Sandwiches are not for people who like to eat one thing at a time, kids who don't like foods to touch each other, or anyone who doesn't like a little surprise. They are for people with a feel for food adventure, and a soupcon of creativity for food combinations and contrasts.

That's not to say that peanut butter and jelly on squishy white bread isn't manna from heaven, because it is! But we all know how to do that well. What we're talking about here is the next step in our collective sandwich evolution.

Lots of bread types with fillings, such lavosh, pita and tortillas, can count as sandwiches. They are delicious, add variety and fill the menu nicely. To keep this article straightforward, they are not included here.

Great sandwiches all have some things in common. They are appropriate to the meal or snack time and to the audience. You probably wouldn't serve light and airy sandwiches to a group of teenage boys after basketball practice. (The boys would still be hungry and you would feel unappreciated.)

They are composed with thought given to their appearance, texture, contrast, freshness, and flavor. If your bread is day-old, you may want to toast it. If you are highlighting the tomatoes from your garden, you will want to downplay other ingredients. If you are having an afternoon tea party, you may want to decorate your tea sandwiches.

But, it seems to me that the very most important thing about making a great sandwich is considering what goes together well. A perfect bite of a perfect sandwich has a little bit of everything in the sandwich so that you get the melded flavors and textures with every single bite.

Going together well can mean something smooth and something crunchy, or it can mean something mild and something spicy, or it can mean a blend with no distinctive top notes. Any flavors and textures that you consider in other cooking also applies to sandwiches.

The question with sandwiches about which I am still unresolved is how big to make them. There is something so appealing about those Dagwood giants, and yet, if you can't get your mouth around them, what's the point?

Here are just a handful of delicious combinations. If you want absolute assurance that your bread will hold up, apply a thin layer of butter. If you can manage the additional calories, it works with just about everything.

Simple and elegant Brie and smoked turkey on croissant
Hearty and filling roast beef, baby swiss, sliced sweet pickles, romaine lettuce, and lots of mayonnaise on honey wheat
Italian and Californian grilled chicken breast, provolone, basil pesto, and virgin olive oil drizzled on sour dough bread
Lower fat and calorie reduced fat cheese, arugula and grey poupon on reduced calorie bread
Traditional and special fresh cooked lobster, celery, fresh dill, and mayonnaise on good quality hot dog bun, or soft roll

If you and your guests or family are simply craving plain tuna salad on white, or egg salad on wheat, or that old Elvis Presley favorite, peanut butter and banana, go ahead and indulge yourselves. One way you know those sandwiches are great is because they have stood the culinary test of time.

And how do you get the most enjoyment out of eating your great sandwiches? One of two ways: nibble delicately and carefully as you would on a first date, or, open your mouth as wide as possible, insert the sandwich and chomp down to leave perfectly rounded teeth marks. Then, chomp again.

Learn more about this author, Marian Davis.
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