I learned how not to make sandwiches from my mom. She used to pack these monstrous creations slathered with various spreads and covered in strange meats and cheeses that I rarely took more than two bites of (one bite to penetrate the crust of the sandwich, a second to test the true innards). My dad had the same problem, so we teamed up and put our feet down (which is something rare in our household). My mom was considerably annoyed and hurt that we didn't appreciate the work she did in compiling the ingredients, but she complied. That, we were very appreciative of.
(I should write that my mom is now a marvelous cook as a result of all those experiments with sandwiches, pies, tarts, noodles, and etc. Very rarely do we complain that something is unsavory. On the contrary, our family never eats out, and when we do, we usually complain after the meal. Our taste buds have been finely attuned to pretty high standards. I actually should hope so seeing that several relatives own restaurants famous for their longevity and tasty treats.)
The life lesson I took away from it all? Simpler is better.
The day I was finally given somewhat free range of the kitchen, I made a sandwich. And it was so good, that I made my mom one. And my mom (who rarely has much positive to say about my cooking) said it was so good that I was told to make my dad one. My mom has not complained once about a sandwich I made. Recently, I heard her scolding my aunt for not eating my sandwich while it was hot, saying it was such a pity because it was that good.
I've been trying variations this past week on my basic sandwich recipe, and they've all turned out pretty well. Something I absolutely despise in a sandwich bought in a shop is the massive amounts of cheese and meat they put. There are better means of bringing out the flavor of cheese and meat without mass-piling them on.
(To meat-eaters of contrary opinion: Check out the rest of this blog. You'll see that I'm more with the vegetarians, rather than the carnivores. Meat also makes me feel nauseous sometimes because it makes my stomach feel acidic. So sorry about offending you, but I hope it's understandable why I don't like meat as much as you.)
I usually have only one slice of cheese and at most two paper-thin slices of meat in a sandwich. My favorite thing to do is to toast a sandwich with a slice of cheese and an uber thick slice of tomato cradled between two slices of meat until the cheese melts and the tomato skin starts becoming wrinkly. Then, I add in tons of salad greens. Not iceberg, but something more flavorful. This morning, I tried Korean perilla on an open-sided sandwich made with a whole wheat English muffin. The perilla was so interesting that I ate only the leaf on the other side of my English muffin. I'm going to try it with kale next.
I also like caramelizing onion on the stove, letting it cool, and eating it on bread with some seasoning. It's time consuming, though, so I don't do it often.
My favorite sandwich is still tomato with a slice of cheese on bread J because I am a tomato fiend (as well as a tea and chocolate fiend)!
