January 10: The World's Greatest Sandwich

There is an episode of "Friends" where the characters compete against each other in a Trivial Pursuit-style game of who-knows-each-other-best. The questions were organized into categories: fears and pet peeves, likes and dislikes, etc.

One of the questions that Rachel answers in the lightning round: What is Joey's favorite food?

The answer: sandwiches.

Hell yeah. I love sandwiches too. It must be all those years in private school, where they didn't have a cafeteria to get me hooked on square pizzas and fish sticks. What's not to love? as Joey would say: Bread--good. Meat--good. Cheese--goooood.

I said I'd write about this when I first started this blog: The World's Greatest Sandwich. This is not for the faint of heart, or the high-of-cholesterol. It is basically a BLT with cheese and a fried egg. Adam Sandler's character in the movie "Spanglish" is a chef, and he comes home late from work one night and makes this sandwich, and it is the exact kind of thing a chef would make in the middle of the night after a long night in a hot kitchen.

This is a 1000-calorie sandwich, no lie. Only a guy would conceive this sandwich, and a guy did: Thomas Keller, chef of Napa Valley's French Laundry, arguably one of the greatest restaurants anywhere in the world, invented it for the movie's creator, James L. Brooks, whose script includes a notation that his culinary hero would have to create a snack for the character which people would emulate and copy.

This is worth copying, if you decide you can spare the calories. This is a decadent and spectacular sandwich. If you love someone and they have something you want, make this sandwich, split it with them, and when they are feeling full of good things and grateful to you, ask them for it. I found it in Apartment Therapy's archives.

Makes one.

World's Greatest Sandwich
3-4 slices of bacon
2 slices of Monterey Jack cheese
2 slices of toasted rustic country loaf (pain de campagne)
1 tbsp of mayo
4 tomato slices
2 leaves of butter lettuce (yes, it's called butter lettuce)
1 teaspoon butter
1 egg

1. Cook the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels
2. Place slices of cheese on one side of toasted bread. Place in toaster oven or under broiler to melt.
3. Spread mayo on other slice of bread top with bacon, sliced tomato, and lettuce
4. On non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Fry egg, turning over briefly when the bottom is set (keep yolk runny)
5. Slide finished egg on top of lettuce, top with other slice of bread (cheese-side down, genius)
6. Place sandwich on plate and slice in half, letting yolk run down sandwich.