How to Make the Best Ham and Cheese Sandwich

I used to work at Subway many, many years ago so I know my sandwiches.  It's a lot of fun trying to get the perfect blend of ingredients to take a plain ham and cheese sandwich into a true winner.  So last week I made myself this amazing combination.  It really hit the spot and I took pictures of each step too!

What you need:
1 Italian Bread Roll (you can use multi grain or wheat, but go for a thick cut of bread)
spicy mustard
mayonnaise
cranberries
fresh spinach (go for organic or locally grown because there's more flavor)
several slices of ham
thinly sliced gouda cheese
thinly sliced plum tomatoes (2 or 3)
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Cut your roll on a slight angle and open it up.  On one side spread a generous helping of spicy mustard. On the other side a light layer of mayo. You can skip the condiments if you really want to, but I think that they really bring the sandwich together. They add some additional moisture and flavor.
 Toss some cranberries onto the mayo side.  I didn't put many because I was saving my cranberries. They're hard to find in Italy so I didn't want to waste them (which is silly because I'll eat them all anyway).  What would be even more ideal would be a cranberry sauce or relish to thinly spread over the mayo.

2.  Next, layer your thinly sliced tomatoes onto your mustard.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper to taste.  On the other side, put a very generous heaping of fresh lettuce. Seriously, put as much on as you can fit.  The spinach adds a wonderful freshness and kick to the sandwich.

3.  Next layer your ham onto the tomatoes.  I used 3 slices of ham.  They were not thinly sliced, otherwise I probably would've doubled the amount.  This cut of ham was from the shoulder so it was quite thick and a little more fatty.

4.  Then layer the sliced gouda onto the ham.  My slices weren't super thin because I cut them myself from a wedge of cheese.  That being said, I kind of liked the texture supplied by the thickness of the cut.  It gave a little more bite to the sandwich and really showed off the flavor and softness of the gouda.  Add some more cranberries on top of the cheese and then very carefully close your sandwich.  I always use the knife to make sure my ingredients stay where they belong.


And that's that.
The sandwich is really quite simple to make and utterly delicious in its combination of flavors and different textures.  Enjoy and take a big bite!!