I see that it has been over a month since I’ve been here, and to stave off any thoughts anyone had about abandoning the blog or getting to busy, let me lay those crazy thoughts to rest. After much thought and meditation it seemed best to me to forgo the inevitable end of the year rehashing the past, mulling on the present, and trying to read the future (my apologies to Al Stewart, and if you understand this reference you are a true survivor of the ‘70’s).
So let’s rip into the current topic. Today the classic and timeless all American sandwich. Now I’m not what some may consider a “foodie,” but I have spent the majority of my working life in restaurants. This followed my short and disastrous career in landscaping, which is both future fodder and a digression. Let’s just say that I know my way around commercial kitchen’s better than most, and not only can tell you the five basic sauces, but can also do them from scratch.
A bologna sandwich, on white bread, (Wonderbread to be precise), with mayo, and sliced tomatoes. That’s it, the classic all American sandwich. A purist will have Jay’s potato chips and a Canfield’s Swiss Crème Soda to round out the entrée portion of the meal.
Let me state here that I am not a paid, or unpaid shill for any of these companies, I’m operating out of pure motives to describe this great meal, so that you too can reproduce it yourself at home.
This sandwich that takes me back to places like Chicago, Bear Cave, Camp Betz and Middleville, Michigan. At this point some may think that there is a slight emotional attachment to the sandwich, however I recently conducted some tests and came up with astonishing results. Bypassing both the possible childhood memories and nostalgia, this sandwich simply rocks! There were some glaring holes in the process, no Wonderbread, Jay’s potato chips or Swiss Crème Soda, but the experiment will stand on its own.
I purchased some bologna, a loaf of white bread and tomatoes then headed to the test kitchen. First I spread the mayo fairly thickly on the bread. Next the bologna was added. NOTE: If you are using thinly sliced it will take at least 4 slices, (don’t forget to take the wrapping off). Commercial bologna which is thicker sliced will only take two pieces. Finally I sliced the tomato, fairly thick and placed two slices on the sandwich. I topped it off with the other piece of bread, placed it on the cutting board and cut it in half. Classic presentation of this sandwich is on a paper plate.
Ahhh…..success! Wash it down with an ice cold glass of milk, and you now have one of the best recipes in the world. In the timeless words of gourmands the world over “WOW.”
