[2] While most people make a meatball hero or sub with round meatballs, using slices of a meatloaf makes the sandwich easier to bite (photo © Urban Accents).

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Here’s a suggestion from From Eat Wisconsin Cheese.com: Switch the popular meatball submarine sandwich for a meatball hero, sub, or hero whatever you call it in your neck of the woods (see the note below).

It’s an easy way to feed a crowd during events like the Academy Awards. If you serve half a hero to everyone, along with other nibbles, this recipe feeds 12.

> August is National Sandwich Month.

> October 9th is Submarine Hoagie Hero Grinder Day.

> October 18th is Meatloaf Appreciation Day.

> November 3 is National Sandwich Day.

> The history of the hoagie/hero/submarine sandwich.

> The history of the sandwich.

> The different types of sandwiches: a glossary.
 
 
RECIPE: MEATLOAF HERO SANDWICH

Ingredients For 6 Sandwiches

 
Plus

1. MAKE the meatloaf; Preheat oven to 375°F (conventional; if using a convection oven, preheat to 325°F).

2. COMBINE the meats, Asiago, egg, breadcrumbs, parsley, Dijon mustard, pepper, and salt in a bowl. Mix well and pack into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake the loaf until cooked through and browned, 55 to 60 minutes.

3. REMOVE the meatloaf from the oven and drain the fat. Cool completely before slicing into 12 slices.

4. BLEND the mayonnaise and mustard. Split the rolls and top each bottom bun with 1 tablespoon of the spread plus lettuce, 2 tomato slices, 2 meatloaf slices, and 2 provolone slices. Top with the roll tops, and serve the sandwiches with potato salad or French fries.
 
 
ONE SANDWICH, SO MANY NAMES

Hero is the New York term for the sandwich also called the grinder, hoagie, po’ boy, torpedo, submarine, zeppelin, and other names, depending on region.

The term “hero” originated in the late 19th century when the sandwich was created to serve Italian laborers, who wanted the convenient lunch they had enjoyed in Italy. The name is credited to New York Herald Tribune food writer Clementine Paddleford, who wrote that “you needed to be a hero to finish the gigantic Italian sandwich.”

The original hero sandwich, on an oblong roll, piled on Italian cold cuts, cheese, seasonings, oil, and vinegar. Varieties evolved to include the meatball hero, eggplant parmigiana, and chicken parmigiana heroes.

These days, basically, anything served on a large, oblong roll is a hero.

The other sandwiches—grinders, hoagies, etc.—developed with regional ingredients and preferences but also evolved to include anything served on a large, oblong roll.

FOOD TRIVIA: The sandwich is the #1 homemade dish.
 
 

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If your Oscar party will include sushi, how about a platter that looks like a director’s slate?

This fun idea comes from SushiShop, which isn’t selling the “director’s slate” platters but developed this as part of an advertising campaign.

You can make it yourself with:

 
Your local sushi restaurant can create this for you, or work with you to create a different design with different sushi varieties (check them out in our beautiful Sushi Glossary).

Check out the different types of caviar.
  

Mom always made applesauce from scratch. Her apple of choice was the McIntosh, and she cooked them with the peel. It generated a pretty pink color when strained through a food mill.

When we first had commercial applesauce from a jar (that would be you, Mott’s) at a friend’s house, we couldn’t believe the difference in flavor and texture. That is to say, Mom’s was the winner by far.

For breakfast, lunch or a healthful dessert or snack, set up an apple sauce bar with custom toppings.

We share our Mom’s stove top recipe—so easy!—as well as a slow cooker recipe from the U.S. Apple Association.

If you’re avoiding refined sugar, you can cook the apples without sugar and sweeten the cooled applesauce with a noncaloric sweetener, agave, honey, etc.
TOPPINGS BAR

This applesauce is delicious in its natural state, but if you like to experiment you can try adding spices or lemon zest. Test your preference by seasoning half the batch after you remove it from the heat.

We easily devoured the two quarts of applesauce in a week; but if it’s too much for you, rather than reduce the recipe, stick it in the freezer. It freezes beautifully.

Ingredients For 2 Quarts

 
Preparation

1. QUARTER and seed the apples; don’t peel. Add to a pot of boiling water that covers the apples, top the pot with the lid, reduce the heat to simmer and cook slowly, until the apples are mushy, about 15 minutes.

2. TASTE and adjust the sugar if needed. If the texture is too thick for you, add water, a tablespoon at a time, until the desired thickness is reached. After adjusting either, re-boil for a second or two to blend.

3. LET cool. Process through a food mill. (If you remove the peel before cooking, you can pulse in a food processor). Serve at room temperature and refrigerate the extra.

Ingredients For 3-3/4 Cups

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the peeled apple chunks in the slow cooker and sprinkle with sugar, lemon, vanilla and salt. Stir to mix. Cover the cooker and cook on low for 4 hours.

2. UNCOVER the cooker and use a potato masher to coarsely mash the apples. For a really smooth sauce, you can purée in a food processor or blender, or use a food mill. Be careful when handling the hot apples and juice, cover the lid of the processor or blender with a folded towel and hold it closed as you turn on the machine.

3. TRANSFER the applesauce to sterilized jars and let cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

McIntosh apples, Mom’s favorites for applesauce. Photo courtesy Baldor Food.

APPLE STATISTICS

The U.S. Apple Association tells us that the United States has approximately 7,500 apple producers who grow nearly 200 varieties of apples, on approximately 328,000 acres. Nearly 100 varieties are in commercial production; the remainder are heirloom varieties grown in backyards and small-scale farming, generally sold at farmers’ markets.

The 2013 crop was estimated at 248.6 million bushels, with a wholesale value of the U.S. apple crop is more than $2.7 billion. Sixty-seven percent of the crop is grown for fresh consumption and 33% goes for processing (applesauce, pie filling, juice, fresh slices, etc.).

Apples are grown commercially in 32 states. The top ten apple producing states are, in order of size of crop:

 
The Top 10 apple varieties grown in the U.S. are, in order of crop size: