National Sandwich Day
National Sandwich Day is always November 3, whatever day of the week that happens to be. But that’s fine, because every day is a good day for a sandwich•.
Why November 3? Because that’s the birthday of John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, from whom popular etymology says we got the name for this wonderfully quick and tasty meal-in-one. Whether it’s a fresh sandwich, a cooked sandwich, or a combination (say, grilled cheese with tomatoes), the sandwich combines the great taste of good bread with the great taste of just about anything that can lay vaguely flat on a slice of bread.
Great bread, great fillings, great spreads. The sandwich doesn’t need anything else, although a good drink and something crunchy alongside is always a comfort.
- November 3, 2021: Tomato relish and tuna salad
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The relish is good spooned over just about anything that could use salsa or relish.
Today is National Sandwich Day. I’ve had sandwich day posts about bread and about the meat that goes in the bread for four years now. Today, I’d like to travel to Australia for a look at the relish that goes between the meat and the bread.
Every once in a while, I run into something unique at an antique store. I often wonder how they got there. How did this typewritten cookbook of the Royal Australian Air Force Women’s Association end up in an antique store in Fort Worth, Texas?
However it happened, I’m glad it did. One of the more intriguing recipes in it is today’s tomato relish. Whenever I buy a new cookbook, I make several test recipes before I decide if I’m going to keep the book. Often I’ll choose a recipe I wouldn’t normally make, and for this cookbook that was the tomato relish. I’m a big fan of dill relish; not so much of other kinds.
Because this is an Australian recipe, the tomatoes, onion, and sugar are all measured by weight, not volume. I’ve put approximations of what the volume should be after each of those ingredients, and there’s a lot of leeway anyway; you should be able to adjust the ingredients according to your own taste. That said, a kitchen scale is an invaluable cooking and baking tool, and decent digital ones are relatively inexpensive•.
literature
- So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish•
- The fourth book, in which God explodes for our pleasure.
National Sandwich Day
- The Donna Rathmell German Bread Machine Cookbook collection
- Donna Rathmell German’s little cookbooks, from the Nitty Gritty collection, are a great companion to your bread machine and a great lesson in using bread machines to make bread.
- National Sandwich Day: Do-it-yourself bread slice guide
- If you have a table saw or chop saw, making a bread slice guide is a snap.
- National Sandwich Day: Whole Wheat Sesame Bread
- To be honest, I’m not sure the whole wheat bread from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest is even doable by hand. But I have managed to modify it so that it works very well in a bread machine.
- Roast beef for National Sandwich Day
- Sandwiches are not made by bread alone. And this roast beef recipe is a very simple way of making meat for your sandwiches.
- Tomato-cucumber sandwich on sweet bread
- To celebrate National Sandwich Day, this toasted sandwich is a nice change of pace from loaded Dagwood and cheesy layered concoctions. I enjoy the hell out of them, but sometimes I want something simpler.
More sandwiches
- Roast beef for National Sandwich Day
- Sandwiches are not made by bread alone. And this roast beef recipe is a very simple way of making meat for your sandwiches.
- Tomato-cucumber sandwich on sweet bread
- To celebrate National Sandwich Day, this toasted sandwich is a nice change of pace from loaded Dagwood and cheesy layered concoctions. I enjoy the hell out of them, but sometimes I want something simpler.