TOMATO SAMMICH

A Southern Classic ~  The Tomato Sandwich

                              

Oh yes, it's Tomatopalooza time!!  The vines are heavy with the best of our favorites - Beefsteak, Early Girl, Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Heidi, Green Zebra, Mr. Stripey - the list goes on forever.  Here in the south, the building of the tomato sandwich really begins with just a few strict rules:   

                                              1.  White Bread

                                              2.  White Mayo

                                              3.  White Salt

                                              4.  Black Pepper

                                              5.  Red Tomatoes

                                                   (Preferably warmed from the sun)

Some folks try to make the tomato sammich really fancy such as a:

Mozzarella & tomato sandwich

Fried green tomato sandwich

Cheese & tomato sandwich

Grilled cheese and tomato sandwich and some really go all out with a Caramelized onion and lettuce tomato sandwich. 

Triple decker bacon, egg and cheese tomato sandwich. 

I personally like the tried and true BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato).

There's a story that a true southern tomato sandwich is made somewhere around dinner time (dinner being around 12:00 noon and supper around 5:00 p.m.).  Anyhow, you make the sandwich with all the white stuff above, lay it on a plate.  You don't eat right away.  You leave it - go away from it.  Then you come back every so often and pat it.  Somewhere between dinner and supper, you get to eat it after it has been patted several times.  Just full face stuffingness is what this sandwich is all about. 

You can throw in some of those different colored tomatoes for a little WOW and flavor.

How do you describe the taste of this summer pleasure to somewho who has never had the gift of a tomato on white bread? My other question is - Is all about the mayo? 

Any way you slice it, enjoy it - summer is fleeting.  It won't be here for long.  The fruits of our labor will be in feezer bags and canning jars. 

Enjoy your tomatoes - Don't forget your napkin!   Debi ~