M. Suzanne Terry

I ate a lot of sandwiches in my childhood. As a food group, the sandwich has a lot going for it:

• It’s fast and simple to make.
• It doesn’t dirty up a lot of dishes/pots/pans in the process.
• It is versatile, so it’s easier to tailor to picky food tastes than most things.
• It can be as nutritious or decadent or anything in between as you want it to be.

We lunched on a lot of peanut butter (creamy) and jelly (grape). When it was cool outside, we got soup and grilled cheese with white bread and American slices (cut on the diagonal, the way nature intended). We also ate a lot of bologna and cheese, and my favorite way to do that was toasted in the toaster oven. It was fun to watch the slice of bologna curl as it heated.

There always seemed to be a jar of either chicken or tuna salad (or on occasion, their weird cousin, ham salad) made in the fridge. Mom’s chicken/tuna/ham salad usually included the same basic elements:

• Hard-boiled eggs
• Shredded (chopped? diced?) chicken/tuna/ham
• Miracle Whip
• Salt/pepper

Occasionally she’d put pickles in it, or celery and grapes if she was making it for her sorority or an adult luncheon of some sort. But for us, it stayed simple.

My favorite sandwiches, though, were special treats. They required a specific bread. I’m pretty sure it was a Mrs. Baird’s product, but they looked like the Wonder Bread Philly Cheesesteak rolls. White bread roll with sesame seeds. You take the bottom of the roll and layer thinly sliced deli ham. On top of that, you sprinkle shredded mozzarella. Put it in the microwave long enough to melt the cheese. Spread the top of the bun with ranch dressing (specifically Hidden Valley Ranch – accept no substitutes) and place on the melted cheese.

When I make a sandwich today, it’s typically on bread from Ravelin or The Market at UNT. The meat and/or veggie specifics vary, but there’s always some kind of cheese involved. It’s often open-faced (because it’s usually lunch and an abundance of bread makes me sleepy) or half a sandwich that I eat in conjunction with something else, like a cup of soup or a salad.

But my ultimate comfort sandwich is still that hot ham and mozzarella hoagie. Heaven.

What’s your favorite type of sandwich?

I’m writing about homey foods and comforting snacks this month.