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!!

 

Restaurant Review: Pommes Frites

The first time I tried Pommes Frites was when I was a senior at Sarah Lawrence College. We had gone into the city for a day of adventure and at the end of the night before hopping on the train back to campus we were feeling a bit peckish.  We discovered Pommes Frites and it is still one of my favorite places down by St. Mark's Place.  It is a small hole in the wall and I honestly didn't know what to expect when I first saw it.  It has 2 seats out front with a small table in front of a window and then the inside is dark and not very spacious however, the fries make it all worth it.

Pommes Frites only makes Belgian Style french fries and sauces to go along with them. If you are near 2nd Avenue and feeling like you need a small snack, I highly suggest you try Pommes Frites. The fries are always made right in front of you and there is a long list of sauces that you can try with them, from savory mayos, to spicy to sweet. One of my friends ordered the classic fries which came with ketchup, mayo and onion freshly chopped on top.  These were delicous but normally I like to order the side sauces because they have such a wonderful variety of choices. This time we tried 3 sauces. We got my absolute favorite which is the mango chutney mayo, which has a hint of spice to complement the sweetness of the mango. It is delicious and I could probably eat it by the bucketload... which would not be the smartest ideas but awesome nonetheless. We also tried an utterly fantastic wild mushroom mayo that had a kick of herbs to it (I'm thinking rosemary but I wasn't entirely certain) and the last that we tried was a roasted garlic mayo. Everytime I go, I try to try a couple of new or different flavors since there are so many great options. Every specialty sauce is a dollar unless you do the three flavor combination (which I highly recommend) which only costs $2.50.

The three awesome mayos we tried; top wild mushroom, right mango chutney and bottom garlic herb.

On Sunday, there were six of us snacking and we were able to share two small orders between all of us so the portions and pricing is really quite awesome. Had we been super hungry (or really, just trying not to spoil our appetites more than absolutely necessary) we could have easily shared 2 larges or 1 double portion for only a few dollars more.
I can't wait to get back and have more fries!