bread expectations have definitely gone up a notch.

With that being said, go make yourself a honkin' big sandwich for dinner tonight. Personally, I recommend this one.

Vege-Head Bean-Ball Subs

(drawing on recipes from Veganomicon and Veggie Burgers Every Which Way)

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe for Bean-Balls
• Marinara sauce of your choice
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Hoagie buns (recipe below)

Hoagie Bun Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 3 TBSP warm milk
• 2 TBSP molasses
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 2 - 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 - 1/2 to 2- 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 - 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
• 4 tsp. salt
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• Eggwash (1 beaten egg plus 1 TBSP milk)
• Sesame seeds for topping

Directions for Hoagie Buns:

1) Whisk the warm water, milk, molasses, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk in the yeast and allow to stand for about 5 minutes, until yeast begins to foam. In a separate large bowl, mix together 1 cup of the bread flour, all of the whole wheat flour, and the salt. Add the yeast mixture, oil, and egg.

2) Stir with a wooden spoon until well-combined, adding more flour as needed until it shapes into a ball. On a floured surface knead the dough until it's smooth--about 10 minutes--adding more flour as needed. Shape the dough into a ball.

3) Drizzle a little olive oil into the mixing bowl, place the dough in it and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit in a warm place until doubled in size--about 1 - 2 hours.

4) After it has risen, separate the dough into 6 balls. Place them a few inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 - 2 hours until doubled in size.

5) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the buns with the eggwash and sprinkle with sesame seeds for garnish. Bake for about 16 - 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.

Assemble Your Sandwich:

Split open a big, beautiful hoagie bun. Stuff with bean-balls, warmed marinara, and top with shredded Mozzarella. Grab a fork and a knife, and dig in.