Toasting is key

I've been on a bit of a sandwich kick lately, which started with my first banh mi. I know, I'm so behind the times. Actually, until fairly recently, I did not have very easy access to banh mi, but now there's a place just a few blocks away. Besides the fact that I love pickled veggies and cilantro, I've determined that these sandwiches are good because the bread is toasted just so--not too crispy, not too soft.



Another recent discovery I've made is baked bread at Whole Foods. All my life I've eaten bread from a plastic bag (hello, Wonderbread mushed into a ball!). I've bought baguettes at various bakeries before but I'd never bought just a regular loaf of bread before. As I make my transition into more 'real' food, I thought I should give it a try. And thankfully, Whole Foods will slice the bread for you too (as I'm sure any bakery would but this is something I didn't realize until recently). I like this bread because it is more rustic than the types you can buy in a bag--you know, the kinds with the scarily-uniform square slices that your mom used to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.


I bought some oval-shaped sourdough bread and assembled this sandwich with:

• some leftover oven-roasted tomato dressing
• portobello mushrooms
• swiss cheese
• red onion
• pickled red bell peppers
• arugula

I way over-toasted my bread, unfortunately--in fact, burned it--but it was still delicious. I think I scarfed this down in two minutes flat.


I had relegated sandwiches to boring lunch food, or eat out of desperation at the airport food, but I can definitely see how using some better ingredients and adding a few gourmet touches--and toasting the bread--will make a sandwich into something much more interesting.