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.

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[The makers of this cereal saw me coming. And it did not disappoint.]

Growing up, we mostly ate sensible, real food and balanced meals. We regularly ate dinner together as a family, especially when we were young. There was a main dish (typically meat or some type of casserole), a few sides, some type of bread, and usually something for dessert.

For breakfast most days, though, we were on our own while everyone was getting themselves ready, and we needed something simple we could make ourselves. So we almost always had a few boxes of cereal in the house. There are several that hold a bit of nostalgia for me:

• Cheerios
• Froot Loops
• Corn Pops (known as their original name from Mom’s childhood, Sugar Pops, at our house)
• Rice Krispies (and occasionally, Cocoa Krispies)
• Chex (rice, corn, or wheat, depending on what was on sale)
• Grape Nuts (neither grapes nor nuts but a fantastic topping for ice cream)

We also frequently had snack cakes at our house. They were easy sweet treats that no one had to take the time to make. Mom often included them in our lunch boxes. Is it necessary to provide a dessert in a child’s lunch box? No. But when you are raised (as she was) to consider dessert an essential part of a whole meal, well, old habits die hard. We had Zebra Cakes (although they were just called Snak Cakes when we were little) and the Oatmeal Creme Pies and Honey Buns and Swiss Cake Rolls (my personal favorite). Little Debbie’s competitor, Hostess, also made some of our favorites – Twinkies and Ding Dongs (and to a lesser extent, the regular cupcakes).

Today, I try not to purchase snack cakes very often. I will eat too many at once and get that wild feeling behind my eyes that happens when I eat too much sugar. Ditto for sugary cereals (although I usually have some Cheerios or Chex or Kix around for nights when I don’t want to make anything).

But when I saw the Swiss Cake Roll Cereal in the grocery store last week, I just couldn’t resist. Good going, marketing team. Let me introduce you to your target consumer (me). I tried to lower my standards before trying them. I mean, there was a good chance they were not going to be great. Sometimes these things don’t go well at all.

They tasted like Cocoa Krispies. And yes, I drank the faux chocolate milk the cereal made right out of the bowl at the end, just like I did when I was little (including spilling it on my shirt).

Thanks for the memories, Little Debbie and Kellogg’s. 10/10, will purchase again.

I’m waxing nostalgic about food, family, and home this month.

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