‘Wichcraft
Where would we be without the sandwich? There is nothing more simple to pull together for a meal than the sandwich. Sandwiches in some way shape or form are the most consumed lunch dish around the world. I know in my house, life as we know it would come to a screeching halt if there were no way to make a sandwich for lunch.

Now, some people have different ideas about what constitutes a sandwich. The most basic definition is meat between two slices of bread. By that standard, a cheeseburger is a sandwich. Umm..no. A burger is a burger and in a class unto itself. Same with a hot dog.  A legitimate sandwich, in my world, does, in fact, start with two slices of bread but what goes in between those two slices can be a varied wonderland of possibilities.

I have made it my goal as a parent to make sure that my kids know how to make a serious sandwich. Turkey on white bread with a little mayo, while tasty, is woefully lacking in creativity and style. Take that same turkey, add a little cranberry sauce or even a lovely chutney with crispy lettuce and a slice of Havarti on crusty sourdough and now we’re talking… bonus points for using the dill Havarti.

One of my sons has become a master of the monster sandwich. This work of art consists of multiple slices of every possible deli meat I have in the fridge, mayo, cheese, tomato, avocado, and lettuce on a fresh roll the size of a Volkswagen. (He’s 14. He’ll burn it off in an hour…) His creativity more than makes up for his lack of restraint. If the meat choices lend themselves to an Italian feel, he will go with a little oil & vinegar just to spice things up. This feast is then washed down with an entire gallon of milk! But, that’s a discussion for another time…

Then there is my other son. Sigh. He’s my bologna, bread and mustard kid. He could eat the same thing day after day and not get tired of it. Zzzzzzzz…On the positive side, I have managed to get him to prefer eating the good wheat bread and the really good German bologna instead of the other scary stuff. So, at least he is eating actual food while sits there set in his ways. The struggle is real my friends…

There is one simple sandwich that we all love. And, if you mess with the recipe in any way there will be riots in the street…or perhaps just in our house. I have been making egg salad ever since my grandmother showed me how she made it when I was eight years old. It’s a classic. Though, there aren’t too many people packing in it their lunchboxes.

The simple recipe consists of hard boiled eggs, mayo, dry mustard, and a little salt. That’s it. The egg salad is then spread on wheat bread and only wheat bread with absolutely nothing else. Lettuce need not apply. This is the sandwich that the kids usually take to school on the first day much to the befuddlement of their friends. If I happen to have hard boiled eggs in the fridge, this is always how they will end up.

If you are a fellow sandwich worshiper, I recommend giving this classic a try just as a nice change of pace. Feel free to adjust as you see fit…

Gam’s Egg Salad
Yields enough egg salad to make 3 or 4 sandwiches depending upon the size of the bread.

Ingredients
3-4 Hard-boiled eggs
Mayonaise
1/8 teaspoon Coleman’s Dry Mustard
Salt

Directions
Take 3 to 4 hardboiled eggs and chop them up real fine. Add enough mayo to make the mixture wet but not too loose. Then add about 1/8 teaspoon of the dry mustard and a pinch of salt. Mix well.

Taste it to see if it needs more salt.

The mustard is a little trickier. If you add too much the egg salad will be really spicy and the heat builds as it sits. So, if it seems perfect when you taste it, the egg salad might be hotter than you would like after some time. You will have to experiment with amounts until you find your preference.