A Sandwich is More Than Just a Sandwich

There is so much written about fancy food or gourmet food. It seems that the simple comforts in life, our everyday foods, get lost in the mix.

Sandwiches. They are the simple everyday food. Sandwiches are not difficult to prepare. Everyone knows how to make them. The varieties of them are endless. Typically a sandwich is eaten with your hands, which makes it casual in nature so no one is intimidated about how to eat it. They can easily be brought with you everywhere and anywhere you go. Poor Mr. Sandwich so much to offer yet so forgotten.

The word sandwich is from the late 1700s, when at very late hours, an English nobleman named John Montagu (the Fourth Earl of Sandwich) was too busy gambling to stop for a meal even though he was hungry. The legend has it that he asked a waiter to bring him some roast beef between two slices of bread. He asked for the meat between the slices of bread so he wouldn’t get his fingers greasy while he was playing cards. The actual word “Sandwich” comes from Old English Sandwic, and literally means “sand village”, “Sandy Place”, or “Place on the Sand”.

I have found that my favorite sandwiches are about fresh ingredients and the style of bread. My three favorites are (from photo top to bottom):

1. Turkey Breast, mache, sliced purple onion, vine-ripe tomato and mayo on a pretzel roll.

2. Pastrami on dark rye with Dijon and Muenster cheese. This one is delicious hot too.

3. Cheddar cheese, sliced avocado, sprouts and mayo on mutli-grain or sour dough bread.

As I thought more about my favorites, I still need to mention two more: grilled cheese with tomato on sour dough or an egg salad sandwich on rye with a pickle spear on the side.

My first sandwich I ever had was a honey and peanut butter on thick wheat bread. I still like this sandwich. The peanut butter has to be thick and the bread fresh.

What are your favorite sandwich styles or recipes? Why do you like them? What was the first sandwich you ever remember eating?

-Fer