Connections and sandwiches

In planning essays for this blog (YES, there IS planning that goes on), I've been thinking about how I've met my friends. And I've concluded that I'm really living in Italy. John Cheever once wrote that "in Rome, nothing happens in a straight line." Well, I've never been to Rome, but when I think of how I met people like Laura, it sure feels like things don't move in straight lines.
Here we go. One of our next door neighbors is this lovely lady Tanya, who owns The Cubby Hole bar. We've known Tanya for the 14 years we've lived in this apartment (time flies). One night, Guy and I were having dinner at the much missed Village restaurant "Nadine's" Tanya introduced us to her friend Michael, who tended bar at The Cubby Hole, and also sold real estate. I had an apartment I was trying to get rid of, and we exchanged cards. And after I got myself in gear, Michael sold it (another circuitous story, for the future). And we became good friends.

Ok. Jump forward to 2007. Guy's chorus is having their "out on stage" auction and Michael goes, bringing "A lady friend" as he described her. That's Laura. I had donated a dinner for six for the auction, and Laura won it. After much rescheduling (that was Michael and his nutsy jobs), I met Laura. Guy kept on saying "you'll love her you'll love her you'll love her."

In fact I do. How to describe Laura? Think Audrey Hepburn. Or think one of those elegant skaters you see at the Olympics every four years. That is Laura. And in another example of how there HAS to be some celestial force guiding my life, Laura is an events planner, sort of "dropped" at my table by that force, to come in and fix the mess that is the planning of our commitment ceremony. Circles, in circles, in circles.

So, Laura came over one afternoon with her partner in business and crime , Louie (more on King Vitiello in the future), and we had some sandwiches for lunch. Now, in thinking about it, I realized that sandwiches are one of my favorite foods in the world. There is so much that you can do that is "right" about them. You start with bread - and today there are so many good options, you can put in whatever you want, spread them with whatever you want, and the combinations are endless and delicious. Since there are no "rules," I think of them as a truly American food.

Unfortunately, like many American foods, there is so much WRONG with many sandwiches. Bad bread, poor quality spreads, emphasis on quantity rather than quality in the fillings. And so, more often than not, when we have sandwiches, I make them.

I made this sandwich for Laura and Louie. And I'm going to give a variation, because the gorgeous tomatoes that were around when I did won't be back for a while. Describing the sandwich will in turn lead to a digression on mayonnaise. You'll enjoy it, and you'll learn something. I promise.

Mayonnaise: we all know those jars of white stuff. Mayonnaise is supposed to be egg yolks, oil, salt, and some acid ingredient. Think for a minute. Where do they keep mayonnaise in the store? It ain't in the crisper. SO you have to wonder: what else is in there? And when you do, you may decide: make your own. Here's how you do it.

Break two eggs and dump the yolks into a food processor. Pulse it to break them up . Add the juice of half a lemon and a few tablespoons of water. Pulse again. Half a cup of oil ready. Half extra virgin and half vegetable. With the processor running, dribble in the oil, little by little. It's not an exaggeration to say drop by drop at first. Take a look at what's going on in the processor (after you stop it, of course). If it looks nice and thick, you're doing it right. If it's too wet, slow down the delivery of the oil.

Halfway through the oil, add the juice of the other half of the lemon and another tablespoon of water, and then the rest of the oil. By now, you can speed up how fast you pour it in, but keep the processor going all the time. When you're done, you'll have a thick, light yellow mass. Flavor it with salt, more lemon juice, or whatever you like (mustard is really good).

That's what I used to spread on the bread, which was homemade buttermilk wheat bread, but you can use whatever you like.

Then I took some prosciutto, and I "Oven fried" it . By that I mean I spread slices of it onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and cooked it at 350 for 20 minutes. Let this cool. It will crisp up more as it cools.

Spread your bread with the mayonnaise, add the prosciutto slices, and then some slices of nice, ripe tomato. If it's not the season for tomato, get some of those wonderful roasted peppers under oil, NOT the vinegar ones. And then add some good lettuce, or arugula, or whatever green you have.

There's your sandwich. a "PLT" of sorts, but you could use pancetta, bacon, probably even pepperoni or something like that. Play with other combinations. Make other spreads. And make sure you share the recipes with me, because I taught you how to do this!