ritual sandwiches

am intrigued by Lily Dale herby tahina and want to remember that. maybe not "signature" as it was a one-off, but still great and my niece remembers it fondly: was a grilled cheese that had (hers with vegan cheese, mine with gruyere) massaged lacinato kale and roasted sweet potato on this bread i useda get at tj's that was a *massive* crusty, whole wheaty, 1/4 loaf (it's been years and i don't recall what it was called, but it was SUCH a good foil for this!)

good bread is so key - in life, in sandwich-making - and i never think to go to the bakery across from my store and see if they have any fresh rye loaves for my fave ritual sandwich. on the other hand, i have always had it on supermarket rye. also they don't have fancy supermarkets in my town. not that arnold's jewish rye is the end of the world. it does the job.

(i mean good bread can make a lettuce and tomato sandwich feel like a gourmet meal. you know?

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I have been converted to the joys of the classic Southern tomato sandwich, although I cheat a little — canonically it's supposed to be on store-bought white bread, but I will make it with whatever bread we have. The key obviously is having good, big, ripe tomatoes, sliced and with a little salt and pepper sprinkled on them. Then it's just your favorite mayo, and you're good to go.

So classic. Sometimes I go rogue and add some very finely grated onion to it as well.

At youth hostels in the Netherlands (most likely it was) they served rye bread made from grains I think as opposed to flour and sliced cheese for breakfast; they were laid out in layered lines on a tray. On a school trip in junior high or high school, the economy hotel(?) reserved for us in Paris served airy somewhat insubstantial (as compared to crumb obsessed Brooklyn) baguettes with jam; they were sliced into a length as long as your forearm at that age and heaped in a basket. (Both very good!) I think tomato tartines on whole grain rye bread from those dark dense square loaves would be fabulous without any seasoning or condiments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBcTr0s3Mh8