Hot Sandwiches

Does anyone eat hot sandwiches? My husband contends that only Indian people eat hot sandwiches. For that matter, does anyone know what I’m talking about? It’s kind of like a waffle iron but with four triangles in it. To make a sandwich, you spray non-stick spray on each side (or, I suppose, butter the bread), and then put in your sandwich, stuffed with whatever you want. You press the two sides together (like a waffle iron) and wait for it to cook. In a couple of minutes, you have a hot sandwich.

Lately, it’s all I’ve wanted my mom to cook for me. I don’t know if it’s the filling that she makes, or the fact that I just can’t think of what else I want to eat, but they just hit the spot. In fact, I reheated one yesterday and it was great. She just mixes up potatoes (and sometimes peas) with some Indian spices, and uses that. Sometimes I dip it in coriander chutney, sometimes not. But it’s just yummy.

Evidently, the hot sandwich maker is called a jaffle iron in Australia and South Africa. And apparently, you can make hot sandwiches with Hello, Kitty imprinted on the side of the sandwich. And I realize a panini is technically a hot sandwich, but I’m talking about those little triangle sandwiches with the edges closed off.

Well, my mom’s going to India for over a month, and it suddenly occurred to me that more than wanting her to bring me back anything from there, I need to borrow her sandwich maker and find out how she makes her filling. Because, even though I’ve gone ten years without eating a hot sandwich, these days I can’t imagine going five weeks without one. I’m just going to call it a pregnancy craving and leave it at that.

Perhaps I’ll forget to ask. Very well, what else could I eat that might satisfy that craving? Aloo Tikki. Potato patties. Again, potatoes mixed with Indian spices. Batata vada. Spicy potato filled fried dough balls (or whatever phrase I used in the Batata Vada blog entry). French fries. Tater tots. Are you noticing a pattern? I love potatoes.

Yes indeed. Potatoes are, I believe, a greatly underappreciated vegetable. The potato is so diverse, so universally used, and so delicious. Baked, mashed, gratin, fried, stewed: there are so many ways to prepare a potato and really, all it needs is a little bit of salt. Add more spices and wow. How incredibly diverse is this wonderful food. The Wiggles have even got a song named after it (Hot Potato), and I’m sure you’ve never played the game Hot Eggplant, have you? Of course not. It doesn’t exist. But Hot Potato, yes indeed.

According to The Washington State Potato Commission, potatoes are second only to broccoli in anti-oxidants, contain 40% more potassium than a banana, 45% of the daily average of vitamin C, and have only 100 calories and no fat.

There is actually a World Potato Congress happening this August in Boise, Idaho, and it’s the 6th one. I mean, I guess I knew potatoes were important (can’t make a samosa without them. Well, technically you can, but not your traditional potato-pea stuffed one) but to hold a weeklong conference, with attendees from around the world, that’s the big time. It makes sense, but I never really gave it any thought before. Now, I’m immensely curious about it. And if I weren’t going to be eight months pregnant at the time, I’d be interested in going, just to see what it’s all about.

You see, for me, It’s all about learning. What fun is life if you stop learning? I couldn’t handle doing the exact same thing day in day out for the rest of my life. That’s why I couldn’t work from home (exclusively) or start my own business. When I go back to work, I’d like to work with people smarter than me so I can learn from them. Sure, it’ll be satisfying to be smarter than some people, and to help them learn, but I have no problem admitting that I don’t know it all. There’s just too much in this world that I know nothing about to be so arrogant to think I am an expert on any aspect of it. Heck, I'm about to get a promotion in my current job, and I don't think I've proven that I have mastered my current responsibilities.

And maybe that’s what’s so great about the Internet. While I may waste a lot of my time playing word games on the Merriam Webster website (yes, I’m a geek – and FYI, Fowl Words is the best game, but Fowl Words 2 is lame), it’s also a great source of information. For example, I just learned a lot I never knew about potatoes. Such as the fact that August 19th is Potato Day. I will so be celebrating that event! All I know is, my friends who are getting married that day better have potatoes on the menu.

This is supposed to be about hot sandwiches, right? Well, I suppose that while my mom is gone, I could try ham and cheese, or even just plain grilled cheese. I’m sure there’s hundreds of recipes out there for hot sandwiches, and perhaps even a whole chatroom devoted to fans of the hot sandwich. But right now, that bag of Pepperidge Farm Brussels cookies doesn’t look the least bit appetizing when I think about how good one of my mom’s hot sandwiches sounds.