Rating: 💋 💋 💋
(this is for the menu. you know New York City is five stars in my heart, subway rats and all lol)
Right, so I do not live in New Jersey anymore. A year after the pandemic pushed me out of my city (give or take a few days) I came back with a renewed spirit, ready to build my life carefully and get it right this time. I was so excited. You should know that, in regards to my recent post, I did not get back with my ex. I just don't see any point in going backwards. I truly believe that all the good and all the bad things are given to us to strengthen us and help us become better people. I might really detest that sometimes or be grouchy about how unfair or unkind it is, but I especially do not want to miss the lesson. I do not want to get stuck. So, rather than moving back to Brooklyn, which I still love, I found somewhere new. In just about every direction, I am taking on uncharted waters in my life, so it only seemed fair to add a new neighborhood to that list. It looks like a cute one, so I am excited!
I woke up bright and early on move in day, ready to conquer the world. The day was a mix of jubilation and stress. One minute I would be ahead of schedule and the next the schedule would be running off the field maniacally, eluding the ref's attempts to chase it down. I met my mom at Penn Station and together we made our way to my apartment building. This was my first time ever working with movers and it was very strange being told not to help. To be fair, I had very little furniture so this might have been their easiest job ever. I still wanted to pitch in though and they were like, "with what muscles?" Hmph. Once everything was safely inside, my mom and I discovered we did not have the little bed twisty things* that you use to put the bed together. It took a half hour to find those tools where we had tucked them away in an oatmeal tin a year ago. Interesting. Once we had our gear though, we were in motion. We built the bed, cleaned the floors, washed all the dishes, and broke down boxes like Little Engines That Could. After a quick stop at the grocery store, I took my mom back to Penn Station. On the ride there she made me promise not to lose myself - not to lose sight of what I really want and why I am really here.
I solemnly swear that I won't.
From there, I was thrown straight into work. "Labor Shortage" roughly translates to being so understaffed that the work schedule is like tetris for those of us who are clocking in. That is all I'll say on that right now. Basically, I had the day off to move in, and then I had no days off. When I did get a shift away from the restaurant where I was working, I used that precious time to advance my job search and try to set up my apartment. So, you know, I was a sleepy girl. At least I was a sleepy city girl.
This BLT sandwich variation is the first real recipe I made in the apartment. On the night that I moved in, I had mouthwatering spicy salmon sushi. I am still not sure if I was just crazy hungry or if Whole Foods raw fish really slaps that hard, but I will make the splurge again to confirm for you at some point. What I do know is that the sushi was the most delightful way to christen my kitchen. For the evenings that followed, I mixed up egg sandwiches and then a lovely spinach avocado salad before running in for the dinner shift, so all good food, but no time to full out cook.
Even this BLT is a ridiculously simple recipe and yes, makes it two sandwich posts in a row on the blog. That personally kind of grates on me because I like to switch things up, but what can you do? Moving is hard and sandwiches are lovely and easy so, I'm not going to shame myself for it.
My final note before we hop into the recipe is a groundbreaking one. I ate mayonnaise. You all know I have a strong aversion to that condiment, avoiding it at all costs, weird little egg whip that it is. I am open to flavored mayonnaises though. I have enjoyed chipotle mayo and aïoli in the past, so who would I be to knock a sriracha version? Not a very willing foodie, I'll tell you that. I simply had to give it a taste, and I have to say, I recommend you do as well.
Sriracha BLT
Makes: 4
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp Sriracha chile sauce (I did yellow this time around but encourage any type)
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 8 multigrain bread slices, toasted
- 8 lettuce leaves
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 8 thick-cut bacon slices, turkey or regular or whatever you like, cooked
Preparation:
- While the bacon sizzles in the pan, slice up the tomato and toast the bread. From there, mix up the mayonnaise, sriracha, sesame oil and salt in a little mug and stir it until it is evenly blended. Make sure to let the bacon cool and then blot it on a paper towel before assembling.
- Spread the sriracha mayonnaise evenly on both sides of the bread. Top one slice with lettuce, tomato and two slices of bacon, then press the top of half of sandwich to make it complete.
-Voila! It is really that simple.
This sandwich was so easy to prepare before work, I cannot even. I really enjoyed the sauce, and you can add more or less sriracha depending on your preference. I would consider going even spicier, but it does pack a punch so keep your hand light when pouring. The fresh tomato and butter lettuce was the perfect touch, cooling my mouth down from the sriracha. I think this is a toothpick sandwich but alas, I did not have any toothpicks. I had to hold it firmly in hand to keep it from sliding out of the bread. As spicy as the sauce was, there were moments it almost felt sweet, so the salty turkey bacon was perfect. It was a pretty light sandwich, so it could probably use a side salad, or maybe homemade fries or a small bowl of edamame with a light sprinkling of sea salt. I missed out on the side this time but I will know better next go round. I am curious about sweet potato fries with the sriracha mayo. I am not sure I would like it, so try at your own risk, but I do want to attempt the combination at some point. You can really add this sauce to anything you want, so that is fun.
And now I have to figure out what to do with the rest of this mayonnaise. Maybe fix up an aioli? Blend it with some fresh basil. We shall see...
Stay tuned for more New York City updates, and stay cool out there! Until next week -
XX,
MK
*I'm a hardcore handyman, as you can tell
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