Between the Bread

What to get the woman who loves sandwiches? Just ask my childhood friend Tiffany and her husband David, who dropped off an early wedding gift when they passed through San Francisco this weekend.

Yes, those are sandwich-shaped salt and pepper shakers, but that's just the icing on the cake butter on the bread. A talented seamstress, Tiffany fashioned adorable owl-motif napkins and a matching picnic blanket with a sturdy plaid flannel underside. She wrapped the handiwork in a colorful picnic basket, along with melamine plates, sporks, plastic tumblers, and a card game called Slamwich that comes packaged in a lunchbox.

To top it all off, she added the salt and pepper shakers and a can of Slap Ya Mama hot sauce, from her family's hometown of Ville Platte, Louisiana. Get a closer look at the napkins and blanket.

This avocado, beet, and goat cheese sandwich is one of my all-time favorite original creations. It's delicious, if I do say so myself; just ask Serious Eats or my mom.

With beets back at the farmers market, I improvised a similar sammie for dinner the other night. This time, I roasted beets and placed the slices on a rustic baguette with avocado, arugula, and feta cheese.

So simple and delicious, and I kind of love how the beets turn the whole thing pink. I served it with sauteed beet greens on the side. One more yummy photo after the break.

I am a sucker for new food products. Fortunately, I do most of my supermarket shopping at Trader Joe's — where I recently picked up these Mahi Mahi Burgers — and not Safeway, where I'd be tempted by new varieties of potato chips and Pop Tarts.

Truth be told, the fish patties were just OK, but the sandwiches we made with them were uniquely refreshing. Paired with Trader Joe's corn salsa and avocado and served on Acme green onion slab, the mahi made for a vaguely tropical, wholly novel treat.

Breaded chicken between more bread? Why not? Last Sunday Andrew made chicken cutlets, flattened and coated in a breadcrumb, lemon zest, and parsley mixture. He topped the chicken with arugula, lightly dressed in lemon-shallot vinaigrette.

The flavor pairing of bitter greens and tangy fruit was too delicious not to revive in a sandwich Monday night. We served the golden slabs of chicken on Acme's green onion slab bread (highly recommend) with tomato and leftover arugula. It was delicious, if enormous.

Usually, "pork tenderloin sandwich" calls to mind the decadent fried tenderloins that overflow from buns across Indiana and southern Illinois. But almost as delicious and not nearly as deadly is roasted pork tenderloin. I've often turned to it for easy suppers, but I never thought of slicing it up for sammies. Thankfully, my future bro-in-law Adam did.

Before roasting the pork tenderloin in the oven, Adam laid sliced apples across the top, so those roasted, too, until they were warm and velvety. We cut up some French bread, added sauteed onions and mustard, and topped the pork with apples or Swiss cheese or both.

Forgive the low-light iPhone photos. Had I known we were having sandwiches for dinner, I would have planned better.

I love a salty-sweet sandwich, and the Monte Cristo is the ultimate. My first memory of the storied American sandwich was eating the batter-fried version at Bennigan's, but now I prefer the more classic version made with simple French toast.

Andrew, who shares my love of this sandwich, made French toast for Mother's Day and treated us to Monte Cristos the Monday after. The French toast had a delightful orange flavor (I think he soaked it in Grand Marnier), and we filled it with turkey, ham, and Swiss cheese. For more photos and details, read more

No samosas were used in the making of these sandwiches, but the essence of the Indian appetizer came through in the yumminess. We started with Vegetable Masala Burgers and country-white rolls from Trader Joe's, then added tomatoes, sauteed onions, and avocado.

Made with potatoes and Indian spices, the patties tasted just like samosa filling, while the bread provided the crusty vehicle. Some sprouts and Dijon turned it into a handy package. If only we'd had some chutney.