TUESDAY, JULY 27, 2021
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THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — B1
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Tuesday, July 27, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Dan’s Reuben sandwich.
A selection of
scrumptious
sandwiches
By DANIEL NEMAN
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
It is a debate that has been pas-
sionately argued by culinary phi-
losophers for centuries: Do sand-
wiches taste better when eaten
standing over the kitchen sink, or
when they are picked up from a
paper plate?
I am fi rmly in the kitchen-sink
camp. To me, paper plates are
almost no better for sandwiches
than china plates, which are practi-
cally like eating them with knives
and forks.
I spent a lot of time standing
in front of my sink the other day
when I made six types of sand-
wiches. All of them were hot sand-
wiches — that is, each one had to
be heated before it was ready to be
eaten. I’d like to say that was my
original intention, but actually the
truth of it came to me like this:
Hillary the photographer: “Hey,
all of these are hot sandwiches.”
Me: “Really? Huh. What do
you know about that?”
So I defi nitely intentionally set
out to make six hot sandwiches,
each unusual in its own way.
Some were relatively easy; some
took more time and eff ort, some
were decidedly fancy. All were
awfully good.
RED WINE-
BRAISED FLANK
STEAK, WITH
ROASTED
PEPPERS, ONIONS
AND GRUYÈRE
Yield: 4 sandwiches
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound fl ank steak
1 medium carrot, cut into large dice
1/2 white onion, cut into large dice
2 garlic cloves, quartered
2 to 3 cups red wine
2 large sprigs fresh thyme
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 red bell pepper
1 large red onion, sliced crosswise
into 3/4-inch wheels
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar
4 ciabatta rolls
8 slices Gruyère cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Choose an ovenproof skillet (with
a lid) or Dutch oven large enough to fi t
the meat in snugly but still lie fl at. Add 2
tablespoons of the vegetable oil to the
skillet over high heat. When the oil begins
to shimmer, add the meat and cook for
5 to 7 minutes on each side, until deep
brown in color. Remove the meat and set
aside.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-high.
Add the carrot, onion and garlic, and sau-
té until the vegetables start to brown but
are still fi rm. Return the meat to the pan,
and add enough red wine to come 3/4 of
the way up the side of the meat.
4. Add the thyme and 1 teaspoon of
the salt. Cover and transfer to the oven.
Braise the meat for 2 1/2 hours, checking
occasionally to make sure the liquid does
not dry out (if it does, add more wine).
The meat should be very tender and soft
enough to pull apart with a fork. Transfer
to a plate to rest and cool.
5. While the meat cooks, roast the red
pepper over a high fl ame, turning occa-
sionally with tongs, until charred all over.
Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap
and rest 20 minutes. Rub off the charred
parts with your fi ngers (some charred
parts are fi ne) and slice pepper into
strips. If you do not have a gas stove,
place pepper on a foil-covered baking
sheet and place in the 350-degree oven,
turning occasionally, until soft and wrin-
kled all over, about 45 to 55 minutes.
Remove and, when cool enough to
touch, slice pepper into strips.
6. Brush the red onion with the
remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
In a skillet over high heat, grill the onion
— without separating into individual
rings — until charred on the outside and
slightly cooked on the inside. Place in a
bowl and separate into rings. Add the
peppers, olive oil, sherry vinegar and
remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well.
7. Strain the liquid the meat was
cooked in into a bowl. With two forks,
separate the meat into chunky strings
and roughly cut them crosswise into 2-
to 3-inch pieces. Combine the meat with
the juices, and coat well.
8. Slice the ciabatta rolls in half.
Place 1 slice of cheese on each bottom
and top half. Arrange the meat on the
bottom halves and peppers on the top
halves, and place all the roll pieces in the
350-degree oven. Cook until the cheese
is melted. Place the top halves on the
bottom halves, cut in half and serve.
Per serving: 883 calories; 44 g fat; 23
g saturated fat; 130 mg cholesterol; 51
g protein; 50 g carbohydrate; 7 g sugar;
4 g fi ber; 2,075 mg sodium; 635 mg
calcium
Adapted from “‘Wichcraft” by Tom
Colicchio and Sisha Ortúzar
GRUYÈRE WITH
CARAMELIZED
ONIONS
Yield: 4 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, halved and
cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
Salt and pepper
16 slices Gruyère cheese
8 slices rye bread
2 tablespoons butter
1. In a skillet over medium-high heat,
add the oil and onions. Add the orega-
no, and season with salt and pepper.
Cook, stirring, until onions turn light
brown. Reduce the heat and continue to
cook until the onions are soft and gold-
en brown, 30 to 45 minutes. These can
be kept refrigerated for up to 1 week.
2. Place 2 slices of cheese on each of 4
slices of bread. Put 1/4 cup of the onions
on top of each, and top each sandwich
with another 2 slices of cheese and slice
of bread.
3. Melt 1/2 tablespoon of the butter in
a skillet over medium-high heat (if your
skillet is large enough to make 2 sand-
wiches at a time, use 1 tablespoon of the
butter). Place 1 (or 2) sandwiches in the
butter, and press down lightly until the
bottom is golden brown and toasted.
Flip and cook other side until the cheese
has melted.
Per serving: 763 calories; 51 g fat; 26
g saturated fat; 139 mg cholesterol; 40
g protein; 37 g carbohydrate; 5 g sugar;
5 g fi ber; 1,279 mg sodium; 1,205 mg
calcium
Adapted from “‘Wichcraft” by Tom
Colicchio and Sisha Ortúzar
CHEESY KIMCHI
TOASTIE
Yield: 1 serving
2 slices soft bread
1 1/2 ounces grated sharp
cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 ounces good-quality
kimchi, fi nely chopped
1. Spread 1/2 ounce of the cheese
over 1 slice of bread. Spread the kimchi
over the cheese, right to the edges of
the bread. Spread another 1/2 ounce of
the cheese over the kimchi, and top it
with the remaining slice of bread.
2. Put a nonstick skillet on medium
heat. When it’s hot, cook the sandwich
for 2 minutes on each side, until it is
beautifully golden. Remove sandwich
from the pan. Scatter the remaining 1/2
ounce of cheese on the pan, then place
the sandwich back on top. Remove after
30 seconds and turn over onto plate to
reveal your handsome cheese crown.
Per serving: 332 calories; 16 g fat; 9
g saturated fat; 42 mg cholesterol; 15 g
protein; 31 g carbohydrate; 4 g sugar; 2
g fi ber; 774 mg sodium; 400 mg calcium
Recipe from “Ultimate Veg” by Jai-
me Oliver
See, Sandwich/Page B6
Dogged research reveals details about historic building
By GINNY MAMMEN
In doing the research on early
downtown La Grande there are
sometimes blips in the research
process. Some of the fi rst “facts”
come from the National Register
of Historic Places, which should
be correct information. However,
those who prepared the informa-
tion did so with what facts they
had at the time. As more informa-
tion becomes available, some of
those “facts” need to be corrected.
Such is the case of our next
building, which stands next to the
Farmers’ & Traders’ Bank in the
1200 block of Adams Avenue.
Farmers’ & Traders’ Bank was
actually located at 1200 Adams.
The next-door building to be con-
sidered at 1202 Adams, was con-
structed and also occupied by
Jay Brooks, as a dry goods and
clothing store called Jay Brooks.
Both buildings are indicated on
the 1893 Sanborn Map and listed
in the 1893 City Directory.
As mentioned in the previous
article, many of the wooden
buildings in the downtown area
burned to the ground in the 1886
fi re that reportedly started in this
very clothing store. Following
the fi re, Mr. Brooks went into
action and not only built the cur-
rent bank building on the corner
but rebuilt his store that was
next door and continued oper-
ating there until he left La Grande
in April 1902 to move to Santa
Rosa, California.
The 1893 City Directory listed
E. Andress & Co. located at 1310
Adams. In 1901 E. Andress & Co.
had expanded their space in the
Huntington Building to accom-
modate their undertaking parlors
Fred Hill Collection
The E. Andress Building, in the 1200 block of Adams Avenue in downtown La
Grande, housed a funeral parlor and furniture store.
so that funerals could take place
there as well as in churches. Then
in early March 1903 E. Andress
& Co. moved into 1202 Adams
from its previous location, so two
other businesses in that location
could merge.
Advertisements for E. Andress
& Co. showed that it was much
more than a funeral parlor. It was
also a furniture store carrying
items for every room in the house
including beds, chairs, tables,
rugs, carpets, curtains, pictures
and appliances. It advertised as
“The Home Beautifi ers” as well
as “Everything necessary to prop-
erly conduct a funeral.” Charles
Kinsey was listed as the manager
and funeral director.
There had to be more to the
story, and this was so true. As
stated before the real interest
comes from knowing who the
people were that occupied these
buildings. So who were E.
Andress and Charles Kinsey?
The search for Charles started
out when it was reported in the
February 10, 1904, Observer
that “the partnership between
the undersigned at La Grande,
Oregon, under the fi rm name of E
Andress & Co. has been dissolved
by mutual agreement of the par-
ties hereto.” It went on to say
“The business will be continued
by E. Andress and she will ...”
There were not many busi-
nesses owned by women in the
early 1900s so was important to
fi nd out just who E. Andress was.
Search after search failed because
the letter “E,” especially for a
woman’s fi rst name, did not pro-
vide enough information. After
much searching the name Mills
Andress appeared so I followed
that clue which led me to E., who
was Eva Andress, his wife.
Eva was born in Illinois in
September 1861 to John R. Ladd
and his wife, Rachel. John was
born in 1838, and at age 14 had
traveled to California with his
father. He returned east and mar-
ried Rachel in Illinois. It was
while the couple were living there
that Eva was born. Between 1861
and 1863 the family moved to
Oregon where son Charley was
born. Around that time the family
settled in the area which became
known as Ladd Canyon, where
they built a cabin.
Eva attended Blue Mountain
University, but she received her
entrepreneurial spirit from her
father, who had come to this area
and created a holding of 4,500
acres in the valley plus a number
of properties in La Grande and
Pendleton.
Eva married Mills and the
two of them operated one of
the largest wheat ranches in the
valley. They moved to Portland
in the early 1900s with their two
children, Ethel and Robert. Mills
died in 1935 and Eva in 1949.
And what about the other
Charlie? Charles Kinsey was
born in Union County in January
1869 to David Shroyer Kinsey
and his wife, Cornelia. David was
born in Jeff erson, Pennsylvania,
in 1831. He later moved to New-
castle, Indiana,where in 1853, at
age 22, he married 17-year-old
Cornelia Henderson. David was
a chairmaker. He soon sold his
business and the couple moved
to Iowa for about fi ve years. On
May 6, 1862, he and his wife,
along with their children, Kate,
age 3, baby William, just 3 month
old, and Cornelia’s 13-year-old
sister, joined an immigrant
wagon train headed west. On
Sept. 30, 1862, they arrived in the
Grande Ronde Valley. They had
six more children, Charles being
in the middle.
Charles married Anna Pike in
1889 and they had a son, Claud,
and a daughter, Marie. He was
working as a manager and the
funeral director at E. Andress. In
the early 1900s he and his family
moved out of the valley to Port-
land where he worked as a com-
mercial traveler tor a furniture
company. Charles Kinsey died
in March of 1950 at the age of 82
in Portland.
Keep looking up! Enjoy!