Sometimes, you just want a sandwich. And I don't mean one of those goofy, gourmet made-up cheffy creations either, like avocado-inflamed trout cheeks and sprouts with mint and mango pesto on a flarkle cheese focaccia roll. I'm talking a standard, no-fuss sandwich that you can just make your own damn self. And eat with Lay's Original Potato Chips. But save the foldy ones for me.
Here are my Top 5 Go-To Sandwiches:
1. BLT
2. Reuben
3. Peanut Butter & Jelly
4. Grilled Cheese
5. Tuna Salad
Okay, so if you don't love the Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich--I cannot help you; no one can. I won't even prescribe the condiment. You can choose: mayonnaise or Miracle Whip. I don't care. You can even decide whether or not to toast the bread. Hell, I don't even care if the bread is white or wheat! This is the perfect sandwich, especially if you have just picked the tomatoes fresh from your own garden oh my god I think I harmed myself just thinking about it.
The Reuben is best ordered out, but it can be made at home, even with a good deli corned beef. Do not even attempt to say, "Oh, and you can make it just as good with turkey." No, you cannot. Shut up.
And, come on, peanut butter & jelly. Classic. I will say, however, that if you do not at some point try it with Smucker's strawberry jam, you are missing quite possibly the gustatory opportunity of a lifetime. As far as peanut butter, I prefer Jif. Smooth. Just an FYI.
Grilled cheese is the ultimate comfort sandwich: warm, buttery, smooth, gooey, and you know it is seriously naughty in the fat and cholesterol departments. Who cares? If you're going to make it count, use real butter, though. So good!
Finally, I have to say that I make a killer tuna salad in the summertime because I use fresh dill from my herb garden. I use only white albacore tuna--water packed--Hellman's real mayo, and tons of fresh dill. I toss a little Lawrey's season salt and fresh ground black pepper in there and let me tell you, that stuff is major.
9 comments:
I am so on board with this list. I go BLT, Reuben, Chicken Salad, Grilled Cheese, Tuna.
You are dead on. Get your fucking turkey out of my face! The BLT is perfect. But I mantain that it is best enjoyed with Hellman's and NON-toasted bread. If you don't toast the bread, you are addign to the texture experience of the sandwich. A cloud of welcomed softness among a throng of crunch, pop, and crisp.
And that tuna salad is ridiculous. It's delicious. I would rather make out with that tuna sandwich than a woman. No joke.
I like the list minus the pb&j. That just grosses me out. I suppose it is becuase I used to ONLY eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch in elementary school. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Because I wanted to, of course. But now I'm ruined. Haven't had one in over 20 years and I don't intend on trying one any time soon. Hell, the smell alone is enough to make me barf.
I'd replace the Tuna Salad with Chicken Salad made with almonds and grapes, yum.
Nina: You just stole my line, lol. I had PB&J EVERY SINGLE DAY for my packed lunch in elementary school, but NOT BECAUSE I LIKED IT! I HATED IT! I hated it because that was all my mother could be bothered to make. (I think once a year she managed tuna sandwiches, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven.)
Nance: So with you on the rest of the choices, and your tuna salad is identical to my recipe (down to the Hellman's real) except that I also add some very, very, very finely diced celery.
Ortizzle--Look at you, sneaking onto blog comments during the week! I'm proud of your rebelliousness! Anyway, I used to add the celery, but I found that it was just extraneous for me. I really didn't want the crunch. So we went without and didn't miss it.
Nina--I'm a fan of chicken salad, but it doesn't win over tuna. And I make mine with red grapes OR diced apple. Whichever I have, but I like the grapes best. And I'm sorry that you and Ortizzle cannot fully now enjoy PB&J. That's just so sad.
JPD--you are really stuck on chicken salad lately. But you never were much for PB&J. I spoiled you as a child, and continue to. Your wife, should you ever find one who will put up with your considerable bullshit, is really in for it if she cannot cook. And thanks for the compliment on my tuna salad. XXOO
Nance: I just finished! Two 3-hour finals, two 20-page papers, and one PP final presentation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am free!!!!!!! (Free to grade the couple of hundred tests and quizzes that have piled up over the last few weeks, to say nothing of the oral and written assessments that have been going on all this week.) But who cares! All I have to do now is bite my nails until grades are in. (Mine).
O'tizz--At last! I am ecstatic for you--and not in the least bit worried about your grades. You know you'll do superbly.
Well, being gluten free, I usually do a breadless version of sandwiches, but occasionally use gluten-free bread or lettuce leaves. No BLT for me. Just don't like raw tomatoes (I know ... I am a weirdo).
Here's my list:
1. Chicken salad
2. Ham and Swiss cheese (how could you leave that one off the list? a classic)
3. Peppered corned beef and Swiss cheese
3. Tuna salad (I am crazy about the tuna packed in olive oil)
4. Peanut butter and honey (don't like jelly, plus we keep bees)
Shirley--I am not, as a rule, a fan of ham because once i get halfway through it, i'm tired of it. it's too strongly-flavored for me with no payoff like bacon. and while your antipathy for raw tomatoes saddens me deeply, i would never call you a weirdo for it.
Nance -- My bullshit is, at the very least, considerable. However, I like to think that I make up for it with equally considerable charm and generally outstanding sentence structure.
These two qualities should make me very lovable. Now, if we can find someone that doesn't mind my quirks and eccentricities about certain things, we are in business. I remain optimistic...kinda.
Chicken salad, simply put, rocks my world. Also, I think that part of the reason that I don't like PB&J is because I don't like things that stick to the roof of my mouth like blood sucking, peanutty, leeches.
I am about 9 seconds away from getting a chicken salad on multigrain.
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