Get on a Roll Designing Your Own Sandwich

Something about a sandwich makes us smile, and under our current conditions, that’s not a bad thing. Think about your favorite sandwich: it’s portable, you can eat it with your hands, it’s an interesting combination of ingredients, and you can spice it up with your own savory condiments. You just can’t go wrong.

Everyone has a favorite: grilled cheese, roast beef, tuna fish, Sloppy Joe, egg salad, Reuben, hot pastrami, or just a big fat burger. How about PB&J? There are breakfast sandwiches – avocado toast or eggs with sausage or bacon. And though some may not consider it a sandwich, there’s the old toast with jelly or sugar and cinnamon. Wraps are popular as a healthy alternative – tortillas lower in calories than bread, your pick of proteins, loaded with veggies. Every region has a favorite, often taking advantage of local ingredients – Louisiana po’boys with fried oysters, New England lobster rolls – or just because someone came up with a combo that caught on, like Philly cheese steaks, fluffernutters, New York deli corned beef on rye. Different regions even have their own name for the same sandwich: submarine, hoagie, grinder.

Traditions

When my daughter Jamie was young, I would take her to the legendary Agawam Diner in Rowley Mass., and she would always order a turkey club, to the point where the waitress would merely ask, “The usual?” My son Ben loved tacos – same principles as a sandwich – and as a teen, bragged that he could devour 15 at a sitting. When I was in the Army back in 1970, my boss Bernie would often bring a baked bean sandwich for his lunch.

The corn harvest is beginning in the Farm Belt, which reminds me that in my youth, I helped out by hauling the wagonloads of harvested corn to the corncrib. By mid-morning, we were famished. My mother would bring coffee and sandwiches out to the field. On those cool, crisp mornings, I favored the combination of peanut butter, lettuce, and mayonnaise. It may sound a bit weird, but I loved it.

These days, I look forward every year to the first tomatoes of the summer and a juicy BLT. At a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, the ritual is an Italian sausage sandwich with grilled onions and peppers and a big squirt of mustard. On the road in Connecticut, we stop at Rein’s, our favorite deli in Vernon. There, I’m prone to order liverwurst on rye with lettuce and mayo.

Winning elements

What makes a good sandwich? When designing your creation, first decide on the main event – leftover chicken or turkey? Ham? Cheese? Eggs? What do you hanker for? Now the fun begins. How can you accent your main focus or add texture, flavor, and color? What are your supporting ingredients? Bacon? Lettuce? Sliced tomatoes or cucumbers? Roast peppers? Avocado? Boursin, cheddar, goat cheese? Dill pickles? Onion?

Then there’s the bread, a key component. What will both taste and work well with your ingredients? White, wheat, rye, pumpernickel? A long submarine roll, a bulky roll, bun, baguette, or English muffin? A tortilla wrap or a pita pocket?

Finally, the condiments. Again, it’s the added flavor element that will round out the package and, in some cases, act as a moisture barrier between the bread and the moist inner fixings. Catsup? Mustard – Dijon, ballpark, or more exotic variety? Miracle Whip or Hellman’s mayo? Chutney? Cream cheese?

Put them all together, and you’ll probably have a smile on your face – and, perhaps, the faces of the other diners around the table. What will it be that makes you happy? What’s your favorite sandwich? Or are you going to create a new one?