I think my favorite food category of all is sandwiches. Making a sandwich is like cooking a miniature meal.
You can go through your refrigerator and combine all
kinds of meats, cheeses, veggies, sauces and
condiments to make the perfect sandwich any time of
day. Leftovers from many of my recipes like my
meatloaf and roast chicken make perfect sandwiches.
By definition a sandwich is made by just slapping together a couple of pieces of bread, or even just one for
an open faced sandwich, with a filling. This makes a great portable meal that can go anywhere whether it is to
work, school or picnic.
Scholars say that the term sandwich was born in the 1700’s and was named after the English aristocrat
John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich. They say that he preferred his meats served between slices of
bread so that he could play his card games without getting his fingers dirty.
In the 1900’s, bakeries started offering pre-sliced bread and soon rapid industrialization brought the mass
production of individually wrapped pre-sliced loaves of bread. All this would make sandwich making more easy
and convenient. It was 1930 when Wonder Bread first started selling packages of sliced bread nationwide in
the USA. Flour manufacturers lamented the demise of the household 100 pound bag of flour when most
homemakers no longer baked their own bread.
In the UK you might call a sandwich a “butty”, or a “sanger” in Australia. There are lots of international
sandwich variants, the croque-monsieur in France, the bánh mì in Vietnam, the bauru in Brazil and the caprese
in Italy to name a few.
But whatever you call them, I love sandwiches. My favorite is my barbecue pulled pork sandwich. I use
an oven method for cooking the pork, which is easier than any outdoor method. Don’t forget my Reuben
sandwich recipe which is great when paired with my homemade Russian dressing.
My Favorite Sandwich Recipes