This is not a post connected to The Handmaid's Tale, or not really, but I'm SO EXCITED that it's finally here. Not only was the book amazing and I actually have faith in Hulu to adapt it faithfully, but the cast is also amazing. In the lead up to the premiere, I've been seeing a lot of Elisabeth Moss, and since I finished The West Wing and Mad Men is long over, I realized I really miss seeing her on screen in something new. I decided to culinarily revisit her in the form of early Mad Men, when Peggy was a lowly secretary living at home and brought a sad desk lunch of a sandwich and bruised banana to work. Since there's nothing appetizing about that, I took the liberty to give it an upgrade and left the banana behind.
When I was in high school, my best friend, Julia, invented this amazing sandwich. She takes after her mom in the sense that she's very good at "shopping in her fridge," assessing what ingredients she has and assembling them into something delicious (whereas, I almost always need a recipe as a guide just like my mom). What my friends now call a "Julia Sandwich" is simple and full of fresh and complementary ingredients. It's the perfect thing to look forward to for lunch at work and it's always reliable for a Saturday Netflix marathon lunch break with a friend or few. Just set up all the ingredients and let your guests make their own.
Julia Sandwich
inspired by Mad Men season 1
makes 1 sandwich
- portion of crunchy bread, cut in half to make sandwich bread
- 1/2 avocado
- slice of onion (with all the rings)
- 2-4 slices of fresh mozzarella
- 2-4 slices of tomato (or more if using smaller tomato)
- crumble of feta cheese
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt flakes to taste
- pepper to taste
- drizzle balsamic vinegar
Slice all ingredients. In the oven or on a cast iron pan/grill pan, crisp up the bread. Drizzle bread with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Stack all the ingredients, sprinkle with feta, sea salt and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Place other piece of bread on top and eat!
recipe from my ride or die Julia.
[made while watching The Handmaid's Tale.]
