Sunday Sandwiches

I recently read a chat on a food blog cooking shows had become so lowbrow because so many were including episodes on sandwiches. Oh my. Let me say that I emphatically disagree with this blogger.

A perfect sandwich is a work of art and love and personal tastes that is as delectable and choice as any sweated over meal. The best sandwiches are made in the spirit and with the same philosophy of real Italian cooking: few ingredients, simple technique, but every single element done with perfection. Fresh is key: fresh bread, condiments, meats, cheese, and vegetables. And then, the technique is simple as well, but if hurried or done without attention to detail, what could be profound is prosaic.

The whole break in the middle of the weekend is our time to reconnect from our separate chores, relax and talk, and eat something delicious that is made for each of us. We love a lot of the same foods, but we also have different tastes. A sandwich lets us each have what we like while still eating together. What can be more perfect?

Our Sunday sandwiches are made with love and a committed attention to detail. Start with the bread; we usually choose a fresh sesame Scalia; toothsome, a little chewy, and just dense enough to hold up the fillings but without getting in the way. So many sandwiches one orders out are made with bread that fights to be the star of the show. For me, the bread is always the supporting actor, never the lead. Scalia plays its supporting role with style.

Next, the fillings. Today, we opted for Dietz and Watson sliced deli roast beef. Not being a lover of roast beef that is still bleeding, the D and W is cooked perfectly; pink and rare in the middle, but still cooked--not raw. For cheese, muenster. Swiss is good, too, I think. But the muenster was on sale and looked good; it was. Then the vegetables: thin cucumber slices, slightly thicker tomato slices. One might choose onions, another pickles. All good--but not for me. (I love pickles, but I usually put them on the side.)

Next, the technique. I learned a very important trick while I was an assistant chef at Formaggio South End and making sandwiches: put the spreads and condiments on the meat; not the bread. Also, season the vegetables before putting them on the sandwich (or in the salad, but that's a different post). Let the layering begin. Start with the bread; to keep the bread from being too dry, a very thin coating of good fresh salted butter provides a good baste. Next layer, vegetables. Lettuce is always a good standard--butter lettuce is best for flavor and texture; iceberg is sadly bereft of anything related to flavor and is too clunky for a sandwich. Microgreens and other greens like arugula make good sandwiches, but these delicate morsels are best if treated like a topping instead of a bed. We chose cucumber slices, both for a nice crunch as well as a fresh flavor.

Next layer: the meat--never flat; give it a little fold in the middle to give the bite a bit more heft. Add here the condiment of choice: mustard (my choice); horseradish (Deb's). Chutney (for turkey--yum!) A slice of cheese, tomato slices, salt and pepper. Top piece of bread. Serve a handful of chips (or 2) on the side and a cold microbrew. Perfection.