What am I, chicken?

When my brother was in high school he had a job at a local sub shop that fashioned itself after sub shops in New Jersey. This was not a place to get grinders or regionally generic footlong sandwiches assembled by "artists" (Jamie Kennedy, Trey Pearce-holla) or sandwiches toasted on conveyor belts. I have nothing against those stores, some of my friends have worked with pride in them, hell, I eat at them. A New Jersey submarine sandwich is first and foremost put together on a french baguette like bread that has a wonderfully hard crust. This is the kind of crust your orthodontist warned you about. We're talking no chipotle mayonnaise or garlic pesto sauces, no lo fat lo cal, no wheat bread, no sissy salads. Just submarine sandwiches. Great submarine sandwiches that brought me back to the old neighborhood in Jersey lo those many years ago.

While he worked there he learned how to make an incredible tuna salad. He shared the secret of the salad with me- black pepper, plenty of black pepper. So when I make a tuna or chicken salad as I did yesterday I make sure to lay on a good layer of pepper. I mean a good thick layer, what almost looks like too much on the salad. Sometimes I've been known to add mustard for a little tang as well. A good crunch is a nice addition to tuna or chicken salad- celery is a classic of course, but grapes are an interesting option. I think I'd leave the mustard out when trying grapes. I'll have to give that a shot some time. I also tend to mix mayo and salad spread- Miracle Whip. I grew up with the spread and my wife grew up with mayo. So I compromise. Again, I enjoy the tang from the spread.

I've been thinking about recipes lately and how I'll handle listing amounts of ingredients in the blog. I hate to say it but I never measure anything. I season by taste and by eye. Perhaps that is why I have no interest in baking. So unless I'm talking about a rub chances are slim that I'll have measurements. We'll see how that works.