Sandwiches are beautiful

Sandwiches are beautiful,
Sandwiches are fine.
I like sandwiches, I eat them all the time;
I eat them for my supper and I eat them for my lunch;
If I had a hundred sandwiches, I'd eat them all at once.

Fred Penner singing the sandwich song on youtube

I’ve noticed that cookbooks from the 20s-40s  tend to have whole chapters devoted to sandwiches. Over a career spent working side-by-side with foreign workers, my Uncle Mohammed came to the conclusion that sandwiches constituted a staple food for Americans. I suppose that’s not far from the truth. In fact, slapping something between slices of bread seems like such a primeval food experience I’ve always doubted the Earl of Sandwich could really have invented them.

Here then are some ideas for new/old sandwich fillings from The Good Housekeeping Cook Book, 1942.

Combine ½ lb. cottage cheese, 2 T minced green pepper, 1 T minced onion, 1 dash of cayenne pepper, and 1 T French dressing.

Mix 1 ½ 3 oz. pkgs cream cheese with 15 chopped salted almonds, ½ 8 oz. bottle maraschino cherries, drained and chopped, and 1 T cherry juice. (This must have been a favorite of the book’s previous owner as it has a check mark next to it.)

Blend 1 3 oz. pkg cream cheese, 1 T grated orange rind, and 1 T orange juice. (Another favorite.)

Blend 6 hard cooked egg yolks with 2 T melted butter, 1 T French dressing, ¼ t prepared mustard, 1 t Worcestershire sauce and a pinch of salt.

Mince the egg white left from above; blend with 2 T pickle relish, 2 T minced green pepper,1/4 c mayonnaise, and a pinch of salt.

Flake 1 7 oz. can tuna fish, add ½ t lemon juice, 1 T ketchup, 3 T salad dressing, and ½ t Worcestershire sauce.

Combine 4 slices crisp bacon, diced, ¼ c. minced mustard pickle and 1 c canned baked beans.

Combine 1 3 oz. pkg. cream cheese with 1 T chili sauce. Sprinkle with 4 slices crisp bacon.

Combine ¼ c drained canned crushed pineapple, ½ c minced chicken and 2 T mayonnaise. Chopped nuts may be added.

Combine ¼ lb minced salted almonds with ¼ c minced stuffed olives, 2 T mayonnaise, and 1 t French dressing.

Combine 6 T minced salted peanuts, ½ c mayonnaise and 1 t minced onion.