Between the Bread

My friend Hunter was wise enough to marry an awesome Spanish woman and nice enough to share the sandwich he's eating this summer in Spain. As he explains, "Summer in Spain means beaches and bocadillos. At any of the bars or beachside chiringuitos, you're sure to find some variation of this classic Spanish sandwich."

The simple sandwich highlights two of Spain's most famous homegrown ingredients: Iberian ham and creamy, cured Flor de Esgueva Manchego cheese, which Hunter calls the Bentley of Manchegos.

Keep reading for more photos and details.

John Montagu didn't invent the sandwich, but he gets the credit. In American sandwich history, Eliza Leslie is the name to know. Though she wasn't the first American homemaker to make one, her humble ham sandwich holds the title of earliest printed sandwich recipe in U.S. history.

Eaters of America's heartier early handheld meals — such as Cornish pasties, beef on weck, and fried oyster po'boys — would find it absurd that the first printed sandwich recipe in America involves ribbons. As in, ribbons and bows. But like the people making them, the earliest U.S. sandwich recipes are polite American counterparts to their proper British predecessors; Leslie, who published the ribbon-tied sandwich in question, spent her formative years in England.

In her 1836 cookbook, Directions for Cookery, Leslie explains that her ham sandwich is to be served “at supper, or at luncheon.” The recipe calls for a loaf of white or wheat bread, cold boiled ham, and butter. Leslie suggests using French mustard and serving the sandwiches laid flat or rolled up: “For the rolled sandwiches, roll the long sides of a sandwiches to make a long, thin roll, then tie with ribbon.”

Well, I know what I'm doing next Easter!

We didn't have sandwiches for Easter supper, but that doesn't mean I can't sandwich it up with the leftovers. Since we've made it an unofficial tradition to buy a Honey Baked Ham, I consider Easter the best leftover sandwich holiday after Thanksgiving.

Here, I put a few slices of leftover ham on a delicious roll homemade by my future baker-in-law brother-in-law Adam. His wife Libby made mashed potatoes, which I smeared on the bottom of my sammie. Andrew's cider-thyme cabbage and some whole-grain mustard added the kick. As cute as it is here, the sandwich sort of fell apart when I tried to eat it. Still, it was delicious! Praise Jesus!

Sometimes, an unfussy sandwich made from everyday ingredients is just so perfectly constructed, you have to take a photo. For instance, Andrew's recent lunch of ham and white cheddar on Milton's multigrain bread. I think it might be smiling for the camera.

Have you recently eaten a lunch worth sharing? Send in your sandwich photos to nancy@betweenthebreadblog.com, along with a description of what's on your sandwich.

It's bread end week on Between the Bread! First, Lizzy shared her triple-decker solution, and now Andrew, who normally shuns the bread ends, presents this open-face invention.

Using what we had in the fridge, he laid out some multigrain bread ends, ham, and leftover roasted zucchini, then melted Swiss cheese over the top and dusted the delight with salt and pepper. Doesn't it look delicious?

I eat and photograph so many sandwiches that a few slip through the cracks. How could I forget this incredible Honey Baked Ham sandwich I devoured in September? Well, I did, until I stumbled across my photos again today.

I live just a short walk from the Honey Baked Ham store in San Francisco, which sells enormous sandwiches at a very reasonable price. The pros: wonderful, soft wheat bread; a variety of creative condiments (I got pineapple chutney for a Hawaiian combo); and all the ham you can eat. Seriously, check out what it looked like before I removed some of the ham.

Turkey was not the ideal partner for the Baconnaise. The unconventional and rather artificial condiment needed some pork, but a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with Baconnaise seemed like a bit much. My solution: the BHLT.

I combined two classic sammies: ham and swiss and the BLT. The Baconnaise played perfectly off the milder ham, crispy romaine, and ripe, red tomatoes. I also added sprouts and cucumber, just because they are my standard sandwich toppings — and because it made me feel a bit better about eating Baconnaise.