Sandwiches!

[potsticker]

So today, I wanted to make a sandwich. As I was about to start, I lost all culinary inspiration, and stood there wondering what to put in it. I always seem to make the "same ol same ol" deli meat and cheese or tuna/egg salad or grilled cheese.

What's your favorite sandwich?

[Jensen]

At the moment, my favourite is pan bagnat:

My favourite stand-by though is a vegetarian sandwich made with avocado, onion, tomato, lettuce, and Swiss cheese. (No sprouts! They taste like dirt!)

[snowangel]

Come August, when the local tomatoes on my vines are ripe, there are only two choices: BLT or an openfaced one with a slice of great bread toasted, topped with a great slice of aged cheddar, a slice of tomato, and some slightly pre-fried bacon, all stuck under the broiler for a few minutes. A BLH is a good substitute when there are no local tomatoes. (BLH = Bacon, lettuce and hummus).

[redglass]

An all time favorite: bacon, thinly sliced apple, sprouts (sorry Jensen! could of course sub some other nice geen veg) and peanut butter. Serve on some nice whole wheat bread. Oh yes.

Also in the "oh yes" category, courtesy of The Bread Line here in Washington, DC: on whole grain bread, spread some fig jam, mascarpone, arugula and proscuitto. That sandwich saved some very bad work days for me.

[ChryZ]

My favs:

-tomatos, red onions, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, fresh basil, mozzarella, slightly toasted wholemeal sandwich bread

-chicken or turkey, honey, mustard, red lettuce, cheddar, white sandwich bread

-kimchi, green onions, tuna, very little honey, roasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, gochujang as spread, wholemeal sandwich bread

-bacon or ham, roasted onions, dijon mustard, cheese, any sandwich bread will do

-curry chicken leftovers, cucumber, lettuce, minced-mint yogurt

-P&J

[BarbaraY]

I'm not a big sandwich fan but there's nothing quite like a good BLAT when the tomatoes come in.

We had a nice one from the Farmer's Market this week so I made mine with toasted rye bread spread with good mayo, crisp bacon, thinly sliced tomato, avocado, and romaine.

I love the baked sandwiches at one of our local sandwich shops but, not having a pizza oven, can't seem to duplicate them even with the right bread and meats

[Andrew Fenton]

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the muffaletta is the King of All Sandwiches.

But who has time to make one of those? Today I'm having a hard salami and avocado on whole grain bread. Man, is that ever gonna be good.

[Mabelline]

This afternoon I am looking forward to toasting some excellent sourdough from the Log Cabin Bakery and having 'not quite but pretty close to tuna salad', because once again I'm coming up short on appetite. This one's good tuna, homecooked, beautiful organic scallions, avocado, and vinaigrette for my binder. Am on the fence about some smoked roasted pimento. Might also consider some chopped up eggs for extra good stuff.

[Huevos del Toro]

This was, and still is, one of my favorites. The origin is lost to me. It's been many, many years since I ran across this. It was probably from a newspaper but it hit me just right. I like, too, that I can get all the ingredients ready, refrigerate it, and build the sandwiches at the last minute.

NORDIC POCKET SANDWICH

1 large eggplant, cubed

2 cloves garlic, mashed

½ lb. mushrooms, quartered

2 green peppers, diced

olive oil

¼ c. fresh parsley, chopped

3 medium onions, diced

1 pkg. (1 doz.) Arab pocket bread

2-3¾ oz. cans sardines in tomato sauce

½ pint sour cream

1½ c. grated Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, sauté eggplant and mushrooms separately in hot oil until almost tender. Sauté remaining vegetables together until almost tender.

Mix all vegetables in 13x9x2-inch baking dish with parsley, tomato sauce and seasonings.

Bake in 350°F oven 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until vegetables are tender and liquid is almost absorbed. Cool. Chill in covered refrigerator containers.

At picnic site, split pocket bread along 1 side and spoon in about ½ cup vegetable mixture. Add 3 or 4 sardines, 1 spoonful sour cream and some grated cheese. Eat out of hand. Serves 12.

Note: Hot dog buns, toasted, can be substituted for pocket bread. Or, crusty Italian or French bread, heated and sliced, works well.

[Jinmyo]

A few current favourites:

Grilled taleggio and scallions sandwich with roasted red pepper sauce to dup it in.

Hot roasted ham sandwich on pain de levain with Normandy butter and Dijon.

Tuna salad made with grilled diced tuna, tomato concasse, blanched red onion, wasabi mayo in a baguette.

Crumbled Stilton and braised beef with onion confit on brown or rye.

Smoked salmon and chevre with much pepper on toasted rye.

[Basilgirl]

Grilled bacon and cheddar on cinnamon raisin bread

Bacon, tomato, basil with lots of mayo on toasted white

BLTs with blue cheese dressing

Reubens

Ham, red onions, tomatoes, havarti, mustard/mayo on pretzel bread

Cubans

French dips with provolone and red onion

Roasted pork, Tuscan salted, with fontina or provolone, pressed

Muffalettas

Genoa, ham, pepperoni, mozzarella on ciabatta, weighted and wrapped in foil, baked in the oven

I'll stop now

[howard88]

There is only one great sandwich

And that is, the corned beef (nicely fatty),

pastrami (nicely fatty), chopped liver combo on

rye. Ccle slaw on the side. It takes away from

the fine meat tastes if it touches the sandwich.

[Mabelline]

As I have always thought, but neglected to put down, my personal favorite sandwich queens are Jinmyo (my stars and sky, those are clever! and sound __fabulous___) and Marlena Spieler (FROM 1 TY-DIED FOOD ADDICT TO SOMEONE I RECOGNIZE).

Wish I had the appetite for, but I can still think about good fresh braunsweiger with sliced flat white onions and homemade horseradish on good black Russian bread. For you, too, Katie Loeb!

One last, pure farm special: fat fist-sized German radishes, sliced and put on fresh bread spread thickly with fresh butter, and salt.

Edited June 15, 2005 by Mabelline (log)

[Ktepi]

Since I can't get quite the right bread for either, my favorite sandwich is the bastard of a Cuban sandwich and a roast beef poboy: Louisiana roast beef (i.e. braised until falling apart, not roasted rare) with demiglace-boosted gravy, cheese, pickled chiles, and French fries, pressed like a Cuban.

That said, every time I visit my mother in New Hampshire, I get a pastrami bomb: hot pastrami, mushrooms, peppers, onions, hot peppers, provolone, mayo or olive oil and oregano, on a sub roll.

Edited June 15, 2005 by Ktepi (log)

[Jake]

Standby favourites:

Serrano ham and manchego on crusty bread/roll

Banh mi

bacon,tomato and avocado on whole grain

carmelized onion, roasted peppers and eggplant with pesto mayo on baguette

[Soup]

I have many favs but I'm going to list the sandwiches I eat the most...

1. PB&J

2. Egg and Cheeze on toast

3. Ham

4. Turkey

5. Bhan Mi

[JEL]

roast a pork shoulder with some garlic, onions, and celery.......

slice the pork and put it in a slow cooker with fresh basil and oregano......

season w/ s&p...

deglaze the roasting pan and add the juices to the meat........

italian pork right....

heap it on to french bread w/ some handmade motz, into the oven to melt the cheese and crunchen the bread........

hand grate some parm, or pecorino romano on top......drizzle w/ olive oil........

pickled peppers on the side.......

crowd pleaser.......

[evilhomer]

the vini fratellini in firenze make probably the best sandwiches i've ever had. I usually opt for caprino and cinghiale piccante which is spicy salami and tangy goat cheese.

there's not much like a tomato, basil and mozzarela sandwich though

or ham cheddar and apple

and when it comes right down to it I could never turn down a nice chicken salad, made laurie colwins way (this is not a simple recipe as first you have to bake a loaf of white bread....)

[ruthcooks]

Next to a BLT with the first summer tomatoes, I like a turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, lettuce and mayo on some kind of sourdough or other sturdy white bread.

It's fragile, so none of that hard crust stuff. The so-called artisan bakeries usually carry a potato-dill which is perfect (I've never tasted the dill, however).

Same kind of bread with herb-marinated, grilled portabello slices, roasted peppers and provolone. Tomatoes also if they're good. Maybe onions, too.

Chicken salad my way (finely cut chicken and hardcooked eggs, homemade lemony mayo, and just a touch of finely cut celery) with or without grapes on wheat bread.

There's a big thread on sandwiches lurking about somewhere.

[Lori in PA]

#1 pesto mayo or lemony, garlicky mayo

leftover roast chicken

sliced avocado

bacon, on sinful days

salt, if not indulging in bacon

toasted sturdy white bread

#2 leftover roast turkey

plain mayo

white bread

Eat with cranberry sauce or drink cranberry juice with it

#3 grilled smoked turkey w/

cream cheese

cranberry/apple/orange sala

sturdy white bread

#4 salami

green pepper rings

cream cheese

white or wheat bread

#5 egg salad made w/ cream cheese (instead of mayo) and dill

thinly sliced radishes

sprouts

pumpernickle

Edited June 16, 2005 by Lori in PA (log)

[divalasvegas]

1. Roasted Turkey (both dark and white meat), stuffing/dressing, my homemade cranberry relish, mayo on decent white bread, such as Pepperidge Farm, though cheap white bread will do in a pinch

2. Fried Fish "Sammich." The fish we fried when I grew up was either porgies, croakers, or catfish. Just on white bread with hot sauce and lemon wedges on the side. Tartar sauce on the side to add here and there.

3. The classic Cuban sandwich

4. A really good hoagie with the best quality cold cuts and cheeses you can lay your hands on, lettuce, tomatoes, sliced raw onions, hot peppers, mayo on a crusty sub roll.

5. Warm, fatty pastrami on black bread or seedless rye bread with mustard and onions

6. Grilled cheese: Cheddar cheese, sliced tomatoes and several slices of bacon

7. A sloppy joe--God, I haven't had one of those in years. If anyone can point me to or share a good recipe for this, it would be deeply appreciated

8. Leftover meatloaf sandwich, sometimes with cheese, sometimes not. On white bread with mayo and sometimes.................................... Miracle Whip!

Yes, I know, I'm the only person in the history of eGullet who likes Miracle Whip (Or will admit to it in public).

9. The classic Reuben

10. A fried egg sandwich with no crispy brown parts gently fried in butter, with or without meat and/or cheese, with a few drops of Tabasco sauce on white or potato bread, with a wonderful oozy yolk

Gotta run since I'm being surrounded by some very angry eGulleteers waving their pitchforks and torches and demanding that I renounce my allegiance to Miracle Whip, or else!

Edited June 16, 2005 by divalasvegas (log)

[snowangel]

  7. A sloppy joe--God, I haven't had one of those in years.  If anyone can point me to or share a good recipe for this, it would be deeply appreciated

←

Search no further than here for the eGullet definitive Sloppy Joe topic.

[potsticker]

now those are some ideas! divalasvegas - oozy egg yolk on toast may be one of the greatest foods ever. i wish all this stuff took less prep! maybe i should just allocate myself more than 45 seconds to make lunch in the morning.

i'm not proud of my lazy sandwiches. i try to make up for them with nice dinners and weekend cooking splurges.

Edited June 16, 2005 by potsticker (log)

[mizducky]

My all-time favorite Sandwich hits:

1. Dunno if Formaggio's is still in that mini-mall (think it was called The Garage) in Harvard Square, Cambridge, but they used to make this sandwich that was to die for, of thickly-spread Boursin and really excellent rare roast beef on thick slabs of artisanal bread.

2. Any Carnegie Deli-style overstuffed sandwich, but especially one that contains beef tongue (yum!) as well as pastrami and/or corned beef, on really chewy authentic Jewish rye, with lots of spicy brown mustard.

3. Cuban sandwich. 'Nuff said.

4. When I can find a place that knows how to make a proper eggplant parmigiana sub, (i.e. one containing perfectly-cooked eggplant as opposed to overcooked off-flavored mush) it is a thing of beauty.

5. My family's invention (which I think I've described elsewhere on eGullet), the Stinkbomb Special: thick slices of liverwurst and raw onion on pumpernickle with lots o' spicy brown mustard.

6. Open-faced meatloaf sandwich, with lots of gravy, on white bread--one of the few times I fancy white bread in a sandwich, but in this case it's purely a gravy-sopping vehicle.

Oh, such a glutton for animal protein I am. It's not like I don't appreciate the spendor of a BLT made with superior tomatoes, but give me a choice between that and just about any sandwich with at least an inch of sliced meat in it, and the rabbit-food just gets left in the dust.

[PassionateChefsDie]

Has to be a chicken, with rocket and a good homemade pesto (a little heavy on the parmesan) with smoked bacon. Definetly wish I didn't live with a vegetarian now!