When done properly, a balanced bahn mi sandwich will satisfy any craving. It's sweet, salty, tangy and spicy all at once. With the herbs and sauces that go with it it packs a lot of flavor. This sandwich is a go to for leftover chicken pork or tofu. I lightly adapted this from another wonderful blog post found here.  It seems like a long list of things to do, but it really comes together quickly. 

The BLT is pretty classic. This one here is a bit stepped up with a herbed shallot aioli (post for that below). For a vegan version, you can adapt the aioli by using vegan mayo and mixing in the extras, and making coconut, mushroom, or eggplant bacon. 

The BLT is fairly simple, but there's always enough room to make things as complicated or simple as you want to. I happened to make the bread and aioli from scratch, but if you're pressed for time or not baking inclined, store-bought bread is perfectly fine. You can even cheat on the aioli by mixing the extras into plain mayo for an extra kick to a normally basic sandwich. 

Ingredients: 

• Cooked bacon, 4 slices
• 2 slicing tomatoes, you want 4-6 good slices from it
• Herbed shallot aioli 
• Italian bread 
• 3-4 leaves of romaine lettuce

I like to toast the bun in bacon fat, if I'm making the bacon at the same time. Otherwise, just toast the bread with some butter but DON'T skip the toasting, it's important. Once the bun is toasted, I salt the tomato slices and assemble the sandwich. 

Cuban sandwiches are a staple at my house. This riff has sweet maple all throughout instead of the normal cuban ingredients!

Ingredients for one: 

• Cuban bun, halved 
• 1 tbsp butter, softened
• Maple dijon sauce
• 1 slice Havarti
• 3 slices black forest ham
• 4 slices maple brined pork
• 1/4 red apple, thinly sliced
• 2-3 leaves romaine lettuce

I preheated the oven to 350 to warm the main ingredients. Butter both sides of the bun and add the maple dijon sauce evenly on top and bottom. Layer havarti, ham slices and pork onto one side and place in oven until warmed through. Add the lettuce and apple slices and close the sandwich. 


Enjoy!

The Monte Cristo- basically a super fancy ham and cheese sandwich. For this version, I used homemade brioche with turkey, ham and swiss. It's kinda like a french toast grilled cheese. 

​Ingredients for two: 

• 2 Brioche buns
• 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 4 slices ham
• 4 slices turkey
• 4 slices swiss
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• pinch salt
• pinch nutmeg
• oil for the pan
• powdered sugar to dust
• barrel aged maple syrup for serving (or regular syrup, or try strawberry jam!)

Construction: 

1. Butter the buns
2. Assemble the sandwich: smear of dijon on the bottom bun, slice of swiss, slice of ham, slice of turkey, slice of swiss, slice of ham, slice of turkey, top bun
3. Wrap the sandwiches with saran wrap, foil, or parchment paper and press with a heavy skillet or a skillet with some cans on top. Make sure it's balanced so the stack doesn't tip! 
4. Meanwhile, beat the egg with a pinch of salt, nutmeg, and the milk. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat with a little oil and remaining butter.
5. Dip the pressed sandwich into the egg mixture on both sides until it is lightly coated but not soggy. 
6. Cook for 4-5 minute son each side, until the bun is crisp and golden and the cheese has become melty. 
7. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup or strawberry jam!