Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Good mayo, ripe and properly-stored tomatoes, and plentiful salt and pepper to begin with.

Sweet combinations:

Good ham, brie, dijon (thinly sliced granny smith apples are also sort of awesome).

Roast beef, horseradished mayo.

BLT.

Cuban.

Margherita ingredients.

Grilled vegetables (portabellos, peppers, onions, etc.), pesto, mozz.

Salad nicoise ingredients (rare, grilled tuna especially).

Any sort of slow-roasted meat, given top billing.

And on and on. If you can't tell already I've worked in a fancy sandwich place before. One thing we did was this really great chicken salad with roasted chicken (skin on!), mayo, chopped walnuts, dried cranberries, scallions and celery.

Smoked mackerel with a little mayonnaise, cucumber and raddish sprouts on German rye bread or Danish rugbrød.

Tuna salad made with mayonnaise, red onion, chopped gherkins or relish, celery and dill. On seven grain bread with sliced tomatoes and rocket.

Smoked tofu with vegetables cut very thin on the mandoline slicer: carrots, peppers, red cabbage, red or spring onions, cucumbers. Plus vegan mayonnaise, dijon, salt and pepper, sliced tomato, sprouts and watercress. On seedy bread.

Falafel with roasted aubergine, pickled cabbage, raddishes and red onion, tomato and mixed leaves. In whole wheat pita with tahini-dill dressing.

Sausage (plain old banger or veggie equivalent) on granery toast with ketchup.

3 sandwiches i would rather not live without:

chicken salad and thick-sliced bacon on kaiser roll.

roasted pepper and fontina grilled on a panini press.

baguette, butter, camembert.

I like to change thiings up, but one item my sandwiches always have- sundried tomatoes. And arugula or fresh basil. From there, you can go so many ways...

BLT with avocado.

My absolute favorite is the classic BLT, with iceberg lettuce and homegrown southern tomatoes.

A close second is deli roast beef, sharp cheddar cheese. mayo, and spicy mustard on rye bread.

I want Ed's sandwich right now.

I think this is a great idea for a party! If I were hosting it or was one of the guests I would certainly bring something I made as opposed to buying some sort of store boughten spread. Here is one of my favorite recipe spreads- this one goes good with roasted turkey breast with loaded fresh veggies or a grilled veggie sandwich with grilled eggplant, zuccihini, squash and mushrooms. It is a chick pea spread-
Ingredients

1 3/4 C. cooked chickpeas or garbanzo beans (save liquid)
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Directions

Drain Chickpeas, saving liquid. Mash and blend chickpeas. Add 1 Tbs. chickpea liquid and the lemon juice, mayonnaise, and garlic powder. Mix until smooth. If too thick, add a little more chickpea liquid or water.

Yield: 6 servings

Variation: Beans in the recipe can be canned or cooked from dry beans. To cook dry beans, cover them with 2-3 times as much water as beans. Soak overnight and add water and then cook 1 1/2-2 hours.

At my age..now 61....My tastebuds have a yearning to sit in a Jewish Deli in NYC, and to enjoy a freshly made Rueben, piled high with pastrami, instead of the corned beef, and, on the side.... have one of the giant whole garlic dill pickles, that crunched when bitten, and a glass of a superb light beer (when it first came out) Rolling Rock.

I could never duplicate the atomsphere, the dedication, nor the authenticity of one of those Ruebens on my own...close, but no cigar..

thanks for your time...