Sometimes, I Just Want A Sandwich

Well, blogosphere, it has been a crazy few weeks. I have hardly had the chance to catch my breath here at the KosherHome between my five year(!) college reunion, my sister's graduation, and a visit from my parents, not to mention long hours at Big Boston Firm (see previous post).

Several important events have occurred since I last posted. First, I planted my container garden and got it going. My herbs are doing wonderfully thanks to the charming Boston weather (I never have to water the plants - is this a great city or what?) but my tomatoes are suffering from a lack of adequate light. Thus, I am farming them out (so to speak) to my friend Matt, whose back patio gets better sun than my fire escape. I told him I'd kick in for a canning set-up so we can cook and can the tomatoes (which, if his 10 plants are any indication, will take up my entire cupboard and his) for the winter. In the meantime, I must further experiment with good marinara sauce recipes so that the onslaught of tomatoes will be fully prepared.

Second, I started working at Big Boston Firm. So far, so good - I love the people I'm working with, the work is interesting, and we (the chosen many of the BBF's summer associate program) are forever being taken to swanky venues for episodes of conspicuous consumption aimed at...something. Proving how much BBF loves us? Showing how big and powerful BBF is? Lulling us into an alcohol/Kool-Aid induced euphoric state such that we are able to ignore the full-time associates? They work hours that would make 19th-century child laborers blanch. On the other hand, they get paid a small fortune, which is more than we can say for the child laborers. I don't know if it's a forever job, but it's certainly a neat place to start.

With #2 comes...The Summer Associate Lunch. BBF is a great place to work, and there is clearly an element of work hard/play hard that is alive and well at the firm. This manifests itself as an almost-obsessive relationship with food. Every firm event has cheese and sushi and passed appetizers and wine and beer and liquor and and and...They seem to have taken Oscar Wilde's quip that nothing succeeds like excess to the logical extreme, culinary-wise. When they are not plying us with passed appetizers at evening events, we are being carted off to Legal Sea Foods and Cafe Fleuri for 3-course lunches. I have been doubling my trips to the gym and stopped eating dinner just to keep up.

All of this eating, though, has led me to an important discovery. While I like to eat and enjoy food, what I really like to do is cook and to share the eating experience with friends. I've been eating at all these fancy-schmancy restaurants and I take much less joy than I'd expect in eating the (magnificent and excessive) food. I'd be much happier going to Cosi and getting a cup of tomato basil soup and sitting in the quiet. Or, better yet, bringing a picnic lunch and popping a squat in Post Office Square with my friends.

All this by way of saying - I'm glad I'm home for the weekend so that I can cook a little. In the meantime, I'm going to dream of sandwiches.

Ultimate Simple Toasted Cheese Sandwiches
(makes 2)

Note: This is hardly a recipe - it's more of a technique. The key to a good toasted cheese sandwich is high-quality ingredients, particularly great bread. Look for something crusty with a little give - smooshy enough to meld with the filling, but hearty enough not to disintegrate. In other words, no Wonder Bread or similar product. If you don't like this combination, other combinations that would work well are listed after the recipe.

4 1/2"-thick slices of fresh sourdough bread (if you are in the market for a good local bakery, I highly recommend Clear Flower on Thorndike Street in Brookline. More on this next post)
1 1/4-lb. block extra-sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 tsp. Dijon mustard (or other mustard, if you are so inclined)
1 large or 2 medium ripe tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil (either spray or bottled with a pastry brush)

1. If you have a panini press or similar counter-top sandwich press, preheat it for several minutes. If cooking on the stovetop, use a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat (and still pre-heat for a couple minutes). Meanwhile, slice the tomatoes and cheese into 1/4" slices, enough to cover the bread.

2. Lightly spread the interior of each slice of bread with the mustard and sprinkle with a bit of salt and fresh-ground pepper.

3. Spray or brush the exterior side of the two bottom pieces of bread with olive oil and lay on the griddle. Layer tomatoes, then cheese, and the top layer of bread, and again spray/brush with olive oil.

4. Cook for about 5 minutes (watching closely) or until bread exterior is crunchy and golden and cheese has melted. If cooking in a skillet, flip sandwich after ~4 minutes, pressing down on sandwich to achieve maximum smoosh (that's a technical term). Serve hot, before tomatoes make bread soggy. Goes great with tomato soup.

Alternative fillings:

~White cheddar, apple and honey mustard or just plain honey.
~Manchego and sliced dried Calamyra figs (honey drizzle optional)
~Gruyere, spinach and thinly sliced sweet onion
~Mozzerella, roasted red pepper and maple-balsamic vinaigrette or any form of pesto.
~(if you're feeling really decadent) Peanut butter and fruit (apples/bananas/strawberries) with Nutella or honey.