Tomato Sandwiches

hmmmm...way too fancy. Eat Over The Sink Tomato Sandwich as follows: Two thin slices of a Pullman loaf (white sandwich bread) each slathered with copious amounts of (must be) Hellmann's. Cover one slice with as many tomato slices as possible, salt the slices, cover with the other bread slice and press slightly. Eat in the sunny daytime over a kitchen sink with a window. Life is good.

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Instead of eating over the sink I recommend eating over a plate like I did so you can lick the plate afterwards. Go all in on those bad manners.

I've been making tomato sandwiches ever since I read Harriet the Spy about 50 years ago. They're just the best when tomatoes are ripe in the garden. Over the years my recipe evolved from Harriet's a little, but crunchy toast, mayo, juicy tomatoes and a dash of S&P are essential, and so simple. I just tried this recipe today and it's definitely worth the extra effort if you're feeling fancy. Used sweet onion from the garden. Don't know if Harriet would approve, but I sure do!

Let's be fair about this, y'all. The origin of "The Kitchen Sink Tomato Sandwich" may be traced to Ernest Matthew Mickler's "White Trash Cooking" which dates to 1986. The recipe appears on page 74 of that slender volume.

You're welcome.

Au contraire! Duke's only. No Hellmann's, evah!

:)

Try tossing the sliced tomatoes with a tsp or two of balsamic vinegar and letting them sit for 1/2 hour or so. They "ripen" up more than you would expect. Often gets me through winter.
Same trick works with disappointing stawberries too.

Interesting flavor, def a mess to eat which used to drive me nuts, everything squishing out the other side. My Dad, for years, grew the most beautiful tomatoes and it was thick slabs and mayo on Pepperidge Farm bread every summer. That, or a classic BLT were my go to sandwiches as long as they lasted. When really young my friend Billy's Grand Dad had a yard full and he would give them us right off the vine with a salt shaker. We had to lick the tomato to make the salt stick.

I "lighten up" by using Morningstar fake bacon and Vegenaise on my home grown tomato sandwich. Fake Bacon is my guilty pleasure not eating animals.

Tomato is my favorite sandwich (and it's also the fave of novelist Tom Robbins) but I'm more open-minded about this subject that he is and I can't wait to try it this way.

But a word of caution: the bread pictured is overly toasted - it's completely becrackered- and this is (in my experience) a simply unnecessary situation. Pre-heating the toaster and lightly toasting at this high heat allows for garlic rubbing and avoiding that "over-the-sink" lunch.

And use the good mayo!
Thanks.

I’m sure this Tomato Sandwich is tasty, but it is is merely a facsimile of the Real Deal. Perfectly ripe and flavorful tomatoes are essential. If you get them warm from their sunny home in the garden, you are on your way to sandwich heaven. Hellmans or Dukes, either is fine. But the bread must be white and soft so it sops up all the juices, so crusts are superfluous here. Salt generously. Lick your fingers, lick the plate, smile real big, and do not attempt off season.

I like to toast bread for sandwiches using the bagel setting so only one side is toasted. Put that side on the inside and enjoy toasty crunch without scraping the roof of the mouth when taking bites.

This technique of garlic and tomato rub should be SOP for every sandwich regardless of filing composed during tomato season. And I'm with Ruth, take care not to over-toast your bread or your gums and the roof of your mouth will be sorry.

I'm heading for the peanut butter version now.

This sandwich is fantastic. So full of flavor. Didn't use bacon and didn't miss it for a second. Ate it over the sink and still managed to get tomato on my shirt!

Adding mayo to this recipe hits it out of the park. I never liked mayo of any kind until I moved South from Boston. Then I tried Dukes. Now Dukes is it for me.

My mother-in-law made tomato sandwiches thusly: Thick slices of rustic breadspread on a cookie sheet, topped with havarti (or, in western PA, brick cheese) Heat in oven at 350 until cheese melts, top with tomatoes, salt and sliced red or sweet onion. Eat out of hand or with a knife and fork. I dream about these outside of tomato season.