Yesterday Martha had a show that was all about sandwiches. I was excited! Sandwiches – real food that real people can make with regular ingredients! Well, I was disappointed. There wasn’t a single sandwich on that show I want to eat. Everything had at least one offensive ingredient! Olives, anchovies, curry paste, liver. Ick! And Martha’s favorite – a baguette with buttter, boiled ham and Jarlsburg? BORING.

Because I was so disappointed, I’m guessing some of you were too. Therefore I’m going to share my three favorite sandwich recipes with you.

Heart Attack From a Novel

This sandwich is based on one I read about in one of Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone books. You start with an onion roll. Put mustard on it.  Place colby jack cheese on the bottom and broil it so the cheese melts. Fry a sunny side up egg. Place salami on top of the cheese, then place the fried egg on top and place the top of the bun on that. When you bite into it, the egg yolk runs down the sandwich. This is incredibly good.

Shrimp Po Boy

Take a loaf of Italian bread and slice it in half, so you have a top and a bottom like you would with a bun. Now pick out a lot of the soft white insides of the loaf, so that you have concave pieces of bread. Put mayo on the bread. Pan fry some breaded shrimp.  Place lettuce, tomato and onion on the roll then pile the shrimp on. Squeeze some lemon over the shrimp and put the top of the bread on. Slice the loaf into 4 segments.

Hawaiian Heaven

This is a sandwich I have making at home for years, and then last summer I had a version of it while we were in Hawaii (with fresh avocadoes) and it was to die for. Start with two pieces of bread of your choosing (rye, wheat,  or marble rye are some of my favorites). Spread honey mustard on both halves. Slice half an avocado. Cook some bacon (I use uncured, organic, nitrate free, but I wish they made it in a light version). Place Swiss cheese on the sandwich.

Now for the super secret move. Slice a tomato and remove the seeds and wet part. Place your slices on a paper towel. Let them sit a minute then flip them over.

Now assemble your sandwich – bread, cheese, bacon, tomato, and avocado. Grill it like grilled cheese on low heat until the cheese is melted and the ingredients are warm.

Draining the tomato keeps the sandwich from getting wet and mushy and it also keeps the tomato from sliding out.

You can substitute turkey instead of bacon and sometimes I add sprouts to this as well.