Picnic lunch or comfy dinner, sandwiches fill bill

There’s something about sandwiches.

PB&J’s have long been brown-bag standbys, not to mention those time-honored oldies: tuna, egg salad, bologna, you name it.

Around my house, ‘wiches made of leftover pot roast or pork roast, thinly sliced and topped with sweet onion slices, or slabs o

f cold meatloaf or corned beef. They go onto each person’s favorite bread, which has been treated to a generous spreading of mayo, Dijon or hot honey mustard or horseradish, then disappear almost before I can get them halved and wrapped or plated up.

Besides their basic popularity, be they comfy oldies, health-conscious lightweights or hubba-bubba sturdies, all cooks know sandwiches are lifesavers when things have gone all ahoo, turning that night’s planned meal into what amounts to a real no-hoper.

Rounded out with a bowl of soup when it’s chilly or alongside a cold and crisp salad to cheat the heat if it’s sizzling hot, sandwiches can almost always pull off a rescue. Nothing wrong with chips and dips, pickles and olives, and a choice of go-with cheeses, either.

Admittedly, today’s two top picks, adapted from creations by clever cooks at Kraft, might take more to pull together than a frantic look in the refrigerator and a hasty paw-through of cupboards and pantry.

Ah, but, like all other do-it-ourselves sandwiches, these should be adaptable to whim, taste and what’s available.

More spread on the bread, for instance, would be a must-add thing at my house. We’re not mice around here, but a little more cheese, whatever kind is on hand, wouldn’t go amiss, either. But, that’s us, not you. Or the recipe.

I think and hope you do, too, that what you put between two pieces of bread offers endless choices. The sky’s the limit, right? Change this, change that, add or delete as choice and availability dictate, adjusting the finished handful to make it the perfect fit.

See? There’s something about sandwiches …

Beef and slaw sandwiches

2 cups packaged coleslaw blend (or undressed homemade slaw)

1/4 cup Miracle Whip dressing

1/8 teaspoon pepper

8 slices pumpernickel or rye bread

7 ounces deli-style roast beef slices

4 slices Swiss cheese, regular or reduced fat

8 slices bacon, cooked

1 tomato, thinly sliced

In a mixing bowl, combine the coleslaw, dressing and pepper; toss to mix well. Divide slaw mixture evenly among 4 bread slices. Divide the beef slices and evenly top the slaw mixture. Top each with a slice of cheese, 2 slices bacon and tomato slices. Top with remaining bread slices. Makes 4 sandwiches.

Turkey-berry sandwich for one

1 tablespoon Miracle Whip

1 tablespoon whole-berry cranberry sauce or 1 slice jellied cranberry sauce

1 tablespoon chopped walnuts

2 slices whole-grain bread, toasted

1 lettuce leaf

5 slices deli-style smoked turkey breast

1 slice Swiss cheese, regular or reduced fat

In a small mixing bowl, combine the dressing, cranberry sauce and nuts; mix well and spread on 1 toast slice. Top with lettuce leaf, turkey breast and cheese. Top with remaining bread slice. Makes 1 serving.

Note: If desired, cream cheese spread can be substituted for the dressing, and deli-style brown sugar ham can be substituted for the turkey. Also, if desired, washed spinach leaves can be substituted for the lettuce.

The next Forum will appear in Friday’s comics pages.