Wednesday, 05 August 2009

• My Search For Uniquely Delicious Sandwiches

   
  photo from crispyteriyaki
  
  

  Once, a very long time ago, I was babysitting for this family that always gave me a few good stories to tell upon returning home, due to the mother's eccentricities and her quirky children's behavior. All three children in the family had severe allergies to milk, peanuts, gluten, pretty much every allergy out there. Luckily, their mother was a fantastic cook, and also a highly organized, frenetic woman. This woman never stopped moving or talking. She was the epitome of multi-tasker, and I would just sit back and watch her with awe and a bemused expression.
  

  
  Anyway, I speak of this woman in this particular blog entry because she was, like I said, a fantastic cook. Amid all the instructing and phone chatting and dish washing and organizing, she somehow managed to find time to churn out some fabulous homemade recipes. Many of these were gluten free or vegan, designed to meet the needs of her highly allergic children. But others weren't; these she kept in a separate section of the fridge and instructed me to keep her kids away from them.
  
  Having no severe allergies, I was allowed to eat them, and occasionally, before she left, she'd materialize a veritable feast before my eyes and instruct me to "eat." I never argued. Her food was absolutely delicious and original. Most of the time, they were dishes I'd never even dreamt of. I've never been much of a creative cook. I tend to stick to the most basic American cuisine. Spaghetti, hot dogs, various common chicken recipes, macaroni, pizza, cereal, fruit, vegetables. So this woman's recipes were always a pleasant surprise and left me wanting more.
  
  You're probably wondering what all this has to do with sandwiches. You see, it was this woman who, somewhere in the midst of whirlwinding around the kitchen, managed to serve me the very best sandwich I have ever eaten in my life.
  
  To this day, I have no idea exactly what was in it. I feel as though it was some kind of chicken salad, with lettuce and other vegetables, all on a bread roll that was stiff and chewy and not dry or crumbly. But what really made the sandwich was the sauce. A pale pink or orange in color, the sauce was sort of salty, sort of thick, and that's where I fall short in explaining it. All I know is that it was the best sandwich I had ever eaten, and that woman would not tell me what was in it. "Secret sauce that I invented" she winked, "I make it all the time but I'll never share what's in it." Oh, the frustration!
  
  Here I am unable to pinpoint exactly what type of bread she used let alone the meat and the sauce. And having completely lost touch with this woman after moving to a new location and no longer babysitting her kids, I no longer have any connection to this sandwich. It exists only in my mind; a standard of sandwiches which no other sandwich has ever been able to meet, ever.
  
  And so today, I am hungry. I am hungry for a sandwich. But every sandwich I can conjure up in my mind falls short of expectations. As I've said, I lack creativity when it comes to food. The best I can come up with is your standard fare on two slices of wheat or white bread: peanut butter, perhaps, or tuna and mayo, or standard egg salad. Or turkey and ham with your standard lettuce, tomato, cheese. But I don't want any of these "boring" combinations. I want something original. A different kind of bread, an unusual sauce, a salad of meat. Something I have to prepare and put a little thought and effort into. I would even settle for things that aren't quite sandwiches but are "like" a sandwich. Something in a pita or a roll, something salad-y with bread on the side. In short, something original, and something tasty.
  
  This is where you come in. If you are one of those amazingly creative food people, I would love to hear your favorite sandwich recipes. They don't have to be something you came up with. Just something you enjoy eating for lunch. Since I'm pregnant at the moment, I unfortunately need to avoid deli meat, sauces that contain raw egg, raw fish, and unpasteurized cheeses. So I would prefer recipes that don't contain any of those things or contain them in small quantities (pre-packaged meat or meat that is heated/cooked or generally not sliced in a deli setting where bacteria can get on the meat is generally fine).
  
  What are your best unique sandwich recipes?
  

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