When I was a kid, I loved flipping through the Archie comic books—not for the plot, but for the inevitable picture of Jughead with a giant sandwich platter.
When I became old enough to help in the kitchen, my favourite activity was preparing sandwich platters for parties. Totally 1970s fare: open-faced squishy buns topped with egg salad and a slice of green olive or ham salad and a slice of pickle.
All these years later, I still adore a good sandwich. So this year I’ve decided to build 52 sandwiches—one a week—and document the fruits of my labour here.
There is a philly cheesesteak sandwich in my future, I guarantee you that. A lobster roll. A simple tomato sandwich at peak tomato season. And more.
I’ll go high brow some weeks but the sandwich is mostly a comfort and convenience food, so the grilled cheese will absolutely make an appearance or three. I’ll experiment with great picnic sandwiches. And I’ll seek the best ingredients, sampling different bread styles, cooking treatments, and condiments.
For my first entry, I wanted to start with the trusty breakfast sandwich. A Tim Horton’s just opened on the corner and I’ve been tempted to zip in and order a cheese and egg breakfast sandwich on a biscuit but that’s so boilerplate.
I’m only allowing myself one sandwich a week, so I need to make each one count. I also don’t want to start my morning with a calorie and sodium bomb, so I want my breakfast sandwich to give me energy, look and taste great, and to be reasonably healthy.
I start with a thin slice of Fred’s Bread batard, because that’s the bread I have in the house right now and it lends itself well to a tartine, an open-faced sandwich that showcases the toppings.
I get the oven going to 350F, place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray, and set my sliced bread down to start my creation. With a big spoon, I make an indentation in the middle of the bread, slice one piece of lean ham (mine came from Rowe Meats) into ribbons, and drape those ribbons around the bread indentation to create a frame for my egg. I crack an egg into the centre, season with salt and pepper, then dust everything around the yolk with a small handful of grated emmental cheese, which brings a nuttiness that is the perfect foil to the sweetness of ham. Bake for 10-12 minutes and serve. This isn’t a knife and fork situation; it’s a hand held—just as a breakfast sandwich should be.
Variations on a theme: If you want a runny yolk, bake it for about 8 minutes. Don’t want ham? A few slices of avocado or tomato would be great here. Any type of hard melting cheese works, even government cheddar.
— Trish Hennessy
A Year in Sandwiches 