Sunday, May 3, 2009

Sandwich Evolution

My dad made my lunch for me every day for twelve years of school. He did a lot of other things for me too, far too numerous to list, but the lunch making was persistent. Here is what was in my lunch: a ham sandwich with iceberg lettuce or peanut butter and jelly on Thursdays (the day we didn't eat meat), a baggie of chips, some kind of fruit, pineapple juice, and a Nutty Bar. The ham was always Polish ham from the deli, picked up on Saturday mornings, wrapped in waxy paper and stuffed in a plastic bag. Later, there may have been some honey roasted or smoked ham, but I always preferred that somewhat watery, bland Polish ham with mayo gluing the lettuce in place, the sandwich cut diagonally across into triangles.
I rarely take sandwiches for lunch now. I usually have interesting dinner leftovers I'd rather eat, I never buy loaves of bread because I can't finish them fast enough, and frankly twelve years of the same lunch was enough. But if I do decide to take a sandwich for lunch it is (surprise surprise) far more complex than those ham sandwiches I grew up with. That's because sandwiches have evolved. They aren't just ham and cheese or PB&J. They have veggies or even fruit, they come in wraps (though I'm opposed to the use of tortillas for cold foods), they are toasted or grilled into paninis. And the bread is not just Wonder white bread or soft wheat. Whole grain, French baguette, sourdough, ciabatta, or specialty bread with herbs or sundried tomatoes is common.
I had a memorable sandwich in Sonoma a couple of years ago, and recreated it for lunch one day. The key ingredient was a black mission fig jam that was layered with salami, brie, and sliced pears, and I bought the jam then and there and tried to sneak it onto the airplane without checking my bag. All for the love of a sandwich.
Another favorite sandwich is portabella and goat cheese, with a crusty bread soaking up the juices from thick sliced portabellas sauteed in garlic and olive oil and salt and pepper. Or pesto with rounds of fresh buffalo mozarella and tomatoes on asiago cheese bread. Grilled chicken with avocado and sprouts. Steak and caramelized onions. Hot turkey with cranberry jam. Suddenly a sandwich sounds perfect for dinner and for lunch leftovers.
So that's what I'm having for lunch tomorrow - a sandwich. It's a sandwich inspired by a pasta salad I made recently with chunks of monterey jack cheese, salami, and pepperoncini. Use your favorite kind of bread - I like those Take 'n Bake baguettes which allow me to freeze them until I need them or even cut them and bake only half the baguette at a time. Sprinkle a little olive oil on the bread. Feel free to use some of the good stuff. Sprinkle some oregano on there too. Layer on slices of thin cut Genoa salami, pepper jack cheese, and pickled pepperoncini or any other pickled peppers (there are quite a few varieties in the pickle aisle). Wrap it up, tuck it into a lunch bag with some fruit, and oh, go ahead and sneak some cookies in there too. Just like when you were a kid.

jalan sane sini


bangun pagi. gosok gigi. cuci muka. dan mandi. huhu. lagu time tadika... owh. bgn. mandi2. siap2. went 2 carre4 wngsa maju. mama beli brg. then. ambik kema, danish n hakim d rumah kak ngah. singgah JJ setiawangsa, beli big apple. enak sgt~ huhu. blk rumah. lunch. biarkan kanak2 itu tidur dlm pukul 3 ptg... hampir pukul 4 ptg, sy & kema keluar. mule2 ingt nak g watson JJ setiawangsa je. then, sy gedik nak g JJ wngsa maju. ok. da terpesong... elok2 nak g watson. sy gi nose, sinma, MPH bookstore & finally, baru watson. LOL~~~

and owh. di Nose, kte org jmpe kak hana & kak lyne. happy gile! haha...since last time sy jmpe kak hana, da lebeyh 5 years ago. n 1st time jmpe kak lyne!!! =] eyann. jgn jeles. hehe. nnt kte jmpe ramai2 eh? hee. sempat berborak kejap n join mrka di secret recipe. kte org x mkn. just duduk kejap. sbb lepas tu maw pergi titiwangsa. owh...kak hana da makin kurus. maybe sbb makin tinggi kot? tp kurus gle...wawawa~~~ and and. kak lyne pon kecik!!! huaaa... tp mmg same muke mcm dlm pic. comelll!!! n kecik dr sy jgk...huuu. n mereka sgt lawak. hee.

owh kak lyne n kak hana.
BH - bintang hati. bkn berita harian...
TTM - teman tp mesra. bkn talian telekom malaysia.
KT - kenangan terindah. bkn kuala terengganu.
hehe. =P

gerak ke titiwangsa. maw jmpe kak ngah n abg ayum. skali... ade pesta makanan la plak? salah org, salah tmpt btol. haha. tp gerai2 die skit je. x bnyk mane. mkn ice cream goreng & jambu & yong tau foo. haha. itu pon da kenyang da tuh dr rumah...wakaka. mkn skit2 ok? da almost 7pm, rushing ambil ayie d keramat. blk rumah, pas isya', sy, kema, danish, hakim, ayie ke JJ setiawangsa lg. biarkan kanak - kanak itu bermain d taman. owh. seperti diduga, mmg danish n hakim basah kuyup main air pancut itu...happy tgk keterujaan mereka. haiyooo~~~

owh. ade dialogue lawak dlm kereta td otw blk dr titiwangsa.

kema : abg ayum kan kerja dkt seng heng kan...
me : hup seng lah!
kema : hup seng tu name biskut kering yg famous tu la!
me : hahahahaha. a'ah...da confuse. wakaka.
kema : abg ayum kerja kedai elektrik. bkn kedai biskut.
me : haha. okay2, abg ayum kerja dkt hup seng.
kema : seng heng lah!
me : ehhh...salah2. haha. okay2. seng heng! haha

haha. confused laa...lebeh kurang. mcm petai n tupai.
dkt kan? wahaha. kecik2 confused tupai ngan petai. LOL =P