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It’s funny -the things that impress you as a kid… When I was six years old I went to Disneyland for the first time. This, I must say, was after a few years of secretly harbored longing and no small resentment at being left behind as “too young” the first time my parents took my older sister without me. I had to wait until after my parents divorce and when I finally got there it wasn’t Disneyland itself that impressed me (although I could make a home there permanently any day) so much as going to a certain restaurant, having lunch and ordering what I wanted. (Yes-I was born a foodie through and through!) And it wasn’t so much ordering what I wanted as receiving a triple stacked BLT that came secured with frilly toothpicks to hold the layers together. Silly thing -but that sandwich with those toothpicks was like another world to me! (Then there were the pink plastic elephants that hung on the rim of “Shirley Temple” drinks along with a maraschino cherry- but really that’s another story altogether.)
 
I recently listened to Anthony Bourdain’s memoir “Kitchen Confidential:Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly” on CD, a thoroughly absorbing account of his travels through the culinary world. It makes your blood run cold in spots but I recommend it -best read by him- his experience in his own voice. In it, he describes his first taste of Vichyssoise on a trans-Atlantic crossing on the Queen Mary as his first hint that food was more than a substance you just stuff into your face. I already knew food could be good- even great- but this new experience was a glimpse into the adventure that is possible with food- that’s what the silly frilly toothpicks were for me. Something, strange, foreign and exotic to my everyday experience in something as mundane as a sarnie. As a kid I always ordered BLTs or Club Sandwiches whenever we went out to lunch trying to hold on to the magic. Eventually I came to care more about the quality of the ingredients than the silly garnishes.
I still love BLTs but now I make SPLATs (Sourdough, Prosciutto, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato) and I only have them now at home when tomatoes, fresh from the garden, are in season, I have a ripe avocado and there’s a loaf of really good sourdough- oh and obviously I use Prosciutto now. Why?- because it covers the WHOLE sandwich and you get that porky goodness in every bite. Just bake the slices for a few minutes laid out flat on some parchment in the oven until it’s crispy and use 2-3 slices per person. Toast the bread, use some good mayo or aioli- homemade if you can- Best Foods/Hellman’s if store-bought, make sure you salt and pepper the tomatoes and mash the avocado over one whole slice of bread. So the next time you want a really good BLT come on over to the adventure and try a SPLAT! Frilly toothpicks are optional! 🙂
