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"The BLT Cookbook"
by Michele Anna Jordan |
The BLT is an icon among American sandwiches. Toasted bread, spread with generous amounts of mayonnaise and in-between, a flavor combination that just sings: Bacon Lettuce and Tomato. And what can be simpler to make? "Anyone can make a sandwich," remarks Michele Anna Jordan, author of "The BLT Cookbook" (William Morrow).
Michele traces the genesis of this book to her first pregnancy. They cured her morning sickness. "I had a BLT and it was so good! And I felt good for several hours." When she got sick again, she had another BLT, and all was well. She jokes that her children are made of BLT's. Along those same lines, Michele notes that a BLT will help cure motion sickness or car sickness.
"I think it's the combination of salt and acid," Michele says. I think it's comfort food incarnate. Who doesn't like the smell of bacon frying? Or the wonderful sweet-sour taste of fresh garden tomatoes. And don't get me started on a liberal slathering of mayonnaise! Toasted bread, crisp, cold lettuce… Ok ok, I'm fine, I'm fine.
This slim book is a wonderful revelation of the versatility of these three simple ingredients. Michele shows us some wonderful BLT inspired appetizers, salads, soups and even main courses. The heart of the book though is the BLT itself, and Michele vamps with the basic concept coming up with some worthy alternatives to the traditional. Take her BSLT, or Bacon Salmon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich, utilizing the fatty belly meat of the salmon. Or her SSLT substituting fried salmon skin for the bacon.
Michele even offers up a couple of unique vegetarian alternatives using fried leeks, or grilled zucchini or even nori sheets (seaweed sheets used to make sushi) crisped over an open flame. WOW! They're salty and crispy and have a distinctive flavor I would never have conceived in this format. But it works!
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"Salt & Pepper"
by Michele Anna Jordan |
In our chat, we covered the basics. "B" as in Bacon. "L" as in Lettuce. And "T" as in Tomato. Listen to the show for those tips.
Michele has written 14 books, "so far." One that I plan to explore more with her is called "Salt and Pepper" and in-depth look at the two most important, yet overlooked ingredients in our kitchens.
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