Geek Beat: The Serendipitous Sandwich

by Susan L. Carr

 
Serendipity – n. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.

This wondrous state came about for me a couple of weeks ago as I was enjoying my day off. While I ran my errands, I thought about what to make for lunch and immediately decided on a sandwich. But I didn’t want just any sandwich, I wanted something that I could really sink my teeth into. Not a run of the mill bologna and cheese, but something fresh and new. Something #epic, as my buddy Rob would tweet. An image of a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich entered my mind, but for some reason it lacked what I was looking for. I wanted more. I needed more. I deserved more! It was my hard-earned day off, damn it!

The Serendipitous Sandiwch. Click to Enlarge.

A stop at the farmer’s market yielded some plump and juicy tomatoes and a perfectly ripe avocado. A second stop at the grocer added a half pound of bacon, a container of crumbled feta cheese and a just-baked Kaiser roll to my reusable green bag. Back home, a quick check of Twitter (even before the groceries were put away), revealed the aforementioned Rob was thinking about what to have for his supper…or maybe he calls it ‘tea?’ Those Brits are strange sometimes. So now I really wanted to make a great sandwich to impress the Interwebs…and Rob.

So, on to the preparation. As the ultimate food geek Alton Brown says, “Peak performance is predicated on proper pan preparation.” Maybe so, AB, but my crusty old frying pan heated over a medium stove will do nicely, thank you very much. Once the pan is properly prepped, in goes four rashers of bacon which are cooked until brown and crispy. While the bacon cools and drains on some paper towel, slice the tomato and avocado.

For those who have never delved into the depths of Persea americana, simply run your blade around the pit lengthwise and then twist the halves apart. Run a large spoon between the flesh and the skin and it should, if it’s perfectly ripe, separate easily so you can make equal-sized slices. No need for the calipers, boys, just eyeball it. Oh, and to take the extra geeky step, don’t throw away that pit. Insert three toothpicks around the fattest part of the pit and balance it in a small glass filled with enough water so the bottom part is submerged. It will germinate in a few weeks so you can transplant it outside. In a few years, you’ll have all the perfectly ripe avocados you could want for free.

Now, comes the fun part! Slice the Kaiser roll in half and slather each side with mayonnaise. On the bottom half of the roll, layer first the avocado, tomato and bacon. On top of all this goodness, sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste (keep in mind the salty bacon and cheese) and then bring the other half of the roll to hold all this goodness together. Slice in half, arrange on a plate and make sure you have on hand lots of napkins or serviettes or whatever they call them in your part of the world, because once you bite into this baby, it’s a gonna gusher.

And that was how I stumbled upon the most splendid and sublime serendipitous sandwich for my day off. Let me know if you give it a try because I’d love to hear from you.

Enjoy!

About Geek Life Editor

Raised in the Shire and bitten by a radioactive Time Lord, the Geek Life Editor has assembled a team of groovy people from all around the world to discuss and share their geek culture experiences. What sort of adventures will this friendly neighborhood geek and her amazing friends share? Only time will tell!

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