Let's Make A Sandwich (1950) A Classic Educational Film

Summary

In this delightful video, Sally Gasko shares her recipe for an open-faced 'tuna rarebit' sandwich, a creative twist on the classic American staple. Using rye bread, melted cheese, and canned tuna, she crafts a warm, comforting snack perfect for unexpected guests. The video also highlights the importance of having versatile ingredients on hand and suggests a colorful salad and potato chips for a complete meal. Beverage options like coke or milk add a touch of hospitality, making this a cozy and inviting dining experience.

Takeaways

• 🥪 The sandwich is a staple in American cuisine, suitable for lunchboxes, parties, and picnics.
• 🍔 While hamburgers and hot dogs are popular, the script introduces a special type of sandwich called 'tuna rarebit'.
• 🍞 The base of the tuna rarebit is rye bread, chosen for its spicy caraway flavor that contrasts with the fish and cheese.
• 🧀 Cheese, specifically an easy-melting type, is used as a base for the rarebit, and is sliced to speed up the melting process.
• 🧈 Butter is used not only for flavor but also as a blending agent in the preparation of the tuna rarebit.
• 🥄 A wooden spoon is recommended to mix the ingredients to avoid discoloration of the tuna rarebit mixture.
• 🥗 To add variation in color and texture, a salad with celery, radishes, olives, and pickles is prepared alongside the sandwich.
• 🍟 Potato chips, once only for picnics, are now a versatile snack that complements the tuna rarebit for a complete meal.
• 🔥 The bread is toasted quickly in a broiler to prepare the open-faced sandwich for the tuna rarebit topping.
• 🥤 Offering guests a choice of beverages, such as coke or milk, is a gracious gesture and part of good hospitality.
• 🌿 Aesthetics matter, as evidenced by the use of parsley for garnish and a touch of Tabasco for a taste surprise in the tuna rarebit.

Q & A

What is the main dish Sally is preparing in the script?

Sally is preparing a tuna rarebit, which is an open-faced sandwich with a cheese melt and canned tuna fish mixture on top.

Why does Sally choose rye bread as the base for her tuna rarebit?

Sally chooses rye bread because its spicy caraway flavor contrasts well with the bland fish and cheese, enhancing the overall taste of the sandwich.

What is the role of butter in the preparation of the tuna rarebit?

Butter is used in the tuna rarebit preparation for flavor and as a blending agent. It is melted in a double boiler to create a base for the cheese.

What type of cheese does Sally use, and why?

Sally uses an easy melting type of cheese as a base for the rarebit to ensure a smooth and creamy texture when it melts.

How does Sally ensure the cheese melts smoothly in the preparation?

Sally speeds up the melting process by cutting the cheese into slices and adding it to a milk and butter mixture over a simmer flame.

What is the significance of using a wooden spoon when mixing the tuna into the cheese mixture?

Using a wooden spoon helps avoid discoloration of the mixture, ensuring that the tuna rarebit maintains a visually appealing color.

What additional items does Sally include to complement the tuna rarebit?

Sally adds a salad with celery, radishes, olives, and pickles, as well as potato chips, to provide variation in color, texture, and taste.

Why does Sally toast the bread quickly in the broiler?

Toasting the bread quickly in the broiler adds a crispy texture and a warm base for the tuna rarebit topping.

What beverage options does Sally's mother consider for the guests?

Sally's mother thinks of offering guests a choice between coke and milk, providing a beverage selection that caters to different preferences.

How does the use of parsley enhance the tuna rarebit presentation?

Parsley is used for its aesthetic value, adding a touch of green color to the dish and enhancing its visual appeal.

What final touch does Sally add to the tuna rarebit for a taste surprise?

Sally adds a touch of Tabasco sauce for color and to provide a surprise spicy kick to the flavor of the tuna rarebit.

Outlines

00:00

🥪 Making a Special Sandwich: Tuna Rarebit

The script introduces the concept of a sandwich as a staple in American culture, particularly for lunchboxes, parties, and picnics. It contrasts the common hamburgers and hot dogs with a unique sandwich called 'tuna rarebit' that Sally prepares for guests. The process involves using rye bread, cheese, and canned tuna fish, with a focus on the cheese melt as the base. The script also emphasizes the importance of having certain foods readily available for unexpected guests, such as easy-melting cheese. Additionally, it touches on the preparation of a salad with celery, radishes, olives, and pickles, and the inclusion of potato chips as a versatile snack. The beverage options of coke or milk are suggested for guests, highlighting the graciousness of offering choices. The summary concludes with the presentation of the tuna rarebit, garnished with parsley and a touch of Tabasco for an aesthetic and flavorful twist.

Keywords

💡sandwich

A sandwich is a food item typically consisting of two or more slices of bread with one or more fillings between them. In the video's context, the sandwich is highlighted as a versatile and essential part of American cuisine, suitable for various occasions like lunchboxes, parties, and picnics. The script specifically mentions an 'open-faced' sandwich, which is a type without a top slice of bread, and the 'tuna rarebit' as a special kind of sandwich prepared in the video.

💡tuna rarebit

Tuna rarebit is a type of open-faced sandwich mentioned in the script, characterized by a cheese melt with canned tuna fish mixture on top. It is portrayed as a special dish that Sally prepares for guests, indicating a creative twist on the traditional sandwich concept. The term 'rarebit' often refers to a dish with a cheese sauce, and in this case, it is combined with tuna to create a unique flavor profile.

💡rye bread

Rye bread is a type of bread made with various proportions of rye flour, giving it a distinct flavor and texture compared to bread made from wheat flour. In the video, rye bread is chosen as the base for the tuna rarebit due to its spicy caraway flavor, which contrasts well with the blandness of the fish and cheese, enhancing the overall taste of the sandwich.

💡butter

Butter is a dairy product made from cream and is used in cooking for flavor and as a blending agent. In the script, butter is used in the preparation of the tuna rarebit, where a cube of butter is placed in a double boiler to melt, contributing to the creamy texture of the cheese base. It is also mentioned as a generally useful food to have on hand for entertaining guests.

💡cheese

Cheese is a dairy product derived from milk and is used in various culinary applications, including as a base for the rarebit in the video. The script specifies the use of an 'easy melting type' of cheese, which is crucial for the quick preparation of the tuna rarebit. The melting cheese creates a warm, gooey topping that complements the canned tuna fish.

💡canned tuna fish

Canned tuna fish is a preserved food item where tuna is cooked, seasoned, and sealed in a can. In the video, it is one of the main ingredients in the tuna rarebit, added to the melted cheese mixture. The script mentions 'chunk style' tuna, which implies larger pieces of tuna meat, providing a more substantial texture to the sandwich.

💡wooden spoon

A wooden spoon is a kitchen utensil used for stirring and mixing ingredients. In the context of the video, Sally uses a wooden spoon to avoid discoloration of the tuna rarebit mixture, which can happen when using metal utensils. This choice reflects a cooking technique to maintain the visual appeal of the dish.

💡salad

A salad is a dish consisting of a mixture of small pieces of food, usually featuring vegetables. In the script, a salad made of celery, radishes, olives, and pickles is prepared to accompany the tuna rarebit. This adds variation in color and texture to the meal, enhancing the overall dining experience.

💡potato chips

Potato chips are a popular snack food made from thinly sliced potatoes that are deep-fried until crisp. In the video, potato chips are added to the menu, illustrating how they have evolved from being exclusively picnic fare to versatile accessory foods that contribute to easier and more enjoyable entertaining.

💡Tabasco

Tabasco is a brand of hot sauce made from tabasco peppers, vinegar, and salt. In the script, a touch of Tabasco is added to the tuna rarebit for color and a taste surprise, indicating its use as a flavor enhancer and for adding a spicy kick to the dish.

💡aesthetic value

Aesthetic value refers to the appreciation of the beauty or attractiveness of an object or scene. In the video, the mother is described as a believer in the aesthetic value of parsley, which is used as a garnish on the tuna rarebit. This highlights the importance of presentation and visual appeal in enhancing the overall enjoyment of the food.

Highlights

The sandwich is a practical American institution, essential for lunchboxes, parties, and picnics.

Hamburgers and hot dogs are considered a good meal by the boys mentioned.

Sally introduces a special sandwich called 'tuna rarebit' for guests.

Tuna rarebit is an open-faced sandwich with a cheese melt and canned tuna fish mixture on top.

Rye bread is chosen as the base for its spicy caraway flavor, which contrasts well with the fish and cheese.

Butter is used as a blending agent in the kitchen, not only for flavor.

Cheese of an easy melting type is kept on hand for entertaining unexpected guests.

The cheese is cut into slices to speed up the melting process in the milk and butter mixture.

Canned chunk-style tuna fish is added to the rarebit mixture using a wooden spoon to prevent discoloration.

A salad with celery, radishes, olives, and pickles is prepared for variation in color and texture.

Potato chips are added to the menu, enhancing the entertaining experience for teenagers.

The bread is toasted quickly in the broiler to prepare the rarebit for serving.

Guests are offered a choice of coke or milk as a beverage, a gracious gesture.

Sally serves the tuna rarebit with two slices of toast arranged neatly on each plate.

Parsley is used for its aesthetic value and as a healthy addition to the dish.

A touch of Tabasco is added for color and to provide a taste surprise.

The transcript emphasizes the transformation of a sandwich into festive fare with good techniques and a little imagination.

Transcripts

[Music]

the sandwich is practical American

institution it is a basic essential for

lunchboxes parties and picnics as far as

these boys are concerned well hamburgers

and hot dogs are their idea of a really

good meal but there are sandwiches and

sandwiches when Sally gasps go and her

mother bring guests home for a late

snack after a movie they have something

special in the way of a sandwich in mind

Sally calls it tuna rarebit let's watch

how she makes it this is a sandwich four

forks an open-faced creation in other

words with a cheese melt canned tuna

fish mixture on top the basis will be

rye bread mother's idea she found that

the spicy caraway flavor made a good

contrast to the bland fish and cheese

Sally puts a cube about a square inch of

butter into the top of a double boiler

our little butter finds its way into a

great many dishes in this kitchen

not only for flavor but as a blending

agent

part of the trick to entertaining

unexpected guests is keeping on hand

certain generally useful foods one of

these is cheese of an easy melting type

which Sally is going to use as a base

for the rarebit to speed the melting she

cuts this into slices in the milk and

butter mixture while mother butters the

bread the simmer flame keeps the water

boiling gently while the cheese is

melting so that Sally can go on to other

tasks she adds the canned chunk style

tuna fish and noticed that she uses a

wooden spoon to avoid discoloration of

the mixture

although the tuna rarebit is fairly

substantial food in itself it is a good

idea to add something for variation in

color and texture mother is making a

salad dish celery radishes olives and

pickles

Sally adds potato chips to the menu they

used to be exclusively picnic fare but

they've joined the host of useful

accessory foods which make entertaining

so much easier and more fun for

teenagers the bread was toasted quickly

in the broiler and the rarebit is nearly

ready to serve

let's see what will be the beverage

mother thinks she'll give the guests a

choice of coke or milk when you can

offer guests a choice easily

it's a gracious gesture now it's time to

serve two slices of toast our neatly

arranged on each plate and the filling

or perhaps we should say covering goes

on top Sally knows you should serve

cream dishes with extra caution and

effective carelessness here is no asset

mother is a great believer in the

aesthetic value of parsley and of course

it's good to eat too now a touch of

Tabasco for color and a taste surprise

and there's tuna rarebit alla Sally

Gasko as we said there are sandwiches

and sandwiches a wise young homemaker

using good techniques and equipment and

a little imagination can turn a sandwich

into festive fare

[Music]

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[Music]

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